alive day
n.— «To the 39-year-old Mayer, Alive Day is April 25, the anniversary of that awful day in 1969 when, as a corporal in the 25th Infantry Division, he stumbled upon a booby trap in Vietnam that set off enemy mortar fire and blew off both his legs.» —“No Small Celebration” by Jack Eisen Washington Post Apr. 27, 1985. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Responding to our discussion about thin places, those spots where the boundary between this world and other realities seems narrow or permeable, a listener in Kirkland, Washington, sent us some eloquent thoughts about her own experiences of that...
The expression to run the traps means “to perform due diligence” or “solicit a wide variety of opinions” or “investigate every angle thoroughly.” This metaphor derives from the literal sense of running the traps, which refers to hunting and fishing...