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Sometimes the drive to Tallapoosa gives me time to think about
things that need to get done. The long weekend gives us all the
opportunity to catch up on projects around the yard or the house. My
project that I am currently working on is the containment of kudzu
that is taking over the back yard. My neighbor Dorsey says I need to
buy a herd of goats. The holiday weekend is one where the kids and I
will go to Jellystone up in
Waco, hit Sam
Walton's store, ride bicycles, and cook out.
Memorial Day weekend is filled with people getting together
for picnics and family
gatherings. It gives
Atlanta
furniture stores a chance to put mattresses on sale. The Memorial
Day holiday weekend sometimes gets lost in the get togethers and the
sales at retail stores. We were taught by Mrs.
Rambo in the
6th grade that Memorial Day is a time we should honor those who laid
down their lives in defense of this republic. I can remember as a
boy talking to some of the older fellows that sat out in front of
Evan's Red and White about
World War I and about seeing places in France and Belgium.
World War II veterans talked about seeing the
South Pacific
in battle ships seeking out the
Japanese navy.
The subject of D-Day came up once and it brought tears to the eyes
of the dad of one of my contemporaries. When I saw "Saving
Private Ryan" I understood. I get highly offended at seeing
Americans hoisting the swastika as a symbol of their beliefs. I
wonder if those people know that an
American soldier
gave them that freedom to fly that symbol of hate and the most
infamous monster in world history? Some of my friend's dads fought
in Korea.
North and South Korea's tensions are mounting and I am hoping the
mad man who runs
North Korea doesn't unleash an atomic weapon. Kim Jung Il
needs a psychiatrist and a better barber. He has the worst haircut
I've seen since my
Uncle Henry put a cereal bowl on my head to cut my hair in
second grade. Speaking of my Uncle Henry, he served in the
United States Navy during
World War II keeping Nazi U-Boats out of Vero Beach, Florida.
Growing up in the 1960s and the
evolution of television brought the war in Vietnam into our living
rooms. Jerome Lowe was a classmate at
Tallapoosa
High School
and it is fitting that he is honored at the park on Robertson
Avenue. He was a good fellow. Sammy Robinson, Tommy Allen, Lane
Williams, and others represented our town as veterans of the Vietnam
War. I have great admiration for Sammy's leadership in displaying
the American Flags
up and down U.S. 78 on holidays. I saw them up last weekend and it
truly is a beautiful sight. Sam Farmer got his first uniform when
we joined Cub Scouts
at the First Methodist Church in about 1960. Sam has worn the
uniform of the United
States Air Force as a reservist for decades. He has seen
Iraq more than
once. Last Saturday I went by the West Georgia Museum and Kate
Gardner showed me an exhibit of local veterans who have served our
nation. My single biggest regret in life is never having served in
the military. I am thankful that there are those that gave some and
some that gave all. We all should be very grateful. I was sent a
cartoon last week that said Thanksgiving is a day when we pause
to give thanks for the things we have. Memorial Day is a day when we
pause to give thanks to the people who fought for the things we
have.
Rhubarb Jones is a Tallapoosa
native and a member of the administrative faculty at
Kennesaw State
University. Comments are welcome via email at
rhubarbjones@aol.com, or
professorrhubarb@gmail.com
or write P.O. Box 1001,
Tallapoosa, GA 30176
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