Memorial Day is for BBQ!

Last night, I attended the first reading of Tom Thumb the Great, Margaret's new script at KSU. I got there right before the reading was to begin and sat in the front row since there were very few seats left. I was eavesdropping on a conversation between 2 little girls that was just too cute. A moment later the girl sitting next to looked at me and said that the first row was reserved for kids only. I apologized and said there were few other seats, but if a child comes in that I would gladly move. She pointed to a seat a few rows back and pretty much asked me to move there. Her parents stepped in and I was "allowed" to stay. I then said that I was a very big kid and she guessed that I was 10! Gosh, I still got it!

Afterwards, I went to Patti and Steve's house for a holiday BBQ. They ordered yummy pulled pork, chicken and brisket from a new joint. They mentioned that the BBQ place they used for their last gathering was run by 2 Jewish guys. Steve's buddy, Johnny called that Hebbq. Get it? Heb-B-Q! That got quite a laugh. We were sitting in some big plastic chairs in a circle on not so even ground. Quickly, we ran out of seats and Patti grabbed a smaller, less sturdy chair. I bet you know what's coming...

Patti went over sideways on her chair and fell backwards. Her wine in her cup in her hand spilled to the side -- and luckily that was the only casuality. I do have to say that Patti French is one graceful chick. The fall was beatiful, I do think I will be able to perform The Patti Tumble on request. But you must ask nicely.

This is all to prove my point that this post was supposed to be about Memorial Day and it takes me 3 paragraphs to get to the history lesson. I think it's time to put down the beer and come out of the pool and remember what this holiday is about. We are lucky to be safe, educated and surrounded by abundance. I know that our country is not perfect -- and our political system certainly needs a little work, however I don't think most people I know could pass an American naturalization test. I am going to buff up on my history and take the test a month from today. Any body in?

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. There is also evidence that organized women's groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War. While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it's difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day. It is more likely that it had many separate beginnings; each of those towns and every planned or spontaneous gathering of people to honor the war dead in the 1860's tapped into the general human need to honor our dead, each contributed honorably to the growing movement that culminated in Gen Logan giving his official proclamation in 1868. It is not important who was the very first, what is important is that Memorial Day was established. Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all.

Traditional observance of Memorial day has diminished over the years. Many Americans nowadays have forgotten the meaning and traditions of Memorial Day. At many cemeteries, the graves of the fallen are increasingly ignored, neglected. Most people no longer remember the proper flag etiquette for the day. While there are towns and cities that still hold Memorial Day parades, many have not held a parade in decades. Some people think the day is for honoring any and all dead, and not just those fallen in service to our country.

There are a few notable exceptions. Since the late 50's on the Thursday before Memorial Day, the 1,200 soldiers of the 3d U.S. Infantry place small American flags at each of the more than 260,000 gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery. They then patrol 24 hours a day during the weekend to ensure that each flag remains standing. In 1951, the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts of St. Louis began placing flags on the 150,000 graves at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery as an annual Good Turn, a practice that continues to this day. More recently, beginning in 1998, on the Saturday before the observed day for Memorial Day, the Boys Scouts and Girl Scouts place a candle at each of approximately 15,300 grave sites of soldiers buried at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park on Marye's Heights (the Luminaria Program). And in 2004, Washington D.C. held its first Memorial Day parade in over 60 years.

To help re-educate and remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the "National Moment of Remembrance" resolution was passed on Dec 2000 which asks that at 3 p.m. local time, for all Americans "To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to 'Taps."

The Moment of Remembrance is a step in the right direction to returning the meaning back to the day. What is needed is a full return to the original day of observance. Set aside one day out of the year for the nation to get together to remember, reflect and honor those who have given their all in service to their country.

But what may be needed to return the solemn, and even sacred, spirit back to Memorial Day is for a return to its traditional day of observance. Many feel that when Congress made the day into a three-day weekend in with the National Holiday Act of 1971, it made it all the easier for people to be distracted from the spirit and meaning of the day. As the VFW stated in its 2002 Memorial Day address: "Changing the date merely to create three-day weekends has undermined the very meaning of the day. No doubt, this has contributed greatly to the general public's nonchalant observance of Memorial Day."