By Buck Wolf

Aug. 30, 2001 — As you gather 'round the barbecue this Labor Day to roast that last weenie and prepare for the bare-branch realities of the fall, just remember — you were cheated out of three weeks of summer fun, and the federal government is to blame.

Those bozos in Washington don’t know when summer ends. Consult any calendar. The Northern Hemisphere’s autumnal equinox, better known as “the first day of autumn,” does not occur until Sept. 22.

But still, year after year, we let Labor Day mark the end of easy summer schedules and the beginning of the school year.

President Grover Cleveland proclaimed that Labor Day — the first Monday in September — should be a tribute to the American worker. And it has since become summer’s last hurrah — that three-day buzzkill that abruptly ends all the fun in the sun.

Grover: Man or Muppet?

If President Cleveland were a true hero of the American worker, he’d have set Labor Day on the equinox — when the summer actually ends.

In fact, if he had only pushed back the holiday to, say, Oct. 1, he would stand shoulder-to-shoulder in history books with Lincoln, Jefferson and Washington. Instead, how is Grover Cleveland remembered? Was he the inspiration for that lovable, royal-blue Muppet?

But, my fellow Americans, let’s not give up. If politicians created Labor Day, politicians can move it to its rightful spot.

Last year The Wolf Files called for an e-mail “Move Labor Day” campaign. Now it's time once again to carry on the battle. Fill out the form below. I’ll spread the word. Summer doesn’t have to end at the beginning of September.

You might think it unpatriotic to fiddle with national holidays. You are wrong. America has created, moved and removed holidays at the mere stroke of a pen for reasons of much less import.

George Washington proclaimed Nov. 26 a day of Thanksgiving. Lincoln declared it to be a national holiday, but moved it to the fourth Thursday in November.