The other day I went onto Wikipedia, to see what is written about the reason we celebrate Labor Day:
I found that the celebration of Labor Day originated in Canada about 10 years before we adopted the holiday. Our labor leader at the time visited Canada and found the parades, etc. to be a great way to bring all people together and came back here to the U.S. to have a celebration of our own in New York City. (See drawing below) It wasn't until the aftermath of the deaths of a number of workers at the hands
of the US military and US Marshals during the 1894 Pullman Strike that president Glover Cleveland put reconciliation with Labor as a top political priority. Fearing further conflict, legislation making Labor Day a national holiday was rushed through Congress unanimously and signed into law a mere six days after the end of the strike. The form for the celebration of Labor Day was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday: A street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations," followed by a festival for the workers and their families.Obviously someone came along at some point and decided to stop the Labor Day parades. Then someone else came along and must have said, "Hey, I spend all week with my fellow workers, why would I want to spend Labor Day with them too?" Pretty soon we're left with nothing more than a day off work called Labor Day. An oxymoron. A complete change of events from what congress proclaimed.
Over my lifetime I have found that it can take only one or two brave people to make a change in anything we do in life. (As a side observation: Have you noticed that somehow, it must take a village to make change happen in our government.)
Change
Speaking of change: One company I worked for had a policy where everyone who worked in accounting had to shred the contents of their wastebaskets at the end of each day. What fun (sarcastically said) it was to watch the women rush to wait in line at 5 o'clock, dig through their trash and then shred the contents. I often wondered as I stood in line, how long this insane practice had being going on and eventually determined it probably somehow predated electric shredders.
The reason behind this practice sort of made sense to me in that the company was privately held and did not want any financial records to be seen by strangers; such as janitors etc. I didn't mind so much shredding the paperwork, as there might have been private information on the sheets of paper, but it was ridiculous to shred calculator tapes when no one would ever know what the numbers meant even if they did take the time to read them. I didn't even know and they were my tapes!
This line of thought kept coming up between my friend/co-worker and I, until one day we decided to not shred anything. Boy were we brave; so brave in fact we had to sneak our rebellious behavior so no one would notice what we were 'not' doing.
We spent the next day in mortal fear waiting to see if we'd been caught. Nothing happened. So we got braver still and did it again the next night. Still nothing happened. After a few more days of not shredding and not being caught we were hooked. Pretty soon other women in the office noticed we were no longer standing in line to shred and the 5 o'clock line began to dwindle. I'm sure the supervisors and the miss-never-do-wrong's continued to shred their paperwork and calculator tapes, but they only made it easier on the rest of us to skate by without being noticed.
I wasn't around to see if eventually no one was left shredding the contents of their wastebaskets, as I had moved on to another part of the company. I do know that once the company moved their corporate headquarters, there was no one left shredding.
Stories like mine happen every single day and in every walk of life. There will always be someone who will rebel against policy and things will change forever. And like in my case, no one will ever know it happened and if they do, they seem to keep it to themselves and just follow along like Lemmings.
Shopping
Why did I take off on this tangent about change? Well, I think it's time we all do something to make a change for the better in our lives. Take for example
shopping: Sure, we can all go to the mall and buy something that's way over priced in one of the department stores, or we can shop online at a 
store like Once in a Blue Moon Online Thrift and Consignment Store where prices are always low, no matter what. Shopping with us doesn't mean you have to buy used merchandise either. We have plenty of items that are new, not expensive, and are certainly gift worthy.In the end, the recipient of your gift is happy and you're NOT broke! (Pictured is a beaded sling purse on the right and a wooden angel on the left. Both items are NEW and reasonably priced.) Hmmmm....this shopping message isn't quite as subliminal as I planned.
Crafts
Maybe you're into crafts and therefore making Christmas gifts is something that will make you feel good and the recipient of the gift will love. A while back I came across instructions for adding beads to candles and thought what an elegant gift idea and I'm going to share:
Homemade Beaded Candles
Today, candles are a must in any home’s decor. Not only do they add a lovely and colorful touch to the room’s surrounding, they introduce an inviting aroma to the whole house.
At home decor stores you could spend anywhere from $5 to $25 or more on beautiful and unique candles. If you hate to spend that kind of money, but long to have elegant candles in your home, here’s a quick and easy solution. Decorate your own candles for pennies on the dollar! This crafting project will allow all the creative leeway you want and it is a perfect idea for gifts as well! In only a few easy steps you will be enjoying the glitter and gleam of your own homemade designer candles.
What will I need?
Small crafting pins ( I used small sequin pins)
Beads
Plain, inexpensive candles
How do I do it?
To get started you will want to choose the candle you will be working with. Find a plain candle in any size, shape and color at a local crafting store or discount retailer. There are literally thousands of options to choose from. You could even pick up a few and make a collection of candles. Next choose the beads you want to add to the candle. There is a wide range of beads to choose from and most come in packages of 20 or more. When purchasing your crafting pins be sure to take note of the size of the hole in the beads you choose. You will need to make sure that the head of the pin is large enough to securely place the bead onto the candle. Packages of crafting pins can also be found a your local crafting store and usually come in packages of 100 or more. These pins come in both silver and gold tones, so you can choose which color best compliments the beads and candle you choose.
1) Decide on a pattern that you will be applying to your candle. You can place the beads randomly around the candle or chose a striped (or other) pattern.
2) If you decide to create a pattern on your candle, use the point of one of the crafting pins and map out the pattern by making small pin marks into the wax. Not too deep though, you may decide later to change the pattern.
3) Using a crafting pin place the bead onto the candle by inserting the pin through the hole in the bead. Press firmly until the pin is inserted entirely into the candle. Due to having to insert the pin all the way into the candle you may want to choose the smallest length of pin that will allow you to place the bead onto the candle.
4) Repeat until you have completed your pattern or have placed the desired amount of beads onto the candle. You’re done!
You now have a charming decorative candle for the fraction of the cost! Family and friends will delight in this thoughtful and creative gift.
Additional tips for this creative crafting idea:
Make a matched set of candles. Purchase the same color of candles in differing sizes, or the same size of candles in differing colors.
Display your candle collection on a glass plate (you can purchase these inexpensive candle trays at a local discount retailer or save even more money and look at the price of plain glass dishes. You can usually pick up a good sized glass plate for about a dollar).
Add several different beads to one candle.
Forgo using the beads and use just the crafting pins inserted into the candle as decoration.
If you want to make a really fancy pattern on your candle, use a stencil and map out the pattern.
September 11
I received an email the other day and would like to share the contents of it in the hope we'll stand united on this:
For those who still believe the United States Is the greatest place in the world:
On Friday, September 11th, 2009, an American flag should be displayed outside every home, apartment, office, and store in the United States. Every individual should make it their duty to display an American flag on this eighth anniversary of one of our country's worst tragedies. We do this to honor those who lost their lives on 9/11, their families, friends and loved ones who continue to endure the pain, and those who today are fighting at home and abroad to preserve our cherished freedoms.
In the days, weeks and months following 9/11, our country was bathed in American flags as citizens mourned the incredible losses and stood shoulder-to-shoulder against terrorism. Sadly, those flags have all but disappeared. Our patriotism pulled us through some tough times and it shouldn't take another attack to galvanize us in solidarity. Our American flag is the fabric of our country and together we can prevail over terrorism of all kinds.
Thank you for your participation. God Bless You and God Bless America!
The End
Well, there you have it. This week's blog is now on the books. To think we went from how you can effect change - rather simply, to how you can decorate your own candles - very simply. What a trip!
