We’ll admit it, given our choice of putting in a day at the office or squeezing in some R&R at the beach/lake/camp/cottage with a barbecue and summer time beverages, we’d as soon take the latter.
We like not working when we can and we will take a day off as soon as the next person. Life is short and sometimes hard and the opportunity for ease and leisure should not be passed up lightly.
However this day, Monday, Memorial Day, May 28, is a different day.
Oh, when the time comes, we’ll be grilling like royalty; fully enjoying not being at work, and we suggest you do the same, but this is not simply a day of celebration.
It’s not a holiday per se, it’s a memorial; a memorial for the literally hundreds of thousands of Americans who have given their lives for the freedoms too many Americans take for granted.
We have this day because of men like Joe Gray, who survived, and men like Leuign Osier, who didn’t.
Like mourners at any memorial, this weekend, we intend to pay our respects to the fallen; we’ll attend a parade, salute the flag, and pay tribute to our living veterans. After the ceremonies, as we retire to our own respective pursuits, we’ll remember the sacrifice others have made.
One of the ways we can honor the fallen this weekend, is by remembering and savoring the freedom their blood bought for us.