Labor Day

On Labor Day the population of our little town, in our little square county easily quadruples. It has become our little tradition to watch the set-up from the vantage point of our front porch. We drink our coffee and watch our little town vibrantly spring to life:

BBQs are lit and smoking. The kiddies line up on their bikes for the parade. Firetrucks and sheriffs squads queue in the street. And floats, with kids anxious to launch candy, are staged in the school parking lot. There is the familiar cadence of the antique tractors' motors, their belching of smoke and then the Veterans kick the whole thing off.

The parade begins at 10:00 and usually ends about a quarter of an hour later, but this year is an election year, so there were a few more floats (dueling candidates for coroner!) and there was a fire call @ 9:55 that our volunteer crew promptly attended to ... and then even made it back (only modestly late) to throw candy and blow sirens.

Later there were jumpy castles in school lawn, and pork chops in the gym. There was music, a classic car show, and in the park our girlies and their cousins (the even blonder Johnson's) enjoyed the Reptile Show.

We registered Bei Bei for the pedal tractor pull, and she claimed third place in her age group, beating out some boys, and pulling the same weighted sled her dad and uncles pulled at local festivities a generation ago.

A Thoughtful Reminder on Labor Day

This aired on NPR this weekend. It's sweet and sobering. And ... worth the read.

http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=129647232