We still seem to be on edge 20 years after America was attacked Sept. 11, 2001, perhaps more so because of the homespun violence rather than a foreign plot. Chicago’s violence numbers, alone, are staggering. According to a Chicago TV station’s story on the city’s police reports from July and August, there were 105 homicides in July and 445 total so far in 2021. There were 446 homicides during the first seven months of 2020 and 290 people killed in the first seven months of 2019. And over the weekend, there were TV reports of law enforcement cracking down on the illegal gun trade in the city. In Maine, there were 22 homicides in 2020 and in 2019.

I am glad we live in a safer place than Chicago.

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News people usually work holidays and this year was no exception for yours truly and others on our staff on Monday, Labor Day. Trying to fit two days of work into one on Tuesday is hard and taking some time to get things ready for deadline on Monday helped with a smooth transition to filling the pages and getting it sent to the presses. I was glad, however, to see some of the local businesses closed (we were closed but worked independently) as this has been a busy summer for all and employees should be granted the ability to use the holiday.

Now it’s back to the grind!

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They are hanging in there for a playoff spot, but Monday’s collapse by the Red Sox brings back many memories of the “September swoon” by the team over the years.

With Boston up 7-1 in the third inning, I decided to organize my storage building. When I came back inside about an hour later, the Tampa Bay Rays had closed the gap to 7-6. As we finished our supper, the game went into extra innings and Boston failed to bring in the tying run in the 10th inning and lost 11-10.

Here’s hoping the collapse is soon forgotten so the Sox can hang on for the playoffs – and they get some key players back after being on the COVID-19 precaution list.