Muse of the Week: Long Weekend

Ah, Labor Day weekend. A time to commemorate the struggles of those who worked so hard to ensure that everyday people don't have to work 12- or even 16-hour days, 7 days a week, without safety measures and worker's compensation and all those good things.

(Which raises the questions of a) why we so lovingly adopt devices bringing us squarely back into the realm of the 12- or even 16-hour workday and b) erode our workers' protections to the point where we edge back toward multiple jobs, lower benefits and other vestiges of our past. But that's a topic for another day. I am in the final stages of preparing a co-edited book manuscript for mailing and find myself unable to form coherent thoughts that don't involve copy-editing and final content adjustments. My apologies. The kid starts school next week and it should become far easier to be thoughtful on a regular basis.)

Meanwhile, here's a nice, restful picture of central Oregon's Smith Rock to contemplate on this weekend devoted to remembering our long struggle for rights and for rest: