MEMORIAL DAY

It was soggy yesterday, raining off and on. Last night we received an inch of rain. The creeks and ponds are full, everything looks good. Saturday Morning, I was lamenting that I might not get the lawn mowed for the holiday. My lawn/meadow was tall and rich with many interesting weeds. Violets and Creeping Charlie dominate some areas; a couple varieties of Vinca, that escaped from a garden, proliferate other areas. Daisies are coming up, but they are not blooming yet. Oh yes, there are dandelions [we love them], plantains, and other denizens of a healthy varied lawn; oh, and many varieties of grass, too.

We have always had our lawn mowed by Memorial Day. Even when we were on our sabbatical [1977-1984] we had our lawn mowed. We were fortunate to have money, for kerosene for the lamps, in those days. A working lawn mower, filled with gas, was often out of our reach. We didn't have a phone. Communication was achieved by people dropping by; however, on Memorial Day weekend, folks would show up with lawn mowers, and the necessary supplies for a celebration. We mowed the lawn and celebrated.

My not getting it mowed this year, was mostly, do to the fact, that preventive maintenance was due on my mower and I hadn't figured out, how do do it, without kneeling down on the concrete floor in the garage. But, also, I didn't mind the verdant growth and Jamie said she loved it. It was getting long enough, that it was going to be impossible to mow, with one swipe. And, hey, Memorial weekend was here, I had to get it mowed. I checked out the book, the oil was due to be changed at forty hours, I was just a little over that. One more mowing would be okay.

I mowed on Saturday and Sunday. It is hard to estimate how much lawn I mow. I think about an acre and one half. I had to dodge the raindrops, and I had to go over places, two or three times, but I got it done. 

We live right across the road from a church yard, complete with a cemetery, this Morning I heard, as I have for forty years, a gun salute to the fallen soldiers buried there. I appreciate honoring those who have died in war. My Godfather was killed in World War ll, he was a pilot. In my family of origin, Memorial Day was about honoring those that went before us. I remember, as a child, going on picnics with my Grandparents to the cemetery.

However, honoring the dead and patriotism, was never about glorifying war or making war a noble achievement. If we look up the history of Memorial Day, we see that the people who founded it, were interested, in keeping the memory of the fallen alive, to keep in mind the pain and folly of war.

Most people celebrate Memorial Day as the beginning of Summer. It is a celebration of the change in Seasons. I think that is appropriate. Honoring those whom have fallen in war is a healthy expression, of the awareness, of our failure to keep the peace.

More and more, the celebrations of Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Armistice Day have morphed into, a celebration of war, as a worthwhile and even noble venture. It might be just my sensitivity, but I think it has gotten worse these last few years.

Can we honor our dead without honoring war? Those who have made fortunes from war have used, our good hearts and patriotic feelings, to manipulate us into war after war. Patriotism means we love our country, it doesn't mean, we see any other country as inferior. Love is always inclusive. Love is never judgmental. Let us honor the dead who died in all wars, in all countries, let us love our country and all other countries. Let us celebrate the end of all war, forever!

Let us be patriotic, but let us celebrate life, on and for, the whole planet. Let us wrap the whole Earth in a blanket of Love. We are One.

Love and Peace,  Gregg