Memorial Day Monday Musings...

Yes, we made it to another Memorial Day...and yet, there are all those who did not make it with us.
It's for them that this day is held in their honor. Let us do our part.
Our Hoosierland weather for today brings us partly to mostly cloudy skies, a chance of rain through most of the day (unto tonight), and temps climbing back up to around the 80 degree mark (and don't forget the humidity).

Now, let's get a comforting cup, glass, or mug of Freedom and Liberty, as we see what else has been going on...
*** First out of the shadow box is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
MAY 27 -
National Cellophane Tape Day

(very handy to have around)
National Grape Popsicle Day

(Turning tongues purple for decades)
Memorial Day

(more on that at the close)
*** Next...This goes to show that you don't have to BE in FTW to do something REALLY stupid. Here's the story:
https://www.wane.com/news/fort-wayne-teen-hurt-in-fall-from-gettysburg-monument/2025107304

A beautiful monument.

A boy on a field trip from FTW to Gettysburg was flown to a hospital because he fell forty feet from an observation stairway where he WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE, landing on the hard concrete plaza.
I've been to the PA monument a few times (the largest one in the national park, and where I found two namesakes on the bronze plaques surrounding it), and I can tell you that when they (the Park Service) tell you to NOT be someplace...you PAY THE HELL ATTENTION.
Again, a lack of boundaries (and supervision) leads to this.
*** Next up...Here's a good story concerning Neighborhood Code Compliance (formerly called "Enforcement"):
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/20190526/enforcing-city-codes-for-safety-appearance

Welcome to 6901 S. Hanna St.

Now who would have thought that the area "featured" in this story could be found on the (...all together, kids...) SOUTHEAST SIDE?
See? It's not JUST about "weed control", right?
All that crap didn't up and WALK to this location...did it?
Any bets that a lot of that refuse comes from various "builders" around our area, who think this is still the 3rd world nation that they came from and moved (illegally) here?
You'd think all the scrappers would hit this area and clean it out periodically..I .guess not.
*** Next...It's things like THIS that keep Memorial Day alive and well:
https://www.wane.com/news/local-news/-i-m-doing-it-for-veterans-woman-hands-out-poppies-at-intersection/2026981881

God bless this lady, and all like her.

Yes, sometimes, it's not the "big" things that take place...it's all the small ones (added together).
*** Next up...time to visit our "Kitten Corner"...

"Grocery shopping day...yay!"

Our kids didn't have a bad weekend. Plenty of time for them to nap, and they certainly enjoyed that.

"Taking another nap day - huzzah."

They also had time to look outside and watch the rain, and then a little sun, and then more rain...and a lot of cloudy skies...and then nap some more.
*** Next...let's check in with  "Midnight and Whiskers"...

"Where's he at now?"

Our furry twosome also had a good weekend, and thankfully stayed close to "home". Midnight did go on his little "patrols", but by and large, they were both here for ALL the meals and (of course) for their back step treats.

"Just stretchin' my legs..."

I think they prefer this rather than the hand-held "one at a time" treats we used to do. Still...whatever works for them, works for me.
*** Last back to the flagpole...it is Memorial Day.

And, aside from whatever the weather tosses at us, let's take time to remember what it really stands for.
Many words have been said in honor and in memory of our fallen on this particular day since it's inception, and I'm sure much more will be said in decades to come

.

I try my best to convey the meaning of today, yet there are people out there much wiser and knowledgeable than I who do a much better job, so let me lift a few words from my past Memorial Day posts, in keeping with this.

--It's a time to pay quiet homage to those that have given the ultimate sacrifice...their LIVES in defense of this nation.
--Doesn't matter if they were at Bunker Hill, Yorktown, Shiloh, Gettysburg, San Juan Hill, Belleau Wood, Normandy, Bastogne, Tarawa, Pork Chop Hill, Khe Sahn, La Drang, Kabul, Baghdad, or hundreds of other locations too numerous to mention.
What DOES matter is they were defending AMERICA and what it stands for. THAT is what is worthy of remembrance.
This is what today is ALL about...a time to reflect...to remember.

--You can have the cookouts, the celebratory trappings, and all the fol-de-rol that goes with "another day off", but to many (myself included) it's a helluva LOT more than any of that.
It's a day to give thanks actually; to acknowledge and yes,  to enjoy everything from the fallen who cannot be with us to know what they fought and died for.

--We take ONE day a year to recollect, and to remind ourselves of the sacrifice.
Should we not take with us into the other 364 days of the year the same acknowledgment of our liberties and freedoms for the sake of those who gave all, and for the sake of our children, that they may also grow up in a country where such things as honor, integrity, and yes, even sacrifice will always mean something, rather than nothing?
I would say...yes. We should...and must.
We should NEVER forget...and ALWAYS remember
Have a very good Memorial Day.

Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.