So where were you yesterday?

Traffic here in Washington’s never-have-a-good-rush hour was light. As in very light. Commuting, for those of us who routinely violate the thou-shall-not-cuss commandment, a lot, during rush hour found that both the a.m. and p.m. commutes were a relative piece of cake.

The same was probably true in other places — like Huntsville, Ala.; Ogden, Utah; San Antonio; Pine Bluff.; and Marion, Ill. — where Uncle Sam is a major, or the primary, employer. And if you liked Monday, you are probably going to enjoy the rest of this week. In fact, December, if the weather cooperates, should be an easy commuter month. Reason:

It’s use-it-or-lose-it-time. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers with excess annual leave are taking some, part or in some cases, all of the month off. Long-time workers earn up to 26 days of annual leave each year. They are allowed to carry over some, but not all of it, from year to hear. Hence the use-it-or-lose drive goes into high gear in December. For most, the leave-year ends in early January, so they have between now and then to use it or lose it.

Tammy Flanagan, benefits expert with the National Institutes of Transition Planning, and NITP director Bob Leins did their usual Monday For Your Benefit Show here yesterday. I think I detected a tear in Bob’s left eye. Because we all had the same traffic experience. Although all three of us drive in from different directions — and two different states — we all found driving was easy. Almost fun. Why? Tammy hit the nail on the calculator!

In addition to this being use-it-or-lose it month, federal workers have three (not two but three) holidays this year. There is Christmas and New Year’s Day, plus a special Friday-after-Christmas day off courtesy of President Barack Obama.

So 31 days hath December. Less four Saturdays and four Sunday off. Then there is Christmas day (Dec. 25) followed by the bonus day off, Friday, Dec. 26. Then New Year’s Day which, like Christmas this year, is on a Thursday.

Bottom line: Even if some people take everyday off between now and early January, they won’t be able to burn up all the annual leave they’ve stored up.

So is there anybody out there? If so why? Does your job require 24/7 coverage. Are you totally dedicated to your work? What’s your story? Inquiring (and envious) minds want to know.

Meantime, for those of you who are staying home some (or all) of December, we both admire and envy you. Let’s talk: Next year.

NEARLY USELESS FACTOID:

We work hard down here in the Nearly Useless Laboratories to come up with the most Nearly Useless Factoids possible. Sometimes, despite our best efforts, something slips through and a factoid turns out to be not nearly useless as we had hoped.

Case in point, Flint-Style Coney Dogs.

A recent Nearly Useless Factoid addressed the claim of three Michigan restaurants as the originators of the preparation for the Coney Island Hot Dog or “Coney Dog.”

Jenn Barber, who runs a Facebook page promoting Flint-Style Coney Dogs, called me out for omitting Flint, Michigan, in the list of original Coney Island Hot Dog locations. “It’s really important to Flint-style Coney Dog fans that we’re recognized,” Barber wrote in an email.

My intention with the original post was to point out that while many people might assume a Coney Dog would have originated in New York City, its roots are in Michigan. No slight or omission was intended.

By Michael O’Connell

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