Boo hiss

For sure! I'm Psycho and Bloated....

Not quite to the big event yet, but have already experienced bitchy, sweaty and forgetful. Well, ok. Psycho, too.

While I know that you have found personal peace, this world we live in is gone CRAZY with lies!

To wit: "Happy Memorial Day!"

I MOURN what has become of the America that God bestowed upon a unique-people.

A people that USED TO challenge every scent of a lie; a people that once sought out ways of knowing what was good; and strong; and right.

Memorial Day 2 Thousand Five is but a start to Summer; a day to open the pool.

I MOURN the deaths of Marines in the Pacific; of dogface Soldiers dead on the beach at Omaha.

America at perpetual-war is good big business; makes those 401-K's swell.

Patrick "Give Me Liberty of Give Me DEATH!" Henry personally whipping his slaves 34 minutes after that Saturday-morning speech; I suppose sometimes it is not LIES, it's just ....words? ... hypocrisy?

Memorial Day for me personally is when I have to acknowledge all those voices & histories that have somehow found their way into my lap over the many years. Memorial Day is gazing out upon & counting out all those 'markers' in the National Cemetery.

Memorial Day is when I think of MY fellow-servicemen who went by the names of "Karl" or "Johnny" or "Glass-Bag".

As I write, I'm wearing my tee-shirt from Angel Fire; I'm willing to bet that 90% of you have no idea of what that implies or means. No matter; that's what SERVING one's Country actually, really, TRULY means. Serving means that "for the protected, Freedom has a taste the Protected will NEVER know".

When you ask the likes of Pat Tillman to die for you, you CANNOT simply say "O!, Too BAD!" Speaking for myself, I say we will turn our guns upon YOU! When you ask PFC Lynch to be your poster-girl, I am PROUD that she "ACK"-ed that she was being used. You GO, Girl!

Memorial Day.

Mem-orial-DAY

Freedom ain't free, my friend! Go back to the top to see what YOU can do.

Dan

That was a tad melodramatic, Dan.

Ya think?

I suppose it is a tad melodramatic, but I also think that it has a modicum of truth for the simple & simplistic Man & Woman who struggles with what it means to die or be wounded for the policies of this great nation.

Memorial Day around here has meaning based on experience.

I have the opportunity to be intoxicated because of lives wasted. I've ceased wondering why it always rains on this weekend. No matter; I still find myself almost alone in tidying up grave markers at National Cemetaries in Georgia and Tennessee .... and this from a boy from Illinois.

Greg, Dan, Ron, John, Joe; ...... those are but a few of the names that make Memorial Day personal for me.

Ask my Wife: it's always been the hardest of times around here when this Weekend comes along. I'm glad that my Navy son is able to go camping; I'm glad that my Army daughter can find time to bitch at me.

It validates my USMC/USAF days.

Point taken, no offense meant.

What's menopause got to do with it?

Dan - Maybe you should have waited until I put up a Memorial Day Post before commenting.

My bad.

I'll try and behave.

Memorial Day Weekend brings out strong feelings in me.

It was just such a weekend back in 1973 when I lost my brother Gregory (who was the musician of the family ... the family fell apart after that).

Dan,
You should start blogging yourself. You make a good point and perhaps you could find the inspiration to make more good points.
Not a sermon, just a thought.

I'll go for sweaty and bitchy. Isn't life grand?

Elizabeth
Imperial Keeper