LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. — The approach of Labor Day brings with it many events.

Theoretically, Labor Day was once considered the beginning of a new school year although I never remember waiting until September, either for public education or college classes.

What it does still mark is the so-called end of summer — the last holiday before we look toward the fall and winter season. This year, it marks the last Monday holiday, aside from Columbus Day on Monday, Oct. 8.

Labor Day was once considered the last day to wear white pants, dresses, shoes, and hats although the rumor factory now states that to be incorrect.

What Labor Day does represent is a day off school for all students, teachers and school faculty. It is a day when all state, federal, city and county offices are closed. Joining the closings are libraries, small privately-owned businesses, banks and other financial institutions.

Conducting business on this first Monday of September holiday is quite limited without Internet access or unless your business falls within the merchandising arena which offers Labor Day sales varying from furniture, paint, clothes, food and other products to draw the customers away from home and into the stores.

For those without online banking or other services, the day off can pose great inconvenience. Persons who work during the day or need to conduct business in person must wait a day later to do so with the closings of government and financial institutions.

Though inconvenient for some, Labor Day allows most people a day to relax and enjoy being home. It is a day in which we can sleep past working hours, have a leisurely, relaxed meal with family and friends, and spend quality time either working around the house, or camping or boating for the last three-day weekend of the year.

So, for those who choose not to work and who benefit from my day-to-day earned tax money, please forgive me for indulging on this holiday that is targeted to honor the workforce. Understand when I stretch out on the couch for a mid-day nap or sit up late the night before, just because I can. Soon enough, I will be back in the same routine of smacking the alarm clock in the pre-dawn hours, braving the fog, rain, cold, and heat as I battle the traffic and construction on my route to work each day.

Soon enough we will be back in our workplaces, willing and able to help those who benefit from our tax money, sleep in each morning, and complain about how little the government gives them to live on. The workforce must go back to our jobs and begin saving for Christmas, because we do not qualify for financial assistance or charity programs that provide for the willingly unemployed and unmotivated parents of our society.

So please oblige my laziness on this one day of the year when I can sleep late, relax to my own choosing, and do or not do whatever I please. After all, I’ve earned it.



njohnson@sentinel-echo.com