February 29th comes about but once every 4 years. Something this rare should be celebrated. It should be a holiday. But what would you do on a Leap Day?
Leap, of course.
One thing I don’t recommend is that you visit a Lovers’ Leap, unless you simply want to take in the view. They are usually remote precipices that come with tragic stories. Often, they involve lovers who cannot be together for various reasons, and therefore hold hands and jump to their deaths. Just as often the story goes that some hapless female will jump off a cliff rather than be forced to wed someone she does not love.
For some reason, these tragic figures tend to be Native Americans. Perhaps that’s because they are far enough out in history to be unknown, and often their culture had no written historical records that one could consult for confirmation. I’ve never understood why people like to romanticize suicide, but it seems to be rather common.
Wikipedia has 45 such places listed throughout the world, which makes me believe, or at least hope, that most of these stories are fictitious. No doubt there are more locations out there. People do love their legends.
These places hardly seem practical. As much as I love my husband, I’m not going to jump off a precipice for him. (Sorry, dear.) But the fact that he wouldn’t want me to is part of his charm, in my opinion.
So, yeah, a lovers’ leap wouldn’t be my first choice for a leap day celebration. Perhaps, instead, you should take a leap of faith. Take a risk. Do something you wouldn’t normally do. Carpe diem! But be sensible about it. Don’t jump off a cliff thinking, “Yeah, maybe I’ll turn into a great story.” That would not be cause for celebration even if you did. Ouch.
Another option would be to jump to a conclusion. On the whole, we all seem to be getting better at that. We get sucked in to conspiracies or fake news, or we assume that someone who doesn’t vote the way we do is just naturally evil across the board. That’s irrational, and something we all need to work on.
Perhaps this should be a day when we reach out to someone we don’t normally agree with. Leap into a new friendship. That could be good, if it caught on.
Whatever you choose to do on this special occasion, Happy Leap Day, dear reader!
An attitude of gratitude is what you need to get along. Read my book! http://amzn.to/2mlPVh5
The View from a Drawbridge 
My favorite “lover’s leap” is the one in the downtown library. 10th floor, hang a left out of the elevator. I hope no one ever actually does–that’d make a mess, and probably ruin some books as well.
As for legends…Mark Twain, in “Life on the Mississippi”, tells of a maiden who, forbidden by her parents to marry so and so, pushed *them* off the cliff. That is the exact moment I knew I was a Twain fan.
I love Twain! And I know the leap of which you speak. I go there sometimes, to challenge my fear of heights. I love everything about the Seattle Public Library.
I love libraries, period. Now that I live outside the county, the Seattle one might be too expensive to check out from, but I mean to revisit it.
It’s one of the best ones I’ve ever seen.
Why people romanticize suicide… blame Shakespeare, Friar Laurence and hormones that make lovers crazy irrational. These lovers leapt to fatal conclusions. Although Romeo likened it to sinking… “Under loves heavy burden do I sink.” But one doth wonder why thou hast focused 1st on such morbid aspects of leaping. Thank goodness Leap Day doth come but once every 4 years. Me thinks fear of heights troubles thee mightily dear lady. 🙂
Forsooth.