Most Memorial Days for me begin in Church but I couldn't make it yesterday. I missed it. Fewer people seem to stick around after the parade for the ceremony. It was a bit too chilly for shorts and tee shirts so maybe they were just too cold to stay. Or maybe they just don't think it's necessary to "remember". The irony to me seems to be that these days will always be necessary if we don't take time to remember.

A few years ago on the day after Memorial Day I was driving past the little park where our town has it's monument. It too was a windy, cold, drizzly day and one of the wreaths had blown over. I stopped my car and went over and stood it up and made sure it was secure in the ground. Not trusting the weather, I made sure the other wreaths were okay. As I started back to my car I heard a horn blow from the other side of the park. I ignored it but it blew again and I heard a voice calling me. An old woman rolled down the window as I got close to the car. "Thank you" she said. "It's hard for me to get out"

Over the next coupel of years, I'd see her at the cermony. She wasn't there yesterday.