Memorial Day, 2007

For most of us, Memorial Day is great. A day off work, a day off school, a day to unofficially herald the beginning of summer, preferably spent at the lake or by the pool, grilling burgers, staying cool, and hanging with friends.






Even better when you can get your boyfriend Nicholas to pull you around the pool like some sort of pack mule, who do you think you are, Cleopatra???






Water balloon fights are the way to go.











However, since Memorial Day is officially a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service, I’d like to take the more patriotic route and send a huge thank you to those we know personally who have served (Joe, welcome back home!); are currently serving (Hey, Gary and Glen, hang in there!); and will be serving soon (Jim, best of luck!) overseas deployments during this war, away from their family and friends, for months at a time. And of course, to the thousands and thousands of men, women, husbands, wives, sons, and daughters, that we don’t know personally --- thank you to you, as well.

I’ll leave you with a song that is very special to me …. If you have your speakers turned off, it might be worth turning them on, just to hear this. The song isn’t new, so you’ve possibly heard it before. If not, it’s worth hearing, and if so, it’s worth hearing again today. And if you don't know the story of the Sullivan brothers, you really need to look it up and learn it.

Listen, and think about the sacrifices made by others, no matter your personal political leanings. Then sit back and say a small prayer of thanks to those people in your mind, because whether you agree with this war or not, whether you agree with any war or not, whether you like George Bush or hate him --- even if you’re the biggest pacifist on the planet --- you are damn lucky to be living in this country and for just one day, this Memorial Day, we all need to remember those who have sacrificed for the rest of us.

Artist: Caroline'S Spine

Song: Sullivan

Album: Monsoon

it's not hard to reach back to the day

underneath that Iowa sun

running to the tower of waterloo

looking for the Sullivan's train to come

and his five boys would run to the top

and salute him as he went by

first we'd wave hello

then we'd wave goodbye

goodbye



it's not hard to reach back to the days

after the attack on pearl

overnight my buddies turned into men

running out of time for games and girls

and the Sullivan boys were not overlooked

Uncle Sam calling each by name

the very next day they left on a mystery train



say goodbye, Mrs. Sullivan

and don't you cry

"-We regret to inform you

the Navy is taking your sons away-"

all five...

so put your blue stars in the window



it's not hard to reach back to her smile

when she'd recieve a letter

and the letters they sounded generally the same

said if they couldn't be home

at least they were together

on a mighty fighting battleship

somewhere in the South Pacific

the letters never got much more specific



say goodbye, Mrs. Sullivan and don't you cry

"-We regret to inform you

the Navy is keeping your sons away-" all five...

so keep your blue stars in the window



it's not hard to reach back to the day

when the war finally came home

Uncle Sam'll send you a telegram

so he doesn't have to tell you over the phone

i heard she cracked up

when they found out what the war had cost

when all five of her boys were lost...



say goodbye, Mrs. Sullivan

go ahead and cry

"-We regret to inform you

that all your sons have passed away-" all five...

so change your blue star to gold

blue stars to gold