The short essay, “Labour Day Is a Dreaded Bell in the Schoolyard of the Mind†by Harry Bruce is about his memories of Labour Day over many years of his life. He talked about how Labour Day was like foreshadowing the coming of school, which he hated. Harry described Labour Day as if it were the ‘last meal’ one would take before the inevitable electric chair. Not only was Labour Day bad for foreshadowing the coming of school, it comes with a good-bye to days on the beach, bonfires and all the good things that one enjoys during summer. He clearly shows how Labour Day is a bad day for children, but he also shows the grown-up side of things. His friend drove over one thousand three hundred kilometres to see him, then quickly had to drive back home to go to his job. He talks about how Labour Day makes you grow up in a sense, because instead of focusing on fun childish events to do on the weekend, you have to prepare to get back to your careers. Honestly, to me Labour Day did not really have that much meaning to me growing up. It was just another holiday near
complete coursework for methe end of summer that in a sense signified the coming of school just as Harry said. I never understood why people took it so seriously. Of course the first thing that pops to my mind about Labour Day is the, ‘Don’t wear white after Labour Day’ rule, but I always neglected it. It also signifies a lot in my household. My parents are typically more left wing on the political spectrum so I remember growing up, going to the parade or protest if you will, and celebrating all the achievements of the workers. It also meant that i was closer to seeing some of my friends that I hadn’t seen for two months. Showing them how much I’ve grown, since I was typically the short kid in the class and grew many inches over the course of summer, where I went, what I did, that kind of stuff. That’s pretty much all that it meant to me, just another holiday where my parents dragged me out to watch a parade and one that signified the coming of the new school year. What people forget is that Labour Day is a holiday; it’s a chance to get together with family and just sit down, have a barbeque, and relax together. It might signify upcoming doom with the likes of school for children or going back to careers for adults, but nonetheless it still is a chance to just take an extra day off. What I learned is that everybody neglects that fact and sees it only with pessimism. Harry taught me to ‘live life in the moment’ if you will, as according to him as you age, Labour Day just gets worse. For me Labour Day wasn’t so bad growing up because I never really acknowledged it but who knows, maybe in the upcoming years I’ll learn to hate it just like Harry Bruce.