Memorial Day

The photo in this blog post came from a post I found online, but I thought it perfectly demonstrates what Memorial Day really means:

It is easy for us to say, "Happy Memorial Day" as many of us take the day off to spend time with family and friends.  But, at least once today, please stop and remember that the reason we even have to have a Memorial Day is because we have lost many loved ones on the fields of battle.  Somewhere, everywhere, there are husbands, wives, and children who spend the day in agony over the people they no longer have on this earth.  Memorial Day is a day of remembrance.  If you know the spouse, child, or parent of a fallen soldier, let them know how much you appreciate the sacrifice made in the name of serving for the United States of America.  Whether you agree with certain wars, battles, or military actions makes no difference.  Those that have given their lives were called to duty and they died as a result of that.  There are no politics that can ever justify the loss of life and there is no loss of life that should ever be darkened by one's own political beliefs.  Today is Memorial Day. It really is that "simple."

The older I get, the more it means

As a child and a teenager, Memorial Day meant little more than cookouts and an extended weekend.  In actuality, I can't even remember a single Memorial Day that stands out more than any other summer day from my youth.  I'm sure we spent the day at my grandparents' house, perhaps at our own house, grilling and drinking Kool-Aid.  And though, I'm sure I was told what Memorial Day meant to the population at large, it meant very little to me back then.  I was a kid and had no connections I could make between the holiday and my own life.

My grandfather served in the military, my uncle served, and my father had served.  But their experiences were never discussed so far as I could remember.  In fact, the only I do remember is watching a video of my uncle that had been converted from 8mm reel-to-reel to VHS many years ago.  I also remember being told once that I was to never ask my grandfather about his time in World War II.  He saw and experienced things that apparently were beyond discussion and comprehension.

As I've gotten older, having recently celebrated my 41st birthday, Memorial Day has come to mean more and more, especially in light of 9/11 and of the ongoing wars that the USA has created or has involved themselves.  It is easy to get wrapped up in hot dogs, hamburgers, drinks and picnics.  But, what we must do is take time to stop and remember those who have given their lives in the name of serving our country.

It doesn't matter if you agree with the military actions this country has taken or not.  Memorial Day is not about politics.  It is about honoring the men and women who donned military uniforms and who stood in harm's way to sacrifice their own lives.   It is with honor and reverence that we take this day to pause and say thanks to those who survived their military careers to live beyond those years and who passed on outside of their service time.  Any veteran who has since moved on from this world should be held high today and brought to the forefront of our memories.

The outward expression of our genuine gratitude demonstrates itself in the form of a US flag rippling in the breeze, for it is that very flag that represents everything those who served were protecting.  If you have a flag on your home, take a moment and watch it.  Remember the men and women whose blood, sweat and tears make up the very fabric with which that flag is allowed to be flown.  If you do not have a flag, please consider getting one.  For all that is right with this country and for all that is wrong, we fly the flag today for those who played a part in the freedoms we enjoy - whether that part was small or large. 

The older I get, the more I understand and appreciate everything that has been done, and is being done, by the men and women of our military forces so that I can say, "I'm proud to be an American."

Memorial Day

Those are the grilled pineapples I made for our Memorial Day cookout. They were okay, but something was a little off. I've never made them like this before, so I won't know until next time what's off... My recipe went something like this:

1 - medium-to-large pineapple, cut into half-inch or 3/4-inch thick rings (or something akin to rings) and decored (or whatever the culinary term is)

1 TBSP - Lemon Juice
2 TBSP - Honey
3 TBSP - Brown Sugar
1 dash - Cinnamon

1 gallon-sized zippered baggie

Mix the ingredients together for the glaze to get a nice consistency. Shouldn't be too runny, but not molasses either. If too thick, add a little lemon juice at a time. If too runny, add your flavor of choice (I prefer brown sugar!).

Baste each side of each pineapple ring, and do the edges. Heck, do the middle of the ring while you're at it! Place each ring into the baggie as you are done with it. When you have basted all the rings, pour the remaining glaze into the baggie and gently massage it throughout the baggie over as many of the rings as you can. Lay the baggie flat on a fridge shelf. Let the rings marinate for about 15-20 minutes in the refrigerator, then turn the baggie over for another 15-20 minutes.

Remove the baggie from the fridge and lay each slice on a medium-heat grill. If you prefer, you can lightly spray non-stick oil on the racks (before you light the grill), but I prefer to just stick 'em on there and go for it. You can also use the juice in the baggie as a baste while you are cooking the slices.

Cook each side for NO MORE than 4 minutes, then flip the slices over and do the other side (again, NO MORE than 4 minutes). This will give nice grill marks without overcooking the slices.

Enjoy! (I saved the top for decoration - yeah, I've been watching too much Food Network!)

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I caught Emily feeding her goats this afternoon:

Another rainy day

Well, it rained all day today (Sunday). Not a heavy downpour, though for a while it was raining heavily, but enough to foil my weed-whacking plans. So instead, I spent much of the day working on putting baseball card trades together and working on layouts for my various blogs.

At one point, I have a three-column arrangement going on here, but it looked awful, so I reverted back to two columns. Over on my Indians card blog, I created a modified three-column layout that I think will eventually work pretty well. I still need to play with font sizes, colors, and such, but I like it better.

I am the kind of person that likes to change the furniture around. I'm sure I've talked about that before on here. We don't change things around the house much, mainly because it would serve no functional purpose to do so. I'd like to change the office around, but that would mean getting rid of my corner computer desk, and that just ain't gonna happen. Shan got it for me years ago,and it has not only held up well, but it looks good. The office is not built to accommodate the desk in any place other than where it is now, so I just leave things alone. I figure since the house is out of the equation, I'll fulfill my need to rearrange things by changing things on my blogs. :-)

If I forget to wrote tomorrow (Monday), I want to say a VERY special THANK YOU to the men and women who serve everyday of their lives in order to give us freedom. Let us never forget those who came before us, those who serve now, and those will make the decision to serve in the future.