May 1

Don't know what this is really all about in France, but it's a holiday and no one is working.

The museums are closed. Evidently many people participate in demonstrations. I have no idea what they want, but it's probably less work for more money, benefits and protections. In the US, we're not quite so overt in our demands, even if we really want the same basic things.

Oblivious to all the holidays, I took my dry cleaning and laundry in to my Pressing today. The laundry will be ready on Wednesday but the dry cleaning will not be finished until Friday. But, Friday is May 1 (May Day) and it's a holiday.

When the woman behind the counter at the Pressing told me that the dry cleaning would be finished on Friday, I asked her if they would be open. She replied that it's a holiday they will be closed.

How can my laundry be considered finished if I can't pick it up? This becomes a little bit of a philosophical question -- If a tree falls in the woods but no one is there to hear it/see it...

OK, you get the point. My laundry, in principle, will be finished on Friday, but I can't pick it up until Saturday. Thursday night is out of the question, I guess. They'll all be revving up for the holiday.

And there are several more holidays this month, each one a bit more obscure than the last.