M'aidez, M'aidez

Pronounced 'mayday'. It also sounds like a common phrase that means the first of May ('May Day'), a holiday in many countries, Belgium among them. According to Wikipedia (among other authorities, but Wikipedia, like Google, now owns the Web), the Mayday distress signal comes from the French m'aider, the infinitive for which m'aidez is the second person plural of the present tense, indicative mood (I hope I got that right).

Why m'aidez? It's been exactly one year to the day since I started this blog and it has become an addiction. I need help in stopping. Lots of other chess bloggers seem to be able to stop without any problem. Why can't I?

The May Day holiday is called 'Labor Day', meaning it's the equivalent of the American holiday that falls at the beginning of September. I've never understood why labor days are holidays. Shouldn't everyone be working those days? Better to call it 'Relax Day'. For the rest of today I'll be laboring over the barbecue.