Happy Labor Day, Houston County!
By Greg Ritchie
Messenger Reporter
HOUSTON COUNTY – The much-needed rain may limit some of the celebrations during the three-day weekend to mark Labor Day, although there will be no short of sleeping in, cooking, catching up with family and friends and plenty of catching up on errands and “honey-do’s” around the house.
What The Messenger hopes is not lost is the “reason for the season” – the celebration of the oft-forgotten American workers themselves. Never have the working men and women of this country faced such strain, stress and hardships – from rising prices and falling wages to a loss of faith in work itself among some. The American worker deserves a break.
From the early pioneer days, Americans weren’t big on complaining. They knew what they were getting into when they came to a vast and wild continent. Complaining never did much good – everyone was one bad harvest away from starvation. By the Second World War, America shocked the world, out-producing friend and enemy alike – most of the Soviet soldiers rode into battle in American-made vehicles and ate American rations – the British, too.
While every generation faces its tough times, a buck really isn’t what it used to be. Anyone who has bought food can confirm that. The American worker faces the exportation of good jobs and there are few families who can survive in a one-income family, like our parents or grandparents.
Many in Houston County drive far to find decent work or wages – with some asking themselves if it’s even worth it anymore – the rising cost of gas to make that commute leaves their take-home pay at a level where they might be better off finding a lower-paying job closer to home and pocket the gas money.
Many workers feel left out of the concerns of politicians, not a part of whatever growth we hear about at the big companies. As a famous comedian once said, “It’s a big club and you ain’t in it.”
The people have the same spirit they always had and on any given morning in East Texas, the roads fill long before the sun wakes up – truckers and linemen and teachers and workers of all kinds. Each of their cars and trucks filled with their own anxieties and worries – trying to stay one step ahead of the bills creeping ever after them.
They do the jobs many wouldn’t – the jobs which keep a civilization going. A lot of us don’t think about the lights or the water or trash pickup – until something doesn’t work. The blue-collar workers, the waiters and waitresses, the teachers and farmers; they don’t complain much, but scratch the surface and you will find their declining spirit and loss of faith in the system our forefathers worked so hard to build.
Many countries celebrate their labor days in May, but that was a little too communist for our liking and we opt to honor workers in September. And honor them, we should. Let’s say a prayer for those silent heroes, who are out there early, getting the job done. We can be a little more patient with the young waitress, not ever realizing what it took to get her to work that day, maybe borrowing gas money to get there.
Those brave souls on the night shift, the first responders who won’t get the day off, the ones who do the living and dying in this country, paying the taxes and usually not feeling they get the full benefit of their labor or those taxes. These are whom we should not forget to honor and say a prayer for on Labor Day.
From your friends at The Messenger, bless our American workers. Thank you for being the backbone of what makes us great. We appreciate your unsung efforts, even if we don’t always take a minute to say it out loud.
What they do for all of us, with their minds, bodies and souls matters. There has never been a hearse with a U-Haul® – we can’t take it with us and what we do, no matter how unimportant it seems – matters.
Let’s take a moment from the long weekend and cast a thought and prayer for them all.
Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]
