About Susan Archives

Memorial Day Remembrance

May 26, 2008

If you want to feel a wash of patriotism and love for America, don't miss the annual Memorial Day concert in Washington, D.C. Put it on your celendar now for next year. My husband and I watch most years and it never fails to move me as the country remembers our slain heroes.

About.com's Robert Longley traces the history of Sen. Daniel Inouye's (D - Hawaii) quest to return meaning and history to the celebration of Memorial Day, and once again, our congress is not interested. Preferring bar-b-ques and a three day weekend, Sen. Inouye's Memorial Day bill has, once again in 2007, been relegated to the Senate Judiciary Committee, where it will likely remain without ever being debated on the floor of the Senate. I can't find evidence that he reintroduced the bill again in 2008, but I am inclined to forgive him since he remarried yesterday.

Sen. Inouye has always interested me because my Uncle Dick, my father's brother, served with him in Europe. I believe they spent time together in war hospitals. Sen. Inouye lost his arm and my uncle battled polio. So, for years and years, we received a Christmas card with a personal note from Sen. Inouye. A bright spot in the annual celebration, the card was a connection to exotic places and to the war we had hoped would end all wars.

While Uncle Dick served in Europe, my eighteen year old father, a Marine, fought at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Later, another Uncle served in the Korean War and my husband served in Germany as a radio operator during the Vietnam War. My family has always been lucky. Our men always came back. So Veteran's Day has always wrought the most memories. Not everyone has been as lucky as we have been.

My Dad and Uncle have died now, but they led long lives following the war. Unfortunately, many fallen heroes will not. But our nation will pause for a moment of remembrance on Memorial Day. Said President George W. Bush:

"'No words are adequate to console those who have lost a loved one serving our nation. We can only offer our prayers and join in their grief,' Bush said. 'We grieve for the mother who hears the sound of her child's 21-gun salute. We grieve for the husband or wife who receives a folded flag. We grieve for a young son or daughter who only knows dad from a photograph.

"Suggesting ways in which Americans can honor the sacrifices the holiday recognizes, Bush said people can join a moment of remembrance that will be marked across the country at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day. At that moment, Major League Baseball games will pause, the National Memorial Day parade will halt, Amtrak trains will blow their whistles, and buglers in military cemeteries will play 'Taps.'

"Bush also encouraged people to participate by placing a flag at a veteran's grave, taking family members to the battlefields where freedom was defended, or saying a silent prayer for Americans who died in service to their country."

_{Image © Elvis Santana}

More About Military Service and Employer Requirements

New Vision

April 25, 2008

Okay, you have my permission to give me grief. I started this blog in late 2006. No sooner did I write a few entries than I decided to write a career blog with a friend. Within weeks of starting that project, one of my clients asked me to write a U.S. Conservatives site until they could find a new editor / writer for the site. That supposedly short gig went on for eleven months. Now, the site is guided and my friend and I ceased writing the career blog because, in addition to our regular sites, Human Resources and Job Search, which are on similar topics, it was boring. When you find yourself asking yourself almost daily, well, which site do I want to put this blog on, it's time for a new direction.

You can only write so much and I'm not sure what gets more numb - your mind or your fingers when you're typing on a keyboard sixteen hours a day. I'm not sure I'd write the U.S. Conservatives site again. This was my second time and I find that to be a credible voice, you need to wallow in politics and follow other political blogs. The whole package takes an incredible amount of time. Plus, it causes me to focus way too much energy and time on politics.

But, anyway, I'm back and we're off and running with this blog again. And, I have changed my vision for where this blog will go. My original intention was a food blog and it will still be a recipe blog, but it will also emphasize travel, lifestyle, food, and anything else that catches my attention. Come along with me for the journey.