Watching

The lighthouse in Newport, Oregon.   A beautiful sight to see.    Angie took this picture and said it was a long time in coming to get the perfect shot.   I'd say she did a tremendous job of it.    Great shot.  

The last day of May, 2016, a long way from May, 1924, a long road to travel with the names of many places and faces.   A good time to reminisce.  A good time to  take a walk down memory lane.   In the very early years, I remember parades for Decoration Day, trips to the cemetery, placing flowers on the grave of a loved one who was called much to early to suit me.  I loved the parades, the flag bearers striding along with such pride.   I remember looking at a huge table book with all the pictures of World War I, horrifying and ugly pictures of battle scenes and the remains of those who gave up their lives for freedom.    The same old story repeated time after time and it seems no one learns  the lessons of futility.    Right now, and for several months, I have been reading "Winds of War" and the sequel, "War and Remembrance" to a veteran who spent time in the Navy and traveled the world seeking a way to help end all wars forever;  sad, not a truism as the "pot boils over" time after time for reasons we don't even hear about or understand.    Nothing has been solved or resolved over the centuries, wouldn't you think we would have and should have learned something from our futile efforts to survive.   Decoration Day or Memorial Day, as it is now called, is a day to remember those that gave their lives for the principles they believed in.   It is now up to each and every one of us to live up to their sacrifice and make our world a much better place .  It starts in your own little corner of this world.  It is difficult to carry this banner, yet we have a duty to those who gave their lives for the magnificent world of freedom.  All the hullabaloo is gone today, a new week is starting and the holiday already on  the pathway to forgetfulness for another year.    Maybe it would be a good idea to let the thoughts and deeds linger on awhile.  Maybe we could take time out to visit a Veteran' Hospital and share time with a wounded warrior.   If that is to much to ask, maybe a donation would be in order to help the Veterans Organizations lend a helping hand to those in need.   They are not asking for a handout but a hand up and that is the least of what we can and should do.    Memorial Day is a memory day, one we should all participate in , whole heart and soul.    It is pay back time as it should be.   It is not time to 'pack it up' until next year, it is time to renew this particular holiday every day all year through.   It is time to 'lift up' a veteran in need and deed for all that he or she has given to make our world a better place.    We owe them big time.

 

So put on your thinking cap and think of a way you can participate in helping a veteran and his family survive.  Think about how you would feel if you lost an eye, an arm, a leg and still had to find a way to survive.    they didn't ask to be maimed for life, they were because they were willing to give their all for your freedoms.    So make Memorial Day an everyday work of art, paint a picture in which you are the main character and have  the will and the heart to help your fellow man.    Be a leader.  Be altruistic.   Be of 'big' heart . . . be a giver, not a taker. . . be YOU....be special in your differences and make the world a better place as only YOU can.   Hugs to all.