It’s September 6th, 2021 and it’s Labor Day, our annual celebration of the social and economic achievements of American workers. When I entered the civilian workforce in 1971 a man with a high school education could go to work in an auto factory, join a union, buy a house, own two cars and send his children to college. Those were the golden years for the working class. That economic model no longer exists. As usual, there are other celebratory events on this day. It’s Barbie Doll Day, Fight Procrastination Day, Read A Book Day, Great Egg Toss Day and National Coffee Ice Cream Day. Coffee Ice Cream sounds good to me. On this day in 1622 a Spanish silver fleet disappeared off the Florida Keys and 1,000s die. In 1716 on this day, the 1st lighthouse in America was built in Boston. A hurricane hit Martinique on this day in 1776 and sunk 100 French and Dutch ships and 600 people died. On this day in 1916 the 1st true supermarket, the “Piggly Wiggly” was opened by Clarence Saunders in Memphis, Tennessee. On this day in 1950 the British science fiction author and philosopher Olaf Stapleton died. A few of his quotes are listed but only one stuck me as both simple and insightful: “A nation is just a society for hating foreigners.” Certainly some truth to that. We are tribal. Enough deep thinking for today. I wish we had a Piggly Wiggly nearby. I just like the name. Abide.
