Donna and I were watching the local news this morning and saw an announcement that this week’s garbage pickup would be unaffected by the Labor Day holiday. That didn’t sound right, so I checked Waste Management’s website, where it says the opposite: they’re taking today off and garbage pickup will be a day late.
Which is only right.
Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis on the 4th of April, 1968, after he came to the city to support striking sanitation workers. From Wikipedia:
At the time, Memphis paid black workers a wage of just $1 an hour. There were also no city-issued uniforms, no restrooms, no recognized union, and no grievance procedure for the numerous occasions on which they were underpaid.
These unethical conditions were imposed by mayor Henry Loeb, and during his tenure, conditions did not significantly improve. This, along with the deaths of two workers in a garbage-compacting truck on February 1, 1968, caused laborers to conspire to stage a protest on February 11, 1968. The strike took place the following day, and lasted for over two months.
You would think American sanitation workers in all 50 states, whether employed by cities or private companies like Waste Management, would honor Labor Day. Not long ago, though, Labor Day was not a holiday for WM workers, at least here in Tucson. It’s only been in the last few years they’ve honored it. The announcement we saw on TV this morning may have referred to the city of Tucson, which uses a different contractor, not Waste Management. Shame on Tucson; yea for WM (even if they were a little late to do the right thing).
Several years ago Donna and I wrote a will with the help of volunteers working at the retiree affairs office at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Donna’s 80 now and I will be soon, so it’s time for us readdress the will and prepare plans for the disposition of whatever estate we leave behind. Unfortunately, funding for retiree affairs has been pulled and we have to go private. We’re working with a local attorney and trusted friend, and everything is in hand. It’s a relief to know our kids will have a roadmap to follow when we pass on. Part of the deal is the creation of an LLC in our name … never thought we’d have one of those!
I made another wristwatch video for my YouTube channel, this time about my favorite homage watches. Eight of the thirty-something watches in my collection are homages: watches that look, feel, and perform like well-known luxury timepieces only a few can afford. Of those eight, there are four I love and wear often; they’re featured in the video. The video’s also on TikTok of you prefer that platform, though I can’t imagine why anyone would.
Lulu & Fritzi at the Slice ‘n’ Ice drive-thru the other day. They each got a pup cup!
Stay fresh, cheese bags!