MAYbe IT'S THE BEST MONTH!

Ladies and gentlemen of Erie...start your engines! Things are certainly going to heat up in the fifth month of the year. But never mind those warmer temperatures. There are plenty of really cool days in my fabulous forecast to make you feel a whole lot better. And that is good for your wellness.

The month of May gets started with a big day of celebrations. It's for all the pagans and labor union workers in our dynamic LGBTQ family. And for all who stand with them on their big day. It is known as May Day and we participate in two awesome observances in different but fascinating ways.

May Day is also called Beltane and it can bring out the pagan in lots of us. Why not? It's about celebrating fertility, flowers, and the coming of the summertime. There ain't nothing bad about any of that goodness!

On this two-for-one day we also recognize International Workers Day with union workers like carpenters, electricians, and heavy equipment operators. (very proud of my iron worker brother Matt in Chicago's Local 1) Our blue-collar pals that keep our communities vibrant. We gotcha back Rosie the Riveter!

May The Fourth Be With You on May 4th. It became the Star Wars holiday because some fun bloke thought it would be clever to use a pun on the famous movie phrase May the force be with you. So now on this cosmic day we celebrate Luke, Leia, Han, Chewbacca, the Death Star, Darth Vader, etc. Exciting the day will be. Yoda concurs.

Put away your light saber my Jedi friends and get ready for the Mariachi band. Cinco de Mayo is for good gregarious gringos and gringas to drink margaritas and dance and eat salsa.

Sure it's more of an American holiday than a Mexican one. Leave it to so many millions of red, white, and blue party monsters to find a fun way to embrace the green, white, and red for 24 hours. On this day there is no wall. We are all one. Viva Mexico!

On May the 12th, we get to celebrate the reason we are all here today. We honor our Momma's in our historic neighborhood and around our country. She answers to many names in a variety of homes…Mommy, Ma, Mother, Madre, or Mum.

But on this special occasion we remember the kisses on the forehead at bedtime and even the soap in the mouth after we spoke in those "strange and different" tongues. Through the good and the bad, we made it together. And we owe it all to you. Thanks Mom and abrazos para ti!

And finally to close out the month and start the summer; I give you…Memorial Day. A day to honor the brave men and women who gave so much and sometimes all so that we can have freedom.

After a moment of silence to honor our heroes; grab a burger and an ice-cold beer and turn on the baseball game. It just doesn't get any more star-spangled that that.

You May not be able to bring back April. And you May not be able to grab hold of June just yet. No worries. You've got the best month to make the most healthy fun of it all. The one you're in right now. Go out and enjoy these May days.

This article of aMAYzing is brought to you by that guy who loves burgers with MAYo. That guy who is the unofficial MAYor of LGBTQland is Ron Blake & is never disMAYed to receive your messages at rblake5551@hotmail.com.