Enjoy a Safe Labor Day Weekend

“Time and tide wait for no man,” wrote the poet.

The summer of 2020 is entering its final week as we approach the traditional Labor Day weekend and once again the summer season has flown by much faster than any of us would have liked, especially during a time when we find ourselves being held hostage by a microscopic virus.

But the calendar never lies and soon the summer of ‘20 will be just a memory.

Ordinarily, our end-of-summer editorial recalls the happiness and joy that the summer months have brought us. But this era of a pandemic has forced all of us to abandon almost every aspect of our traditional summer rituals, both big and small and on both communal and personal levels.

As this most awful of summer seasons winds down to just a few precious days, we certainly understand the desire on the part of many (if not all of us) to just let it all out, so to speak: “If this is the last, let’s make it a blast!” 

But amidst the chaos in our lives, one thing that has not changed, and that requires even more urgency than usual, is our annual admonition to our readers to enjoy the Labor Day weekend safely.

We certainly do not wish to rain on anyone’s parade, so to speak, but we would be remiss if we failed to urge our readers that if they intend to have a good time, they should do so safely, both for themselves and their loved ones.

First and foremost, excessive drinking does not mix with anything — whether it be boating, driving, water sports, hiking, bicycling, or just about any activity that requires some degree of coordination and observance of the rules of safety. 

The news reports will be full of tragic stories over the weekend of those who died or were seriously injured in accidents that could have been avoided had excessive drinking not been involved.

In addition, though this is a holiday weekend for us, we must remember that the COVID-19 does not take a holiday. It always is lurking and seeking new victims who do not wear a face mask in public and who do not practice appropriate physical distancing at all times.

We must do our part to ensure that none of our loved ones — let alone ourselves — are among the inevitable, sad statistics. We wish all of our readers a happy — and safe — Labor Day weekend