After Labor Day

Well ... Labor Day is over. The dying throes of summer to most folks. The hoi polloi (used as it is used by most persons extant, not by it's true meaning. More about that later.) will disdain wearing white clothes / straw cowboy hats (Dallas mostly) and will occupy their minds with all things autumnal. Yet, we here in the desert will have summer temps for another month and will probably not don a jacket until Christmas. We had monsoonal clouds yesterday (on Labor Day) and I was greatly surprised when when didn't get rained upon. We (the ever lovely Ms Hilda and myself) spent the better part of the day at American Legion Post 36 with friends. Hilda baked a cake for the 'Pot Luck' there and was proud of herself, she hadn't baked in a while. We also went to Post 7 later in the day and visited with Abram and Georgina Lares (among others). We watched the first half of the Virginia Tech~Boise State football game there. I watched the rest at the house. It started out as a blow-out but turned into a good game. I hope that all of you had a great Labor day weekend and were surrounded by loved ones/friends and joy and laughter. I am now on a search for the "1st Signs of Christmas Retailing". It starts earlier every year. Please send me your first sightings, and I will pass them along (by state). K-Mart/Wal-Mart usually have the artificial trees up and for sale by mid/end of September.

   Oh, about that comment on Hoi Polloi ... most people of my acquaintance over the past many years use the term (incorrectly) as "the higher ups in society" ... "The Gentry" as it were. Actually it is from the Greek for The General Populace or The Masses. O.K., I'm off my podium.

   I have been assisting American Legion Post 7 (Tucson's oldest) with the planning for the Veteran's Day Parade downtown in November. Because of governmental cut-backs (Local/State/Federal/Military) and community apathy  ... we are going to have a rough go. We are going to have to appeal to some other Posts for assistance ... people wise and financial. Logistically it is going to be a nightmare. We have to have police there and we are obliged to pay them $44 per hour per cop plus other costs. Grandstands, blocking off the streets, water, transportation, trophies ... it really adds up.

Notable (by me) Labor Day (9-6) birthdays (this year):
The Marquis de Lafayette, French hero of the American Revolutionary War, in 1757
Financier-diplomat Joseph P. Kennedy in 1888 ... father of JFK, RFK and Fat Teddy
Comedienne Jo Anne Worley in 1937 (age 73) ... of Laugh-In fame
Singer-songwriter David Allen Coe in 1939 (age 71) ... weird guy, but a good song-writer and fairly decent singer
Actor Jane Curtin in 1947 (age 63) ... SNL, et al
Comedian Jeff Foxworthy in 1958 ... People think his redneck jokes are funny, I think that they are about people I knew when I was young, or family actually.

Birthdays for (9-7):
England's Queen Elizabeth I in 1533
Actor Peter Lawford in 1923 ... son-in-law of Joe Kennedy (see above)
Rock 'n' roll pioneer Buddy Holly in 1936.

As is the case with all of you, I receive many "FWD"'s in my in-box daily. Some I delete fairly quickly, some I put in Ms Hilda's in-box so that she may see them, and some I save (or portions thereof). I am putting a couple of them (actually three) in right here that I liked recently. Two are cute, one is thought provoking.

(#1)
Iranian Air Defense Site: 'Unknown aircraft you are in Iranian airspace. Identify yourself.'
Aircraft: 'This is a United States aircraft. I am in Iraqi airspace.'
Air Defense Site: 'You are in Iranian airspace. If you do not depart our airspace we will launch interceptor aircraft!'
Aircraft: 'This is a United States Marine Corps FA-18 fighter.  Send 'em up, I'll wait!'
Air Defense Site: ( .... total silence) 

God bless our troops. There is something about a Marine that makes other countries listen to reason.

(#2)  The best photo-shopped pic of the year. To my mind anyway!
                                       Dancing With The Stars 2011 

(#3)  From the Calgary Herald in Canada last week.