Just got done with my first marathon of the summer. This time it was just me and Michael. We watched House of Flying Daggers, Wicker Park and Ray. Three top notch movies coming from three different time periods, genres, styles, etc. Quite a wide range on the selection. I’m really glad Michael suggested Wicker Park because when I first saw the preview for it I almost immediately wrote it off as not looking good. I probably would have never seen it had it not been for his suggestion.
Well, today is Memorial Day. This is the day we’re supposed to honor our armed forces. Funny thing is that it’s hard to find somebody actually doing that. You have people cooking out, people shopping for great deals on furniture and electronics, picnics down by lakes, ponds and in parks all over. Does anybody really remember what this day is all about? I’ve been reading a book called Brave Men Gentle Heroes. It’s about fathers and sons who fought in World War II and Vietnam. It’s basically first hand accounts and recollections about things that happened, people who made a difference, stories from the battlefield, treatment upon leaving or coming home, etc. It’s a pretty powerful book. I’ve always had a great respect for our armed forces and those that serve our country. I guess I’d have to say this book is just another good reminder. It also draws a lot of parallels between the two wars and talks about some of the things that went wrong and why the American public reacted the way they did. It’s definitely a good read. Liz recommended it to me and I’ll recommend it to everyone else. So if you remember, please think at least a little bit about what today stands for and next time you see a parade show a little respect when the color guard goes by. You never know who might be in the crowd that’ll smack you upside the head for not taking your hat off.
Word up. It sickens me to think of the treatment that many soldiers recieved after returning from the Vietnam war. In this day and age of anti-Iraq anti-Bush, people need to remember the history of the US military, and to give the respect due to those who put their lives on the line so you don’t have to.
Thank you, Chalupa. Your respect for the men and women in our armed forces always reminds me of how much we owe them. I remember you telling Katie and I about your favorite uncle who fought in vietnam, and I think you’re really doing him proud.
I agree…here’s my Memorial Day vlog.
I remember being moved by a lot of the personal stories in that book. Thanks for reminding me of it. I saw that it came out in paperback sometime in the last year, and I’m thinking about buying it for myself. The copy I read was not mine.
It’s a good example of oral history, and it’s a great picture of different kinds of relationships between fathers and sons and friends and families.
I’m ashamed to admit that I thought more about how much sun I could get because I didn’t have to work then I thought about the people that have come and gone before us, dying to make my freedom possible.
Funny that I wouldn’t have the time to think so much about myself had so many millions of people had not died.
I liked this post a lot…even if it made me feel like a selfish idiot. Because more often than not, I think myself (and most of the world) is no better than that alone.