Oh my.  I get a little wistful when I think about Memorial Day.  It’s based on loss, isn’t it?

Earlier this month on these very pages I wrote about the Bartholomew County Veterans Memorial on the courthouse lawn in Columbus the town I was born in.  It was a solemn experience to read those letters to home from soldiers whose letters made it but they did not.

Vibrant boys and men whose words hung heavy in the air and are now in stone not unlike the meaning their lives had on so many of us.

Today my dear wife, Carrie, and I took a walk down at Hayswood Park.  We put in five miles.  At the top of the hill there were flags that were placed to honor those we remember on Memorial Day.

The walkway to what is below…

So many flags.  So much loss.  So much to remember.  So much to be thankful for.   So much to be ashamed of.  So much to pray for.  So much to hope for.  So much to never forget.

Like so many towns, we fly the colors and remember and pray and hope that Memorial Day thankfulness will never be lost on the future.  History books seem to be getting thinner as time goes on.  That does not make sense to me.

Thankful and proud to be an American for sure.

Thank you for your service, Raymond.  We could have been born in the same town.  You won’t be forgotten.

Speaking the rights…

Danny Johnson