Skip to Content
Opinion

Start Your Labor Day Weekend Off Right With This Friday Open Thread

Let's talk about work! Or let's not!

9:17 AM CDT on September 1, 2023

How we put Racket together every day

|Arron Choi via Unsplash

We're taking Labor Day off here at Racket and we hope you've got the opportunity to do the same. But before we all go our separate ways, we wanted to use this week's open thread to talk about (sorry!) work.

So this week's prompt is labor related. What was your first job? Your worst job? Your weirdest? What do you do now?

Since it's only fair that I answer those questions myself, here goes. I was a paper boy as a kid, but my first regular job was at a Roy Rogers, a fast food chain I don't think they have out here. My worst? I left my job as music editor at City Pages in 2001 to edit the review section for the new music mag Blender in New York—and got canned after a month. My weirdest was probably working in a warehouse using a labeling machine to seal bags of potpourri.

And this, of course, is what I do now.

Anyway, feel free to chat about any of this, your Labor Day plans, or anything else that crosses your mind. And see ya next Tuesday.

More Stories

Wanna Buy a $1,300 Retro E.T. Laundry Hamper From Anoka County?

Plus stopping data centers, the struggling middle class, and the Palace Pub closes in today's Flyover news roundup.

November 13, 2026

It’s Friday the 13th, and This Is an Open Thread About Superstition

As we do every Friday, we're turning Racket over to you, the readers.

November 13, 2026

Freeloader Friday: 114 Free Things To Do This Weekend

Fall Open Studios, holiday markets, Insight's beer b-day, and more!

Meet Mallie, Mall of America’s Bland AI Concierge

Plus Pretti witness speaks out, RIP Dave Cossetta, and Science Museum's money woes in today's Flyover news roundup.

Next Year a Twin Cities Brewery is Going Full ‘Simpsons’ Mode

Embiggened with a perfectly cromulent concept, St. Louis Park's Ullsperger Brewing will feel a lot like Springfield come January.

November 12, 2026