Home Page

Opinion

Sunday Night
MaryHelen Swanson, editor

One year ago we were enjoying a healthy economy, although the word recession was creeping into conversations in office corners and behind corporate doors. Still, we moved through the summer with a fair amount of ease, going on vacations, carrying on with our daily chores. We arrived at Labor Day 2001 feeling quite comfortable. We celebrated the end of summer with a visit to the State Fair and a final backyard barbecue. Then we slid into September ready for another busy year of work and school and holidays and events and everyday living.
And then Sept. 11 arrived and the whole world changed.
In the year that followed, the world was hammered with phrases like downsizing, budget crunch, lay offs, corporate scandals, and job loss. It wasnít the prettiest picture for the laborer and it seemed to be getting worse.
Well, here we are again, winding up another summer with a visit to the State Fair and looking forward to one last relaxing holiday - Labor Day 2002. I probably wonít be doing anything special, but lots of people will. Just check out the freeways Friday night, better yet, stay clear of them. But do plan to observe this unique holiday where the working man and working woman is revered as a hero.
Whoís the hero in your world? Is it Dad who goes off to the cities every day in darkness, comes home in darkness and has that frazzled look from maneuvering in metropolitan traffic?
Or Mom who puts in a good eight hours at her out-of-home job, comes home to finish her day in the kitchen and laundry room, gets the kids ready for bed and ends up wearily reading ìThe Cat in the Hat?î Or is your hero the city maintenance worker who climbs into the cherry picker to place American flags on the standards or fix broken lights? Is your hero the paramedic who comes quickly to your home when youíve fallen off your roof?
Or is it the barber who cuts your hair just the way you like it, or the grocery bagger who doesnít put the bread at the bottom of the bag? Is your hero the firefighter who saved your neighborís house, the delivery boy who brings your daily paper or the telephone repair person who keeps you in touch with the world?
Perhaps your hero is the banker who gives you a mortgage on your first home, or the baker who prepares your favorite doughnuts. Perhaps it is the person who operates the cityís wastewater treatment plant, or the lady who grows roses for your sweetheart.
Is he or she the agent who found the perfect home for your family, or the young person who sometimes puts her life on the line as a c-store attendant?
I hope youíre getting the picture - our honored heroes for Labor Day, why theyíre everywhere.
You see them plowing roads clear in dreadful winter storms, endlessly clipping or snipping a plastic part in a factory, or passing hamburgers out the window of the fast food stop. They mop our floors, dry clean our coats, care for our pets, grow our corn and oats, put together our new cars and fight for our rights in the courts. They deliver our babies, teach our children about heroes in the past, and care for our toddlers while we do the laboring.
Whoever you are, whatever you do to improve the lot of this world, on this Labor Day 2002 consider yourself a hero. Pat yourself on the back and take a few hours off to play. You deserve it.

Top of Page

©ECM Post Review

6448 Main Street
North Branch, MN 55056
Telephone: 651-674-7025
Fax: 651-674-7026
E-mail: editor.postreview@ecm-inc.com