...I think of men who fought in glen with rifle and grenade
May Heaven keep the men who sleep from the ranks of the old brigade
Where are the lads who stood with me when history was made?...

I do use this time to remember those who fell that we might live the way we want to, rather than all those who strove, for which I reserve Veteran's Day. And as a pacifist, I also recall those who did not wish to serve militarily but fell nonetheless... such as my father, conscientious objector during WWII, killed by terrorists at a peaceful embassy.

And the pools open, which delights my twins, but we still talk about what this holiday is about. I do appreciate the freedoms brought to me, here in these United States, by the minutemen, the Union soldiers, the overseas fallen in both world wars... "and again and again and again and again, did they beat the drum slowly, did they play the fife lowly, did they play the death march as they lowered you down..."