Today is International Potato Skin Day… Where should I celebrate?

I can’t recall the specifics, but, in recognition of the important work I’ve done on this blog over the past decade, a well respected member of the United Nations came forward several years ago and suggested that the people of the earth, from that day forward, should refer to the Tuesday before my birthday each year as International Potato Skin Day (IPSD). (His reasoning, as I recall, was that, as half the inhabitants of the planet didn’t have access to the internet, and thus had limited knowledge of my contributions, we needed to give them cause to celebrate as well. (If I’m not mistaken, he also came from a country whose main exports are sour cream and bacon bits.) The numbers may well be different today, but, when he announced the holiday, I remember him saying the following through his translator: “It is not possible, on this entire planet of ours, to ever be more than two hours travel from a potato skin.”) So, every year, I go out on the Tuesday before February 11, and hoist a few potato skins in my honor. Sadly, though, when I arrived at TGI Friday’s last Tuesday, there was a sign in the window… a postage stamp-sized photo of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, stuck right above the door handle, saying, “Come back in four days.” And, beneath his face, in tiny print, it said, “In the event that February 11 lands on a Tuesday, International Potato Skin Day is to be held the the Saturday beforehand. This year, International Potato Skin Day is to be observed on Saturday, February 8.”

Right now, I’m considering my options. (In our family, the heaviest person chooses the restaurant, and the youngest person pays. And, we begin consuming potato skins in a clockwise fashion, around the table, starting with the father.) So, if you know of a place within 200 miles of Ypsilanti that has kick-ass potato skins, let me know? And, while we’re at it, I’d also be interested to know if you have any special IPSD traditions in your household.

Speaking of traditions, here’s something that I wrote on the subject last year:

“(T)his has been established an open source holiday. So, you can help build on the tradition however you like. Let’s say, for instance, you think that International Potato Skin Day should be tied somehow to Puxatony Phil, and whether or not he sees his shadow. Well, we can do that. For instance, we could say that, if he sees his shadow, you get extra sour cream on ISPD, or, better yet, that you have to drink a beer with every potato skin consumed. So, be creative. Not counting Fat Tuesday, this is our last big, internationally-sanctioned opportunity to consume carbs and calories in massive quantities before spring.”