Nuff sed

More Than Just a Day to BBQ

"Labor Day", a US national holiday since 1894, is actually more than just a benchmark as the end of summer, the last day of wearing white clothes without scorn by snotty fashionistas, or a great excuse for a BBQ.   Check it out here at the History.com site or here at the US Department of Labor site, to name just a couple.  While I'm not a big fan of labor unions today, they certainly did a job at the turn of the century (no, I mean the century before this one) for workers all over the US.  Take a minute to learn something about it, eh?

And have an enjoyable BBQ on your day off, wearing white shoes while enjoying the last day of summer!

AT THE COMPLAINT COUNTER

Just have to share a great post from one of my favorite authors:

        (by Steve Goodier - http://www.lifesupportsystem.com/ )

I understand that an Athens hotel posted a sign that read: "Visitors are expected to complain at the office between the hours of 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. daily." So, visitors and actually expected to complain?

Of course, complaints in themselves are not bad things. I realize that something has to be addressed before it can be fixed, and I believe that there are times when dissatisfaction should be expressed. What's more, I realize that we all have different temperaments. Some people naturally see the glass half full, some see it half empty and some just see that they will probably end up washing it. Some people are naturally more accepting while others complain quickly.

But a tendency to constantly look at what is wrong can become a habit. And habits can take over. I just don't want to become a person who spends a lot of time "standing at the complaint counter."

Like the woman who frequented a small antique shop. She complained constantly about the prices, the quality and even the location.

The shop owners took it in stride, but one day, while ranting about selection, she blasted the clerk with: "Why is it I never manage to get what I ask for in your shop?"

The clerk smiled and replied, "Possibly because we're too polite."

I find that if I fill my mind with the little irritants of life, I have no room, or energy, left for anything that nurtures and feeds my spirit. No room for genuine appreciation. No room for understanding. No room for enjoyment. No room for fond memories. No room for storing a list of things that bring pleasure.

I actually believe there is much to feel good about. Humorist Bob Orben rightly said, "The next time you feel like complaining, remember that your garbage disposal probably eats better than thirty percent of the people in this world." I want to leave room in my mind for a long gratitude list that I can readily recall when I need a boost. I want to notice what's good and right about the world. And I want to fill my heart and head with that which brings some joy so that I may go to bed each evening contented.

Attitudes are habits. Like television producer Barbara Gordon says, "While others may argue about whether the world ends with a bang or a whimper, I just want to make sure mine doesn't end with a whine." I can't put it any better than that.

-- Steve Goodier
http://www.lifesupportsystem.com/

Happy Birthday, America!!!

The Unanimous Declaration of the 

Thirteen United States of America

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed

Take THAT, social networking!

Like my "front lawn"......but at least it's finally gotten mowed!

Decoration Day

Hey, I've got an idea!   Stop by a war memorial, a veteran's park, the VA Hospital, your local cemetery.  Plant a flag.  Buy a veteran lunch.  Take some time this weekend to think of your grandfather, your brother, your father, your uncle, your neighbor, and the various women, along with men, who sacrificed to protect our freedom. 

If you can read this dribble of mine on the internet, thank a veteran.

Fort Rosecrans, 2008

Memorial Day is a federal holiday observed annually in the United States on the last Monday of May. 

Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War  to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War. (Southern ladies organizations and southern schoolchildren had decorated Confederate graves in Richmond and other cities during the Civil War, but each region had its own date. Most dates were in May.) By the 20th century Memorial Day had been extended to honor all Americans who have died in all wars. Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces  (from Wikipedia).