Hello Everyone,
We are celebrating our Labor Day weekend here in the States. This nationwide holiday is a tribute to the American worker. There is a dispute over who the founder of Labor Day is, but at this time many believe Peter J. McGuire was first in suggesting the idea. Recent research supports that Matthew Maguire proposed the idea. I know it is important to historians to know who actually started the campaign for Labor Day, but I'm not going to focus on the founder here.
We as Americans have come a very long way, and I believe Labor Day is a celebration of what we have accomplished. Today, we celebrate the American worker.
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Now, I want to talk about a trip I took to the U.S. Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. Specifically, I want to tell you about the return trip.
When we left the U.S. Virgin Islands we had engine problems and had to land in St. Croix (another island in the U.S. Virgin Islands) for repairs. We were told to stay onboard because there was unrest on the island and people were being killed. Right before we were to leave a young woman came rushing on the plane, and she sat beside me. She was crying.
This was back in the late 60's or early 70's when there was a lot of racial tension. The young girl was a teacher, and she'd just gotten out of the hospital after surgery, and she was afraid to go back to her apartment. She was afraid she was next to be killed. She'd seen a friend of hers killed, and she was terrified so she'd left everything behind in order to return to her family in Florida.
We were on an Eastern flight (a small plane not a jet) over the Caribbean and lightening was striking our plane. Everyone was crying and praying. My mother sat across the aisle from me, and I wanted to talk to her but I was listening and trying to calm this young woman down who had just escaped one terror for another. I did manage to hold my mother's hand once and tell her I loved her but the rest of the time I spent reassuring the young teacher that we would be okay.
Rebecca Royce, a friend and author is also blogging today. For a chance to win a copy of her new stories, Screw Superman or Banging Batman go to her blog at you have to answer this question: What did I eat for dinner when I saw La Cage Aux Folles? To find the answer go to http://www.rebeccaroyce.blogspot.com.
On Ms. Royce's site you'll find the question you'll need to win either an ebook or a print copy of Addiction in celebration of the release of my new book, The Deceived on September 10th.
Have a great Labor Day.
See you next week.
Sandy
http://www.skaymarshall.com
http://www.eirelander-publishing.com