Hi there, welcome to the Sunday Tea and Coffee Klatsch. Michelewln and I are going to be alternating Sundays for a while, and if I'm not mistaken, this is my week. So, grab your drink of choice, munchies are also on the table over there (careful with that bowl, it's candied ginger), relax and hang out a while. What's on your mind, how's your week been treating you?
This is, of course Labor Day weekend here in the US (we're scared of the May 1 Labor Day everyone else celebrates I guess), so let's take a moment of extra thanks to those who have to work this weekend. Jobs are, of course on many people's mind right now, so feel free to chat about that below. I, for one, am going to share a tangent to the whole jobs thing. Here is a place that, as a kid, I'd often visit this very weekend, Bear Mountain State Park:
Come and join us under the fold...
I grew up in Manhattan, a place my mother absolutely adores, but not in Summertime. We had no car, and our family budget was always tight, so our choices for leaving town were somewhat limited.
That boat was my ticket out. Once or twice a year, mom would pack a picnic lunch and take my sister and I up on the Dayliner to a place of sublime beauty. This park has a lodge, a swimming pool, cabins, a carousel, and even a zoo. None of that stands out in my memory, what stands out is the fun boat ride, the beautiful trees ...
... and the view ...
So where do jobs come in to this? I hadn't realized it at the time, but the reason this park was even available to me was largely due to five years of hard work, at taxpayer expense, of people in Roosevelt's WPA, CCC and CWA programs, work done before my mother was born. It saddens me that our struggling park system during the current financial miasma makes it less accessible to kids today; much of the park closed for the season last week, not even making it to Labor Day Weekend any more.
So, I've got Bear Mountain on my mind today, what's on your mind? How's work (or lack of work, or ill-fitting 'gotta survive' jobs) treating you? This is an open thread, feel free to share whatever. If you're new to Street Prophets, why not introduce yourself, say hi!