Scribblings

Memorial Day

There is a new memorial in town. There was a sign up for the longest time announcing a memorial was being built on the site. I believe it?s to honor the soldiers from Browns Mills who served in the Korean War ? maybe it was WWII. TB and I began to see workers putting the memorial up.

As we drove to the Browns Mills Diner, we saw people along the way. Some had already staked out a place to wait and we realized that there was going to be a parade. Luckily, we got to the diner before it started. There are three elementary schools behind the diner and there is a long driveway from their parking lots, past the diner, and to the street.

The parade began at the school parking lots and then passed right by the diner. It wasn?t a very big parade at all. There was a small group of veterans marching in the front, carrying the colors. Behind them were other vets driving vans, SUVs and cars. There was a small group of kids from a school but there weren?t any band instruments. There were quite a few drums, though. I saw one Boy Scout troup and two from the Girl Scouts. Bringing up the rear was every single rescue vehicle from Browns Mills and surrounding communities. That was it.

I am sure they all ended up at the new memorial and probably dedicated it. We missed that part.

I remembered parades being much more fun and impressive when I was a kid. I?d wait along the street with my parents or grandma, staying close to them because there were so many people waiting there as well. We all flew our flags, especially once the parade got under way. All the soldiers marched down the street looking serious but proud. The American flag would go by and we?d all stand at attention and put our hands over our hearts.

I was always awed by the marching bands. There was more than one of them from different high schools. The uniforms glittered in the sunlight and the young people just looked so grown up. The music was so loud I could feel it all through my body, right to my bones.

When the parade was over, we?d have a picnic at the park. When we lived on Long Island, we?d get together with my aunt, uncle and cousins. In Baltimore, we?d go to a bay beach and meet up with a lot of deaf people and their families. The grown ups would sit and talk with their hands and play cards while the kids went swimming.

TB has similar memories and we talked about that over breakfast at the diner.

It?s not like that any more. We?ve become too mobile and worldly. Families rarely live in the same state anymore, never mind the same towns. Families come and go, especially if they are in the military. It?s not like we know our neighbors anymore and they know us. I don?t know that most towns would have a Memorial Day parade. I imagine that they?d go to a nearby city, like Baltimore or Philadelphia. Instead of having big picnics, we just have a barbecue in the backyard. If it?s raining, we go to the movies.

There was a dedication for the new memorial in Washington DC honoring veterans of WWII. I heard a snippet of a news report about the veterans ? there don?t seem to be so many still alive. That surprised me and then I realized, of course! Most of the vets probably were born in the 1920s and that would put them in their 80s now. When I was little, the vets from WWI were a big deal and they seemed ancient. Now the gray-headed vets marching in the parade are from the Viet Nam war era which positively sets my head spinning. They are my age. The younger vets are from the first Gulf War almost 15 years ago.

I would thank all the vets for what they?ve done for this country. I don?t agree with the mess we are involved in over in Iraq but I respect the men and women in our military forces. They are dedicated and even if they don?t agree with this war either, they still defend our country. God bless them.

QOTW:

This week has seen a lot of obituary notices on my page. I'd be willing to bet that all of you have lost someone, either to death or to just the ebb and flow of life and moving and losing touch. Who is someone whom you haven't seen in years, but who was important to you (maybe still is), that you'd like to be able to spend an afternoon with? What would you do? Where would you go, and what would you say to them? What would you hope they'd say to you?

I would like to be able to spend the afternoon with my best friend from junior and senior high, Daina. I think I?d like to go out to lunch first and then maybe to a park. A movie wouldn?t be a good idea because I?d want to ?catch up?. In a park, we can walk and talk. I would say to her that I was sorry we lost touch with each other. I?d hope she?d feel the same way too. Then we could tell each other all about what we?ve been doing in the last 30 years. After that, we?d stay in touch ? even if just by email.