Every first Monday in November, the
people of Williamsburg, Louisiana would celebrate Integrity Day and
the coming of the Thin Man. People would dress in costumes and carry
large puppets to walk the streets admitting their mistakes and
shortcomings in exchange for candies and cakes. It was a day when
people could quit their jobs or break up with a boyfriend or
girlfriend with no hard feelings, so long as they were honest about
why, for that was the nature of Integrity Day. It was a chance to be
honest with others, to come clean about being no good for someone,
and to step away before causing any more problems. Originally, the
holiday was celebrated in June, for the story goes that the Thin Man,
a top hatted gentleman tall and twig skinny, would come out of the
woods and whisk away anyone who thought to enter into a marriage or
business arrangement with secrets or ill intentions. As most
marriages happened in June and many business deals centered on the
coming crops, the beginning of summer seemed the logical time to
celebrate Integrity Day. However, as elections became more heated,
the holiday gradually shifted to the day before elections in the
hopes the Thin Man would come and take away any scheming politicians
before they could be elected, or at least force the politicians to
come clean before any ballots were cast. It did virtually nothing, as
politicians would simply make some trivial token confession and then
use their presence on Election Day as evidence that they were
trustworthy and morally upright individuals.
- Originally mailed to M. Hendry of Davenport, Florida
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