Memorial Day

Not sure if it's appropriate to wish someone a "Happy Memorial Day." Being a bit of a solemn occasion, perhaps "happy" is not the correct word.

I always think of my Dad on this day. Like most of his generation (a.k.a. The Greatest Generation), he served in the U.S. Army during WWII. But he also was a Special Agent in the FBI, so I guess you can say he served his country for pretty much his entire life.

Memorial Day in Douglaston, Queens (NY) where he lived from 1972 till his death in 1996, was the occasion of an annual parade that always drew large crowds from all over the borough and I believe remains one of the largest, if not THE largest parade in that part of the city. When I lived there from 1972 to 1978, I became involved with the Little Neck-Douglaston Volunteer Ambulance Corps as an EMT. And, every year on Memorial Day, we would put on our dress uniforms and march proudly in the parade. Heck, they even have a website for the parade!

So, the flag is flying on my porch in Augusta. The day is hot and steamy - perhaps an omen for a hot, sticky summer - we're overdue. And I'm thinking of "my old man."

Happy Memorial Day.

~j