Today is Labor Day, hich was first celebrated in NYC 128 years ago, and is, as the Department of Labor says, "dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers." Local, state and federal government offices are closed, as are post offices and financial markets, and mass transit is on holiday or weekend schedules. The NY Times' editorial notes that in 1882, "This was a country of about 51 million people, and New York a city of about two million" (it was also the year that "the first commercial electric plant lit Lower Manhattan"), before deciding that it's nice to have a holiday that needs no preparation (unlike annoying Thanksgiving)!