Decoration Day

Some of the stories below have been told here before.  I thought it was a good time to share them again.   

What bugs me most about our national holidays is that few people know what they are really about. It seems that we take it as some sort of extra vacation day and that we should all go out and have a party somewhere. The only exception to this might be Thanksgiving Day which remains on the traditional fourth Thursday of November. Most people gather with their families to give thanks at the dinner table. Of course, some are giving thanks that there are 3 football games on television and you can watch all day long. At least families have gathered together, although that is starting to change as well with the change in store hours.

Other holidays are excuses for a party, a 3-day weekend trip, a backyard barbecue, or attendance at a sporting event. If you ask someone of a younger generation the meaning of Thanksgiving, he might tell you it is the day we have football games in Detroit, Dallas, and wherever the NFL will get ratings.  Christmas is when Santa comes, Easter is when the Easter Bunny comes, July 4th is when we shoot off fireworks and Labor Day is the end of summer so we should have one big old barbecue or party. The meaning of New Year’s Eve changed since Dick Clark no longer counts down the final seconds of the year and the NCAA destroyed New Year’s Day by moving most bowl games to other days (probably a topic for another time).

Military Cemetery, St. Avold, France

When I went to search for Memorial Day online, I got “Memorial Day sales.” That would probably be good if I needed a new mattress or backyard pool.  I don’t.

There is always media coverage of how Americans are hitting the road for holiday trips. The cynic in me thinks the oil companies plan their oil prices to sell more gasoline this weekend. The price is higher than this past winter, although it is somewhat lower than last Memorial Day Weekend.

It also seems to be a good day for photo opportunities for politicians. They will lay wreaths at the tombs of unknown soldiers, as long as there are cameras nearby.  President Biden participated in the wreath laying this year. It is all over news websites and YouTube.

The Washington DC website promoted the Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Rally yesterday.  Did anyone know the participants were veterans?  They also wanted you to “Chill Out on a DC Rooftop” bar in town. This way you know where to celebrate the meaning of the day.

When I was young, my grandmother referred to this holiday as Decoration Day. On May 30th, the holiday then, we would usually go to the cemetery and decorate the graves with geraniums. Some cemeteries put small flags at the graves of those who served in the military. We were told this was the meaning of the holiday. I had no idea how close to the truth this was.

Three years after the American Civil War, May 30 was set aside to decorate the graves of fallen Union and Confederate soldiers. Southern ladies had already taken up the practice of decorating the graves of fallen Confederate soldiers during the war. Many places now claim to be the first to decorate the graves of fallen soldiers.

In the 20th century, the day was dedicated to all Americans who paid the ultimate price in combat. Decorating graves could be symbolized by presidents laying a wreath at the tomb of unknown soldiers as there would be no one in particular to decorate those graves.

The official name was Decoration Day until Congress changed it to Memorial Day in 1967. In 1968 they took a bold step toward destroying its meaning, however, when they moved four holidays to Mondays. Now May 30th is not the holiday and Memorial Day has become part of an annual three-day vacation. We can be so caught up in the hoopla we forget what the day is all about. “What time do we meet?” “What shall I bring?” “What is the forecast?” “What time is the game?” “Decorate what? The backyard?”

My father is buried in a military section of a cemetery in another state. Although I can not be there, I know someone will decorate his grave and there will be a small American flag on each military grave. Taps will be played. That is the true essence of the day.

Related articles

• • Memorial Day (Decoration Day) Remembrances (swittersb.wordpress.com)
  • Memorial Day Remembering Those Who Died Serving in the Us Armed Forces (americanfreedombybarbara.com)
  • Chill Out On A DC Rooftop (Washington.org)
  • American Soil In A Foreign Land (teepee12.com)
  • The Origins Of Memorial Day (va.gov)

TRAVEL COMPANION

Last year after a trip to Toronto, I had the following thoughts about my various travel companions over the years. This post originally appeared on SERENDIPITY.

Friends and Companions, by Rich Paschall

“In life, it’s not where you go. It’s who you travel with.” – Charles Schulz

If you can travel with someone and come back as friends, then you have a good travel companion. I have had the good fortune of traveling with some people who were an absolute joy to spend time with. There were others I would prefer to leave at home. You may have had that experience.

“If we travel together again, he stays in YOUR room!” Perhaps you have had this conversation. It is the one where a group of friends all agree that one of you may be a good friend, but a lousy travel companion. Living with someone for a few days will reveal all of the other’s characteristics that you absolutely do not enjoy. Perhaps couples should take the honeymoon before marriage to decide whether they really want to go through with it. Sharing a small room, a small bathroom, and small seats on an airplane might reveal just how close you want to be to the person next to you.

Some friends and I have been to out-of-town football games, baseball games, and even basketball games. Most of the trips were a lot of fun, but a few might have you asking “Should auld acquaintance be forgot?” Some remained friends but were definitely to be forgotten as travel companions.

What could be wrong with traveling with friends? Let us count the ways. There is the person who is always joking around, every moment of every trip. This might be fine for a night out with the boys, but no one likes a week-long running joke. Well, I don’t anyway. Sometimes you want the other person to take it out of hyper-drive for a few hours and relax.

Another is someone who has an opinion on everything and those opinions are opposite to yours. Last year I had to explain to some friends that I had asked not to be seated at their table at a banquet. They were all friends but I did not want to be with certain friends who might find it their purpose in life to fill me with Republican talking points, many of which have already been proven to be lies. A few hours of that is hard to take, a few days would be next to impossible.

London Olympics

We have a few friends who like to have something to do every minute of every day. Your vacation plans might include scheduling every minute, mine don’t. Parts of my relaxing vacation include…uh, relaxing. Sometimes we can just decide on things as we go along.

Some like to fill any void with the sound of their voices. This is totally unnecessary. It is not radio. Dead air is OK sometimes. Talking just to have noise is like fingernails on a chalkboard just to…uh, have noise. Believe it or not, there are times when I might prefer the absolute silence my grandmother would get when she would glare at us when we were children. I don’t think she ever yelled at us. Her angry glare was enough to bring silence. On a trip, my angry glare apparently never seemed angry enough.

Food pics are serious business. In Heidelberg with John

On the other hand, there are people who you want to be on your travels. For all of 2009, I worked with a French intern. Not only did we become friends, but frequent travel companions, both here and in Europe. I think that it did not matter where we were going because we knew we would have fun. Yes, we had specific goals sometimes. We made some USA stops that he absolutely wanted to see while working here. I never thought to go to Hannibal, Missouri before. It is, of course, the hometown of Mark Twain. We saw Niagra Falls and toured Florida. We went to the 2012 Olympics in London and the Canstetter Volksfest in Stuttgart. Other times we just set out for wherever came to mind that day. Every trip was a great adventure. Every one!

One year I went to Medellin to meet a friend I only knew from online chats. John and I became friends and years later we were travel companions to Europe. Although I was sick for two days in Stuttgart, we found the rest of the trip to be pleasant. Of course, we went on to Strasbourg to meet up with my friend from France.

Travel companions, London

This time I have gone to Toronto with a frequent travel companion. Lewis and I have been to London, Paris, and Strasbourg, not to mention many day trips around town. We have seen baseball in both Chicago ballparks as well as in Milwaukee. Garry will be pleased to know that this adventure included a stop at Rogers Centre to see the Blue Jays play the Boston Red Sox. At least they have a dome in Toronto they can close. It may be much more comfortable than our stop this week at Wrigley Field where a windy day can be brutal in the spring.

We had no other specific plans for three days in Toronto besides the ball game. We discovered that the Ripley’s Aquarium was right near the ballpark after we arrived, and we added that in. I had only been through the airport once and had not seen the city before, and neither had Lewis. So we will bring back our report soon. I am certain I have a good travel companion again.

DESTROYING DEMOCRACY

The coming midterm elections might be the most important of your lifetime, considering the desire of some politicians to do away with our current democratic form of government. The following recently appeared on SERENDIPITY.

The Real Steal by Rich Paschall

Gerrymandering – The political manipulation of constituent districts to favor a political party.

If you are ever wondering why a congressional district has such weird-shaped boundaries, it is likely because the party in power drew the boundaries to favor themselves. If you do not want people of color to have representation, for example, then divide them up in such a way that there is no majority in one district. If that is almost impossible, then try to draw the boundaries so they get one district and no others. This can be done with ethnic minorities as well. This process has helped keep many old Republicans in power for decades.

If Republicans control the state redistricting map, as they do in most states, then they can draw the map to minimize the voting power of Democrats. Consider the Republican-controlled state of Ohio. The large cities like Cleveland and Toledo along the lake are likely to vote Democratic. If you can put them in their own districts with other likely-voting Democrats, you can minimize Democratic representation and send more Republicans to Congress. That’s exactly what they did. The dark blue districts have a majority of Democrats and the light blue districts are about 50/50 with a slight edge for Democratic voters. All the other districts are drawn in such a way as to favor Republicans. There are other tactics for the Republican-controlled state houses to use to try capturing light blue districts and strengthening their hold on red ones.

Ohio Congressional District map 2022

Voter suppression – reduce polling places

If you don’t want so many of your opponents’ voters casting their ballots, a good tactic may be to reduce the polling places in the areas where they are likely to vote. If Democratic voters are forced to travel long distances or stand in long lines, perhaps they will not bother to show up on election day. It may not change the outcome of district races in Democratic strongholds, but it may help to ensure certain outcomes in close races and at the statewide level.

Let’s take the great state of Kentucky, for example. Prior to the 2020 primary, Kentucky cut 95 percent of the polling places in the state. They reduced the number from about 3700 to 200. If you want the Republican senator to have a better chance of winning, let’s say, Mitch McConnell, you might want to have fewer polling places where Democrats vote. In Jefferson country, home to Louisville and half the black voters in the state, the number of polling places was reduced to one. That’s right! There was one polling place for approximately 616,000 registered voters. Some may not only consider this a tactic to defeat Democrats but a racist move to prevent people of color from casting their votes.

Between 2016 and 2020 (the Trump years) approximately 20 percent of the polling places in the US were closed. Of course, some states used COVID-19 as an excuse. There is no doubt that was an issue in the reduction. The extreme amount of cuts and their locations are certainly suspect decisions in many states.

Kentucky 2022 Final Congressional map

Voter Suppression – restrictive voting laws

Republican state legislatures from around the country have been busy in the last two years passing restrictive voting laws. In some cases, they appear to be targeting people of color who often vote Democratic. In the first half of 2021, 17 states passed 28 laws making it harder for people to vote. The Republican states often used THE BIG LIE (Trump’s false claim the 2020 election was stolen) as an excuse for passing such restrictive measures.

Challenges to two Arizona laws made it all the way to the Supreme Court last year. Not only did the high court uphold the Arizona laws, but some also argue that the decision erodes protections afforded under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. If the Trump judges at the Appeals and Supreme Court levels were already willing to have a hand in “Destroying Justice,” don’t you think they would be willing to help in Destroying Democracy as well?

Voter Suppression – mail-in voting

The Trump-appointed postmaster general has been responsible for removing mailboxes, destroying sorting machines, and slowing down first-class delivery. If the mail is unreliable when it is election time, it may discourage some from using this process. This could mean that the sick, elderly, and poor may have no way to vote at all. Historically, these groups tend to vote Democratic. Trump’s postmaster is still in office. In case you are wondering, the current president can not remove him.

State Attorney General – election policies

Many states have seen a lot of advertising for Attorney General races. In some states where the election might be tight, Republicans are pouring a lot of money into the state in order to win this office. What is the increased interest in the state Attorney General?

You may recall that a certain Orange politician was encouraging the Georgia Secretary of State to find him some votes. “There’s nothing wrong with saying that, you know, you’ve recalculated.” Georgia investigated the false claims of the then-president and certified the election for the opponent. Attorney General Chris Carr would not help the orange guy by overturning the election results. Now Republicans are hoping to put people in place who are willing to lie for the party and declare the loser to be the winner.

Independent State Legislature Theory – Moore vs. Harper

If none of the above-stated devices will put Republicans in federal offices, including the White House, then perhaps this one will. The theory asserts the proposition that it is the state legislatures that have the authority to determine the outcome of elections and may decide them as they feel appropriate. In other words, they can decide the results of a federal race no matter how the people of the state voted. Further, they could choose their own electors for the Electoral College, rather than the ones picked by the voters.

The ISL (Independent State Legislature) challenge made its way to the Supreme Court before and was rejected in 2015. That was before the Trump Judges. Now the high court has agreed to hear Moore vs. Harper, an ISL case that could throw democracy out the window. It would be a decision that would make Authoritarian rulers, like Russia, North Korea, and China, proud. Will the ultra-conservative court help Republicans appoint the next ruler and have a hand in Destroying Democracy?

Sources include: “Princeton Gerrymandering Project,” Princeton University, gerrymander.princeton.edu, 2022.
“Kentucky Slashes Number of Polling Places Ahead of Primary—Especially Where Black Voters Live,” by Madison Pauly, Mother Jones, motherjones.com June 21,2020.
“The US Eliminated Nearly 21,000 Election Day Polling Locations for 2020,” by Cameron Joseph, Rob Arthur, Vice News, vice.com. October 22, 2020.
“Report: Republican-Led State Legislatures Pass Dozens of Restrictive Voting Laws in 2021,” by Horus Alas, US News & World Report, usnews.com July 2, 2021.
“Georgia officials fact-check an infamous Trump phone call in real-time,” by Rachel Treisman, NPR, npr.org June 21,2022
“6 battleground state attorney general races to watch in 2022,” by Nicole Narea, VOX, vox.com July 21, 2022.
See also: “Destroying Justice,” SERENDIPITY, August 28, 2022.

DESTROYING JUSTICE

On National Voter Registration Day it is important to think about where the country is headed. Will we march in the direction of extreme right-wing politics, or find a more democratic way of running the country? Who you elect may influence the future of human and civil rights. The following was recently posted to SERENDIPITY. Vote!

A Not So Supreme Decision, by Rich Paschall

When the news leaked that the Supreme Court was going to overturn Roe vs Wade, it was quite a shock to the nation. Wasn’t this 1973 decision a matter of settled law? The case was decided by a 7-2 vote, after all. Wasn’t the court inclined to follow the precedent set by previous decisions? The abortion ruling had been challenged before. In 1992 the Supreme Court reaffirmed the Roe decision in a challenge that was brought in Planned Parenthood vs. Casey. Three Republican appointees, Justices Anthony Kennedy, David Souter, and Sandra O’Connor, voted in favor of NOT overturning Roe. That was a time when Republican appointees were still there to follow the law. That does not seem to be the case now.

“The Supreme Court of the United States has held that Roe v. Wade, that a fetus is not a person for purposes of the 14th Amendment… That’s the law of the land, I accept the law of the land, senator. Yes,” – Neil Gorsuch to Senator Durbin, March 2017 confirmation hearings.

“As a judge, it is an important precedent of the Supreme Court. By ‘it,’ I mean Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, been affirmed many times. Casey is precedent on precedent.” – Brett Kavanaugh to Senator Feinstein, September 2018.

“I’m answering a lot of questions about Roe, which I think indicates that Roe doesn’t fall in that category (a “super-precedent”) And scholars across the spectrum say that doesn’t mean that Roe should be overruled. But descriptively, it does mean that it’s not a case that everyone has accepted and doesn’t call for its overruling.” – Amy Coney Barrett in confirmation hearings, October 2020.

While Justice Barrett may have been a bit vague in confirmation hearings, she did say she would not let her personal religious views affect her legal decision-making. Were all of the Trump appointees lying to Congress in their confirmation hearings? Are they placed on the Supreme Court to do the bidding of the ultra-right wing of the Republican party? Will they be rolling back protections in other areas of civil and human rights?

Justice Clarence Thomas has already indicated as much in a written “concurring opinion” to the decision to overturn Wade. “In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents,” Thomas wrote “Because any substantive due process decision is ‘demonstrably erroneous,’ we have a duty to ‘correct the error’ established in those precedents.” He specifically mentioned cases regarding contraception and same-sex marriage. That could be a signal to the ultra-right to bring such challenges to the court again so they can toss out those protections as well.

Taken April 28, 2015, the day of oral arguments to the Supreme Court, CC License

Lost in all the furor over Roe were decisions made by the same conservative justices in other 6-3 rulings. In NEW YORK STATE RIFLE & PISTOL ASSOC. V. BRUEN the group struck down a long-standing New York law regarding carrying handguns in public. This will put similar laws in other states at risk. If you are thinking that a Democratic majority will be able to strengthen gun control after the mid-terms, think again. The NRA or one of its members would likely challenge any new law and you already know what the appeals court or the Supreme Court will decide.

In WEST VIRGINIA V. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY the court limited the power of the EPA to reduce carbon emissions. This is a blow to the current administration’s desire to promote clean energy and battle climate change.

Although the federal government has set workplace standards many times through OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and other federal agencies, a 6-3 decision in NATIONAL FEDERATION OF INDEPENDENT BUSINESS V. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR struck down a requirement for COVID-19 vaccination or testing at the nation’s largest companies.

The Conservative Six got behind school prayer rather than maintaining a separation of Church and State. In KENNEDY V. BREMERTON SCHOOL DISTRICT the court upheld a coach’s right to pray at the 50-yard line of a football game. Some thought his players felt pressured to join in.

In addition to three Supreme Court appointments made by Donald Trump, he is also responsible for 53 circuit judges to the US Court of Appeals, or close to one-third of all circuit judges. He appointed 171 federal district judges or about 28 percent of the current total. A cynic might say that Senator McConnell pushed through these appointments while he was Senate majority leader as a way of protecting Republicans against criminal prosecution. If the former president is found guilty of violating The Espionage Act, for example, what are the odds that one of his appointees or the Supreme Court will let him off the hook?

How many of these Trump judges are there to actually uphold the Constitution of the United States of America?  Since the Supreme Court has already demonstrated its willingness to ignore legal precedent and reinterpret the law, what is the probability that some or all these other Trump appointees will do the same?

Sources include: “What the Trump-appointed Supreme Court justices previously said about Roe’s precedent,” ByMeredith Deliso ABC News, abcnewsgo.com June 24,2022.
“Justice Thomas hints gay rights and contraception at risk after conservative majority overturns Roe v. Wade,” by Chris Morris, Fortune, fortune.com June 24, 2022.
“How the Supreme Court ruled in the major decisions of 2022,” By Ann E. Marimow, Aadit Tambe, and Adrian Blanco, The Washington Post, washingtonpost.com June 30, 2022.

A GOOD AMERICAN

The following appeared last year on this date on SERENDIPITY. You will read about my Columbia-American “family” member below.

Civics 101 by Rich Paschall

Most of us are Americans because we were born here. We did not have to meet any special requirements. We did have to learn about our history and our government, however.  When I was in 8th grade we had to take a Civics class. Basically, it taught us how the government works, or how it is supposed to work anyway. We were told if we did not pass Civics and a test on the Constitution, we would not graduate from Elementary School. We studied hard. Never underestimate the power of a nun tapping a three-sided ruler on the palm of her hand to put the fear of God as well as the fear of not graduating in you. You certainly did not want to take 8th grade twice with Sister Angela Rosary. Yes, I went to Catholic school.

In recent years you might wonder if they still teach Civics. There are a lot of people with very little knowledge of our history or our government. Even some of our elected officials have demonstrated a remarkable lack of knowledge of the U.S. Constitution. What if they had to pass a test to be an elected official, or even to be a citizen? How many of them would fail the test?

Those who wish to emigrate to the United States to become citizens will learn that the process is long, hard, and expensive. In the end, you must demonstrate you are a good citizen and pass a Civics test. There are a hundred questions, but you will only get ten. You must get a passing grade to become an American. OK, class, get out your Number 2 pencils and get ready to take your test. These are actual questions asked by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). No, I did not steal them. Practice tests using the actual questions are on the website for applicants to study. Will you become a citizen today?

01. How many amendments does the Constitution have? a). 27  b). 10  c). 23  d). 21
02. Name one problem that led to the Civil War.  a). westward expansion b). slavery c). oil d). sugar
03. How many justices are on the Supreme Court?  a). 9  b). 10  c). 12  d). 11
04. Who did the United States fight in World War II?  a). Japan, Germany, Italy b). Japan, China, Vietnam c). the Soviet Union, Germany, and Italy d). Austria-Hungary, Japan, Germany
05. What is one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for?  a). U.S. diplomat b). the youngest member of the Constitutional convention c). the third president of the United States d). inventor of the airplane

A flag over the Mumford.

06. Why does the flag have 13 stripes?  a). because the stripes represent the members of the Second Continental Congress b). because the stripes represent the original colonies c). because it was considered lucky to have 13 stripes on a flag d). because the stripes represent the number of signatures on the U.S. Constitution
07. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1800s.  a). Korean War b). Mexican-American War c). World War I  d). World War II
08. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?  a). freed slaves in most Southern states b). gave the United States independence from Great Britain c). ended World War I  d). gave women the right to vote
09. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?  a). James Madison b). Abraham Lincoln c). George Washington d). Thomas Jefferson
10. Before he was President, Eisenhower was a general. What war was he in?  a). Civil War b). Spanish-American War c). Vietnam War d). World War II

Bonus Question:
Who is the current President?  a). Barack Obama b). Joe Biden c). Donald Trump d). Harry S. Truman

Put your pencils down and pass your tests forward to the angry-looking nun in the front of the room. Please note that if you picked an orange politician for the Bonus Question, you fail even if you got the 10 questions right.

Arriving at Chicago O’Hare

You may have met my friend John right here at the SERENDIPITY gathering place. He has been the subject of a few articles you may have read, although I may have just referred to him as “roomie” or roommate. He was also the inspiration for various characters that have appeared in my stories.  I also used pictures of John to illustrate some stories. Some of the pictures for a series of South American short stories were shot from the roof of John’s building in Medellin. He waited thirteen months for a visa to come to America. I collected him at Chicago O’Hare on the day he left his country for good.

He spent years learning English and assimilating into our culture. He had just one goal. He wished to become a US citizen.  It was a difficult journey.  After his application was accepted last November he studied the 100 questions while he waited for his interview and that Civics test. He was given an appointment in May for an interview and a test. By the time he went, he probably knew history and government better than some Americans. We discussed many of these events, institutions, and politicians as we waited.

One day the letter finally arrived. John had a date at the Everett Dirksen Federal Building in Chicago. On June 17th he became an American. Would you have passed the test?

US Citizenship papers

Answer key: 1. a, 2. b, 3. a, 4. a, 5. a, 6. b, 7. b, 8. a. 9. d. 10. d.

NO LONGER WILL THEY COME

The following appeared last year on SERENDIPITY.

AMERICAN SOIL IN A FOREIGN LAND – RICH PASCHALL

 A few years ago on V.E. Day, Armistice Day for the end of World War II in Europe, I visited the American cemetery at St. Avold. It is the final home for many of America’s Greatest Generation. It was quiet then. This year, it was even quieter, not just because of a global pandemic, but because they are gone now. No parents, no spouses, no siblings, or army mates will attend any remembrance day.

How a field in France became the resting place for thousands of Americans

In September of 1944, the Third US Army resumed its push across eastern France to drive opposing forces out of France and back across the border. The Seventh US Army, after landing in southern France, was joined by First French Army and drove northward.  The US Air Force provided key tactical support.  On September 21st the Third and Seventh armies joined forces providing a solid line through France to the Swiss border.  On Monday, November 27th St. Avold, France was liberated by the US 80th Infantry Division. This becomes important to our story today.

By December the eastern front was being pushed toward Germany. On December 19th, the Third Army moved northward to counterattack at the Battle of the Bulge. The many months of fighting throughout this region brought thousands of US casualties. A temporary US military cemetery was set up at St. Avold on March 16, 1945.  The struggles to hold territory and move forward were paid for in the lives of much of the Third and Seventh Armies.  By the end of the war, the rolling fields of the Lorraine region of France at St. Avold held the remains of over 16 thousand US soldiers.

St. Avold cemetery, France

The burial grounds of the US soldiers at St. Avold as well as four other places across France were given to the United States in perpetuity as military cemeteries. Today the Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial is the largest World War II cemetery in Europe. It is bigger than the more honored and remembered memorial at Normandy. Ten thousand four hundred eighty-seven of America’s finest generation lie across this 113.5 acres of land.

There are Medal of Honor winners, ace pilots, 30 sets of brothers, and 151 unknown soldiers.  In addition, 444 names are inscribed on a wall to honor those who lie in unknown graves across this region of Europe. Their bodies were lost and never returned home or to one of the hallowed grounds in France, England, Belgium, The Netherlands, Italy, or Luxembourg.

When you include those in the Philippines and North Africa (Tunisia), 93,236 American soldiers found their final resting place in World War II on foreign soil that became American soil over time. The ground we visited in France was handed over without charge or taxation by a grateful nation that did not forget the sacrifice of American soldiers who fought a bitter war to win freedom for others and keep the aggression away from our shores.

On Armistice Day in France, or what we call VE Day (Victory in Europe Day), May 8th, we walked the hallowed grounds of St. Avold and paid our respects to the greatest American generation. The rows of crosses and Stars of David fill the landscape and remind the few who remain that freedom came at a high price in 1944 and 1945. Americans were willing to stand beside people of another land to win freedom, and now many lie there in eternal rest.

I signed the guest book at one in the afternoon. I noticed I was the only American who had signed in. There were signatures of a Romanian, a German who added “in honor and respect” in German, and two French. One wrote, “We will never forget the sacrifice of their lives.” I asked myself if the sacrifice will indeed be remembered or forgotten in time? Will this become, over the years, just another historical curiosity? A footnote? Ancient history forgotten by many if not most people?

Taps at St. Avold cemetery, France

It is easy to understand why no Americans kneel and pray in the tall chapel, no relatives to decorate the graves, or loved ones to shed tears. Many at St. Avold were too young to have children when they answered the call from Uncle Sam. They were barely more than children themselves.

Many had no remaining families. If they had siblings after the war, most have passed by now. Anyone who remains alive to honor them is likely at home, in America. Sad that the national holiday in France saw the honored dead receiving about as much attention as our honored dead will receive here at home on this coming Memorial Day. What are your holiday plans?

Why the old man feeds pigeons

It is  Fête de la Fédération in France, or more commonly know as Bastille Day here. It is much like our Fourth of July. It reminded me of one of my favorite short stories from a few years ago.

Metro

It was a grey and gloomy Paris morning where occasional rain drops did not seem to chase the patrons off the sidewalks and into the many cafés that were sprinkled liberally around the area.  This particularly grimy part of town was liberally spray painted with “street art.”  Teams of youths and an occasional solo artist spent many evenings decorating the buildings, fences and a few trucks with their personal designs.  When we arrived at the nearby train station the afternoon before, we noticed the last few miles before the station contained a nonstop view of this French city artistry.  Back home we would call this graffiti, nothing more.

We approached a corner cafe with no thought of sitting outside.  My travel companions did not want to “take our breakfast in the streets.”  I would have preferred to be outside where I could watch Paris stroll by, but was left with the view from whatever window we could sit near.  My friends never actually took breakfast.  It did not fit their normal routine and they were not about to change for Paris or Strasbourg or any town in between.  One ordered Coke while the other attempted to order “jus d’orange” in his best sounding fake French accent.

“Café américain and croissant,” I ordered without any attempt to sound French.  I figured the waiter knew we were Americans before we sat down.  They always seem to know.  He smiled and wandered off to fix our drinks.  My tired friends stared off aimlessly as if sugared drinks would be required to bring them back to life.  I studied the room as we waited for our order.  Two men were standing at the counter enjoying espresso and talking loudly, as if that was the thing to do at 8 hours 30 minutes on the morning clock.  Paris life does not begin too early, unless you are a baker.

As our drinks were being set down in front of us, I spied a grey little man in a tattered grey coat walking slowly past the window to my left.  He was elderly, I presumed by his grey hair and grey stubble.  His open coat revealed a grey or dirty white shirt and several keys which hung on long strings from around his neck.  He carried a baguette in one hand while using the other hand to pull a cart with a small case attached to it.  I imagined the dirty, beat-up looking case carried his most valued possessions, whatever they may be.  Before too long, he disappeared from view.  My friends had not noticed him at all.

Our bill had come to fifteen euros.  Even at a good exchange rate, this would seem a high price to pay back home.  As it was a Paris cafe, I figured we were paying for the view of dirty streets and the indifferent service of our handsome waiter.  I really did not mind, however.  I was just glad to be anywhere we could take the pace of life as we pleased.  In that regard, we could blend in well for a week.

We left the cafe and were on our way to begin the tour of famous Paris landmarks, monuments and churches.  There is an ample supply of all three in the French capital.  A few days in the city of lights would not be enough to see them all, but one always hopes to return to Paris.  It will not matter how many times you go, there is always the belief deep down that you will return.

We moved up to the corner and waited to cross the boulevard lined with trash from the day before.  Although the city cleaned the streets often, it did not seem to matter as the locals tossed their trash anywhere along their path.  Perhaps they expected trash to be collected by city workers every day.  It is not for lack of trash receptacles that they throw garbage to the ground, as containers are everywhere.  I guess those must be for the tourists.

Down the center of the street was a parkway with a paved center and grassy areas along the sides.  We took the pathway which was lined with park benches.  As we moved toward the sign that said “Metropolitain” at the far end of the parkway, I noticed the little grey man just a short distance ahead of us.  He was standing in front of one of the benches and had the baguette firmly in hand.  As he tore a piece of the bread and put it in his mouth, pigeons flocked to him as if he was their leader and they were his faithful followers.  As a reward for coming to his side, he tore off a chunk of the baguette, then ripped it into small pieces and tossed them all around him.  At this site even more pigeons came to visit and soon the old man stood in a sea of birds, alternately eating some of the baguette and tossing some.  His subjects cooed their approval in a tone that I always found annoying.

As we wandered past the grey patch of ground where the old man stood, many of the birds took flight in order to clear the way before us.  We could not be slowed down on our trip to the stairway that would lead us into the ground and to one of the many subway trains of Paris.  I thought it was a shame all the birds were leaving the old-timer so I turned around to take a look after we had walked on by.  Since the old man had more baguette in hand, the black and white and grey pigeons all returned to continue the feast.  This would be the most attention the man would receive that day.  As a matter of fact, it was the most attention the man received most days.  As long as he returned each morning baguette in hand, his somewhat loyal avian subjects would appear to greet him.  This would bring him his daily moment of joy.

Decoration Day

Some of the stories below have been told here before.  I thought it was a good time to share them again.   

What bugs me most about our national holidays is that few people know what they are really about. It seems that we take it as some sort of extra vacation day, and that we should all go out and have a party somewhere. The only exception to this might be Thanksgiving Day which remains on the traditional fourth Thursday of November. Most people gather with their families to give thanks at the dinner table. Of course, some are giving thanks that there are 3 football games on television and you can watch all day long. At least families have gathered together, although that is starting to change as well with the change of store hours.

Other holidays are excuses for a party, 3 day weekend trip, backyard barbecue or attendance at a sporting event. If you ask someone of a younger generation the meaning of Thanksgiving, he might tell you it is the day we have football games in Detroit, Dallas and wherever the NFL will get ratings.  Christmas is when Santa comes, Easter is when the Easter Bunny comes, July 4th is when we shoot off fireworks and Labor Day is the end of summer so we should have one big old barbecue or party. The meaning of New Year’s Eve changed since Dick Clark no longer counts down the final seconds of the year and the NCAA destroyed New Year’s Day by moving most bowl games to other days (probably a topic for some New Year’s blog).

Military Cemetery, St. Avold, France

When I went to search for Memorial Day online, I immediately got “Memorial Day sales.” That would probably be good if I needed a new mattress or backyard pool.  I don’t.

There is always media coverage of how Americans are hitting the road for holiday trips. The cynic in me thinks the oil companies plan their oil prices to sell more gasoline this weekend.

It also seems to be a good day for photo opportunities for politicians. They will lay wreathes at tombs of unknown soldiers, as long as there are cameras nearby.  Trump took the opportunity to send out tweets and congratulate himself on a job well done.

The Washington DC website promoted the Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Rally yesterday.  Did anyone know the participates were veterans?  They also wanted you to know about the Top Rooftop Bars in town. This way you know where to celebrate the meaning of the day.

When I was young, my grandmother referred to this holiday as Decoration Day. On May 30th, the holiday then, we would usually go to the cemetery and decorate the graves with geraniums. Some cemeteries put small flags at the graves of those who served in the military. We were told this was the meaning of the holiday. I had no idea how close to the truth this was.

After the American Civil War a date was set aside to decorate the graves of fallen Union soldiers. Southern ladies had already taken up the practice of decorating the graves of fallen confederate soldiers during the war. In the 20th century the day was dedicated to all Americans who paid the ultimate price in combat. Decorating graves could be symbolized by presidents laying a wreath at the tomb of unknown soldiers as there would be no one in particular to decorate those graves.

The official name was Decoration Day until Congress changed it to Memorial Day in 1967. In 1968 they took a bold step toward destroying its meaning, however, when they moved four holidays to Mondays. Now May 30th is not the holiday and Memorial Day has become part of an annual three-day vacation. We can be so caught up in the hoopla we forget what the day is all about. “What time do we meet?” “What shall I bring?” “What is the forecast?” “What time is the game?” “Decorate what? The backyard?”

My father is buried in a military section of a cemetery in another state. Although I can not be there, I know someone will decorate his grave and there will be a small American flag on each military grave. Taps will be played. That is the true essence of the day.

Related articles

• • Memorial Day (Decoration Day) Remembrances (swittersb.wordpress.com)
  • Memorial Day Remembering Those Who Died Serving in the Us Armed Forces (americanfreedombybarbara.com)
  • 20+ ROOFTOP BARS & RESTAURANTS TO CHECK OUT IN WASHINGTON, DC (Washington.org)
  • American Soil In A Foreign Land (teepee12.com)

The Falling Days Drift By The Window

Autumn

“The falling leaves drift by the window
The autumn leaves of red and gold…”

The changing seasons may hold special memories for some.  Walking outside into a particular type of weather may evoke a particular moment.  It may unlock a time from your memory vault, either good or bad, that you can associate with the weather, the season, or maybe just a certain type of day.  Like the autumn leaves, visions of your life may fall all around you.

Les Alyscamps, Falling Autumn Leaves, Vincent van Gogh, 1888 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When the weather changes from summer to fall, the most predominant image to me is that of football.  No, I am not talking about sitting in front of a television on Saturday or Sunday to watch college or professional football.  I am talking about the in-the-park, touch football sort of memories I accrued over many years in Revere Park.  A large crew of friends participated as teammates and opponents.  Whatever hard feelings there may have been over certain games or with opposing players, they have now blown away like leaves being blown down the street by a fierce October wind.  Only good images remain.  I would be a liar if I denied that this time of year makes me yearn for an autumn that will never be repeated.  Since I can not go back to those days, I can only carry the memories forward into the winter of life.  Fortunately, they are good memories.

Football was always a favorite with me so there are other memories besides the “weekend warrior” kind.  There are the years as a football official for leagues of boys playing in that same park.  Although I enjoyed working other sports as well, nothing compared to running out onto the field, with college fight songs blasting over the park speakers, as we yelled at the youngsters to line up for the opening kick-off.  We worked these games in every type of weather, warm and windy days as well as cool and crisp afternoons.  We not only endured driving rains but even some late fall snows that coated the fields and reminded us that winter was lurking around some corner that we were about to turn.

Of course, there was plenty of time spent watching football on televisions with the giant 19 inch screen. I fell most in love with the professional game after reading the best seller by Green Bay Packer lineman Jerry Kramer.  Instant Replay made famous some Packer linemen and their opponents on the line of scrimmage.  Paper Lion by George Plimpton also was a great read, particularly for the amateur player, not quite good enough to play the pro game.  A couple other football books written in the same generation of players helped to capture a certain mystique about the game.  I doubt there have been any better books written about pro football since.  That these memories of certain books go with a particular season are an amazing thing to me.  Indeed I associate other books with other seasons as well.

“I see your lips, the summer kisses
The sun-burned hands I used to hold…”

Summer could last forever for me now.  Since I can not improve on the fall memories that I hope will never fall away, I wish for t-shirt and shorts weather to stick around.  While summer is always filled with a certain sort of contentment, fall is filled with nostalgia for a by-gone era.  I can stand in the middle of the park and remember what was, or travel to the arboretum to immerse myself in colored leaves, but I can not turn back any clocks.  That is the reminder that autumn ushers in with its cooler nights and shorter days.

“Since you went away the days grow long
And soon I’ll hear old winter’s song…”

If you live in the midwest part of the USA, you know that winter will come storming in all too soon.  Even if you like the snow of a Christmas morning, you never like the hours spent shovelling your walkways or digging out your automobile.  If you live in the “Windy City,” Chicago that is, then you absolutely know how a winter wind can “go right through you,” as many say here.  The meanness of old man winter is only welcomed by a scant few.  The rest of us understand so well that autumn points to the brutally mean side of Mother Nature.  When you reach the autumn of your own years, winter can not be made welcome, because you know that there is no spring to follow.  If you have not already stopped to smell the roses, or looked at the explosion of fall colors, then you have missed what nature and life itself has to offer.

“…but I miss you most of all my darling
When autumn leaves start to fall.”

There is a season for reminiscence and I guess that it is autumn.  If a damp and cold October afternoon can drive me to my computer to toss off some random thoughts, then I suppose the time is now.  For the people and times past that remain in my heart, I must declare that I miss you most of all, when autumn leaves start to fall.

– “Les feuilles mortes” music by Joseph Kosma and lyrics by poet Jacques Prévert, english lyrics by Johnny Mercer.

Related articles

• Here’s why fall/autumn has two names (msnbc.msn.com)
• Autumn is Coming! (masmichael2012.wordpress.com)
• Autumn is a Lonely Business (ssi1veren.wordpress.com)
• THE AUTUMN OF THE YEAR, (teepee12.com)

Decoration Day

This article has been posted before.  It has been received with a bit of skepticism over the origins of the day.  It is likely that the practice of decorating the graves of soldiers who died in the Civil War was taken up in many places during and immediately after the war, unknown to one another.  Some of these practices were reported in newspapers of the time, while others were passed down orally and written down later.  These later versions may have been supported by anecdotal evidence that is now hard, if not impossible, to prove.
Where exactly the practice of decorating graves started, and who should claim the origin is not really the point anymore, is it?  A tradition of decorating graves, and the meaning of the “holiday” are now largely lost.  This loss of historic knowledge, along with the loss of so many American soldiers, is the true sadness of the day.

Who will decorate the graves?

What bugs me most about our national holidays is that few people know what they are really about. It seems that we take it as some sort of extra vacation day and that we should all go out and have a party somewhere. The only exception to this might be Thanksgiving Day which remains on the traditional fourth Thursday of November. Most people gather with their families to give thanks at the dinner table. Of course, some are giving thanks that there are 3 football games on television and you can watch all day long. Even this tradition is starting to be eroded by commerce.

Other holidays are excuses for a party, 3 day weekend trip, backyard barbecue or attendance at a sporting event. If you ask someone of a younger generation the meaning of Thanksgiving, he might tell you it is the day we have football games in Detroit, Dallas and wherever the NFL will get ratings.  Christmas is when Santa comes, Easter is when the Easter Bunny comes, July 4th is when we shoot off fireworks and Labor Day is the end of summer so we should have one big old barbecue or party. The meaning of New Year’s Eve changed since Dick Clark no longer counts down the final seconds of the year and the NCAA destroyed New Year’s Day by moving most bowl games to other days.

When I went to search for Memorial Day online, I immediately got “Memorial Day sales.” That would probably be good if I needed a new mattress or backyard pool. I see news reports covering how Americans are hitting the road due to low gas prices. The cynic in me thinks the oil companies planned this to sell more gasoline. It also seems to be a good day for photo opportunities for politicians. They will lay wreathes at tombs of unknown soldiers, as long as there are cameras nearby. And the Washington DC website promotes the Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Rally along with events that seem a little more patriotic.

When I was young, my grandmother referred to this holiday as Decoration Day. On May 30th, the Memorial Day holiday then, we would usually go to the cemetery and decorate the graves with geraniums. Some cemeteries put small flags at the graves of those who served in the military. We were told this was the meaning of the holiday. I had no idea how close to the truth this was. After the American Civil War a date was set aside to decorate the graves of fallen Union soldiers. Southern women had already taken up the practice of decorating the graves of fallen confederate soldiers during the war. In the 20th century the day was dedicated to all Americans who paid the ultimate price in combat. Decorating graves could be symbolized by presidents laying a wreath at the tomb of unknown soldiers as there would be no one in particular to decorate those graves.

The official name was Decoration Day until Congress changed it to Memorial Day in 1967. In 1968 they took a bold step toward destroying its meaning, however, when they moved four holidays to Mondays. Now May 30th is not the holiday (although it will fall there some years) and Memorial Day has become part of an annual three-day vacation. We can be so caught up in the hoopla we forget what the day is all about. “What time do we meet?” “What shall I bring?” “What is the forecast?” “What time is the game?” “Decorate what? The backyard?”

My father is buried in a military section of a cemetery in another state. Although I can not be there, I know someone will decorate his grave and there will be a small American flag on each military grave. Taps will be played. That is the true essence of the day.

Related articles

• Memorial Day (Decoration Day) Remembrances (swittersb.wordpress.com)
• Memorial Day Remembering Those Who Died Serving in the Us Armed Forces (americanfreedombybarbara.com)
• NY Times Op-Ed article from 2011
• American Soil In A Foreign Land (teepee12.com)
• Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial