I enjoyed my first Labor Day in Selma.

I also learned a valuable lesson in taking summer’s last official holiday for granted.

For years, I always saw Labor Day as an excuse for people to either go shopping or have an extended weekend.

I have a new appreciation for the first Monday in September.

As part of The Selma Times-Journal, we have a rotation for working on holidays. Labor Day was my holiday to work.

I had events to cover in the morning and evening.

My first assignment was 45 miles away at the Montgomery Regional Airport. The Liberty Foundation came to the state’s capital for an air show this weekend at Dannelly Field.

Media members were given an opportunity to ride aboard the Boeing B-17’s Flying Fortress, an aircraft bomber used in World War II.

When this opportunity came up, I admit being not interested. As days passed, I reconsidered and thought it’d be a great idea to take a plane ride on the Madras Maiden.

I enjoyed the 20-minute ride in the area and it taught me a lesson. I learned about WWII in elementary, junior high, high school and college, but nothing ever up close.

I was impressed with the aircraft being in excellent shape and how hard the Liberty Foundation works to keep its tradition alive. Lt. Colonel Ray Fowler of the Liberty Foundation said it costs $4 million to operate a B-17.

That afternoon, I covered the inaugural Labor Day event in downtown Selma co-sponsored by City Council President Corey Bowie and councilwoman Angela Benjamin.

Seeing the assortment of old-school trucks and cars in a competition sent me down memory lane. My late uncle once owned a maroon 1969 Chevrolet Impala in Tuscaloosa. For a moment, my mind flashed back to 1973.

The food alone made the event great. Henry Thomas and Patricia Thomas ran the food stand and cooked one of the best polish dogs I’ve ever eaten. The sausage was wrapped in ground beef, bacon and cooked onions and it tasted great.

Labor Day is no longer seen in my eyes as a typical holiday. I look forward to many more Labor Days like the one on Sept. 3, 2018.