Labor Day - A National Day of Mourning.  
it's quiet in NYC, out on Staten Island, everyone has barbecued, deejayed, argued, drunk, visited, driven around, made love and bought some stuff from China from the 99c store.  That was yesterday, Sunday.  Today is the aftermath. The weather has been swinging from light showers to humid muggy weather and a barbecue today at the humid, ragtag end of summer  would be like setting fire to yourself in a sauna.  Overkill.  Unpleasant.

I won't go over the bridge today, the Verrazano Bridge that was proudly build by union iron workers, and now will be refabricated in China, because,  the public was told, that there are no fabricators to build the parts, in NYC and no steel mills nearby.   This article appeared in the Times recently and investigating citizens found out it was a lie, that there certainly were iron fabricators and steel producers in the NY/NJ area. Chinese bridges are about as safe as their baby formula.  I for one hope that they give the job of refurbishing the bridge to a couple of Americans, for a change . Not that it affects me much.   I don't have a car cause I'm scared to buy one and default on payments.  

I watch videos instead on Netflix, melting into a psychic fetal position on the cheap.  No more TV here.   $50 a month is a waste of money.   Gotta save, gotta save.

I share the space with my boomerang son and his friend. They both work in the food industry, often doing absurd shifts that go from 6:30 am to 2am some nights.  They just say yes.  In six months, my son has taken 3 consecutive days off only once.    5 years of college and he's hustling on the day shift.

Today, Labor Day, a National day of Mourning,  only a dog cries in a yard.  Noone blasts music.  It's a somber day, in preparation for the beginning of the Grind.

Today, a friend sits in a homeless shelter, forced out of her home of 20 years because some new landlords wanted to turn her 900 a month studio into a 400k condo.  Can you blame them?  More Gucci bags.  More Prada.  More Mercedes.  Who cares about pesky tenants?  Who cares that they are employed at jobs that pay under the poverty line?  That the 900 dollars represented 70 percent of their income?  That they were college educated?

Today, a relative goes to the food pantry, beause her job as a home health aide is not furnishing enough hours, and her last client just died.  Who cares that 80 percent of her money goes to an umlimited Metrocard and the rent on her furnished room with a toilet down the hall that she shares with alcoholic men collecting disability?  At least, she has health insurance.

Today, a teacher collects her student roster and is told that she is now an independent contractor with no health insurance.   She must get liability insurance, a DBA and health insurance.  She is old enough to retire but earns half of what she earned 7 years ago.  Her rent and utilities are about 3/4 of her earnings.  A person with a master's degree, she has never owned a home and will be eligible for retirement.

The Kias, Mitsubishis, VWs, BMWs and Lexises all park around the block.  Only one car in 10 is made in the US.  Detroit is quiet, too, I guess, on this national day of mourning.