Today is Labor Day and no one really knows who invented it. As the legend goes, young carpenter Peter McGuire stood before the New York Central Labor Union in May 1882 proclaiming his plan to honor all workers with a parade through the city. But another union worker, the similarly named machinist Matthew Maguire, is also credited with proposing a day off for laborers. A New Jersey newspaper published an opinion article touting Maguire as the Father of Labor Day, but only after the day became a national holiday in 1894. In 1884, the American Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions declared that by May 1, 1886, all employers institute an eight-hour workday. When that proclamation failed to come to fruition, workers moved to strike, sparking the brutal Haymarket Riot in Chicago. Years later in 1894, fearing the tainted history of that date would continually lead to radical movements commemorating the riots, President Grover Cleveland decided to follow the lead of several states and make the first Monday in September the official holiday for laborers.
30 WAYS TO STAY MARRIED FOR 30 YEARS _ The full list can be found here.
• Mind your manners. Say please and thank you and excuse me.
• Assume the best. Chances are he/she meant to do the right thing even if they messed it up.
• Take turns with the Netflix queue. And restaurant choices. And the TV remote.
• Go out for breakfast. Even if it’s just for a $1 donut. It’s important to carve out time to talk together.
• Be a team. Keep your fights in the locker room.
• Cultivate separate hobbies. Be interested in things you can talk about other than the kids and the house and your parents.
• Put your phone down and make eye contact.
• Be on time. It conveys respect and honor.
SIGNS FOOTBALL SEASON HAS RETURNED
• Sales are way up on heavy-duty wide-screen TVs that resist thrown beer cans.
• Preachers are using football analogies like, “What Would Jesus Do on Third and Long?”
• Your fantasy football group chat has sent 847 messages since 6 AM, and 846 of them are people defending why they drafted a kicker in the third round.
• Dad suddenly becomes a meteorologist, obsessively checking if there’s a 12% chance of rain three states away that might affect “his team.”
• The grocery store wings section looks like a tornado hit it, and there’s a waiting list to buy ranch dressing.
• Men are suddenly experts on hamstring injuries and can diagnose a torn ACL from their La-Z-Boy better than team doctors.
• Amazon’s “Customers Also Bought” suggestion section now suggests nacho cheese.
