Happy Birthday, Meg!

Happy Birthday, Mary Page Drake! Thank you, too, for holding on to the enduring traditions of our country. Peace and grace

I will be attending our small community’s Memorial Day Parade, and listening to the “Four Corners Quartet” sing a medly of patriotic songs at our library(of which I am the Director) Our parade features the High School Marching Band, marching down the street to “This is My Country”, the Legion and the Legion Auxillary, the boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and lots of kids who decorate their bicycles. The parade winds up at a town monument where two high school students recite the “Gettysburg Address” and “Flanders Field.” Finally, one of the HS band members plays “Taps” on his/her trumpet and the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts lay a wreath on the Portage River, which runs through our town. Everybody then goes down to the local Legion Hall for a Chicken Barbecue. Nothing like a Memorial Day in a small town!

I guess I’m spending Memorial Day playing on WOWOWOW. :):):):) I did sit a spell this morning, sending strings of light to Iraq to surround all of our soldiers there — doing what I can to keep them safe. Hey, Candace, what a great way to spend your holiday. Witnessing your daughter stepping into the big wide world. May adventure accompany her. Congrats, from Northern California, Candace’s daughter.

And I too celebrate a graduation. My daughter graduated from Downers North High School and was awarded the Perseverance Scholarship. She will attend ISU in the fall. Holidays end is drawing near. Mitchell and I had great time at the museum. It rained a little and then the sun came out to play with us. My is hope that everyone had a safe and fun weekend.

We went camping at Rickets Glen State park and boating with my husband’s cousin Rick and his wife Linda Yippe skippy!!!! no phones ringing and being pulled in all different directions

As a child the holiday was always on may 30 and it happened to be my father’s birthday too! But since it is now on the monday , we will go to a small town parade with the local bands and all the vets of the former wars and with the cub scouts and brownies and all the fire men and local town’s people[ even with the dog ‘s!] But the best part of our day will be the church picnic we always each year, with our people watching the parade and then playing games outside with the great amount of food we always have too much of and then we will sing some songs and hear some good gospel preaching from several of the churches that always come to fellowship with us every year at this time! What a blessing and what a country that we can have the amount of fun we do have and share in the emotions of what it means to us! The early evening we as a family will watch the pbs show from washington on the memorial day tributes to every day soldiers from our past and present ! I am sure my husband and son will allow themselves the luxury of tears over the many wonderful stories from that sharing of our stories of our soldiers and families! That is what this holiday of memorial will be for me! A time of remembrance and honor!

I fear I’m a creature of habit (& guilt?).  During Lent I "hit the Bible", thought I’m not a church-goer.  Last night I watched Band of Brothers, Episodes 5-10, on the History Channel.  Let us not forget what Memorial Day is all about.  Where I live, there are still many Service veterans who have their various ceremonies at times like this one.  It’s good to be remembered & appreciated.  Then, "let the games begin"!