Something Important to think about next Monday.
I didn't have all the pictures I wanted to put in this article yesterday, so, I'm adding some more today. I took these last year on a trip to DC with my daughter.
This first picture is of Arlington National Cemetary. A very beautiful and a very sad place. As far as you can see nothing but small white head stones.
This is a picture of part of the World War II Memorial. In this picture you see 4000 small sculpted bronze stars. They represent over 400,000 men and women that lost their lives defending freedom for the world.
This is a picture from the Korean War Memorial. It seems that a lot of people forget the saying engraved on this wall...they either forget or they just don't care...I hope it's the former, because the latter would really piss me off.
This is a picture from the Vietnam War Memorial. This is the memorial that affected me the most. Maybe it was because of my age. I missed this war by a couple of years, but I had friends that weren't so lucky.
As my daughter and I walked deeper into this memorial, a really strong feeling came over me...it hurt I tell you. My daughter could feel it too...as she heard her daddy doing his best to keep his small sobs to himself, she reached over to me, grabbed my hand and squeezed it tight. It made everything right with the world right at that moment, but I still couldn't help but think about all the other little girls whose dad's names were on this wall and the hand they never got to hold.
So again I ask...Got a minute on Monday?
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I'm kind of embarrassed that I didn't know this so I'm trying to save all of you...what, 5 people that visit here...the same embarrassment.
Everybody knows that this coming Monday is Memorial Day. Kids are out of school, I don't have to go to work that day...life is pretty much all around good for us. It's a nice three day weekend for a lot of us and that's a good thing. I'm heading up to Jersey to visit family and attend my newest nephew/godsons' first birthday party. But I hope you all...that's you all, not ya'll...I'm still from Jersey and I don't speak like a Virginian...yet...remember what Memorial Day is really all about.
Memorial Day started as Decoration Day right after the Civil War. It was a day set aside to clean up and decorate with flowers our war deads grave sites. The first large observance of Decoration Day was held in 1868 at Arlington National Cemetary. The official birthplace of Decoration/Memorial Day is Waterloo, NY, although, there seems to be some dispute about where it may have really started. The government recognizes Waterloo as the birthplace. That's fine with me.
The reason I'm writing today and the thing I just found out about is the National Moment of Remembrance. The National Moment of Remembrance was signed into law in December 2000. The National Moment of Remembrance Act created the White House Commission on the National Moment of Remembrance. The commission’s charter is to “encourage the people of the Untied States to give something back to their country, which provides them so much freedom and opportunity.”
The National Moment of Remembrance is Monday, May 29th at 3PM. The National Moment of Remembrance encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3PM local time on Memorial Day for a moment of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation.
Over a million American men and women have died in service to our country and really, when you think about it, the world.
So, what I’m asking you is…
...got a minute?I knew you could do it...'cause you're my kinda people...thanks.
