Memorial Day

Last night, I was working on the quilt (what else?) and listening to Wisconsin Public Radio's show, "Simply Folk," which is a weekly production of folk music. Last night was a by-request memorial show. They played Peter, Paul and Mary and the Highwaymen, and others who were popular when I was in my teens. We used to have "hootenannies." For those who have no idea what that was, it simply was a gathering of people to sing folk songs and if we were lucky, someone had a guitar to play as well. I don't remember many of the songs but when I heard some of them last night, it all came flooding back.

It also brought to mind Memorial Day when I was a girl. In the small Minnesota town where I grew up, there was always a "big" parade. There would be politicians riding in convertibles, some businesses would have floats, and the high school marching band would provide the music. The parade would make it's way from the high school through the main street of the town and on to the cemetary about a mile out in the countryside. A few days before Memorial Day, which was always on the 31st and not a Monday holiday yet, my mother and sisters and I would get the cemetary pot cleaned up and filled with a red geramium, some kind of green viney thing and other colorful flowers and then would take it to the cemetary. We'd tidy up Dad's grave, place the planter, and simply spend some quiet time there before we left.

Call me weird but I've always found cemetaries to be peaceful and relaxing places--there's usually no one else around, they're quite nicely landscaped with flowering rose bushes, Bridal Wreath and lilacs, and lots of tall old trees to provide shade. There's lots of birdsong to listen to, and there's usually a bench to sit for awhile. When they were small, I often took the children to the cemetary for an outing and they practiced learning their letters by reading the headstones.

I was a Girl Scout when I was a young and both the Girl and Boy Scouts in my town would march in the Memorial Day Parade, each of us carrying a small flag. As we marched through the cemetary, we would place our flags on the graves of the veterans. When all the flags were placed and each grave marked, there would be a ceremony with a few prayers by the local clergy, speeches by town and county dignitaries and in an election summer, a state or national politician might show up, two trumpeters from the band would play "Taps" echoing each other from opposite sides of the cemetary, and then it would be finished. For a kid, it was quite a lengthy ordeal and we were always glad when it was finished and we could get started celebrating the holiday in kid fashion.

In my family, we would usually spend the afternoon at home and maybe have a picnic supper at the backyard picnic table--hot dogs, potato salad, baked beans, that kind of thing. I always liked Memorial Day because 1) I got to march in the parade, 2) it was usually a nice early summer day and 3) it meant summer vacation would start in a few days!

Today, I'll spend the day at home, finishing the quilt and watching a movie while Tessa and I sew on the binding. Don will finish planting the garden with Lily's help. We won't have a picnic but there will be something cooked on the grill. And we will be remembering all those who are no longer with us, especially the men and women who served in the military and their families, who have sacrificed so much for us. May they all rest in peace on this day and forever.