Labor Day blues...

"For years, the only good thing about Labor Day was watching Jerry Lewis and his telethon. I grew up watching Jerry Lewis, and to still see him as an adult was refreshing."

Back in the day...Don't you just love it when some old guy starts out this way? Well, I am old, and I did. So, I continue. Back many years ago, when I was younger and the kids were small, I detested Labor Day. Had nothing to do with the origins of the day (although, I did not really understand it), it had to do with what it signified to me. And much of what it signified to me, gave me the blues.

For starters, it was the end of the Minnesota State Fair. Always a sad time. The "great Minnesota get together" was over for another year. All those crowds and excitement were gone, and walking down Dan Patch Avenue was once again as quiet and deserted as it is in the middle of January. Plus, school starts the next day in many of the school districts. The house goes from being alive with young voices, to a quiet and eerie stillness. 

But the thing which really gave me the blues on Labor Day was just this - what was coming. Six months of cold, snow and misery is right around the corner. I know, I know - fall comes first, and many love the fall season. So do I, except for one thing. One day the trees are alive with color, and two days later after a stiff wind, they are naked. Halloween, which was once a big, big deal, is now a nothing burger in our neighborhood. Have not had a trick or treater in years.

For years, the only good thing about Labor Day was watching Jerry Lewis and his telethon. I grew up watching Jerry Lewis, and to still see him as an adult was refreshing. Besides all of which, I believed his telethon did some good for MDA. But then Jerry died, and so did much of his Labor Day telethon. So, what is there to watch on Labor Day? Not much. Not even football.

Hard to believe that winter is right around the corner when the temps will once again flirt with 100 degrees today. But tomorrow reality will set in, when a strong cold front slices into the state. Then we will have rain and more seasonal pre-fall temps. It will be a good time to catch up on all the summer stuff I have procrastinated on. 

But - Labor Day next year will be very different. We will be in the countdown to the 2024 election day. Politics, politics all of the time. I will be fine with it. Hope springs eternal that in 2024, our long national nightmare will come to an end.