“UGH.
LABOUR DAY” was my son's lament when the Canadian National
Exhibition (CNE) opened in mid-August in Toronto. This event yearly signified the reminder that Labour Day spelled, not only the closing
day of the CNE ~ but more horribly, the fact that the first day
following Labour Day was the first day of school (whether elementary
or high school)...to him, although a good student, was tremendously
foreboding. Playful summer days were gone...and summer jobs ended.
The
Spectator's Steve Buist, whose views and opinions,
are
both informative and interestingly humourous, I share with you.
Even
the name is depressing! What kind of a holiday has a term for work
built right into the title? Talk about a mixed message! Good
Friday, Easter Thanksgiving, Victoria Day ~ now those sound
appealing. Labour Day? Sheesh. Might as well just make it, Summer's
Over, Get Back to Work Day!
“We know that in September, we will wander through the warm
winds of summer's wreckage.
We will welcome summer's ghost,” stated Henry Rollins.
Truth be told, this is the holiday that should be called New
Year's Day. Of all the seasonal transitions, Labour Day is the one
holiday that seems to mark the sharpest division between the end of
one thing and the start of something new. From a technical
standpoint, Labour Day marks the psychological. beginning of fall for
many of us. You can see it in the trees; here and there,
you'll find a precocious specimen already speckled in yellows and
oranges and reds. It's a bit like finding your first grey hair.
Of course, there's the occasional retailer: we're looking
at you, Costco, that seems to think Labour Day also marks the
beginning of the Yuletide season. Honestly, artificial Christmas
trees on sale? Really?
It's the start of a new school year and the orderly routine
that brings with it.
The
NFL season starts in a few days,
so the Bills can begin preparing for either a Super Bowl loss, or not
making the playoffs at all...which seem to be the only two miserable
outcomes available in Buffalo.
Hamilton's
new junior hockey Bulldogs
play their first-ever exhibition game Saturday night and in a couple
weeks the Toronto Maple Leafs open training camp
as they attempt to keep alive their streak of breaking fans' hearts
for the 49th
straight year.
But the new beginnings somehow seemed overshadowed by bittersweet
endings.
Do we feel a sense of loss? Maybe that's too strong.
But, there is a sense that something has slipped through our
fingers
when Labour Day arrives.
Summers gone, no matter what the thermometer says.
No more carnival barkers will be guessing ages at the CNE for
another year.
No more sticky fingers will be licked at Burlington's Ribfest.
Soon, cottages and pools will be closed up for another year.
You
can see it in the sky.
Summer's pastel sunsets ~ the product of warm, humid evenings, begin
to give way to angrier skies, great clumps of billowy clouds crowding
together and stained charcoal and grey.
Our
clothing begins to change,
not only in colour, but in thickness. The occasional day offers a
reminder of summer's warmth, but it's just as inevitable that in the
next couple weeks, either early morning or late one night when the
car heater will get turned on
for the first time in months.
Economic
Changes: Historically,
September is the month with the poorest performance when it comes to
North American stock markets. It's also the second worst month for
weight gain (average 1 kilo).
Perhaps
there's a 'cause and effect' relationship going on there. Hey, my
stock portfolio keeps shrinking...another Snickers bar should solve
that.
Weather
Changes: Daylight declines
at its fastest rate for the year. Each day this month, we lose
nearly 3 minutes of light. On the first day of the month, sunset in
Hamilton was 7:55 p.m. By September 30, sunset will take place at
7:03 p.m. Yuck!
Medical
Changes: Dr. Janis Anderson
is a psychology professor at Harvard Medical School and an expert in
the study of seasonal affective disorders. She's well aware of the
impact that 'diminishing light' can have on a person's well-being.
By this time of the year, she's already seeing patients in her clinic
who are showing signs of anxiety. “It's not that they have
symptoms of depression, but it's imaging forward to the winter.
They're already starting to freak out. For some people, it becomes
harder to get up in the morning at the same time they were getting up
easily in the summer.”
There is one thing about Labour Day that does not get old,
and that's watching the Argos skulk back down the QEW
with their tails between their legs after another loss to the
Ticats.
“Oskee wee wee”!
Did You Know?
Hamilton
can take some credit for the creation of Labour Day. Workers
in the city were at the forefront of the 'Nine-Hour Movement'...a
drive to get 12-hour work days shortened to 9. The movement spread to
Toronto and led to annual parades during the 1870's and 80's. In
1882, an American labour leader watched one of the labour festivals
in Toronto and organized a Labour Day in New York for Sept. 5.
The
steady reduction in daylight
is the most important trigger for the changing colours of leaves, not
the temperature. As the tree scavenges nutrients by breaking down
the chlorophyll pigments in leaves that make them appear green,
enzymes in the leaves then feed on sugars that have built up over the
summer to create new pigments of different colours. Carotene is the
pigment that produces an orange colour, and browny-orange can come
from a compound called quercetin.
Golf
balls
don't travel as far as the temperature decreases. The transfer of
energy between the club and the ball isn't as efficient and colder
air is more dense, which causes more drag on the ball. For every
drop of 10 C, you can expect to loose about four to five yards of
carry.
The
Weather Network
is forecasting above-average temperatures for southern Ontario
throughout the month of September. Indian
Summer approaches
and Daylight Saving Time ends October 31st.
Indian
Observation
When told the reason for daylight saving time, the Old Indian
said,
“Only the Government would believe
that you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket
and sew it to the bottom...and then have a longer blanket.”
Merle Baird-Kerr...written September 11, 2015
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