It's Memorial Day today and in my small town that means a parade that ends at the cemetery and a day in the village park. Community members who have been in the military or on active duty march in the parade, along with the high school band, the Girl and Boy Scout troops, riders on bikes and horses, and a few of the fire trucks, At the cemetery, an old family friend usually speaks and a wreath is laid at the memorial for the war dead.
After the parade, there is a chicken dinner sponsored by the local LIONs service organization, an ice cream social by the Boy Scouts and a bake sale for the youth services of one of the local churches. It is one of the social events that happens in small town America still and something I remember from my childhood. I went to the local park to get my dinner along with old friends and neighbors and caught up on local news.
Yesterday I planted flowers in the urns at my parents' graves and put out a new flag on the fence post. I couldn't help but remember the rows of white markers I had seen three weeks earlier at Arlington cemetery on a trip to Washington D.C. Thank you to all who have served in the military, it is your sacrifice that allow us to have those special summer days in small towns and large cities across America.
