Labor Day Weekend Mishmash

Alex of the Bald Tummy

I have not seen Alex licking his tummy since our return from the visit to his veterinarian on Thursday. More importantly, to my knowledge, he has not coughed up a hairball either; that’s good because he coughed up several as he was denuding his tummy of fur.

He has taken his medicine quite well, too, only spitting out two pills and none of the liquid.

He has also been napping lots. Even more than usual. I suspect that’s a side effect of the antihistamine. At the moment he is napping on my desk beside the computer and beneath the high intensity lamp, flicking me with his tail—Alex’s favorite napping spot:

Herr Gustav

The past day or so my thoughts have been more on Hurricane Gustav than on the Labor Day holiday. In my life I have only known one human named Gustav and he was as quiet and gentle a man as every existed.

Not so, I hear, of Hurricane Gustav. About half an hour ago, CNN reported:

A hurricane watch was issued Saturday afternoon for southeastern Texas to the Alabama-Florida border as Hurricane Gustav's sustained winds reached 150 mph on its expected path to the U.S. Gulf Coast.

My thoughts are on the sentient beings—animals and birds as well a human—who may be in the path of this killer storm. Pictures flash into my mind from the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. And so I have been praying—I have been praying a lot.

Labor Day Thoughts

I have in the past posted about what is to me the real meaning of Labor Day: the celebration of the working men and women of this nation and their struggle for workers’ rights and justice. I believe the best of my Labor day posts was the one of September 4^th, 2006, and so I linked to it.

This Labor Day of 2008 I simply want to celebrate with songs that probably won’t be sung much this weekend but were at one time very important in the labor movement:

1913 Massacre written and sung by Woody Guthrie


Which Side Are You On sung by Pete Seeger


Joe Hill sung by Joan Baez

I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night,
Alive as you or me
Says I, "But Joe, you're ten years dead,"
"I never died," says he
"I never died," says he

"In Salt Lake, Joe," says I to him,
Him standing by my bed,
"They framed you on a murder charge,"
Says Joe, "But I ain't dead,"
Says Joe, "But I ain't dead."

"The copper bosses killed you, Joe,
They shot you, Joe," says I.
"Takes more than guns to kill a man,"
Says Joe, "I didn't die,"
Says Joe, "I didn't die."

And standing there as big as life
And smiling with his eyes
Joe says, "What they forgot to kill
Went on to organize,
Went on to organize."

"Joe Hill ain't dead," he says to me,
"Joe Hill ain't never died.
Where working men are out on strike
Joe Hill is at their side,
Joe Hill is at their side."

"From San Diego up to Maine,
In every mine and mill,
Where workers strike and organize,"
Says he, "You'll find Joe Hill,"
Says he, "You'll find Joe Hill."

I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night,
Alive as you or me
Says I, "But Joe, you're ten years dead,"
"I never died," says he
"I never died," says he

Coal Tatoo sung by me