Taking a Labor Day Break

As I think about Labor Day, I reflect what it stood for in my time pages of life. I can remember thinking about how sad I was when summer vacation was over and it was time to return to school the Monday after Labor Day.

It was exciting to get the new spelling book in elementary school, it was clean there were no mistakes, but how I wished to be just playing outside with my friends.

By the time I was in high school, all I was really interested in were my friends including that special boy when I was in the 11th grade. The Sadie Hawkins Dance was a girl ask boy occasion. My mother could sew and wearing matching fabric outfits was all about making the right impression in our clothes. I think she made me a dress; what was I thinking, of course she made me a dress, back in those days, girls didn’t wear jeans to school! She made “Eddie” a shirt.

Yes, it seems like only yesterday, when in reality it was ions ago!

This year, in my city of Los Angeles, school started on August 18th. Doesn’t that seem like a crying shame for kids that are still playing in their baseball tournaments and wanting to meet up with family and friends for the long standing August vacation at the lake?

I understand the logic behind these early starts because of my many years in PTA. It’s particularly important for school to start in August for high school juniors and seniors that are taking a rigorous curriculum.

Here is why, those standard Advance Placement tests are traditionally given in the beginning of May. Many students on the east coast have had an advantage of starting their school year in August, giving them the opportunity to receive the entire materials necessary prior to those major tests. In today’s competitive college market, this would be a missed chance for learning all the material.

I no longer have the school issues, no, I have much more pressing issues…do I really need to put my white jeans away? Its 80 degrees outside!

Labor Day is also a time to appreciate all the public workers. What would we do without our mail carriers? Thank you to the sanitation department that collects all our discards in the specially marked bins for recycling, grass clippings (assuming you still have grass, a very controversial subject in California) and the everyday trash.

Everyone doesn’t just sit back and relax on this day, we rely on the servers at our favorite restaurants along with the back of the house that cooks and washes the dishes. Thanks for coming in so the rest of us can have a nice meal.

For me, I guess you could say I’ve joined the ranks of the working folks! My weekly radio show is going to be a rebroadcast. This is only the second Monday I have had off in 22 weeks. No wonder this feels a little weird!

Thanks to modern technology, I will be rebroadcasting a favorite show of mine because the guest is a favorite friend of mine. Like so many people I came to know in the 10 years I worked at the Westchester YMCA, some just stood out in a special way.

John Mese is just that man. He’s been a faithful supporter and sounding board in times when I needed someone that understands what entertaining means. I’ll never forget his words of instruction and caring when I was going on and on about a show I felt needed more than I gave it. His advice…”Get out of your head.”The following show went off without a hitch and made me a better host because of his support.