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Today is MEMORIAL DAY.

Time to place the flowers...and whisper the words "Thank You' to those men and women who have given their all.

..and to remind ourselves just what this Nation has cost...and to be grateful to those who paid the price.

We can all argue about politics later.....

redrock

BUMP....for only the very best of reasons.

redrock

Memorial Tribute to our Founding Fathers

The Taps lyrics are as beautiful as its melody.

I heard it played this morning in a local cemetery. It was followed by a poignant speech from a Pearl Harbor survivor. Very touching.

September 11, 2001, is our day of infamy. We are reminded once again that our freedom is won, not granted.

I went to the local VFW Memorial Day service.
The service not only honored our military fallen but also police, fire and EMT fallen.
The most memorable moment came when a WW II Marine vet played taps.
He 1st played taps as a Marine in 1940.
There was a prayer at the begining of the ceremony,
followed by speeches from the VFW commander
and the Chief of Police and Chief of the Fire Department.
It's a small town here, but it's filled with many Patriotic people.


		Listen to ``Taps" (400K WAV format 75K Real Audio)
	The bugle call Taps had its origins on a battlefield of the Civil War. After the Union suffered a large number of casualties in a battle near Richmond, Virginia, Brigade Commander Colonel Daniel Butterfield reflected with sadness upon the men he had lost. Unable to compose music, he hummed a melody which his aide wrote down in musical notation. The company bugler played it that night to honor their dead comrades. It was officially recognized by the United States Army in 1874. Accompanied by the drumbeat, Muffled Ruffles, it is the highest honor given to those who have died in service to our country.

I hope no one will feel it is inappropriate to comment on the PBS Memorial Day observance that aired Sunday night. I have taken the liberty of sharing with you a letter to the editor of my local-area Gannett newspaper : a letter, by the way, the editors will probably never publish.

ADDING INSULT TO INJURY

The PBS Memorial Day Celebration was a strange mixture : tap dancing and tears; MC'd by an actor of considerable reknown (Ossie Davis), who has a long history of involvement in Communist causes; and who, as a devotee of Malcolm X, must have nearly choked on the words in his script.

I have a small suggestion for the Musical Directors of this show ( and for the related extravaganzas coming up in the months ahead ) :

Patriotic songs, such as America the Beautiful ,God Bless America, and The Star Spangled Banner are best performed as written. When the singer adds "personal enhancements" - in the form of stylistic pauses, and atonal ululations - to the words and melody, the effect is to add insult to injury.

I suppose the Celebration was a great improvement on our old custom of spitting on and reviling our Service People...but the tap dancing has got to go !!