Today is Memorial Day, the most profound of our military recognition days. It’s the day that we’re supposed to come together in a national remembrance of those who died while serving in the United States Armed Services.
However, as our country evolves, it seems to get harder and harder to come together over any principle, no less one that requires putting patriotism above politics and risking personal safety. We suspect that having safe fun on the unofficial first day of summer is foremost in many people’s minds today. And so be it.
Nonetheless, we visit cemeteries on Memorial Day weekend. They’re good places for old people to ponder life, death, altruism, and the speed with which civilization changes right around you.
In our two local cemeteries, American flags dignify the graves of those who served in the military, whether or not they died in service. The image above is from the Brooklin Cemetery; the one below is from the Naskeag Cemetery.
(Brooklin, Maine; images taken yesterday)