A presidential celebration, an early spring and God bless leftovers.

In honor of Presidents’ Day I briefly considered a one-day shutdown of the Howdygram but ultimately recognized the stupidity of that decision since it would only serve to confuse the majority of our readers who live in foreign countries such as Latvia, Portugal, Morocco, Australia, India, Denmark and South Dakota. Therefore, allow me to shout “mazel tov” to George and Abe as we celebrate their birthdays here in the United States, a holiday that’s commemorated by withholding mail delivery and closing financial institutions even though you can still withdraw $50 with your ATM card at Wal-Mart.

Later today at Howdygram headquarters I’ll hold my own private party with cake and singing but for the moment these plans are in serious jeopardy because I’m feeling somewhat nauseated. This is most likely the result of: 1) Republicans; 2) a lingering headache; and 3) Einsteins in general. Please note that numbers 1 and 3 are frequently interchangeable.

Hey, nerds ... take a look at our four-day forecast!

The weather here is GORGEOUS and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we need air conditioning by mid-week. This is warmer than usual for February in the Dallas area because our average high temperature right now should be 62°. This is not a complaint. I think 75° and 77° are swell, and I’ll bet you do, too. If you want to come over to enjoy some warm weather please send an email to reserve our guest room. Thank you.

And now it’s time for my Monday night movie recommendations! The following three gems are on TCM tonight for your possible interest. (Times shown are central standard.)

• 7:00 p.m., The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) with Maurice Chevalier, Claudette Colbert and Miriam Hopkins. An adorable and racy Ernst Lubitsch musical. You have to see it to believe it.
• 9:00 p.m., The Third Man (1949) with Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles. Compelling suspense drama set in post-war Austria with an unforgettable sound track. (The sound track is actually my favorite part!)
• 11:00 p.m., Amadeus (1984) with Tom Hulce and F. Murray Abraham. An amazing spectacle that’s worth seeing for the costumes and music alone.

Also, please don’t forget to record “Clinton” on PBS tonight because a person can’t watch everything all at the same time even with a lot of popcorn.

Thanks for stopping by. I’m going to take a hot shower now and heat up leftover soup for dinner. God bless leftovers. Seriously.