Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

[jaybet]

I work on a state highway with my office window out on the curb, and I'm watching the tourists pouring southward...Happy Memorial Day!!! Especially to all you vets, but this is one of those holidays where we honor who we are...remember those who gave their all, enjoy, and be safe out there!

[crusader rabbit]

Absolutely right, Jay.  Those who gave all so that we may have our diminishing freedoms...  May we never forget.

Crusader Rabbit

[twyacht]

First, I'm inviting some friends over for a pool party:


Than some range time with my .454 Magnum/30mm grenade launching pistol:


Than surfing with a female companion: (note tan line left side)


Than a proud American Infidel Breakfast:


Than a quick game with the Swedish Ladies Volleyball Team on holiday:


And if you believe all that, than I have a great bridge for sale down here for you.....

Seriously, stay safe, enjoy time with family and friends. But find the time to take a moment everyday to look up and say Thank You. Thanks to those that gave all in defense of what and who we love.











God Bless Those That Gave All.
Lest We Forget.

tw

[shooter32]

Happy Memorial Day everyone, enjoy family,friends and don't forget why some of us get a three day weekend.

[PegLeg45]

I put this as my status on FB, I think it fits aptly here also:

With Memorial Day weekend about to begin, it is my sincere hope that folks will give pause and remember the somber reason we have this 'holiday'...... We have several holidays around the calendar year that celebrate and honor a range of things involving our freedom, like Independence Day and Veterans Day... but Memorial Day goes much deeper...it honors and remembers those who paid the ultimate sacrifice and laid their lives on the altar of freedom so that we can enjoy the things we enjoy.

Have a safe weekend friends, and God Bless you all.

[Sponsor]

[bulldog75]

[Solus]

Found an interesting bit about the origin of Memorial Day.

You can see the whole story at this link:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day


Following President Abraham Lincoln's assassination in April 1865, there were a variety of events of commemoration. The first known observance of a Memorial Day-type observance was in Charleston, South Carolina on May 1, 1865. During the war, Union soldiers who were prisoners of war had been held at the Charleston Race Course; at least 257 Union prisoners died there and were hastily buried in unmarked graves.

Freedmen (freed slaves) knew of the Union dead and decided to honor them. Together with teachers and missionaries, blacks in Charleston organized a May Day ceremony covered by the New York Tribune and other national papers. Years later, it came to be called the "First Decoration Day" in the North. Beforehand the freedmen had cleaned up and landscaped the burial ground, building an enclosure and an arch labeled, "Martyrs of the Race Course." Nearly ten thousand people, mostly freedmen, gathered on May 1 to commemorate the dead. Involved were 3,000 schoolchildren newly enrolled in freedmen's schools, mutual aid societies, Union troops, and black ministers and white northern missionaries. Most brought flowers to lay on the burial field. Today the site is used as Hampton Park.

[philw]

lest we forget




saw this on FB

Daddy's poem

----------------------
Her hair was up in a pony tail,
Her favorite dress tied with a bow.
Today was Daddy's Day at school,
And she couldn't wait to go.

But her mommy tried to tell her,
That she probably should stay home.
Why the kids might not understand,
If she went to school alone.

But she was not afraid;
She knew just what to say.
What to tell her classmates
Of why he wasn't there today.

But still her mother worried,
For her to face this day alone.
And that was why once again,
She tried to keep her daughter home.

But the little girl went to school
Eager to tell them all.
About a dad she never sees
A dad who never calls.

There were daddies along the wall in back,
For everyone to meet.
Children squirming impatiently,
Anxious in their seats

One by one the teacher called
A student from the class.
To introduce their daddy,
As seconds slowly passed.

At last the teacher called her name,
Every child turned to stare.
Each of them was searching,
A man who wasn't there.

'Where's her daddy at?'
She heard a boy call out.
'She probably doesn't have one,'
Another student dared to shout.

And from somewhere near the back,
She heard a daddy say,
'Looks like another deadbeat dad,
Too busy to waste his day.'

The words did not offend her,
As she smiled up at her Mom.
And looked back at her teacher,
Who told her to go on.
And with hands behind her back,
Slowly she began to speak.
And out from the mouth of a child,
Came words incredibly unique.

'My Daddy couldn't be here,
Because he lives so far away.
But I know he wishes he could be,
Since this is such a special day.

And though you cannot meet him,
I wanted you to know.
All about my daddy,
And how much he loves me so.

He loved to tell me stories
He taught me to ride my bike.
He surprised me with pink roses,
And taught me to fly a kite.

We used to share fudge sundaes,
And ice cream in a cone.
And though you cannot see him.
I'm not standing here alone.

'Cause my daddy's al ways with me,
Even though we are apart
I know because he told me,
He'll forever be in my heart'

With that, her little hand reached up,
And lay across her chest.
Feeling her own heartbeat,
Beneath her favorite dress. And from somewhere here in the crowd of dads,
Her mother stood in tears.
Proudly watching her daughter,
Who was wise beyond her years.

For she stood up for the love
Of a man not in her life.
Doing what was best for her,
Doing what was right.

And when she dropped her hand back down,
Staring straight into the crowd.
She finished with a voice so soft,
But its message clear and loud.

'I love my daddy very much,
he's my shining star.
And if he could, he'd be here,
But heaven's just too far.

You see he is a soldier
And died just this past year
When a roadside bomb hit his convoy
And taught the world to fear. But sometimes when I close my eyes,
it's like he never went away.'
And then she closed her eyes,
And saw him there that day.

And to her mothers amazement,
She witnessed with surprise.
A room full of daddies and children,
All starting to close their eyes.

Who knows what they saw before them,
Who knows what they felt inside.
Perhaps for merely a second,
They saw him at her side.

'I know you're with me Daddy,'
To the silence she called out.
And what happened next made believers,
Of those once filled with doubt.

Not one in that room could explain it,
For each of their eyes had been closed.
But there on the desk beside her,
Was a fragrant long-stemmed rose.
And a child was blessed, if only for a moment,
By the love of her shining star.
And given the gift of believing,
That heaven is never too far.

GOD Bless the Military... ♥

[Rastus]

Found an interesting bit about the origin of Memorial Day.

You can see the whole story at this link:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day


Following President Abraham Lincoln's assassination in April 1865, there were a variety of events of commemoration. The first known observance of a Memorial Day-type observance was in Charleston, South Carolina on May 1, 1865. <snip> .

It may have happened but it is not the first observance.  Anyone can put anything they want in wikifaux and people believe it.  Memorial day traditions go back at least to the Greeks, followed up by other nations noting their war dead through the years and, finally just before this episode in wikifaux, both the Confederate States and the United States honored their war dead (albeit separately on different dates).  

The important point is that men and women have sacrificed in sweat, blood and life so that we can enjoy the security of the nation we live in.  They must be remembered.  In this also it is important to not change history so that we know who we really are and what we stand for.  The next thing you know someone will say some mosque on the Notre Dame campus started it in 1799 and people will believe that because it is on some damned web page. 

Happy Memorial to all active duty and veterans more than anyone else.  May you remember your comrades and share with us the experience of sacrifice that we may know the price of freedom.

[ellis4538]

Allergies are bad today!

God Bless,

Richard