End of a Month

There are not many certainties in life like birth, death, paying taxes, spacetime, quantum physics, and the notion that time can only move forward and that each day we got older not younger.  With that change in age comes the notion that we live through the beginnings and endings of twelve months each year which is again repeated each and every subsequent year until we die or end ourselves.  To that point, today, represents the last day of May which is always followed by June.  May is blessed with 31 days, representing one of the longest of the twelve months...  and I am really not sure why May got 31 days and June only received 30, but I am sure that it has something to do with the stars.

In case you did not know, the stars guide, form, and shape our daily lives and for some, who worship the stars, it is believed that  our existence came from beings who came from the stars...  and that conceptual logic is not far off, especially when one relates it to Christianity and Jesus saying "My kingdom is not of this world."  However, I have never heard any religious leader referring to Jesus as being an extraterrestrial, even though that is basically what he is or was...  but, we have not yet accepted the fact that our Creator could have been or might have been an extraterrestrial as well.

BUT...  what do we know about May other than it having 31 days?  It is a transitional month as is April between the cold months of winter and the warmer months of summer...  referred to as springtime since the spring season is always between winter and summer just as the fall season is always between summer and winter.  Yet, the fall season is or has become not as cool always as the spring.

The last Monday of May is always the day we celebrate Memorial Day and this day is more than just another Federal Holiday but a day that we remember and honor all those Veterans who died protecting  the freedom that this country has stood for since 1776., although many people just see it as another holiday or another long weekend but not necessarily a 4 day weekend, unless the previous Friday was taken as a vacation day. which many people do as a way of extending time off without eating into vacation days.

I used that same logic in the military.  I would take leave between two weekend in which I had to stand duty.  So, I would get 9 days in a row off and would only use 5 of my 30 vacation days..  If one could manage this 6 years each year, then they would have 54 vacation days instead of 30, since the military owns you 24/7.

But, I digress...

Vacation Time Has Officially Begun...

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND officially opens the new vacation season and LABOR DAY WEEKEND officially closes the current vacation season...  or, at least that is the way it used to be when I was in elementary school, middle school, high school, college, and grad school...   but, the last time I was enrolled in any kind of educational program (aside of certifications) was 1981, some 39 years ago...  and, these days it appears that schools are out before Memorial Day (instead of after) and have reopened in August before Labor Day (instead of after).  So, vacations start and end before they did in my day...

Like all HOLIDAYS having to do with the advent of WARM WEATHER (of course if you live in the extreme southern part of the USA, you are basically warm all the time...  but, that is not part of my analysis), families and/or friends typically get together and GRILL OUT with hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, steaks, and maybe fish...  with potatoes, baked beans, french fries, chips of all sorts, a variety of dips, chili, cold slaw, corn (off and on the cob), potato salad, vege casseroles (or whatever) and home made ice cream and a various assortment of cakes, pies, candies and cookies.

NO...  I did not forget the ALCOHOL...  which typically flows like Niagara Falls and includes all sorts of beers, wines, spirits (vodka, gin, bourbon, scotch) but also non-alcoholic drinks like: soft drinks, lemonade, tea (sweet and unsweetened), and water.

Games are also typically played at events like these and can include:  softball, football, soccer, tennis, basketball, volleyball, horse shoes, bag or ring toss, pool, croquet, and bocce.

HOWEVER, this year, my wife and I were not with family or friends nor were we at any kind of public gathering hosted by the city or resort, but at home working in the yard since the expected rain failed to arrive.

We spread several bags of small white rocks around, emptied large bags of mulch and spread it around the flowers, dug up several plants to thin our the flower beds, put up a 2 foot fence made of lattice board around the tomato and cucumber plants, and replace rotten or warped boards on the floor of the deck.  We started around NOON and finished around 5:30 pm.  Tomorrow, unless it rains, we will spend a similar day outside.

Being retired...  we both tend to forget about some of the holidays that we so much looked forward to when working...  C'est la vie...

Remembering... as a Vietnam Era Veteran

MEMORIAL DAY 2020

Memorial Day is an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military.