Memorial Day Thoughts and Pictures

Monday is a holiday in the United States and I'll be taking the day off, giving myself a true two-day weekend for the first time in months. Oh happy day! Usually we have warm temperatures, the gardens are planted or very close to planted, the lawn has been mowed, the trees are in full leaf and the birds are trying to care for their baby chicks. This year, with our delayed spring, things are set back by more than three weeks. The trees just stopped flowering, gardens are just getting planted now, and the baby chicks have just hatched. Everything is running late this year.

Our flowering trees had three days to bloom before rain destroyed
their blossoms.

Memorial Day is a day for us to think back on ALL of those who have served and who have been in the background of all of our service personnel. We also think back on all of our ancestors, clean their graves and remember them. This is a holiday that can apply to any nation and any person living within the borders of one. Each of us are touched by those who serve in some fashion and each of us have had parents, grandparents or others in our family who have passed on. I'm not a fan of the military, but it's the institution I have problems with, not the individual soldiers. So, for your eye candy today, some members of the military and some cemetery shots.

A lineup of brave and beautiful people who serve in the US military.

This group of military members in Mexico City are practicing for a parade.

Of course, we all want our soldiers to arrive back home safely.

This pic is of the Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague, Czechoslovakia.
It's pretty crowded, not quite like our endless rows of white markers.

The cemetery for those who died in Normandy during the D-day invasion of
World War II. The next shot is an overhead shot of the entire cemetery. Honor those who serve.

Have a good Memorial Day, whether or not you live in the United States. And as the weekend goes through its days and hours, remember those who touched your own life - your parents, grandparents, and others who are no longer with you. Honor them this Memorial Day.