We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.
-Moina Michael, 1915
Seasonal businesses look at this weekend as the kick-off to summer.
Families hold ceremonial household pool openings and enjoy that first long weekend at the cottage by the shore.
I love summer, and I look forward to long summer days at the beach or watching the kids run through the sprinklers. I enjoy a good party, yet I wonder if most people remember why Memorial Day was created in the first place.
My father was a Marine in Vietnam.
His eldest granddaughter will march in our town’s parade on Monday as a Brownie.
There was a big hullabaloo in the town Girl Scout Council regarding some troops opting not to stay for the veterans’ ceremony on the town green. Some of the moms complained that their girls will be too tired and hot after throwing candy to the crowds, holding their banners and marching almost a half mile.
Other moms whose sons had just gone off to war or whose fathers were veterans were quite perturbed.
Unfortunately, like most holidays, this one seems to have lost some of its intended significance with the passage of time.
I wouldn’t force anyone to stay, but I’ll be at the ceremony with my family by my side. I’m sure my kids will be sweaty, cranky, and fatigued, but it’s the least we can do. I wholeheartedly respect all of the men and women who have served our country and are serving it now.
So, as I raise a beer to my lips this weekend, I’ll raise my other hand to salute those who have lost their lives in service to our country.
Those sacrifices have allowed me the freedom to be festive.
“These are the times that try men’s souls:
The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will,
in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country;
but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.
Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered;
yet we have this consolation with us,
that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.
What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly:
it is dearness only that gives every thing its value.”
-Thomas Paine, The Crisis
Heidi Willett's Blog 