As the bbq’s get underway, pools are opened, and lazy Fridays and weekend agendas booked from now ’til September, in many towns, villages, and cities, this weekend finishes with a small tribute to those who have been killed in service to our country. There is some question as to where the very first “Memorial Day” celebration occurred under said name. Much of the discussion puts it after the Civil War—during which a total of 600,000 soldiers from both sides were killed—leading many to continue the ancient tradition of decorating soldiers’ graves. From Waterloo, NY to Columbus, Miss.,—and even an unofficial first observance in 1865 Charlestown, SC, where freed African Americans cleaned up and landscaped an area that was the final resting place of at least 257 Union prisoners of war—the reverence for those lost while defending our country is deep. All political agendas and historical infractions aside, this country has been built on a broad spectrum of beliefs that rarely have singular focus. As with so many aspects of life that we are not familiar with unless directly connected to, it is easy to return to work on Tuesday forgetting why you had that extra day of rest. But if for a few moments today you can give respect to a loved one, a friend, a neighbor, whomever, you have done more than you will probably do for most of the summer to come. Our moral code, our freedoms, our rights to do that which we feel entitled were not always so, and have been questioned many times over. If we start from a position of respect vs expectation we might change the course of our day. To all those who have served, thank you. To all those who have lost their lives in service, a prayer for you and your families.—Dominick
