Well, it is finally summer
now!
No it really isn’t—we officially have about a month or so before summer is here—but at least the summer “season” begins when we hit Memorial Day on Monday.
We have seen it already, with people putting away the long pants and breaking out the shorts and ladies starting to show a bit more skin in what they wear (yes, I am an old fogey, but my eyes continue to work fairly well, and you cannot doubt what I say if you still have your vision).
Yes, Memorial Day is just about here, and the living is easy … or at least, it should be easy.
The real meaning of Memorial Day is to honor our war dead, those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, but this year, even that has been tainted by the atrocities we have witnessed just in the past several days.
Unfortunately, as we honor our soldiers, we have to think about those people who died by gunmen’s rages, who died for absolutely no reason.
There has to be a better way, and perhaps Memorial Day can be the next step in finding that better way.
Here is an edited version of what I wrote about the holiday in Rant #970, May 24, 2013:
“Coming up on Monday is Memorial Day, the day we honor those who have served, and gave their lives, for our country in the numerous wars we have fought leading up to our country's creation in 1776 and beyond.
Once known as Decoration Day, the holiday falls every year on the last Monday in May.
In recent years--or for as long as I can remember--Memorial Day has taken on a different meaning.
Not to knock our service men and women--who continue to protect our country from unimaginable peril each and every day--the holiday means so many other things now.
First of all, many of us have off on that day.
Memorial Day also signals the beginning of the summer season.
Notice I say "the summer season," because summer actually doesn't come for several weeks after, in late June. But it signals warmth, hot nights and days, and so the holiday is thought of as sort of a gateway to summer and all the fun that that season brings.
And finally, Memorial Day generally signifies the day when many of us have our very first barbecue of the year.
Honestly, I can taste those hot dogs right now!
Many parades are held during this holiday, and most of them are seemingly precursors to barbecues, so even if we honor our war dead--and again, this is not a knock against any of our service people--we gradually move toward family oriented events during the holiday.
This makes Memorial Day one of the most family oriented holidays on the calendar, and a day we can all look forward to.”
So that is Memorial Day, what the day actually represents and what the day has taken on to mean over the years.
But this year, no matter how you do it, it has to be a bit somber, with all that it going on around us.
We are still supposedly in a pandemic, prices are through the roof on everything, gas is at a completely ridiculous price, and those hot dogs you are grilling are going to cost you plenty more than you spent for them way back when I wrote that piece in 2013.
And first and foremost, we have all of those people who will not be celebrating Memorial Day this year, and won’t ever celebrate this holiday again.
It just puts a damper on everything, but we have to push on, if for nothing else than we have to think that these people would want us to do so.
That is kind of a Pollyanna-ish way of looking at these tragedies, but it is something that we have to do, and is certainly part of the healing process.
As for me, sometimes I take off from this Blog on Monday, sometimes I don’t, but on this Memorial Day, I will be here, and I will do something that I swore I would never do again, but I am going to do it anyway.
Nothing major, nothing earth shattering, but I think it will encapsulate that holiday in the perfect way, and .lighten things up a bit in the process.
So have a great weekend, a great holiday weekend, and I will speak to you again on Monday, right on Memorial Day.
And with everything that has happened, I hope that you and your family can have a great holiday!
No it really isn’t—we officially have about a month or so before summer is here—but at least the summer “season” begins when we hit Memorial Day on Monday.
We have seen it already, with people putting away the long pants and breaking out the shorts and ladies starting to show a bit more skin in what they wear (yes, I am an old fogey, but my eyes continue to work fairly well, and you cannot doubt what I say if you still have your vision).
Yes, Memorial Day is just about here, and the living is easy … or at least, it should be easy.
The real meaning of Memorial Day is to honor our war dead, those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, but this year, even that has been tainted by the atrocities we have witnessed just in the past several days.
Unfortunately, as we honor our soldiers, we have to think about those people who died by gunmen’s rages, who died for absolutely no reason.
There has to be a better way, and perhaps Memorial Day can be the next step in finding that better way.
Here is an edited version of what I wrote about the holiday in Rant #970, May 24, 2013:
“Coming up on Monday is Memorial Day, the day we honor those who have served, and gave their lives, for our country in the numerous wars we have fought leading up to our country's creation in 1776 and beyond.
Once known as Decoration Day, the holiday falls every year on the last Monday in May.
In recent years--or for as long as I can remember--Memorial Day has taken on a different meaning.
Not to knock our service men and women--who continue to protect our country from unimaginable peril each and every day--the holiday means so many other things now.
First of all, many of us have off on that day.
Memorial Day also signals the beginning of the summer season.
Notice I say "the summer season," because summer actually doesn't come for several weeks after, in late June. But it signals warmth, hot nights and days, and so the holiday is thought of as sort of a gateway to summer and all the fun that that season brings.
And finally, Memorial Day generally signifies the day when many of us have our very first barbecue of the year.
Honestly, I can taste those hot dogs right now!
Many parades are held during this holiday, and most of them are seemingly precursors to barbecues, so even if we honor our war dead--and again, this is not a knock against any of our service people--we gradually move toward family oriented events during the holiday.
This makes Memorial Day one of the most family oriented holidays on the calendar, and a day we can all look forward to.”
So that is Memorial Day, what the day actually represents and what the day has taken on to mean over the years.
But this year, no matter how you do it, it has to be a bit somber, with all that it going on around us.
We are still supposedly in a pandemic, prices are through the roof on everything, gas is at a completely ridiculous price, and those hot dogs you are grilling are going to cost you plenty more than you spent for them way back when I wrote that piece in 2013.
And first and foremost, we have all of those people who will not be celebrating Memorial Day this year, and won’t ever celebrate this holiday again.
It just puts a damper on everything, but we have to push on, if for nothing else than we have to think that these people would want us to do so.
That is kind of a Pollyanna-ish way of looking at these tragedies, but it is something that we have to do, and is certainly part of the healing process.
As for me, sometimes I take off from this Blog on Monday, sometimes I don’t, but on this Memorial Day, I will be here, and I will do something that I swore I would never do again, but I am going to do it anyway.
Nothing major, nothing earth shattering, but I think it will encapsulate that holiday in the perfect way, and .lighten things up a bit in the process.
So have a great weekend, a great holiday weekend, and I will speak to you again on Monday, right on Memorial Day.
And with everything that has happened, I hope that you and your family can have a great holiday!
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