Posted on 05/30/2005 10:48:08 AM PDT by Heartofsong83
Memorial Day not about steak or sales
From staff reports The Gazette-Enterprise
Published May 29, 2005
Ask people what the Memorial Day holiday means to them, and you’ll probably get a lot of different answers.
You’ll probably hear the beginning of summer, a three-day weekend, a day off from work, a trip to the coast, a backyard barbecue or shopping trip.
It’s safe to say many Americans don’t give any more than a passing thought to the real meaning behind the day.
It is supposed to be a day when we honor those men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice and gave up their lives so we might live ours as we choose.
It should hold special significance this year as this country’s sons and daughters are in harm’s way halfway around the globe.
For those on patrol in the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan, there probably won’t be much chance for a barbecue or a white sale.
There won’t be any trips to the coast for the soldier manning a machine gun on the back of a bouncing Humvee as it creeps through the dangerous streets of a Sunni Triangle town, which most Americans can’t spell much less pronounce.
For the families who watch their loved ones come home, lowered off the back of an airplane in a flag-draped coffin, it will be the start of a summer of tears, hugs and memories.
So while you gather in the backyards, parks and lakes with family and friends ,we’d ask you to take just a moment to reflect and remember.
Remember those families who have an empty chair at the table this weekend that won’t ever be filled.
Before you turn the music up and begin to celebrate, think of those silent cemetery stones with only the wail of Taps in the distance.
It is for them that the day is set aside.
It is a debt we cannot repay, but it is a sacrifice we cannot afford to forget.
I liked the article as as well. Thanks for the post.
You're welcome. Here would be the ideal day (I don't live in the US, I'm up in Canada but think a lot about it):
Starting at mid- to late morning (since many will likely be up late the previous night), we'd head to service (or have our own if there are none) for 12 noon. From there, we'd head back home for summer gatherings in the latter part of the afternoon and have a group/family BBQ. Of course, before dinner, we'd pray for the troops and those lost.
As for shopping? Forget it. Most stores should be closed.
Thanks for posting. BTTT!
Thanks. My flag went up at 5:30 a.m. today in honor of our fallen heroes.
tell that to my immigrant bosses....
Thanks so much for this post. It speaks volumes.
-Regards, T.
Whose idea was it to make Memorial Day always on a Monday so as to ensure a three-day weekend at the end of the month? Who decided to have the Indianapolis 500 on Memorial Day weekend? Who decided to make today the day of the Lacrosse National Championship? Who? Who? Who is out in their backyards right this minute mixing margaritas and slathering barbeque sauce on a rack of ribs while listining to the baseball game? Who's doing that? Who went fishing this weekend? Who is out golfing? Who is sitting out on the internet right now typing a bunch of nonsense on some bulletin board?
Where I live, Elm Grove WI we just finished watching an hour and one half parade. There were a number of military honor guards and vets. The parade watchers stood up and applauded each vet and current military member as they passed by.
I am estimating this parade route is 2 1/2 to 3 miles long. A tradition in this community since the late 1940s
A three day weekend... Yeah right.
I personally believe Memorial Day sales are tacky-I won't shop or grill on Memorial Day. I like to really spend the day thinking about what I do on a day to day basis that I would not be able to do had there not been men and women who were willing to lay down their lives for my freedom. My brother is currently in Ranger training and I am thinking about him and the difficult days ahead he is facing as he is putting himself through grueling training to better serve our country.
Sorry to bust your bubble, but I did not. I mostly worked, posted here a few times and took some time out to build a small robot as a demonstration tool for grade school kids.
Which of us can honestly say that we devoted this weekend to reflect upon the sacrifices of our soldiers?
Not entirely of course. I worked part of this weekend.
Who is sitting out on the internet right now typing a bunch of nonsense on some bulletin board?
I guess we both are.
Sounds like a fine day. :-)
Good for you.Some people still have respect for Memorial Day.I know you must be proud of your future Ranger brother!
Our family just got back from a very good Memorial day program.Saw Ronnie McDowell preform.He`s a VN combat veteran BTW.Five Gold-Star mothers,two from the Iraq War.
Memorial day shows that freedom sure ain`t free.
good work...participated in a VFW ceremony yesterday evening for one of our comrades who passed last fall- a WWII vet..today managed to cut the grass before it rained again, and set out the flag...this evening, if the weather holds, I'll sit in the arbor as twilight decends, drink a cold one, and remember...but for the grace of God, go I...
here's a piece I did last year...I like to break it out every once in a while...
Evening in Arlington
(Last line from Taps)
as the last note waifs away,
and the wind dies down,
there is one solemn moment,
suspended…
and our grief for those gone
becomes a brush
that we pass across our opaque pain,
so we may see them once more,
before they fade forever into the evening mist…
before some sound stirs this field to flight-
still we might remember-
“as we go, this we know, God is near…”
Mark E. Harden
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