Very rarely do I blog on my day off. With blogger's scheduled posts, however, it makes it a bit easier, I suppose.
First, I have seen many links to the following organization this Memorial Day: Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
And my first thought is, "Do people know the difference between Memorial Day and Veteran's Day?" Memorial Day is to honor people who died while in military service. Formerly known as Decoration Day, a day established to decorate the graves of fallen Union soldiers (I don't think there were different branches of the military back then), the day was expanded and renamed after World War I to honor all who died while serving in the military. Time did a story on the origin of Memorial Day recently as well.
It seems to me that as Americans, we blur the lines between Memorial Day, Veteran's Day and Patriot Day. Maybe even Independence Day. Who knows? Living near several military communities, I have had to learn a few things:
(1) Soldiers do not equal all people who serve in the military.
There are airmen (men and women in the Air Force), seamen (men and women sailors), marines, soldiers (those in the Army), and coasties (I don't know the real term, but they are known as coasties around here). There are two other uniformed services in the US: United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, but they are not part of the armed forces (the first 5 mentioned).
(2) Er, oh, crap, I don't know anything else.
I was going to make a list of all of these military things I have learned, and I completely lost my mind. Or at least what I was thinking about.
Also, I am not sure what to say on Memorial Day. I mean, saying "Happy Memorial Day" seems to be inappropriate. It is not solemn enough. All I can suggest is that people take time to remember those who have fallen in all US wars today.
About Leesa
LeesaI started blogging to improve my writing; I really did. Painters don't start with masterpieces – they start on scraps of paper, and even when planning a great work, they do many other drawings in preparation. I think writing is the same. You just don't start and finish a novel by merrily typing into the computer; you experiment. Blogging is sort of like a writer's doodling. So this is my scratch pad of sorts. This is less than scraps of paper actually, just 1s and 0s on your computer screen.
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Notes on this Blog
Some random notes about this blog:
1. Schedule. I started writing this blog in 1995, and over the past few years, I have tried to write every workday. Then in the summer of 2008, I quit writing for a month or so. Now I try writing three times per week. The quality waxes and wanes. Sorry about that.
2. Leesa's Mailbag. I am trying a new weekly/monthly/semi-annual blog entry called "Leesa's Mailbag". Over the last few years, people have emailed me with questions, and I have answered them on an individual basis. Now, I think I will answer them on a blog entry. Perhaps Friday. Not sure I will get enough questions to do this often, but I will try to answer questions. Sort of an Ann Landers with attitude. Just write to the email address below.
3. My Stories. Yeah, I have a few erotic stories here. I know, they are not all that good, but they were fun to write. Don't read them if this offends you (and they represent less than 1% of the content here). These stories have elements of truth and fantasy, some more true than others. Complain about something that is a bit more substantive if you must complain. I have lots of faults.
4. Layout. My layout is clean and simple. You can tell me it is boring, and you would be right. I just don't want pink flowers and weird colors to get in the way of my words. I have customized my drop-down menus under "Quick Links" and "Blog Roll" so I had to use a little HTML.
Finally, there are loads of better bloggers here. If you like what you read, thanks. If you don't, thanks for dropping by (and I mean this). A few people who comment on my work add immensely to the experience.
1. Schedule. I started writing this blog in 1995, and over the past few years, I have tried to write every workday. Then in the summer of 2008, I quit writing for a month or so. Now I try writing three times per week. The quality waxes and wanes. Sorry about that.
2. Leesa's Mailbag. I am trying a new weekly/monthly/semi-annual blog entry called "Leesa's Mailbag". Over the last few years, people have emailed me with questions, and I have answered them on an individual basis. Now, I think I will answer them on a blog entry. Perhaps Friday. Not sure I will get enough questions to do this often, but I will try to answer questions. Sort of an Ann Landers with attitude. Just write to the email address below.
3. My Stories. Yeah, I have a few erotic stories here. I know, they are not all that good, but they were fun to write. Don't read them if this offends you (and they represent less than 1% of the content here). These stories have elements of truth and fantasy, some more true than others. Complain about something that is a bit more substantive if you must complain. I have lots of faults.4. Layout. My layout is clean and simple. You can tell me it is boring, and you would be right. I just don't want pink flowers and weird colors to get in the way of my words. I have customized my drop-down menus under "Quick Links" and "Blog Roll" so I had to use a little HTML.
Finally, there are loads of better bloggers here. If you like what you read, thanks. If you don't, thanks for dropping by (and I mean this). A few people who comment on my work add immensely to the experience.
Counter and Links
So I can keep track of the wonderful people who link to my humble site:
This site has been viewed about this many times (see below). If you divide this number by π (pi), you get the number of times I have entertained people.
This site has been viewed about this many times (see below). If you divide this number by π (pi), you get the number of times I have entertained people.
5 comments:
I think we should combine Veteran's and Memorial Days to eliminate at least one day of useless parades. Service people should get the day off, but the rest of you can keep working. Combat vets get to demand BJ's on command, or else you have to give us your day's pay.
Note - comment made from my cubicle. Thanks to the recession hype, I no longer get holidays off.
You're right, most people don't know the difference between the holidays. But I guess the main thing is to be thankful that people have fought and died in the service of their country.
When I want to stir up a bit of gratitude for fallen service members on Memorial Day, I like to watch a good war movie. There is little to nothing about a parade that makes me think of soldiers. Seeing what they went through to serve our country, now that brings gratitude to mind.
What's wrong with celebrating those who lived on Memorial Day?
Grant: Yeah, I wouldn't mind giving up a day's pay for the family of a vet.
Michael: I guess both holidays involve grilling.
Gary Baker: Not sure I like war movies. The ones I remember as a child may not have been realistic.
Malach: Memorial Day is to remember the dead.
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