Memorial Day once again. The start of summer, warm weather, celebration. Everyone has plans for a fun-filled extended weekend.
- Picnics
- Boating
- Beach activity
- Fireworks
- Barbecues
- Parades
- Road trips
- Family reunions
And, for millions of race fans the 51st annual NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 takes place at the famed Charlotte Motor Speedway and the 100th Anniversary of the Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Yes, there will be plenty to do for Americans from coast to coast this weekend. However, I challenge you to devote a short 15 minutes of your 96-hour weekend to sit down with your children and/or grandchildren and ask them if they know why Memorial Day was established. I feel confident they won’t know. So take that opportunity to enlighten them at a time when our country is at war all over the globe.
Memorial Day is a U.S. federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. It was formally known as Decoration Day due to the fact that families would commemorate the gravesites and memorials of men and women who died while in the military service. A national moment of remembrance takes place at 3 p.m. local time. Another tradition is to fly the flag of the U.S. at half-staff from dawn until noon local time.
Members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars collect donations for poppies in the days leading up to Memorial Day; the poppy’s significance to Memorial Day is the result of the John McCrae poem “In Flanders Fields.”
At one time this “poppy” phenomenon was celebrated, supported, and treasured by Americans all over the country. Sadly, today, few know the significance.
While we’re celebrating all of the activities listed above, we tend to forget that hundreds of thousands of U.S. men and women are stationed all over the world protecting our freedoms and way of life. These military heroes have sacrificed their way of life back home in order that we may enjoy our lives here with our loved ones.
Please pause to watch this video which consists of some heartrending photos honoring these brave men and women who are risking their lives for our freedom and way of life. In addition to these dramatic photos, you’ll hear two heart-wrenching songs which will certainly touch you as they enhance the video so gallantly.
The first song offers the haunting voice of Sara McLachlan as she performs “I Will Remember You.” Her rendition is a tribute to the story told by the photos.
The second song, performed by Trace Adkins, is simply titled “Arlington.” It is a first-person account of a fictional soldier who was about to be buried in Arlington Cemetery. The Arlington National Cemetery is probably another subject our younger generations know little, if anything, about.
Located in the shadow of our nation’s capitol, Arlington National Cemetery averages 15 funerals per day, approximately 3,000 annually. It is expected to reach capacity in the year 2020, when more than 250,000 people will have been buried.
Over the Memorial Day weekend, flags are placed on each grave in the cemetery. Troops from the Old Guard (3rd Infantry) have flags on all the graves by dawn and the flags remain on the gravesites until after the Memorial Day Service.
Arlington National Cemetery is the only military cemetery that is authorized to use horses as a regular part of its ceremony.
Nearby there are approximately 16,000 ceremonies conducted annually at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
This year, let’s not forget the purpose of Memorial Day. Pause to honor those who are and have been so deserving of our respect and eternal appreciation.
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We’ve added still another category to our growing list of “
In the spirit of C.A.N.I. (Continuous And Never-ending Improvement), here are this week’s new facts—one for each day of your coming week. Pass them on to others to keep the spirit alive or invite your friends and family to visit our blog where they can also view previous entries.
I’m sad to announce both chambers of the U.S. Congress adopted a resolution calling for Americans to recognize and honor U.S. service members during National Military Appreciation Month in May.
Another reason? We should NOT designate a month each year to honor those serving our country! Do they fight and protect us just one month out of the year? Do they die during just one month of the calendar year? We should be honoring them and praying for their protection and safe return EVERY DAY of the year, but we’re too busy for that. We easily forget where they are and what they’re doing every minute of the day while we busily enjoy our freedoms.
It’s been a while since we shared obvious questions so we’re back with another 15, bringing our current total to 400! I’ve always received several notes wanting to know where the others can be found. Just go to the column on the right-hand side of this page and click on 
How much do you know about the 2010 Census? According to several recent surveys, most American citizens know very little about the 10-question document that recently arrived in their mail.
To ask us 10 simple questions this year via the 2010 Census, it’s going to cost an estimated $14.5 BILLION dollars! Yes, BILLION!
Time:
In response to those readers and subscribers who have inquired about 
Our category “
We recently lost a genuine hero. The majority of you probably won’t recognize his name. He definitely doesn’t fit the usual depiction of what we consider a “hero” … but he more than fills the bill!
Hundreds of fans began lining up before midnight the night before in order to view the open casket bearing their Tiger “hero.”
The man possessed a humble sweetness appreciated by all who knew him or even heard his voice on the radio.