Deadbeat neighbor: “So. Happy Memorial Day weekend, buddy!”
Me: “We’ve been over this, haven’t we? You don’t wish people a ‘happy’ Memorial Day. Memorial Day is day of reflection and remembrance.”
Deadbeat neighbor: “Oh, right. Forgot.”
Me:
Deadbeat neighbor: “It’s a somber occasion.”
Me:
Deadbeat neighbor: “…A somber occasion on which we grill chicken and beef and eat huge heaps of potato salad.”
Me: “Are you being ironic, Deadbeat Neighbor –?”
Deadbeat neighbor: “– Maybe play some volleyball, then get drunk on light beer and fall asleep on the patio listening to The Steve Miller Band’s ‘Greatest Hits’. You know, somber…”
That’s certainly how we do it. Except for the cockfighting later on.
As a vet who’s known a number of now dead vets I’ll toss in my 2 cents. I and all the vets I know spend our Memorial Days pretty much the way Deadbeat neighbor does. We set aside a small amount of time remembering those who have passed. Being somber. But the whole day? No. Lots of vets, and I certainly don’t speak for all of them. But Memorial Day without grilled chicken and beef and huge heaps of potato salad, volleyball, beer and hammock sleeping would be just too dark. Personally I signed up to keep this country a safe place where I’d live to see my little niece giggle and skip across the lawn barefoot in her new sundress while I grill chicken for her. On Memorial Day. And I think every vet knows just how I feel. A few somber moments. Maybe a Thank You, if you really feel it. That’s enough.
Thank you.
Thank you. A thousand times.
Now. Cheeseburgers, cobbed corn, and Steve Miller for all!
Happy Mournful Memorial Day?
And good mourning to you!
Memorial Day without Steve Miller?
The terrorists will have won.
And remember to keep your coolers Pepsi-free! Otherwise, the Battle of the Bulge was for naught.
Hot chicks racing at the Indy 500 … the terrorists can’t win now!
Drinking a Red Bull, Sean. Just can’t have you making faces at me when I pop in here.
Tell you what—that hot chick scared the crap out of a lot of racer dudes. I just don’t want anybody calling Danica the next Anna Kournikova. Unlike Anna, Danica is actually good at her sport.
I want to fly like an eagle …
I swear the spam buster is “freedom” …
Ok, now I’ve got “fly like an eagle” running on an endless loop in my head.
“Tick
tock tick
doot doot doo-a
Tick
tock tic
I want to Fly Like an Eagle
To the sea…”
“cause I speak, of the pompatus of love.”
Which was invented in Europe, btw.
I live in an area with a national cemetery and a Civil War battlefield. So my thoughts were very somber indeed, as I cleaned out my basement tool room yesterday. Today, I went to the Memorial Day ceremony, stood in a drizzle for an hour among acres of headstones, and was mighty glad for the privilege.
Sundresses, beer can chicken and potato salad for everyone. Jeff Gannon looks particularly fetching in a sundress by the way.
On a related point, I’ve wondered about the appropriate greeting on Yom Kippur. Any suggestions, Jewzilla?
Traditionally, if Egyptian, the greeting is “I surrender”.
Amen Stephen.. I’m an SF Vet and served with a number of teammates that bought the farm.. I’m glad there’s an official day of recognition.. but I dont need it to remember them.. They were like brothers and theyre with me everyday in my thoughts.
— De Oppresso Liber
OH… and while my teammates were alive, they loved good food..good drink.. BBQs… I dont think they’d want a somber Memorial for them.. A good rowdy BBQ and a toast to the brothers that couldnt be there would be more their style.
My Steve Miller/alcohol stream of conciousness-
1976 4th of July… lake… friends…hammered… 1’ deep concrete-lined kiddie’s end adjacent to deep end… dive… concussion…
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I had never thought about it that way before but I kinda disagree it’s a time to celebrate what the great people before us have done for the country.
Anna Kournikova is one of the sexiest russian tennis players i have ever seen. Russian tennis players are really pretty eh.**,
Anna Kournikova has pretty face and nice curves too.:”.