Today, the first of May, is commonly known as “May Day.” In some countries, it’s the equivalent of Labor Day (which is celebrated on the first Monday of September in the US). In others, it’s a celebration of Spring, marked by gifts and displays of flowers.
So how did the name of this day—“May Day”—become a distress call? Apparently, in the early days of aviation, French was the lingua Franca, so the call for help was “M’aide!,” which was anglicized into the cry we hear today.
After a weekend of nonstop rain, it’s a beautiful morning here in New York. If I believed that the weather were decided by an all-seeing being, I’d say that the blue skies are a response to our “May Day!” cries. Whatever the cause of today’s conditions, I’m going to take a long route on my ride to work.
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