Memorial Day

by Peter on May.25, 2009, under holiday, thoughts

“Flag raising on Iwo Jima.” Joe Rosenthal, Associated Press, February 23, 1945. National Archives and Records Administration

Barbecues, picnics, family gatherings, and the start of the Summer season; for most of us that is what Memorial Day weekend means. Festivals abound, summer cabins get opened for the season and we often spend so much time running around and “relaxing” that we are glad to see the work week start. Unfortunately, in today’s society we have kind of forgotten the original intent of the holiday. We have turned a somewhat solemn occasion of rememberance into a 3-day weekend party. Don’t worry I have no intention of turning this into some political diatribe either for or against the current or past administrations, nor do I have any desire to discuss the merits or pitfalls of the wars this country has fought. I’ll leave that to others more versed in these subjects. No matter what your political views are, we all owe it to the young men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice, when our country called upon them, to remember them and the lives they laid down. I have to admit, I am one of the masses that was so busy this weekend that I forgot to take a moment to remember our troops and all of the fallen. I raced through my weekend traveling from one adventure to another. The weekend provided me with ample fodder for this blog and as I sat down to collect my thoughts it dawned on me that not once, throughout the whole weekend, did I give a single thought to the reason for this weekend. So tonight, no recipes, no disserations on cocktails, and no trips down memory lane. Tonight, I ask you to take a moment and reflect on the reason behind this holiday and to remember all of our young soliders, both living and fallen and the families they have left behind.

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