Name: Tess
Home: St. Louis
Memorial Day
When I was growing up in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, Memorial Day was a Big Deal: Boalsburg is one of several towns across the country that claims to be the birthplace of Memorial Day. (If it's not heresy to say so, I'd guess that the idea of a regular remembrance of fallen soldiers was not such a novel idea in the days of of the Civil War.)
For most people, I've come to realize, Memorial Day is when the outdoor pools open and people cook out. Boalsburg, however, takes its Memorial Day seriously.
Memorial Day morning started early, with the boom of cannons coming from the military museum. All day, Civil War renenactors--the men in uniforms, the women sweltering in hoopskirts--would mingle with the crowds. Some of them camped out in tents for the weekend.
When I was little, the most important part of Memorial Day for me was the carnival. I saved up my allowance for weeks beforehand so I'd have enough money to go on rides or try to win a sickly goldfish. There's also a craft fair, live music, a parade, a cemetary observance, a pie contest, a petting zoo, and a spelling bee (never a great speller, I went out on the word calendar one year). In fourth grade, I even did the 10K Fun Run with my mom--the last time I've ever felt the need to run that far.
I've tried to keep Memorial Day in my own way while living in different places, but it's not the same. (The low point was probably a rainy picnic I insisted on having in North Carolina to make the day feel special.) Today we'll probably cook out, but other than that we have no particular plans. It makes me sad that Ben won't experience the bustle of a Boalsburg Memorial Day, with its mix of celebrating the present and remembering the past.
For most people, I've come to realize, Memorial Day is when the outdoor pools open and people cook out. Boalsburg, however, takes its Memorial Day seriously.
Memorial Day morning started early, with the boom of cannons coming from the military museum. All day, Civil War renenactors--the men in uniforms, the women sweltering in hoopskirts--would mingle with the crowds. Some of them camped out in tents for the weekend.
When I was little, the most important part of Memorial Day for me was the carnival. I saved up my allowance for weeks beforehand so I'd have enough money to go on rides or try to win a sickly goldfish. There's also a craft fair, live music, a parade, a cemetary observance, a pie contest, a petting zoo, and a spelling bee (never a great speller, I went out on the word calendar one year). In fourth grade, I even did the 10K Fun Run with my mom--the last time I've ever felt the need to run that far.
I've tried to keep Memorial Day in my own way while living in different places, but it's not the same. (The low point was probably a rainy picnic I insisted on having in North Carolina to make the day feel special.) Today we'll probably cook out, but other than that we have no particular plans. It makes me sad that Ben won't experience the bustle of a Boalsburg Memorial Day, with its mix of celebrating the present and remembering the past.
posted by Tess | 7:17 AM
1 Comments:
You could try to visit your parents there this time next year... but I know it's not the same as experiencing it while living there.
The significance of Memorial Day never *really* occurred to me until a friend visited me during that holiday while I lived in northern Virginia. She wanted to see Arlington National Cemetery. So we did. There were a lot of people there visiting graves not as tourists. Military people were all over the place. It was a very sad, somber day. I haven't been able to mindlessly enjoy a picnic on Memorial Day since.
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