Memorial Day - to me

[susandennis]

The first I ever heard about Memorial Day was when I was in college and everyone was making plans to hit the beach for Memorial Day weekend. I had to ask when the heck that was... They were making plans in January and I was a fair bit crushed to learn that I'd have to wait until nearly June. By that time school would be out and why did I want to hang with these cretins after school was out???

Growing up in the South, we did not have Memorial Day. Oh I guess we had it but since it was not a holiday we didn't pay it any more mind than we did flag day.

We did have Decoration Day. NPR had a piece on Decoration Day this morning. Decoration Day to me is elegant older round Southern white women with cotton candy white hair who pronounced Mrs. as Mizriz and who never ever pronounced an er - always an ah as in buttah. The dots that connect these women to Decoration Day have long since faded. I don't remember anything else about it but just that it was and it had something to do with them.

So now some 40 years after I learned Memorial Day was about a fraternity beach party, I'm still not totally wedded to it. It really has no special meaning or history to me. I do wonder how all those frat boys turned out - I know they didn't go to Viet Nam - blessed with either high lottery numbers or rich daddies - so many of them may still be out there somewhere. Maybe on the beach and maybe with the others.

And, yeah, I'm putting off the bathroom cleaning project. Don't judge me. It's a holiday!

Comments

[ciddyguy.livejournal.com]

I've always been aware of Memorial day and it always falls around the end of May, giving us another holiday and it IS to celebrate all the war heroes and such is the gist of it.

I'm happily NOT at work as a result of said holiday and I'm GRATEFUL for it. :-)

[viridescence13]

Oh yes, Decoration Day. It was originally about decorating the graves of Our Glorious Civil War Dead and then became about decorating and maintaining the graves of fallen soldiers, and then relatives in general...I believe it was the inspiration for Memorial Day. My mother's family is from North Carolina and the extended family used to gather up there for Decoration Day. There's actually a family graveyard. Doesn't happen anymore as most of those white women with their cotton candy white hair have passed away and their kids weren't interested in carrying it on, I guess.

[susandennis]

I didn't think about their all dying - it's been 40 years since I've been back so I also didn't know they weren't replaced! :)

[viridescence13]

Not in my family they weren't, anyway! Maybe there are others still carrying it on...