Memorial Day 2014

And, we remember all those who gave their all.

With admiration and gratitude.

I've known several service-trained dogs. They're pretty special.

Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day weekend is always a solemn time for me. An uplifting thing occurred on Friday, though -- Pepper found a spot on the house with enough wood ( instead of Dri-vit) to support a flag bracket!  So now Old Glory is proudly flying at Moogie's Manor, just as it did at the Mansion in NOLA.

Pepper and I joined friends on Friday night at Riverfest so we could turn back the hands of time at a "Chicago" concert! Man, those guys are genuine musicians! Then, last night, The Son and his group went back to Riverfest so that #1 could do a little volunteer work (yay, #1!!), but we had a family cookout anyway with Daughters' families, including 2/5 of the grandkids (##4 and 5).  Don't they look like they're cooking up something mischievous?

Heh.

Tonight we'll have Swedish food (smorgasbord of leftovers!), and think about what to grill tomorrow. Ah, tomorrow.  Memorial Day.

Never forget.

Thank God, indeed.

Thankful in New Orleans on this Memorial Day

Pepper and I headed over to the National WWII Museum this afternoon, thinking that we would support it on Memorial Day.  But once we got there, we discovered that nearly everyone else near the Gulf Coast had the same idea!  We left without eating at either of the fine restaurants there, grateful that our Museum has grown in such stature that it's overwhelmed on a national holiday.  We decided to go back at another time when they might could use our business.

Speaking of gratitude -- I spied this over at IMAO.  Harvey invited everyone to steal it and post it.  So, without further ado:

I am thankful indeed.

Memorial Day 2012

I know I'm a day early, but this is just such a moving picture that I needed to share it today.

Truly a dramatization of the old adage about a picture and a thousand words.

Never forget.

Memorial Day 2011

This captures it all --

The Young President Gets a Little Damp

It appears that God got a little miffed at the Young President for his choice of Memorial Day address locales and started tossing around a little thunder and lightning. It's a shame all the good people in attendance didn't have umbrellas and limos.

I guess his tee time got rained out, too.

Awww.

Memorial Day

Lest we forget.

Something Simple to Soothe My Soul

This is the "naughty children " fountain that came with Moogie's Mansion when it became our home way back in 1999. (Please disregard the attractive orange extension cord! I'll figure out something to do with that later.) It makes the most delightful flowing water background noise and actually cools the air a little when it gets beastly hot. Native ferns spring up at its base even after they've been pinched back by a bitter winter. I used to love to sit out on the patio in the shade and read or sketch while soaking up the relaxing sound.

Since 2006, when we began the post-Katrina tear-down of the wrecked shed and decided to build the open-air garage, it has sat there, non-functional, sad-looking -- little more than a rain gauge and a breeding ground for mosquitos.

Until today!!

We had gone to Lowe's quite awhile back and bought it a new pump and Pepper attempted to repair it while I was in Little Rock for one of the ninety-three wedding events. But, it seems that we neglected to buy the necessary tubing to get the water from Point A to Point B and back again, so the naughty children had lain prone on the patio since that attempt. I finally got the tubing several weeks back when Veronica was down for her visit, and said tubing remained in its Lowe's sack on the dining room table ever since.

Until today!

I cleaned out the bowl (including over an inch of sediment that had been building in there for years -- and about a gazillion skeeter eggs), then Pepper installed the tubes and replaced the naughty children on their perch, and . . . . Nothing.

So we cussed a bit (vocalizing a few choice words always helps a bit, you know) and flipped some switches and . . . . Nothing.

Then Pepper strode intently over to the fountain and I feared -- just for a moment, mind you-- that the fountain was about to be drop-kicked over the fence, naughty children and all. Instead, he messed around with the infamous tubing and . . . . Voila! She kicked off with gusto! There had been a little kink in the line and the tinkering loosened it!

So, now we can enjoy our naughty children again, and the fountain's soothing sound makes me feel so peaceful. I could use a little peace in my soul, what with all the calamity going on in the Gulf and the Young President making promises he probably isn't equipped to keep.

I love my feisty, clever husband. I think we'll fire up the grill tonight so we can listen to the naughty children singing their little water-song. We should have shrimp while we still can.

Change I Can't Believe In

Maybe I'm overreacting, but I'm pretty darn pissed off that the President of the United States has chosen to spend Memorial Day in Chicago instead of staying in Washington to honor our fallen in Arlington Cemetery, as every president in memory has done. That's just one of those traditions that doesn't need "hopey-change."

He tinkered with Memorial Day tradition last year when he dispatched a federal van and folks in uniform to place a wreath at the African American Civil War Memorial for the very first time. As had other presidents, he also sent a wreath to the Confederate veterans' memorial at Arlington, despite objections from his entourage. I guess after that magnanimous gesture he felt entitled to give special recognition to one particular race of American soldiers. Or did he send a wreath to a Caucasian Civil War Memorial somewhere that I don't know about?

It doesn't comfort me that, this year, he'll place a wreath at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Illinois. Elmwood, Illinois, isn't the Tomb of the Unknown in Arlington Cemetery, symbolic of all America's fallen.

No. The solemn ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown will be delegated to Vice President Biden. Good ol' Joe Biden who, a few weeks ago, offhandedly suggested that the United States is no longer the "capitol of the free world" -- bestowing that title on Brussels and elevating NATO's importance in the process:

"As you probably know, some American politicians and American
journalists refer to Washington, D.C. as the 'capital of the free world,'" Biden
said. "But it seems to me that in this great city, which boasts 1,000 years of
history and which serves as the capital of Belgium, the home of the European
Union, and the headquarters for NATO, this city has its own legitimate claim to
that title."

I'm a little tired of our leaders trashing us and elevating the concept of a world order.
So, good ol' Joe will do the honors at Arlington and host the White House luncheon for families of our fallen.
This isn't exactly the "change" anyone should believe in.
Hey, America's military! Are you feelin' pretty good about the attitude this administration has toward you?

Memorial Day: A Toast to the Fallen

We honored our Fallen Warriors yesterday, and kept the spark of NOLA's Tea Party Movement glowing at the (world's longest name for an event) Greater New Orleans Memorial Day Constitutional Tea Party Picnic. Good fellowship, interesting speeches, readings by schoolchildren, recognition of Veterans, and a Memorial service for those who sacrificed their lives that we -- and those who call us friend -- might live our lives in freedom's fold. I forgot to bring a floral tribute, so I made a daisy chain of clover flowers to place beneath the poster. Somehow, Memorial Day this year feels like more than just the day that the pools open.

Hot Air posted commentary and several photos of the Memorial constructed on the site struck inside the Pentagon by the cowards of 9/11. Commemorated are The Fallen, service members and civilians alike. It's a very moving piece and worth the view.

A day for reflection, gratitude, and not just a small measure of uncertainty about the future.