The Washington Post
Copyright 1994 The Washington Post
October 12, 1994, Wednesday
Holler Out Loud!
That's the
Holiday for Today;
You Can Name
Your Own in March
Rick
Greenberg, Special to The Washington Post
So
frustrated you could scream? Tom and Ruth Roy have a suggestion: Go right ahead and
bellow. Today, in fact, you might have some company. This is, after all, International
Moment of Frustration Scream Day, when all the exasperated folks in the world are invited
to let off steam by going outdoors at 1200 Greenwich time and screaming their heads off
for 30 seconds.
"We
will all feel better, or Earth will go off its orbit," say the Roys, a couple from
Lebanon, Pa., who dreamed up the holiday about four years ago. They've concocted a total
of 36 such observances over the years in the interest of getting everybody to lighten up a
little and enjoy life.
"It's
guilt-free fun," says Ruth Roy, 42, an herbalist, freelance writer and former radio
talk show host, who refers to herself and her husband as "metaphysical
gardeners." It all started about eight years ago, when Tom Roy --then the morning guy
on radio station WIOV in Lancaster -- was told to spice up his broadcasts. He discovered
Chase's Annual Events, a two-inch-thick compendium of proclamations, anniversaries,
festivals and other calendar-cloggers.
Noting
that Chase's accepts new entries, Roy promptly filled out a form and invented his first
official holiday -- Northern Hemisphere Hoodie-Hoo Day (Feb. 20) -- during which citizens
are encouraged to yell "Hoodie-Hoo" at high noon in an effort to hasten the
arrival of spring. "The reaction was great," says Roy, 49, now a professional
actor. "We were off and running."
Next
came Panic Day (March 9), which gives people license to "run around all day in a
panic, telling others you can't handle it anymore." Nov. 30 is Stay Home Because
You're Well Day, which gave birth to the Wellness Permission League, the Roys' two-person
umbrella organization. A sampling of other noteworthy dates in the Calendar According to
Tom and Ruth Roy: Feb. 13 is Get a Different Name Day; Nov. 19 is Have a Bad Day Day
("For those who are filled with revulsion at being told endlessly to have a nice
day"); Sept. 11 is No News Is Good News Day ("Don't read, listen to or watch the
news today and you'll feel
It's
anybody's guess how many people actually celebrate the Roys' holidays. But judging by the
mail they receive -- more than 1,000 letters a year, including many from people interested
in joining the Wellness Permission League -- it's unlikely that any of their observances
go completely unobserved. Celebrants usually find out about them through radio shows,
computer chatlines, Chase's or similar publications.
The
holidays, according to the Roys, are especially popular among camp counselors, social
directors, chiropractors and others hungry for fresh ways to keep a captive audience
engaged. On June 2, for example, Larry Hosack, activities director at a nursing home in
Kennebunk, Maine, organized a spirited celebration of Yell "Fudge" at the Cobras
in North America Day.
This
Roy creation is aimed at keeping poisonous snakes far, far from our shores. "Fudge
makes cobras gag," explain the Roys, "and the mere mention of it makes them
skedaddle." Says Hosack: "It worked. There weren't any cobras to be found. The
residents loved it."