It marks the symbolic end of summer and beckons the children back to school. It means a welcome day off for some, while it provides others with a chance for big pay day. It’s the first Monday in the month of September. It’s Labor Day.

This Labor Day marks the quadrennial “official” start of the Presidential election campaign. While many are tired of all the hot air and are hoping that the politicians will “knock it off”, the reality is that they are just getting ready to “kick it off.”

It’s ironic that on this Labor Day both Bush and Clinton are talking about creating jobs. Politicians creating jobs, I guess that’s a sign of the times. We have white chocolate, non-fat ice cream, passive exercise, non-alcoholic beer, plastic wood, and video magazines. Why not a President whose major focus is creating jobs?

Let’s rewrite the Constitution. Out with establishing justice, insuring domestic tranquility, and providing for the common defense. In with jobs, jobs, and more jobs!

I always thought it was the small businesses of this country that were hiring people and creating jobs. With all these claims about how many jobs the politicians are creating, it almost makes higher taxes sound like a good idea.

It’s ironic on this day that is set aside to honor working men and women that the self employed and small business owners don’t get their due credit. While the politicians talk about creating jobs and the union leaders talk about hard work, it’s the self employed and the small business owners that just keep getting the job done against what seems formidable odds.

Today, the most rapidly growing segment of “labor”, the self employed, willfully toil under conditions that might have been prohibited in another time. Their complaints are on issues such as health insurance, taxation, and regulations that make it difficult for small business to have access to capital. Who is addressing these issues that impact the ever growing number of self employed “laborers” on this Labor Day weekend?

Higher wages and improved working conditions can only come from improved productivity, increased capital investment, and competition. Only by making a bigger pie is there more to share. It is the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit of the independent business owner that has made that pie grow. It is a result of our free and competitive economy and the efforts of small business that we celebrate the ever improving circumstances of working Americans.

“This election is about jobs.” As often as it’s repeated on television and in the press, don’t believe it. President’s don’t create jobs, small businesses do.

President’s do things like preserve, protect, and defend the constitution. They serve as Commander-in-Chief, make foreign policy, appoint judges, recommend measures to Congress, and make sure the laws of the land are followed.

It’s more of this plastic wood, non-alcoholic beer, non-fat ice cream nonsense to think President’s create jobs and are responsible for the economy. The economy runs in cycles, always has, always will. All that working men and women, the self employed, and the small business owners of this country need is a level playing field, a few more incentives, and a few less obstacles to get this economy going.

Our system is not perfect. There are inequities. Progress is not made uniformly. But the steady improvement of working conditions during this century are testimony that the system works. Free enterprise has been and will continue to be the engine of progress and the worker’s prime benefactor. Maintaining an entrepreneurial economy is the key to labor progress.

The opportunity to work for ourselves and the competition amongst employers for our services are the freedoms that we should be celebrating today. To allow the autocratic leaders of a few hierarchical organizations that can claim less than one in five workers as members to dominate the “labor” agenda is misleading.

In reality, the working conditions of organized labor are far better than for the self employed, save for one important ingredient, freedom of choice. Freedom of choice is the great intangible that small business owners sacrifice so much for. The real labor issues of this decade are the removal of the barriers that will enable the self employed to have equal access to benefits, capital, and markets.

It marks the symbolic end of summer and beckons the children back to school. It means a welcome day off for some, while it provides others with a chance for big pay day. It’s the first Monday in the month of September. It’s Labor Day.

It provides union leaders and politicians a chance to make rambling speeches on their contributions to improving the wages and working conditions for the rest of us. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this and every other Labor Day, is that the labors of the small business owners that actually provide the jobs that pay the wages go largely unrecognized.

The first Labor Day celebration was held back in 1882. Two New Yorker’s, Matthew Maguire, a machinist, and Peter McGuire, a carpenter, organized a parade in the streets of the city to attract attention to the plight and progress of the labor movement.

With the passage of the National Labor Relations Act in 1935, union membership grew steadily from slightly more than ten percent of the work force to thirty-five percent of the workforce by the late fifties. Since 1960 union membership has steadily declined. Today less than 20% of the workforce belongs to organized labor. Who is speaking for the other 80% on this Labor Day?

Semantics are important. Today, at parades and picnics, in proclamations and press releases, the so called “labor leaders” will be telling us what they have done for us lately. The terms “labor” and “labor leaders” are misused. Hell, I’m labor, you’re labor and the people that will be grabbing all the headlines as “labor” spokesmen represent less than one out of five of us.

Don’t get me wrong, organized labor has played an important role in the industrialization of America. The impact of which has sometimes been good, sometimes not so good. However, there is a big difference between “organized labor” and “labor”. Spokesmen for “organized labor” proclaim themselves to be representatives of the working men and women of America, when in actuality they represent less than 20% of the workforce.

I have managed both unionized and non-unionized facilities, each worked well. The decision to have organized representation is an individual one. Today, fewer and fewer individuals are making that choice in favor of unionization.

There have been many factors that have contributed to the improved conditions and opportunities for working men and women in our country since the turn of the century. It’s private industry that has created the jobs It’s the competition amongst private employers that have increased wages and improved working conditions.

Unions have incorrectly been assumed to have accounted for higher wages. Competition between independent businesses and an increasing demand for a particular skill or resource are the fundamental reasons for higher wages.

When unions do get higher wages for their members than the free market would otherwise supply, there will always be adverse consequences. There will be fewer jobs available at that wage and those higher wages will be paid at the expense of other workers. The primary motivation for employee organization is unresponsive management, not higher wages.

Higher wages and improved working conditions can only come from improved productivity, increased capital investment, and competition. Only by making a bigger pie is there more to share. It is the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit of the independent business owner that has made that pie grow. It is a result of our free and competitive economy and the efforts of small business that we celebrate the ever improving circumstances of working Americans.

Our system is not perfect. There are inequities. Progress is not made uniformly. But the steady improvement of working conditions during this century are testimony that the system works. Free enterprise, not trade unionism, has been and will continue to be the engine of progress and the worker’s prime benefactor.

The opportunity to work for ourselves and the competition amongst employers for our services are the freedoms that we should be celebrating today. To allow the autocratic leaders of a few hierarchical organizations that can claim less than one in five workers as members to dominate this day is wrong.

Labor Day is symbolic of a number of things. The holiday was initiated by the efforts of two trade unionists some ninety years ago. Substantial progress has been made in our standards of living since that time. More progress is yet to come. That progress has come and will continue to come as a result of the risks undertaken and the labor put forth by the men and women who own and operate the businesses that provide the jobs. Many of whom are probably working today.

Even though it’s your business, your labor counts too. Happy Labor Day.

It’s a three-day weekend in Japan now.
Tomorrow is 「勤労感謝の日」 (“Labor Day“) in Japan. (Click here to see my short FAQ about this holiday.)

My daughters heard that the American TV series 「プリズン・ブレイク」 (“Prison Break“) is good.
The first four seasons are currently available for rental on DVD at stores in Japan.

So we rented the first four episodes of season one of this series.
We’re gonna watch it tonight.

I haven’t watched an American TV series in years. We watch normal Japanese TV shows.

Have you seen this American show? Is it good? (Don’t tell me how it ends ).

And then tomorrow, the five of us are gonna go to a nearby park, play catch and have a picnic lunch together.
My kids are teenagers now, so they spend alot of their free-time with their friends…but we try to enjoy time together as a family.

Labor Day by Joyce Maynard should be an interesting read (I’ve only read a few pages thus far).

It was just the two of us, my mother and me, after my father left.  He said I should count the new baby he had with his new wife, Marjorie, as part of my family too, plus Richard, Marjorie’s son, who was six months younger than me though he was good at all the sports I messed up in.  But our family was my mother, Adele, and me, period.  I would have counted the hamster, Joe, before including that baby, Chloe.

Yeah, I know, it’s a little late. The Baileys and the Wells came in town and we had a picnic. Also included is a few shots from the mountain house vacation and Halloween. I didn’t take the time to arrange them in the proper chronologic order. Things to note:

1. Avery (jr) is a slip-and-slide maniac.

2. Ghost costumes are cheap.

3. Watermelon is tasty.

4. No birthday party is complete without an inflatable monkey.

Well as my uterus began to contract I continued to remind myself that I wanted to do this labor and delivery thing with the fewest amount of interventions.  Besides I am a “natural’ woman, who needs drugs to push a baby out through the 10 centimeter opening of the vagina, surely not me.  “Thulani when the contractions get strong, remind me to breath and remind me that I want to do this naturally”. 

“Thulani, I don’t remember why I wanted to do this naturally, do you?”

Well needless to say my drug free strike didn’t last and I decided after laboring for hours that drugs didn’t

So, I have a Twitter account (http://twitter.com/Katiedora) but really only use it to follow celebrities because I’m ridiculous like that.  Although I have a few exceptions, but whatever.

But, my favorite singer OF ALL TIME just got a Twitter.

Billy Gilman/my future husband, that is.

I am so excited.  Not that I even expect him to tweet much, because he’s resisted things like Twitter and Facebook for awhile (though he does have a MySpace – which is the only reason I have one still).  But basically he is this amazing country singer from Rhode Island (so he’s practically my homeboy, since I’m in Massachusetts) and had this huge hit when he was a kid called “One Voice” and it was really inspirational.  He also made an album called “Music Through Heartsongs” based on the poetry by Mattie J.T. Stepanek, and as a result of that, he has worked with the MDA for the past 6 years or so and is a Celebrity Ambassador for them and co-host during the MDA Telethon every Labor Day.  But now his voice has changed and he’s writing his own music and it’s so incredible and I can’t wait till he comes out with his next album.

But anyway, you should follow him here: http://twitter.com/bg524

Also, his MySpace is: http://www.myspace.com/billygilman

And to get the full effect, his fansite: http://billygilmanfans.com/

I am, without a doubt, the absolute worst snooze culprit in the world. During college I would purposefully set my alarm an hour before I needed to officially wake up, so that I could hit the snooze button a half dozen times before having to leave the warmth and comfort of my bed.

I think my logic at the time was that with each 10 minute snooze interval I would become progressively more awake until finally, after 6 of them, I would be close enough to being “up” that it would be easier for me to get out from under the covers.

However, during college I should disclose that I had an abysmal track record when it came to attendance at my early morning classes; therefore I am willing to admit that this multi-snooze system was obviously flawed.

While I could afford to miss an early class or two in college, when I entered the real world I knew that I could no longer afford this attitude toward getting up in the morning. When I started my first job out of college at Western New Mexico University our Head Coach made it clear on the first day the things he would not tolerate, and of course truancy was at the top of his list. Exacerbated by the fact that he was a stickler for so few things, I knew that I could ill afford to be late for any team related events.

After working at Western for about a month we began team strength and conditioning workouts at 6:30am on Mondays and Wednesdays. Initially the excitement and accompanying adrenaline rush that I received from the start of the season was enough to motivate me to get out of bed and be on time for those early mornings.

Unfortunately, this didn’t last and as the long hours at the office began to wear on me it became increasingly difficult to get up at the crack of dawn for workouts. By the time my parents came to visit over Labor Day Weekend, at the end of September, I was in desperate need of help waking up. Sensing the urgency of my situation my parents took me to Walmart in order to make a special purchase.

About a half an hour and $9.99 + tax later was all it took before I owned an old school wind-up alarm clock. This bad boy played no music, and offered no chimes or bells to help gently coax me from my slumber. This baby only had one setting, and that was to ring its brains out when it hit the designated time.

Oh yeah, and one other thing, there was no snooze button.

Therefore, my new game plan for waking up on early mornings was that I would set my regular digital alarm to go off 15 minutes before I needed to get up. By doing this I was already semi-awake when my wind-up alarm went off at the actual time I needed to wake up. This provided me with the opportunity to be at least somewhat conscience before the harsh ringing of my wind-up alarm pierced my sensitive eardrums.

Needless to say that the first time I implemented this system for helping me wake up early it was a smashing success and I have employed it, without fail, ever since.

We all need to make sacrifices sometimes in order to ensure that we are successful and don’t let opportunities fall by the wayside due to our shortcomings. For someone like me who has never been good at waking up, no matter what the occasion, this system provides me with the peace of mind that even though I know it’s going to be painful when my wind-up alarm violently jerks me awake, at least I can fall asleep at night knowing I’ll have the help I need to wake up the next morning.

The numbers in the title of this post is not my prison i.d. no indeed, it is the day that Themba Mbatha decided to enter the world and I must tell you that it was a day full of frills and thrills.  On Wednesday October 21st at around midnight a strange happening occured, could it be that my water is actually breaking or is this strange “happening” the long awaited mucus plug that is suppose to exit my body and shout: “the baby is on its way, make sure you’ve loaded up on sleep and diapers, God knows you’ll need them!”  Well the strange happening continued to happen, and so Idecided to share the news with my mother. Well, she immediately went into prayer mode and shouted, “go wake Thulani up, its time”. Well I am not one to disrespect the elders so I woke up Thulani and told him that my mom said we should go to the hospital, cause the baby is a-coming.  Deep down in our hearts we knew that this was not it, but who wants to argue with your mother and God-forbid your mother in law at 11:00 at night. 

Off we went to Virginia Hospital Center only to be sent back home with our car seat, diaper bag, labor bag, extra pillows, laptop with a special baby soundtrack, and fancy  red slippers in tote (hey, we can’t be underprepared for this, we are only doing this pregnancy thing once, so we gotta get it right).  The special occurance was the mucus plug or maybe it wasn’t according to our nurse.  I was hoping that it was amniotic fluid, but the amazing magic swab used by the nurse stated otherwise.  I would be sure that the strange happening was the real thing next time, so as I left the labor and delivery room, I borrowed the special amniotic fluid detecting swab-false alarms suck!

Well not long after my trip to the hospital, contractions started to kick in.  I thought that I was having a stomach ache of some sort, after all why would I be having contractions, I’m only 9 months pregnant!  Well, these things kept coming and coming and I was getting a tad bit uncomfortable.  When I phoned my doctor she told me to come in when I wake up to come into the office, when I did, I was informed that I had dilated 2-3 centimeters, finally, the games are set to begin… I was given a choice to go home or to the hospital, I decided to go home, I didn’t want to miss Ellen and Oprah and sitting around a hospital connected to a bunch of monitors was not exactly how I wanted to sepnd my last childfree day or moment….. So I labored at home on the couch… I labored on the front porch shooting the breeze with my mom… I labored on Rhode Island Avenue- walking with a purpose, trying to walk this baby right out as quickly and as effieciently as possible.  The contractions came here and there, but they were barable….

Revelation 21

Main point – God will bring our lives back to perfection!

With the coming of Labor Day, the traditional end of summer has come, and with the end of summer has come the end of summer travel to a variety of locations. Some have traveled overseas to visit places that others of us have only read about. Others of us have traveled to new places either close by or far away or returned to places that we have visited before.

Where/what are the best places to visit on vacation? It’s a question that generates a lot of opinion. At the Discovery Channel website, they have a section under the “Travel Channel” that lists “The best of” vacation spots in several different categories.  Now, I am going to give you three choices in three categories and then have you tell me what you think the top choice is in each category, according to those surveyed for the particular list, okay? Here we go!

First, which of these three sites was voted the top “Sacred Spot?” (Overhead 1) Was it the Parthenon of ancient Greece or Stonehenge of ancient England or the Tomb of Christ in Israel? (How many say…)

The top sacred spot, according to the survey, is Stonehenge. Interestingly, and unfortunately, none of the top 10 spots listed have anything to do with the Christian faith. The Parthenon is listed at number 3 and there is one American spot listed in the top ten. It is the Cahokia Mounds located in the St. Louis area.

Next, is the creepiest spot to visit. (Overhead 2) The three choices are: Alcatraz Island, Lizzie Borden’s Bed and Breakfast, or Charles Manson’s jail cell. (How many say…)

The creepiest spot, according to those surveyed, is Lizzie Borden’s B and B. You can actually stay in the home where her parents were brutally murdered. (Now I like some peace and quiet on vacation, but not at some place like that!)

Finally, what is the most expensive shopping avenue in the world? (Overhead 3) Is it Michigan Avenue in Chicago (aka “The Magnificent Mile”)? How about Fifth Avenue in New York? Or is it the Avenue Montaigne and Champs Elysee in Paris? (How many say…?)

It is the Avenue Montaigne and Champs Elysee in Paris. (If you cannot pronounce it, you probably can’t afford it, right? Do you realize that we have been around the world this morning and haven’t even left Kendallville? That’s pretty exciting!)

Now some of you may be asking, “What’s this all about? Why are we talking about faraway places, creepy places, and expensive places?” Because one day there will only be one of two places for us to exist and both will make these locations pale in comparison.

Today we conclude our summer series, Classic Chapters of the Bible with a look at the next to last chapter of the Bible – Revelation 21. (Overhead 4) Our journey began with Genesis 1 and continued through a stop at Exodus 20 and the Ten Commandments. Then we concluded our time in the Old Testament with a look at Psalm 23. Then we turned to the New Testament (Overhead 5) and stopped at John 3, then I Corinthians 13, and then onto Hebrews 11. Each of these chapters are important to us for the reasons listed on the overheads. Our final stop today is a chapter that gives us a brilliant snapshot of what is yet to be!

We began our journey with the first verse of Scripture – “In the beginning God created” and now we come to the end of the Bible and we read these words, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.” It is a return, if you will, to Eden because all of the pain and tragedy and injustice that we read between these two great verses of scripture will be dealt with once and for all by God and then there will be no more tragedy or injustice or pain, it will all go away.

Keeping in mind our travel theme, I offer you this morning the following things to get ready for as we return to Eden. (Overhead 6)

A perfect world

John has just witnessed the final struggle of evil in chapter 20. It is dealt with once and for all. Satan and his forces are sent packing. The final judgment has taken place and we are either enjoying the new heaven and earth or cursing the pit of hell.

We can look forward to a perfect world of love and peace. No more war, no more terrorism, no more broken relationships, no more drugs or alcohol problems and abuse, just a perfect and peaceful world. (Hard to imagine at times, isn’t it?)

This perfect world will be made possible by God’s actions. As the angels said in Acts 1:11, “Jesus has been taken away from you into heaven. And someday, just as you saw him go, he will return!” Our return to Eden is based on the plan of God to one day send Jesus back to earth to finally set the record straight. The breathtaking scene that is described in our passage of the morning comes as a result of God’s action both in the past, the present, and the future. It is a plan that we see unfolding throughout scripture. In fact, we see elements of it in some of the chapters that we have studied this summer.

We see it in the covenantal commandments of Exodus 20 that God gives Moses that require total and absolute commitment to Him above everything else. In the new heaven and new earth, there will be nothing to compete for our loyalty and attention. They will be fully given to God and God alone! Notice verse 3, “Look, the home of God is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.” This has been God’s desire from the very beginning – that face-to-face relationship that one day we will fully enjoy.

This perfect world that we will have the opportunity to enjoy is because God made plans for it. We hear it in the final verse of Psalm 23. “And I will live in the house of the Lord forever.” In I Corinthians 13, Paul eloquently states “Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity.”  And in John 3 Jesus makes clear that God’s plan is that all have the opportunity for eternal life.

Just as God heard the cry of the Israelites and made plans for their deliverance, God knows exactly what we are going through and He already has his plan of final deliverance in place. Jesus knew this before His death and crucifixion when He said in John 14:1-3, “Don’t be troubled. You trust God, now trust in me. There are many rooms in my Father’s home, and I am going to prepare a place for you. If this were not so, I would tell you plainly. When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.”

A perfect humanity

A second thing that is offered in getting ready to return to Eden is a perfect humanity. The Bible contains many interesting stories and personalities that we learn different lessons from throughout our life times. That is one of the wonderful things about scripture.

But, the main point of scripture is this – humankind is messed up because of choices made at the very beginning that deeply affected its relationship with God and one another but God did something about it to make it possible to start turning things around.  And in our main text we see the results of this action – a perfect humanity. Verses 4 and 8 say it well, “He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever… But cowards who turn away from me, and unbelievers, and the corrupt, and murderers, and the immoral, and those who practice witchcraft, and idol worshipers, and all liars-their doom is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur.”

There will be no place for evil. It will not even be a possibility there. Those who have confessed their sins by faith and trust in Jesus Christ will finally be rid of the all the pain and heartache and sorrow they now deal with in this life made possible by sin.

We were made aware of this in our journey this summer as we reflect on segments of the chapters that we studied: We hear it in the “do nots” and promises of a long life in Exodus 20 as well as the pronouncements of blessings for obedience and troubles for disobedience in God’s statements to the Israelites and later, through the prophets.

We hear it in Jesus’ statements to Nicodemus in John 3 about God’s desire to save the world and not condemn it. And we are reminded of it in Hebrews 11 when we are reminded that people of faith “placed their hope in the resurrection of a better life.”

The basic message of our faith is that God is in the people changing business. And that is God’s number one priority – to redeem us and forgive us. This new heaven and new earth will be made up of people who have been changed by the power of God into the people of God that God had planned for from the very start of human existence. It will be a perfect humanity – perfect in its thought life, in its attitudes, in its priorities, and in its relationships. John says it all in verse 27, “Nothing evil will be allowed to enter-no one who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty-but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.”

A perfect existence

Finally, as we return to Eden, we will have a perfect existence. There will be no disagreements, no conflict, and no anxiety. For some, this is hard to believe because this current life has been hard and difficult. And because it has, it is hard to believe in God at all let alone heaven.

Now, John writes of a new heaven and a new earth. What does he mean?

Paul writes in Romans 8, “All creation anticipates the day when it will join God’s children in glorious creation from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.”

Is it possible that the created order will be made right as well? Does it mean that the lion will lie down with the lamb? Does it mean that the tiger and the lion will be tame? We do not have the full story, yet.

But what we do know that there will be a perfect existence possible because of God’s decisions and His nature. God will be at the center of our existence because only God can be at the center of new heaven and the new earth.

Martin Luther, in his famous work, Table Talk, shares this conversation he had with a friend:

“I cannot think what we shall find to do in heaven,” mused Luther. “No change, no work, no eating, no drinking, nothing to do.”

“Yes,’ replied his friend, “Lord, show us the Father, and that it sufficeth us.”

“Why of course,” responded Luther. “That sight will give us quite enough to do!”

Listen to John’s vision:

“No temple could be seen in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. The nations of the earth will walk in its light, and the rulers of the world will come and bring their glory to it. Its gates never close at the end of the day because there is no night. And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city.”

This is Eden! This is heaven! This is a perfect existence because God will be at the center of it and nothing; NOTHING will come between God and His true children. We will exist as we have always have meant to exist.

Country singer Clay Walker has a new single out that asks God a lot of questions about the way life is right now. It is titled, “A Few Questions.”

“How in this world can we put a man on the moon and still have a need for a place like St. Jude’s? And why is one man born in a place where all they know is war and a guy like me has always been free?

And how can two people who’ve built a lovin’ home try for years and never have a child of their own? And somewhere out there tonight there’s a baby no one’s holding tight and in need love, to me that don’t add up.

But, I wasn’t there the day you filled up the ocean, I didn’t get to see you hang the stars in the sky, so I don’t mean to second guess you or criticize, but I don’t understand. These are just a few questions, I have.

And why did my cousin have to die in that crash? A good kid, only 17, I still wonder about that. It seems unfair to me some get the chance to change their dreams and some don’t, What do I know?

But, I wasn’t there the day you filled up the ocean, I didn’t get to see you hang the stars in the sky, so I don’t mean to second guess you or criticize, but I don’t understand, These are just a few questions, I have.

Why do I feel like you hear these prayers of mine, when so many oughta be ahead of me in line? When you look down at me can you see the good through all the bad? These are just a few questions I have.”

Quite a song, isn’t it? It’s a highly requested song and I wonder why that is? Because these are questions that many people ask God these days. They are questions about life and death about suffering and unfairness. They are questions that make the whole idea of heaven sometimes hard to swallow because they ask, and understandably so, “Why don’t you do something God to alleviate the suffering and injustice and difficulty in the here and now?”

There are situations that must be dealt with now. There are some conflicts that can and must be solved now.

But, as many of us know, there are a lot of unresolved issues in life. There is the unconfessed sin. They are relational conflicts that are still not correctly and fully dealt with. And there are situations in which we cannot do anything about because the person is dead or the situation took place long ago and we cannot go back and make it right. Or a terrible thing took place that cannot be undone and we are left with memories and feelings that cannot go away. In other words, there is a lot of “loose ends left hanging.”

What do we do? We do what we can to stay honest with God and ourselves about what has happened. But we can also be sure that one day God will make all things right.

Finally, I ask you, “Are you ready for that day?” Are you ready to face God and His judgment? Are you ready for the new existence free from pain and sorrow and disappointment?

We can be and we can be now. All that it requires is for each one of us to confess our sins and ask God for forgiveness and then make the daily choice to keep living for God. Have you done that?

We don’t live in a perfect world. We don’t live perfect lives. There is a deep desire in our hearts for perfection – to be a peace with our selves and with one another. One day that will be fully satisfied if we make the choice to confess and repent of that which we have done wrong and ask for God’s forgiveness. And when we do, we book our tickets for a return to Eden – a place where one day we will be face to face with God! Amen.

Labor Day The library has two copies of the program for the Labor Day celebration in Lawrence, Mass. September 3, 1901.

The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883. In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a “workingmen’s holiday” on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country. Through the years the nation gave increasing emphasis to Labor Day. The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886. From them developed the movement to secure state legislation. The first state bill was introduced into the New York legislature, but the first to become law was passed by Oregon on February 21, 1887. During the year four more states — Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York — created the Labor Day holiday by legislative enactment. By the end of the decade Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania had followed suit. By 1894, 23 other states had adopted the holiday in honor of workers, and on June 28 of that year, the United States Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday. Lawrence celebrated Labor Day for the first time September 5, 1887. There was little written in the newspaper about the event except to say it was “quiet and orderly.” However there was an advertisement for the “first excursion of the Joint Executive Board of the Knights of Labor to Pine Island (dancing free).” By 1900 the Lawrence Central Labor Union printed an official program detailing events like children’s entertainments, whippet races, a parade, Turn Verein gymnastic and athletic exhibitions, horse racing, a relay race, Cricket games, and a baseball game. In 1985 the Bread and Roses Heritage Committee, Inc. added the Bread and Roses Festival to city celebrations in honor of the workingmen and women who stood up to mill owners in the Lawrence Textile Strike of 1912. The festival is still going strong today (2009).

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A video of my friend’s basketball team. Made by me!

With the advent of the rainy season, what a comfort to think of curling up by the fireplace with a drowsy cat and a good book.  Here are recommendations from the Friends’ October board meeting.  You can click on the links below to get to the SPL site to reserve a copy of these books.

Emperors of the Ice : a True Story of Disaster and Survival in the Antarctic, 1910-13, by Richard Farr. Farr’s debut novel has been named winner of the 2009 Scandiuzzi Children’s Book Award (part of the annual Washington State Books Awards) in the category of Books for Middle Grades and Young Adults (10-18 year old readers), although our board member believes it will appeal to adults as well.  This story of the ill-fated Antarctic journey led by Robert Scott to find the South Pole is told from the viewpoint of Apsley Cherry-Garrard:  “A bad navigator, inexperienced with dogs, blind as a bat, I was not the best man for the job, but I was the man available for the job.”

Pictures at an Exhibition, by Sara Houghteling.  This novel, set in Paris, is about a Jewish family dealing with the Nazis’ looting of French art masterpieces during World War II, including the destruction of the family’s art gallery.  The son returns after the war to try to recover the family’s masterpieces and in the process learns about family secrets and the many losses caused by the war.

The School of Essential Ingredients, by Erica Bauermeister.  Our board member first heard about this book through the Phinney Neighborhood Association blog, and characterizes it as enjoyable escapist fiction, with wonderful descriptions of cooking.  The  characters in the novel all attend a weekly cooking class together, lead by a chef who doesn’t believe in using recipes.  We learn about what has motivated each student to attend, what they each wrestle with, and how their cooking and their lives are transformed by learning to listen to their senses.  Per the PNA blog entry, the author is a PNA member and volunteer instructor in the PNA  education program.

Labor Day, by Joyce Maynard.  According to Carol Haggas’ review in Booklist, “Stranger danger” is a concept unfamiliar to 13-year-old Henry, who befriends an injured man during one of his and his agoraphobic mother’s rare shopping excursions in town—with disastrous results for all. . . . Told from Henry’s point of view, Maynard’s inventive coming-of-age tale indelibly captures the anxiety and confusion inherent in adolescence, while the addition of a menacing element of suspense makes this emotionally fraught journey that much more harrowing.”  City Librarian Susan Hildreth confessed that this was the first book she’s read in a while that made her think “I wonder what Nancy Pearl thinks of this book?”  She checked in with Nancy, who hasn’t finished reading it yet, so stay tuned for Nancy’s verdict . . .  . or read it yourself and let us know what you think!

After his parents get divorced, Henry lives with his mother, Adele.  Adele has become a little odd and rarely leaves the house.  It’s Labor Day weekend, though, and thirteen year old Henry needs some things for school, so he and his mother head out to the local Pricemart.  While they’re there, an injured man in a Pricemart shirt approaches Henry, needing some help.  Adele and Henry end up taking Frank, the injured man, home with them.  It turns out that Frank’s an escaped convict, who was serving time for murdering his wife and child.

Things aren’t always what they seem, though, and the three of them end up spending a wonderful Labor Day weekend together.  One quote from Henry really struck me:

And the thought occurs to me that here is one of the best parts about his showing up.  I am not responsible for making her happy anymore.  That job can be his now.  This leaves me free for other things.  My own life, for instance.

I loved Labor Day by Joyce Maynard!  The story is told from Henry’s point of view and I thought both he and Frank were fantastic characters.  Adele’s a great character too -  my heart just broke for her when I discovered why she’s become so withdrawn.  This book doesn’t just have great character development, though – the storyline kept me absorbed from the very start.    I was totally engrossed in the book because I needed to know what was going to happen next.  Labor Day also gave me a lot to think about – I wondered how many children suffer because they feel responsible for their parents’ happiness.  This book is about the power of love and family.  Most of the action take places over the holiday weekend, but there is an epilogue of sorts that lets the reader know how the lives of the characters turn out.  This is a book you don’t want to miss.

Here’s a video of Joyce Maynard talking about Labor Day:

I received this book from the Amazon Vine Program.  I am an Amazon Associate.

Hi, hello. I guess it’s been a bit since I posted a blog of a series of photos I’ve taken. To be quite honest, I hate to admit that my camera has not been very active in my hands as of late, as I’ve become somewhat busy what with school and all. But I got the chance the other day to take some pictures of my friend Vincent, who is mentioned in the blog below. So now you get to put a face to a name. How wonderful! Sorry they resemble senior portraits… My most despised form of “photography” if you could even call it that in quotes.

Andddd,here are a few randoms from Labor Day at my aunt and uncle’s home. They have such cute children.

Hope that was remotely enjoyable. I feel I’m becoming sort of rusty, so I’ll take any photo opportunities I can get these days. I’m craving them. Perhaps if I were to purchase a new lens I’d suddenly become more motivated…. But who truly wants to spend $500 on inspiration?

Goodbye. x

I have procrastinated long enough on the last 24 hours that Marcos and Wayne were here over Labor Day weekend. I also have to write about it because my weekend in Minnesota has passed, and I want to tell you all about it. First things first of course, the last 24 hours.

After waking up from out drive back from VA Beach, we had no idea what we wanted to do that Monday. It was kinda gray outside and raining a bit (on and off). Wayne had not been on the Metro yet, so we had to knock that out. The question was, where to go on the metro? I looked it up and a part of the yellow line was close that day entire weekend, a piece that we needed to get out of Alexandria. We decided to drive to Dupont, not sure why, and take the metro from there to Union Station.

When we got to Dupont, Mark wanted stop by Lambda Rising, the gay book store. He wanted to show me this bracelet he liked last time he was in town. It was still there: It was nice and manly.

Wayne on the Metro

We then headed off to take the red line to Union Station. I prefer the Metro in DC over the Subway in NYC. They are so much cleaner here.

I had never been to Union Station, so I was being a tourist once again.   The world should be seen through eyes of a tourist: everything is new and interesting! Anyways, we walked around there for about an hour or so and we also had some lunch. We skipped breakfast and went straight for lunch. There aren’t that many wonderful, appealing places to eat down there.

We went outside to have a look and so that Wayne and Mark could grab a smoke. As we were all standing around, this man comes up to us and starts talking to us. I didn’t know he was homeless until he started saying that he wanted some money for food. He was supposedly a Veteran also, who knows if that was true. After a minute of hearing his story, we give him some change and he gives us a postcard with a thank you written on it. Now, if more homeless people took postcards from the National Postal Museum and wrote thank you on them, people might actually give them some money. I think he also got a smoke from them. Whatever he got, he accomplished his mission.

Mark and the little dude!

We left after walking around more. We went back to get the car in Dupont and it was raining. We didn’t have an umbrella so after we came out of the metro, we stood under a tree until it calmed down a bit and they smoked another cig.   It slowed down, so we walked back to the car and headed home.

What do we have planned for the rest of the evening, you ask? Well, we love Wayne, but it does not include him. Mark and I had a pending date that evening. Yes, it’s gay and dorky, but you can’t have a relationship without ever having a first date. So I set aside some time for just the two of us.

After we got home, we started getting ready for our date. To tell you the truth, I had never in my life had an actual date that I dressed up for, which is sad…I guess. I was happy and excited for it though. It’s something new. I look forward to many dates and dressing up! We got ready and headed to the store to get an ingredient for the night. We went to Georgetown where I treated my darling for a round of gelato, Plum flavored of course (but he tried a new flavor, avocado with plum). We had dinner at Chipotle, which was is always a good choice: We love Chipotle!

Why would you take someone to chipotle you ask? And on a first date? It’s not because he doesn’t deserve to be treated to a fancier place, but because we both would be happy eating out of a soup kitchen bag as long as we were with each other. We also had to have a quick dinner in order to catch our movie: The Time Traveler’s Wife, which was a decent movie. Once we were done eating our tasty chipotle, we went back for some more gelato.

Funny story during the movie: While watching the movie, Mark got relaxed and layed across some chairs. He went to move his leg, which had fallen asleep, and apperantly lost control of the leg and kicked the man in front of us. Well, it’s probably not funny to the man, but it sure is funny to me. LOL!!! I did feel bad for the guy.

After the movie, we went home and I started feeling sad. Because I knew once we went to bed, he would be going to the airport. I would go another month without seeing him. This is the way long distance relationships are; difficult and patience testing! In the morning, I dropped off at the airport and said my adieu!

          We all know the old saying, “You can’t wear white after Labor Day”. This saying mainly applies to white shoes. I am demanding that this law immediately be changed to “No White Shoes before OR after Labor Day!”  I searched and searched for a cute white shoe and I am convinced! It does not exist! Of course, your top designers such as Gucci will always provide a logo inspired collection for the logo obsessed individuals, but what is available for the not so obsessed types?   The late and great Johnny Cochran said it best, “If the shoe is white, you musn’t wear it” or something of that nature.  This petition applies to anything! If you feel the urge to wear that fierce sleeveless blouse you picked up this summer, go ahead and wear it under a cute leather jacket this fall in order to get your money’s worth! Who said two earrings must be worn at all times? I say, accidentally lose an oversized hoop and make a statement in honor of “Pleasure Principle”! Now, sign this petition so we can all go on with our lives!

By Keysha Fennell aka @iamwiddy

Available on T-Shirts, mugs, magnets and more! Click image to see entire line. C. 2009, by Vicki Robison

Mr. Skygack wandered into town on Labor Day to find that the entire town had grown quiet and solemn, with the exception of a parade.  From his official report:

“Entered this day many, many toil places—found condition of heavy silence and gone-away appearances—noticed, too, in public places, thick groups of earth-beings, some of whom marched along thoroughfares to the beat of tom-tom and blare of trumpet—quite likely that a revolution is brewing.”

Who is Mr. Skygack?  Click here for more information!