Memorial Day

Much gratitude and many thanks to all of those who have, do and will serve this country in the Armed Forces.

Several of my family members have served over the years. Cousins, uncles, and my dear father who was in Viet Nam. And that it just about all I know on that fact. He never really speaks of it, but I vrecall something about his leg being inured, although I'm not sure by what.

My grandfather was a young man when he arrived in France during WWII. Poppa was shot in the chest, and reassured his new bride, my Nana, that he was alright because "those Germans weren't very good shots!" That anecdote always brought a smile to my face. He was a sweet, funny man who passed away almost two years ago. Shortly before he died, I happened to be on the Mall in D.C. and visited the WWII Memorial. There I found a stone labeled with the name of the French city in which my grandfather spent time - St. Lorraine. I snapped a picture of it for him and I think he enjoyed it.

It is the Veterans of Foreign Wars who you will see distributing Budd Poppies during this time of year. I'm always touched when I see these (largely) old men working to remind all of us of the sacrifices made by so many. This is one donation I make every year without exception. For those who don't know, the tradition of the poppy was inspired by a poem written by Col. John McCrae - "In Flander's Field":

We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.