(Belated) Memorial Day

Augh!

Of all the holidays that I had to give a belated notice of, why did it have to be Memorial Day? This holiday is quite easily one of the most important holidays to be celebrated in the United States! It's up there with Easter, Christmas, and the Fourth of July! Oh well. I'll just have to start late. Now, from the top...

 Memorial Day is a day of celebrating the lives and service of all American soldiers who have died in the line of duty. From the Revolutionary War to Operation Enduring Freedom, we honor every one of them. Unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity to go to the memorial down in Renton, which I would have liked to do so I could pay my respects. Memorial was originally known as Decoration Day, and was established after the Civil War. One claim says that the first, albeit impromptu, Memorial Day celebration took place when the first soldier's grave to be decorated was decorated in Warrenton, Virginia, on June 3rd, 1861. Memorial Day is not to be confused with Veterans Day, which celebrates all veterans from the armed forces, living or dead. The American flag is supposed to be lowered to half-staff until noon on Memorial Day, and then raised to the top for the rest of the day. More info and statistic on Memorial Day can be found by looking at this handy-dandy chart.

In my humble opinion, there needs to be a general "Heroes' Day", like they have in the DC Universe, as well as other countries in the real world, including the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Uganda, and other places. In addition to celebrating patriotic heroes like Captain America, my proposed Heroes' Day would celebrate fallen everyday heroes, fictional heroes, and real life superheroes. These everyday heroes include soldiers, police, firefighters, and other emergency personnel, such as paramedics. It would also be a day of celebrating real life superheroes, such as Phoenix Jones and the Rain City Superhero Movement, the Initiative Collective, Master Legend's Team Justice, and the hundreds of other real life superheroes out there. But that's just my idea. Maybe I should write to my congressman...

For Memorial Day, the first thing I did after I got up early in the morning was to take a quick trip down to the Museum of Flight with my dear old dad. We went up to look at the B-17 on display there, along with some other old airplanes. It was pretty cool, though I wish I could have seen the inside of one of those things. I took some pictures with my Droid cell phone and posted them on Facebook.

On our way home, we stopped by the store to purchase some essential supplies for any Memorial Day barbeque: hamburger buns, hotdog bus, hotdogs, and mayonnaise for the potato salad. We made all of this food, and our guests brought some to boot! Uncle Bill and Aunt Patty brought clams, tamales, and ravioli. Grandma Lou didn't bring anything, but Grandma and Grandpa Sweeney brought angel food cake for desert. I didn't have any desert though, as I was full. I spent a lot of time talking with Uncle Bill, who is editing my book. He seems to like it a lot. After the party, when all the guests had gone home, my sister Rebekah and I got dad to take us to the pool, where I began swimming at 5:10. I swam twenty lengths of the pool in about 25 minutes, getting a free consultation on my swimming technique from one of the lifeguards, Robin. I know her from her days on the Bible Quiz Team, and she's a kind soul. Anyhow, after I got home I took a shower and chilled, after which, later in the evening, Dad and I finished watching 12 O'clock High, a movie based on a book or true story set during World War II. It was one of the best movies I've ever seen, and I intend to review it on this blog. Also, Grandpa Sweeney came over later in the evening to help fix up the lid of our toy box. I also lent Uncle Bill my battered copy of the first book in the Redwall series, which is itself titled Redwall. So, I guess it was a great day today. Also, no taekwondo today, or all weekend for that matter, as it was Memorial Day weekend, and the school was not holding classes during this time.

Also: I haven't yet seen any questions for Ask Levi! I plan to start writing that feature on Fridays, but I can't write it if I don't have any questions! Please, leave a question in the comments section below! 

Image courtesy of blog.adw.org