It is a bit careless when you toss it out like that. Like... have a nice picnic! A day off work... Yay! Hey, enjoy the fireworks!
But when you visit the cemetery and see all the flags on the graves, you can't help but stop a bit and think about the sacrifices our veterans have made for the love of their country. It's humbling really.
As a kid, those long ago Memorial Days meant remembering World War I that grandpa faught in. I never met my grandfather, but I have read about the Polish Army in France and how he went to fight for his homeland of Poland, even though he was already established here in the US. I can also remember talking to dad about his time in the Navy during WWII in 1944. He didn't see action, but he got to travel the world on a big ship, and he said when he crossed under the Golden Gate bridge, he dropped a 50 cent piece in the water for good luck. I imagine it is still there.... under all the water and the layers of silt on the bottom. Dad's other "war" story was about taking time to comfort a seasick dog that was aboard the ship. And he used to laugh when he told about "visiting" his friend up in the "crow's nest" of the ship and how scary that was.
That 50 cent piece must have worked since dad made it through the service just fine. Others were not as "lucky.
On this Memorial Day there have been a few wars since. And we are still at war. Endless war. You would have thought humans would be further advanced by now. But no, we are still killing.... for peace.
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