Happy Spanish Day

I was commuting last night on the PATH train from NYC to NJ. First, some context. The PATH is just like the subway in NY, or a dirty version of the DC metro. Most of the time I stand to ride, and last night, as usual, it was crowded. People keep to themselves, and by that I mean that they ignore their surroundings almost completely. You would have to walk onto the train with a stick of dynamite, or without pants on, or both, to garner even the slightest bit of attention from anyone. The screaming of obscenities, biblical quotes, or gibberish will not make anyone budge. Not even flinch. Direct conversation will often result in a completely stone silent response and nary a waver from the targeted audience. It's as if everyone is in a bubble. As a result, people often assume you can't hear them, so they say the wildest things, if, for instance, they are on a cell phone conversation. Add to this the fact that most people inexplicably speak at decibel levels north of 140 db when on a celly telly. Well, one gentlemen on the train last night was having such a conversation. Here was his side of the conversation [pardon the language, but it's vital to the fabric of the story]:

"Naw, I didn't talk to him today"

"Naw, I wasn't at work yesterday"

"Naw, today was my first day this week at work cuz"

"Hell naw, I didn't go to work Monday because of Spanish Day"

A few key points:

a) The man was an African-American. His name might have been Mexico, but he was not from there, trust me. To use an SAT-style analogy, "Jim is to Negro as this man was to Hispanic."
b) The protest by undocumented, illegal aliens crossing the border from Mexico is apparently now a national holiday in honor of ... Spain?
c) The term "Spanish Day" was used a few times throughout the conversation, which under some codes of law means it is now officially a holiday of record.
d) Yesterday was Wednesday, so I'm naturally wondering why he didn't go to work Tuesday. Perhaps he slept through Tuesday after a particularly spectacular Spanish Day celebration.
e) I quoted his remark at least seven times at a totally random moments throughout the Wednesday television viewing. And laughed hysterically each time. This is probably the least surprising fact.