A little Labor Day randomness

Tropical madness

It would probably sadden me to determine just how many of the 1,975 — this being No. 1,975 — posts which I have published on this site dealt with weather. I counted 10 thus far in 2011 alone. My possible sadness comes from my own consternation over the countless paragraphs I have written over the past three decades, most in newspapers, concerning the weather. Now those stories I have written since I began freelancing six years ago do not count because I was paid by the story rather than a salary.

Quite frankly, I think newspapers — the ones I worked for at least — often publish needless stories about the weather. If it rains after a long drought, okay, it’s more than likely news. If it comes a thunderstorm with no damage or power outages or anything more than a lot of rain and lighting when such a storm is normal, I don’t think so.

The truth is though, that weather interests me, a lot. I may have mentioned here that I wanted to be a TV weatherman (we didn’t call them “meteorologists” back then) when i grew up. I guess I became one in a way, writing news stories about the weather, I just wasn’t on TV.

Weather is also most likely the one facet of life which affects everyone in one way or the other. Do you want to know how to dress for work tomorrow? Are you planning on an outside gathering or a job or perhaps even working at all? You check the weather or if you don’t, you probably go outside and look at the sky! These are just the obvious concerns one has most every day about climatic conditions.

Among the many other reasons for considering the weather:

*Voter turnout in elections

*The price of food

*The price of gasoline

*Local traffic

*Air travel, both locally and nationally

*The stock market

*Recreational economies

*Crime

The list goes on and on. So perhaps my aversion to “meaningless” weather stories was a little wrong-headed. Well, I will concede that is true in some cases but not so true in others. What is meaningless is doing a weather story — like any other — without meaning. Nevertheless, when the boss tells you to do a story or dig that ditch or make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear you usually do it. That is, you do it if you want a pay check.

With that very long explanation, just a brief mention that the Beaumont area did get some rain out of Tropical Storm Lee despite the repeated lines by The Weather Channel people that Texas was not to receive any beneficial rain from the storm which for quite sometime was no more than about 80-to-100 miles off the coast from where I live.

It is true, the majority of Texas received no beneficial rain, if any. Today, huge fires have burned several hundred homes in the Bastrop, Texas, area just to the southeast of Austin and there are other wildfires blazing in the parched state. But we received a little rain here in Southeast Texas, perhaps near 2 inches where I live. Plus the gusty winds and the clouds kept the temperatures down to highs of about 75 degrees. That was worth a weather story alone, considering we have recently experienced 100-degree-plus temperatures.

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College football swirling down the toilet bowl

The supposed departure of Texas A & M from the Big 12 Conference to the SEC has once again set in motion a major shakeup in Division I alliances. Now there is talk of Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State splitting for the Pac-12.

College football has long been about money, some of it legit, some not so legit. Now these threatened departures smack of nothing more than greed. In the case of Texas, Tech and A & M, I can’t help but think that the defection from the Big 12 of these state-run universities with regents appointed by our own Gov. Goodhair may have a major political angle as well. Okay, go ahead and say “duh” or “ya think?” Nevertheless, money and politics, politics and money, we may see the end of Texas and even national Division I football as we know it. Many of these proposed alliances just do not fit. Think about it. You’ll see that I am right. Because I am always right and I never lie. (Apologies to Firesign Theater)

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The reason for the day off

It is Labor Day. This day traditionally marks the end of summer and some great sales by giant retailers. But the holiday itself is about honoring the workers of this nation. The holiday is rooted in the original labor councils of the late 19th century, the forebears of today’s AFL-CIO.

The right wing has made an all-out attack on labor since the Tea Party-led Republicans gained a congressional majority. That is why it is important for organized labor to continue to drive home the contributions the unions have made to the American worker such as those in this reminder by the AFL-CIO:

 “Unions have made life better for all working Americans by helping to pass laws ending child labor, establishing the eight-hour day, protecting workers’ safety and health and helping create Social Security, unemployment insurance and the minimum wage, for example. Unions are continuing the fight today to improve life for all working families in America.”

I have had the honor of membership and serving as vice president in two different union locals which were, respectively, affiliates of the International Association of Firefighters and the American Federation of Government Employees. The contributions and assistance both organizations made to my fellow workers were of great benefit to both non-members and members. I have a number of friends in the trade unions who have made very good livings for themselves and their families both financially and through benefits such as health care and retirement. Like the old Neil Young song: “I’m proud to be a union man.”

Whether you belong to unions or you hate unions, your life has been enriched by organized labor.

With that, I wish you a happy Labor Day.