May Day

"May Day"... What does it mean to you?

 For me, it's got a few meanings. The first time I ever heard anything about "May Day" was back in the late '70's', I was in the 7th grade at Jay Watson Bailey Jr HS, in Kingston, NY. My fellow classmates were talking about skipping school...something about not having to work that day. I chickened out of skipping class that day, I chose not to go with the flow, nor did I hang out with the cool kids who went to Forsyth (For-side) Park to smoke Newport's in the woods. (Later in life was a different story, I did eventually become a cool kid! LOL!)

 I think skipping school had something to do with International Workers' Day, also known as Labor Day in many countries, it's a celebration of laborers and the working class people. It became a holiday back in 1889 to commemorate The Haymarket affair (also known as the Haymarket massacre or the Haymarket Riot) in Chicago which actually occurred on May 4, 1886. The Haymarket affair started out a peaceful demonstration in support of achieving an 8 hour work day for the working class people, and also to create awareness of the melee that occurred the day before when one unknown protester tossed a dynamite bomb into the center of the square where the police were standing, the police returned fire with fire, gun shots rang out into the crowd of bystanders, in total, 7 police officers and 4 bystanders were killed and there was over 100 arrests,and more than 70 injuries. A sad day indeed and should be remembered for what it stood for. The idea of working hard but also taking the time to enjoy family and friends in your free time. Somehow I think my peers back in the day had a different way of thinking. 


Then there's "Mayday"; spelled a little different, one word, not two. It's an emergency distress signal when spoken three times into a marine or airplane radio. It derives from the French word, 'vendez m'aider', which means to 'come help me.' I think I've murmured 'Mayday' a few times in my life, usually around 3 AM after a night of toooo much fun. That is to say, I hope that I never need to say it formally. Making a false distress call in the US is a federal crime that can carry up to a six year imprisonment and or/ a fine of up to $250,000, so... saying 'Mayday' three X's in a row, is no joke! 


Then there's May 1st,2014; Today... It's a day to celebrate Springtime, the rain has stopped, and once again the sky has turned from grey to blue, the clouds are puffy and the grass is turning a bright colored green, the song birds are back at the feeder's, the flowers are beginning to bloom and the leaves are but little buds on the trees. Spring is in the air folks, enjoy the warm gentle breeze, bring on the outside BBQ's, be ready for cold beer and swimming pools, it's time to make way for my favorite time of the year, Summertime. Soon enough it will be 90 degrees and we will all be complaining it's too damned hot. This past Winter was a killer, it was long, hard and cold. It's time to enjoy the nice weather. So if you have to work today, try to make it only for 8 hours, and if you can skip, do so, and escape to the park, but just say no to smoking a Newport, cigarettes can kill ya. Whatever you choose to do, go do it and make it a great day. Remember, what you don't do today, you'll regret tomorrow... Live each day, Love each day, because today is a gift and tomorrow is a mystery.