Today, schools, banks and other federal agencies were closed. When I was in grade school our bulletin boards displayed a profile of Christopher Columbus and the stenciled letters,  In 1492, Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue. Silhouettes of his three sailing ships, The Nina, the Pina and the Santa Maria were artfully stapled in three corners.  I later learned that Leif Erickson discovered America centuries before Columbus arrived though I never did learn the name of Leif's ships. 

Merriam-Webster de...