Why do we celebrate Labor Day?
by Paul (1 Comments) 
So Abigail posed this question to me yesterday, and I quite honestly had no answer. All I could assume was that was to celebrate our "labor", or work, giving us (American's) a break and time to honor something simple, without any political, religious or historical source. So, I looked it up:
"Labor Day differs in every essential way from the other holidays of the year in any country," said Samuel Gompers, founder and longtime president of the American Federation of Labor. "All other holidays are in a more or less degree connected with conflicts and battles of man's prowess over man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved by one nation over another. Labor Day...is devoted to no man, living or dead, to no sect, race, or nation."
Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.
Source via
The first official observation of Labor Day was September 6, 1882 in New York City by the Central Labor Union; and soon other labor organizations around the country were observing the day (for its workers) as well. Legislation was introduced to make the ay an official holiday in 1887 and by June of 1894 Congress passed the bill making Labor Day a legal holiday -- celebrated the first September of every year.
Now I know (and you probably already did ...)
Something about Canadian Geese
by Paul (0 Comments)
On my daily commute to school with Abigail we run across an area that is habitat to several Canadian geese. On more than one occasion we'll see the geese making a slow, waddling trek across the street to the grass on the other side. Around this time of year, often the crossing involves their newly born chicks; complicating the crossing dilemma. Needless to say, the traffic gets backed up. Regardless of the time of year, or baby situation, it seems these geese, in this area, cross the street -- and don't fly. So, Abby asked today "Why don't they just fly across the street Daddy?". And well, I have no answer for that. Until now.
Canadian Geese are among a rare group of animals (about 10%) that mate for life (like wolves, penguins, beavers or vultures). The parade ritual of leading a family, bookended by mother and father. Though the Canada Goose is a migratory bird, a growing number of them have been found to stay put -- mainly in golf courses or urban parks -- turning them into a "pest" (to stupid people). The crossing, and not flying, makes sense, when the gosling's are involved, but why -- this morning -- did we see a single goose cross an insanely busy intersection and not simply fly across? So far, I can't find the answer -- other than laziness. If anyone has a better answer, I'd LOVE to hear it.
Something about Hurricanes
by Paul (1 Comments)
The other day while driving Abigail to school we overheard the news on the radio mention the recent tornados in Kansas. Abigail asked a very astute and difficult question. The conversation went something like this:
Abigail: "Why don't they name tornados like they do hurricanes?"
Me: "Hmmm; my guess is because there are so many tornados in any given year that it would be really hard to name them all -- plus they usually just call them by the area's they hit; like Topeka, Hayes; hurricanes are huge and hit several states at a time"
Abigail: "What was the first hurricane name?"
Me: "I don't know -- let me look that up ..."
So, here we are. I've looked it up and am to depart what I've learned. The first people to name hurricanes were the Europeans who lived in the West Indies; naming them after particular saint whose day it was (for instance, there are 14 saints for May 10). Clement Lindley Wragge, a meteorologist from late 1800s, introduced the practice of naming hurricanes -- he named them anything his little heart desired. It wasn't until the 1950s that a formal system of naming came into place -- alphabetical (Greek alphabet, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, etc) with female names (common English language practice of referring to named inanimate objects such as boats, trains, etc., using the female pronoun "she," names used were exclusively feminine) and different set of names for regions (North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, etc). The first official name, distributed by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), was Hurricane Alice. In 1979 they began switching alternate masculine names with female names (after complaints of sexism). Significant and large hurricanes (ones that do major damage or cause many causalities, such as Katrina) have their names are retired. Which name is due up next? Andrea.
