I thought today would be a good day to have something fixed on my car. I drove hither and thither, and no-one was open, not even Jiffy Lube. I can't believe Labor Day has such deep meaning to the population in general. Apparently here in the boonies everyone takes Labor Day off.
Labor Day as a holiday doesn't have much going for it. It doesn't appeal to patriotism, it isn't religious, it doesn't have fireworks. All it has is Jerry Lewis and the depressing thought that the summer is over. The swimming pools close and school opens. Whoopee! The stores, which are already decked out for Halloween, now bring out their Christmas decorations.
I know it is unreasonable, but I like stores and gas stations and drugstores to be open all the time. Movies too. That's why I like New York City. No holiday or happening overwhelms it. Christmas, Yom Kippur, Ramadan; the city is bigger than any of them. Something is always open, something is always going on somewhere. It gives one the feeling of unlimited possibility, even if it is only the possibility of refilling a prescription or buying a quart of milk.
The whole metropolitan area, North Jersey, Westchester and Long Island, seem to have caught on too. Years ago, stores closed on holidays. Now I believe they are only closed Christmas and Thanksgiving. It's not that I want to buy anything. I just want to know that I could.
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