Our Memorial Day began early and somberly. For not knowing whether the abortion mill down in Bellevue would be open or not, Claire and I drove down there with our banners to do sidewalk counseling if necessary. The place wasn't open and so we prayed, waited around a while and then prayed again before heading for home.Once back I started watering the lawn and cleaning the garage. Then a late breakfast and Claire and I got back to the day's chores which eventually included finishing the garage job, digging out two new "flower islands" in the lawn, cutting down and digging out 4 dwarf pines that had never developed properly, repacking 6 boxes of books to go into overhead storage, applying a chemical weed killer under the deck, hand watering the newly planted flowers, and doing some planning for the other lawn care projects we've got going this week.
We finished off around 5 with a drive over to the Sonic (our local Zesto was closed) for an ice cream and then, a couple of hours later, a hot dog/Italian sausage dinner while watching a Buster Keaton classic, The General.
Throughout the day we were, of course, thinking of loved ones gone and of those who have served our nation through military service. Claire had refreshed the flowers on her mother's and father's grave last Friday when she was in Lincoln and my mind flashed often yesterday to my father's grave in Golden, Colorado.
And during these reflections, we couldn't help but mourn not only the absence of our own loved ones and the dead among our nation's heroic soldiers and sailors -- but also the passing from the modern scene of the moral idealism that most of these Americans embraced. For the virtues they stood for (freedom, justice, a strong work ethic, decency, personal responsibility and religious values) are being routinely mocked and marginalized by the arrogant secularists now running the show.
But, no matter what these difficult days bring, we still can cherish our memories; we can still hold onto those American ideals that observances like Memorial Day stimulates; and we can still work with courage, hope, faith and even good humor to restore those ideals to the prominence of former days.
Dum tempus habemus, operemur bonum.