Picture
Brenda Ann Spencer in cuffs.
On 29 January 1979, 16-year-old Brenda Ann Spencer opened fire on children arriving at Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego from her house across the street, killing two men and wounding eight students and a police officer. Principal Burton Wragg was attempting to rescue children in the line of fire when he was shot and killed, and custodian Mike Suchar was slain attempting to aid Wragg. Spencer used a rifle her father had given her as a gift. When she was asked what impelled her into this form of murderous madness, she told a reporter, “I don't like Mondays. This livens up the day.”

​At the time, Bob Geldof and Johnnie Fingers from Ireland's Boomtown Rats were in the US doing a radio interview. The telex machine relayed news of the shooting… 16-year old Brenda had wanted a radio for Christmas, but her father had given her a gun… The song was only going to be a b-side, but the band was persuaded to release it as a single. It was a huge hit around the world and went to no. 1 in over 30 countries. The one exception being the US who banned the song.  
PictureThe Boomtown Rats
When the alarm went off at 4:45am this Monday morning the last thing in the word I wanted to do was drag my ass out of bed and go to work. Don't get me wrong, I didn't want to shoot anybody because I felt that way — but probably only because I had a catchy song to whistle instead. Where had my long week-end gone? Why did the week ahead already appear never-ending? Was it just cosmic coincidence that the chorus that popped into my head was inspired 27 years ago (plus one day)?  I don't know about cosmic relevance, but I do know that if ever a day of the week deserved an anthem like this one, it's definitely Monday. Today's Happy Medium Song of the Day is “I Don't Like Mondays” by The Boomtown Rats off their album The Fine Art Of Surfacing.