Ah, yes, Labor Day 2008 has come and gone. This year’s holiday for working men and women brought the warmest temperatures of the summer, and then suddenly the somnolent days of the season were carried away with a cool front, sending an invigorating draft up the shorts of 5.8 million residents.

They say the winter wind chill index -- the perceived temperature resulting from the effect of prevailing winds in combination with cold ambient air, which increases the rate of heat loss from the human body -- is best measured by how quickly your snot freezes.

In contrast, I believe the summer heat index, the climatic classification invented in 1948 to combine temperatures and relative humidity, increasing exponentially with increasing temperatures, can be gauged by how quickly a cesspool forms in your pants. But I’m no meteorologist.

Speaking of loins, the passing of summer also means our gridiron heroes will be girding theirs in the Emerald City. You can almost feel the anticipation of all things Packer related: traffic gridlock on Highway 41, cops feverishly scribbling speeding tickets in Rosendale, fans praying they won’t have to use a gas station bathroom for that.

But hey, it’s the Packers, it’s Monday Night Football, and that always beats working on a Monday afternoon, doesn’t it? Doesn’t it? That’s right. You’ll be out the door by 1 o‘clock. And don’t worry about the boss – he’s leaving at noon.

Having the Packers appear on Monday Night Football is like an official holiday with mail service.

Here’s an alternate route for those driving north to the game. Since 41 will be gridlock, take 151 and 55 along the east shore of Lake Winnebago. It’s the most underrated scenic route in Wisconsin: Contoured farm fields sloping down to the lake; the sun setting in the west as the lights of the Fox Valley glimmer on horizon; supper clubs.

And there was that weekend I spent one night at High Cliff State Park.

Stop for a pre-game dinner at Jim and Linda’s in Pipe (see a review at ClassicWisconsin.com), and scale the lakeside observation tower located next to the supper club while waiting for your table. (See a photo taken from their web site above.)

Jim & Linda care enough about you, fellow traveler, to post a hand-painted sign shaped like an arrow along Highway 151. The sign says, “Jim & Linda’s.” I get a little weepy when I see hand painted signs for supper clubs. Nothing says, “Eat our fish, fisheaters, and drink our drinks, drinking fisheaters” than a homemade sign shaped like an arrow inviting you into (insert name here) & (insert name here) Supper Club. You just know the drinks will be served in buckets, the décor will be Menards chic, and the waitstaff will be slinging fish like Lynn Dickey threw pigskin.

And laidback, too. I once observed a middle-aged woman in a sleeveless shirt casually sniffing her armpits as she sat at the bar.

Instead of sitting stranded on the highway with the smell of Kaukauna filling your car, check out the eastern route along big Lake Winnebago. It’s worth the detour.

Besides, you’re leaving work, when, 10 a.m.?