I hope we all enjoy our holiday in a safe and wonderful way.?ÿ And please take a moment to pay respect to all of those that gave all and are no longer with us on this Earth.
I would also like to remind everyone that in the last 10 weeks or so almost 98,000 Americans have fallen to an unseen enemy.?ÿ Young, old, healthy and infirm have left us abruptly leaving families lost and saddened.?ÿ And the toll still rises.
Please say a special prayer for us all today.
I posted on Facebook that our office was across the street from the National Cemetery in Marietta, Georgia.?ÿ At that time they were still conducting burials there.?ÿ My drawing board faced the window looking out at the Cemetery.?ÿ Any time Taps was played ALL the hair on my neck would stand on end.?ÿ I'd have to put down pen or pencil, sit back and stand up.?ÿ If you can still work while hearing that then there is something wrong with you.?ÿ Almost all those in my age group know at least one who either fell, were wounded or came back otherwise damaged from Viet Nam.?ÿ Now we have another whole generation who are standing on the wall to protect us.
Enjoy your holiday but remember those for whom the holiday was instituted.
Andy
About 29 years ago, but still relevant.
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Spent most of the past three days hanging around cemeteries.?ÿ A good fraction of that time was at the cemetery where I am one of the five trustees who handle the business end of things.?ÿ Had a wonderful time chatting with people I did not know but whose relatives are very familiar to me.?ÿ This afternoon I was doing a little minor repair work on a recent burial when a pickup came driving in and a fellow jumped out.?ÿ He wandered this way and that and I could quickly tell he had no idea where to find who he was seeking.?ÿ I headed off the 300 feet in his direction as his frustration grew.?ÿ When I got close I recognized who he was as we had spent a year in high school together and his kids and my kids had been in school together.?ÿ Being the typical smartass, I asked, which of the over 100 relatives of yours here are you looking for.?ÿ He specified his mother's parents, who separated but never divorced, then lived another 45 or more years in the same community.?ÿ His grandfather had worked on the farm for my dad back in the mid-1960's.?ÿ As we headed towards his grandpa I pointed out about 30 of his relatives including his great-great-great grandparents.?ÿ As we continued the next 250 feet to his grandma's grave I pointed out about 30 more of his relatives, including some from her side of the family.?ÿ As we finally returned to his pickup I pointed out his favorite aunt who was a very short distance away.?ÿ Due to the separation of the grandparents long before his birth most of his siblings and cousins were never taught much about their grandpa's side of the family.
As he was about to leave another vehicle pulled up and a fellow started doing the "lost goose dance".?ÿ His wife was in the vehicle but disabled so he was trying to find her family with no success.?ÿ The wife was a distant cousin to the fellow I had just been helping.?ÿ Upon learning who he sought I told him to hop in his van and follow me.?ÿ I made the 300 foot journey quicker than he did in the old van to arrive at the wife's parents' graves.
As they pulled away I saw another arrival at the far end of the cemetery.?ÿ Fortunately, they knew exactly where to look so I was able to get back to the little repair job I had started.?ÿ As they finally drove by me I recognized them.?ÿ They happened to be part of the same large family.
There is a certain poster here who is familiar with that cemetery as he is part of that same large family.......and it is NOT me.?ÿ I have no relatives there.
On Sunday I had a very lengthy conversation there with another local who is crazy about local history.?ÿ We swapped information for over an hour non-stop.?ÿ We were both learning things we had not known before.?ÿ He had come to put a single flower on the grave of his grandfather's sister and her baby.?ÿ She had given birth on February 29, 1904 and died three days later.?ÿ The baby died a month later.?ÿ Shortly after that her husband packed up the two older kids and moved with numerous members of his family to Washington/Oregon.?ÿ My friend asked if I could help him find more information on whatever became of them.?ÿ About 1:00 a.m. I finished composing a quarter-inch thick stack of information for him.?ÿ The sad twist to the story is that the fellow had remarried out there a few years later.?ÿ When the second wife was giving birth to their first child it had to be delivered by Caesarean.?ÿ The mother developed sepsis as a result and died a few days later.?ÿ The baby lived but the mother's parents took it to raise.?ÿ The husband lived to be nearly 100 but never married again.
