This past weekend I had Memorial Day off for the first time since I graduated college. I decided to go home and surprise my mom for her birthday. It was a total success, helped along by the fact her birthday is not until next weekend. : ) Memorial Day itself isn't necessarily a happy day since it is set aside to remember both the surviving veterans and the soldiers who sacrificed their lives during war. Even though it has come to signify a day of leisure, all the stories I found on the day's celebrations, including the one I cite from the San Francisco Chronicle just below, served to remind me there are still people out there who remember the true meaning of the day and are grateful for what the men and women in the military give up on a daily basis.
On a similarly patriotic note, I saw a story in the LA Times about the upcoming reopening of the crown of the Statue of Liberty. Closed since the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the crown viewing station will reopen on July 4, 2009 to small groups. The rest of the lower viewing platforms have already reopened.
Not all war news is unhappy. NJ.com had a story posted this morning on a reunion of Army National Guard troops and their families at Fort Dix yesterday. These men and women were the first wave of returning soldiers in New Jersey's largest National Guard deployment since World War II. All in all, nearly 3000 NJ National Guard soldiers were deployed. The remaining 2500 will be returning in the next two weeks.
(Photo credit: San Francisco Chronicle)
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