And then I wrote...

by Dick Schilling, Editor Emeritus

... that this is being written on Labor Day, a day which has never meant much to me. It was a rare Labor Day that I did not have to work at least a couple hours at the newspaper, to meet deadlines, and that was particularly true when we put out two issues a week.
Since retirement, it has meant even less, since every day is pretty much like every other day.
But I did notice this morning when I got up, shortly before 6:30 a.m., that the upstairs hall and stairway were dark enough that I felt the need to turn on a light. The fact that it was a cloudy morning had something to do with that, but when I went to get the morning papers and put up the flag about half an hour later, the solenoid controlled street light on the corner just turned off.
So the days are getting shorter.
Sunday morning, when I got up about the same time, and went to draw the drapes on the east window, I saw a huge, red sun rising on the horizon. Red sky in the morning sailors take warning?
When I was a lad, squirrel hunting was a passion. The season is now open. It used to open September 15 every year. No matter how much I pestered, my Dad would not go out that early. The squirrels will still have fleas since there has not been a killing frost, and the mosquitoes and rattlesnakes would still be active, he would say.
I believe the older one gets, the more little things annoy us.
Case in point.
There’s a television station which apparently requires all out-of-the-newsroom reporters to conclude their bits by saying “we’ve got you covered.” I have the urge each time to say you mean you “have” us covered. “We’ve” is a contraction of “we have” so the “got” is superfluous. “Got” sticks its nose into too many places.
Someone suggested I call the station and make the suggestion, but I would not expect a thanks.
I once thought I had a joke that was perfect for Reader’s Digest, so sent it in and waited for my acceptance and check. Neither of which came, nor was my missive acknowledged.
The joke?
It went something like: There was this teacher who started in one-room schools and who every morning said “good morning, boys and girls.” She retired after almost 40 years. She and her husband moved to a home overlooking the Mississippi. Friends said she must find it very different. She said not really. She said she still gets up early, walks out on the landing overlooking the river, and says “good morning buoys and gulls!”
Tell me that’s not worthy of Reader’s Digest!