Good morning, my friends! Today is a solemn one. Or, at least it should be. Today is a day for "hokey," and "patriotic," and "sappy." Today is not for the jaded, or cynical. It is a day that we ought to let our hearts hurt, and tears flow, as we remember, and pay tribute to those who died on the field of battle, wearing our Nation's cloth.
I need to address a couple of things first. Much has been made of President Obama's decision to not attend Memorial Day remembrances at Arlington National Cemetery. Why don't we just put this to rest? I, too, was a bit perturbed until doing a bit of research. This is a non-issue, and should not even be discussed on this solemn day. But, since many have... If Snopes can be believed, many Memorial Days have found U.S. Presidents elsewhere. If you are interested, you can read the article here. You might note that the only President since 1980 to lay the wreath at The Tomb of the Unknowns every year of their presidency was President Clinton.
Another thing has already been addressed by our good friend, Buck. Buck proposes that we return Memorial Day to it's original date of remembrance. I agree.
Okay...on to other things. I took some photos on Saturday in Minden, LA at the funeral of Army Spc. Joshua Tomlinson, a young soldier killed in Afghanistan. I started to post a few, but decided to just post most of them in a gallery. They are all photos of the crowd of supporters that attended. If you're interested, they are here.
I'm not in a real chatty mood this morning, so enjoy the links. But before we go, our good Canadian buddy, The Mayor of Mitchieville sent me a video that I'd like to share with you. Thank you, Mayor!
I invite you to watch it. And, you can go ahead on and cry...it's okay...
Excellent post Andy, no need to say more.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Jim.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Andy. The gallery of pictures was excellent, a kind of visual memorial for the young soldier who died in service to his country.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, and the gallery is excellent. I saw a few of these at My Bossier yesterday, and Good On Ya for sendin' the pics that way.
ReplyDeleteAnother kinda-sorta Memorial Day article you may have missed: The Arlington Ladies. You gotta be impressed with those women, and that article made me a bit misty.
Jim, Skunks, Dan, Buck: Thanks...I didn't feel like running on and on in my usual way today.
ReplyDeleteBuck: Dang ya'! Ya' made me cry (again) with the story of the Arlington Ladies.
But, if there ever is a day to cry outside of Good Friday (at least in Andy's world), this is it.