My little first grader was off from school today, and when I first heard the news my initial reaction was, “Huh?” I mean, the blizzard was from Friday into Saturday, and the cleanup pretty much took the rest of the weekend, so why was she off from school today? I drove into work this morning, the roads were clear, the wolves were in hiding, so I was shocked, until I remembered the Denzel Washington syndrome.
You know how it goes. There’s this famous Actor, with a capital A for A-list, who is in more movies than you can count. He does an amazing job in each movie, so dynamic and moving when in a drama, so strong in an action film, convincing in every role. Well, this Actor, he is in a game-changing movie where he channels his inner Malcolm X, and he definitely shouldn’t have been hoodwinked, bamboozled, or run amuck, but when it came time for the Academy to vote, his name wasn’t even on the ballot. It was such a travesty that legions of fans decided to boycott the ceremony. Then, when the dust cleared and everyone just assumed this Actor would never get the big prize, until he did… for a film that was negligible at best, a movie about drugs, a movie whose only redeeming quality was the Actor, because he always comes correct.
And there you have it, the Denzel Washington syndrome. It can be applicable to many 
different situations, but that’s the gist of it. It’s when someone realizes they made a huge mistake, so they overcompensate by giving you whatever they should have previously, but when you don’t deserve it. School honestly should have been cancelled on Friday, but the powers that be decided against it. Then, realizing their mistake, they decided to extend the weekend on the other side. Voila. And, of course, none of the people on the school board look a thing like Denzel Washington, but that’s neither here nor there. Of course, my mom also swears we are related to Mr. Washington too. Oh boy.
Next time, I’ll share with you the M.C. Hammer syndrome. It’s a doozy.
Sam
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