I trust you all had a chance to rest and recharge on this somewhat cooler Labor Day weekend—I’m a determined optimist when it comes to the weather. As you may know, Labor Day, a federal holiday, is the result of late 19th-century activism to recognize the contributions American workers and unions made to the nation’s “strength, prosperity, and well-being.” The first celebrations of Labor Day began in the 1880s after the Knights of Labor approved a resolution that the first Monday in September would be known as Labor Day; or, in Southwestern time, this holiday came into being approximately forty years after our founding.
As I was laboring my way up the always crowded Interstate 35 on Friday, alarms started beeping and buzzing in my car and it quickly became apparent that my right rear tire had blown out. Forty-five minutes and a trip to a garage later, I said a temporary farewell while an order was placed for a new tire. My car will be out of commission for a week. While I had no travel plans and used the time to catch up on work and walk the dogs, I was thinking about making a market run but sans car figured in a pinch that Cheerios can be for breakfast, lunch, and dinner as long as the soy milk holds out. Wait a second! I remembered we now have Zipcars on campus, parked right next to the Howry Center. Establishing my account was quick and easy and the car was in perfect condition, unlike my wheels taking a breather in the mechanic’s garage. I highly recommend this new resource.
Labor Day marks the end of summer, and this year there was another clear note signaling the end of an era with the passing of Jimmy Buffett. There are lots of tributes right now, with pundits trying to sum up just why he was so beloved considering the ubiquitous “Margaritaville,” charted at just 14 on Billboard’s 1977 Pop Singles—David Bowie’s “Heroes” was number 1. Buffett is remembered as a popular singer, a generous philanthropist, especially for environmental causes, a writer of memoirs and children’s books, and a successful businessperson, but he was something more to his huge international fan base. Many of his songs were touched with melancholy: “Margaritaville” is about lost love and drinking away emotional pain on the beach, accompanied by an earworm melodic hook. Buffett, composer of songs as diverse as the wistful “Come Monday” and the anthemic “Cheeseburgers in Paradise,” held such a wide appeal that Bob Dylan and Joan Baez sang “A Pirate Looks at Forty,” with Dylan naming Buffett as one of his favorite songwriters.
As someone who has attended many Buffett concerts over the years and graduated from listening to his songs on tape cassettes to CDs and now on my Spotify account, I have my own reasons for fandom. “Margaritaville” came out during my first year of college. There was a certain soothing aspect to the song; sure, things hadn’t worked out so well, but there was the feeling that better days were ahead. This sentiment captured how I felt at the time, struggling with becoming a confident student and person. Wearing flip-flops and strolling down the beach also partly defined my undergraduate years. With Buffett’s passing, I learned a bit of the Texas backstory to the song. The initial title was “Wasting Away Again in Austin, Texasville,” which was ultimately changed to “Margaritaville."
When I was growing up there was a clear demarcation line between the music that your parents liked and what you liked, and the twain would never meet. The music I loved was described by the adults I knew as “noise” and an atonal “racket,” with a following demand to “turn that noise down.” When I became a mother, I wanted my love of music to be mutually shared with my child. Buffett’s songs were among our many musical bonds. Jimmy Buffet headlined my son’s first concert, and we wore our Hawaiian shirts and happily joined the crowd singing the “Volcano” song. Over the years, when growing pains would push us apart, we always had music to keep us together. Students, I hope for all of you, there’s that song or songs, Buffett or Jay-Z or Doja Cat or George Strait, that you sing with friends and family to keep the circle unbroken. Keep singing together and you can change the world.
Finally, nothing says fall in Texas quite like football season. Join me this Friday at 7:30 p.m. to kick off football season at the Pirate Football Pep Rally! You can meet the team, receive a free t-shirt, and even win cash prizes or a TV.
Wishing you each a great week!
