Happy Holidays; Some Montanans Work on Them

Maybe it's the result of years as a radio producer.

I have grown a dim view of Holidays.

Memorial Day is around the corner, and while others are scooting out of the workplace as soon as possible, others are stuck prepping things for the Monday off.  I'm in the latter category.  Still more won't have Monday off at all, because somebody has to keep the food stores open, the gas stations open and the restaurants open.

Growing up, it was practically a family tradition to brand calves on Thanksgiving morning.  Cattle still need feeding on Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

What is the point of a holiday if you're working your butt off to prep for it?  Come the long weekend, the first day is just to rest up.

During these work marathons, my inner Ebeneezer Scrooge comes out.  Our radio staff received the option to leave early on Friday, 1:00, if all the necessary work was done for broadcast and commercials over the 3-day weekend.  What if you weren't done?  The acronym is S.O.L.  But the other point is, already have Monday off, why do we need Friday afternoon too?  If I can't get out early, why should anyone else?

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A related incident annoyed me.  Years ago at my last employment at a non-profit, a committee of staff and volunteers were prepping for a fancy fundraising dinner.  With only a couple hours before the doors open, everyone else suddenly had to go home, shower and dress without the finishing touches completed.  I was stuck touching up and cleaning up all the last minute details.  While everyone there wore dresses and suits, I was still in jeans and a t-shirt.  Learned a valuable lesson.  At the next year's fundraiser, I brought a suit and shaving kit.  That year I got dressed up in the men's room.  At the same agency, I remember working Christmas Eve through the day, then rushing to Forsyth for family gift-opening.

So this weekend, while out boating or barbequing, while out honoring our fallen servicemen and servicewomen, be extra nice to those still working.  They would prefer to join you.  Tip handsomely.  Keep your complaint to yourself.

Postscript: I did finish the prep for Memorial Day shows by 1:30 Friday afternoon, putting in an additional 5-6 hours of labor over two days on top of everything else I do.  First thing I did when home was crawl into bed for a couple hours.  Was the long weekend worth it?

Maybe.  My son and I just brought home a kitten rescued from the elements.  Housecleaning through the rest of my weekend.  Stay tuned.