Arlington National Cemetery is a beautiful place but this weekend when they do the “Flags In” it’s something special. I was feeling rather guilty being it had been a bit since I had visited my parents. I think about 10 months but it could be a year, usually, I do 2-3 trips a year.
I like walking around a little each trip and meeting their neighbors. I like looking at freshly laid flowers. Finding a grave with personal items left is not real common in the older sections but occasionally you stumble on something special.
Sometimes visits are very difficult. Sometimes kind of uplifting. Today was a bit of both. I’m still asking favors of them. Like to look out for their grandchildren and now great-grandchildren. And of course, advice which I always need from them. But I also was very proud to tell them that their grandchildren remember them on their anniversaries and milestones. Always, every year without fail.
It was such a beautiful day and even though I got there a few minutes after opening the crowds were building quickly. I imagine beating the heat because that is a big place to walk or even using the tram.
I usually always go on Sunday mornings. There are no burials on Sundays so I don’t have the occasion to hear TAPS. Well, they did it during a wreath-laying this morning and it felt like I was hearing it again for the first time when I was 9. I can’t hear those notes and not cry. Wish I could be stronger but that is something that was very painful a long time ago and is still to this day.
Random Thoughts of the Day
- I feel like eating well this week.
- Almost time to turn the calendar again. The older you get the scarier it gets.
- I will repeat, working holiday weekends sucks.
- Some drivers are out of control. Then again I guess they are out of control when they aren’t behind the wheel also.
- The chance of running into a lot more good people than bad is very high. It’s just that the bad ones really stick out and make it seem there may be more bad than good.
