Happy Juneteenth?

Tomorrow is the official start of a brand new holiday, National Independence Day (not to be confused with Independence Day which has been celebrated on July 4th since 1870), but which is actually being celebrated today since tomorrow, June 19th, is a Saturday and so the government workers would be denied their day off, which as far as I can tell is about the only way to celebrate the new holiday, also known as Juneteenth. As you may know, it is meant to commemorate the day in 1865 when people in the furthest reaches of Texas finally heard that slavery had been ended. 

So why is it a national holiday and not a Texas state holiday, you may ask. Because that would make too much sense, and making sense is no longer done, as you may have noticed. For example, as I was driving along I-295 this morning I passed a car with four occupants, all likely in their 60s, who were wearing face masks. Two in the front seat, two in the back. This struck me as odd since here in Maine the mask mandate has been lifted and out people in that age group have been vaccinated.

More nonsense: Last week a repairman came to fix our broken stove. He turned it on and immediately diagnosed the noise it made as a loose fan. It could not be fixed because that particular fan is no longer being made. The charge was $169.00 for the 10-minute service call. Appalled, I asked how much I would have been billed had he been able to fix it and it took him three hours. He said $169.00. Then today another repair guy from the same company came to measure the stove for a replacement. That cost $139.00, even though the first guy had already measured the space. But this guy today was an expert in measuring whereas the first guy was only so-so. 

Funny that the expert cost less.