It's hard to believe that May is almost over, but here we are at Memorial Day. It's supposed to be a day set aside to remember and honor our brave servicemen and women who died while defending our great nation. Over the years we have seemingly moved further and further away from the original intent of the day. The real Memorial Day is actually May 30th. I guess holidays that are not always attached to a weekend are inconvenient so the official observance was moved to the last Monday in May. Then it was kind of high-jacked by retailers hoping to boost their sales six months after "Black Friday". Now, thanks (in my humble opinion) to both regular and social media, it has been confused with Veterans Day and we are inundated with reminders to thank a service person for their service. I'm not saying we shouldn't thank all our servicemen and women. While it is important to always be thankful for their sacrifice, it feels like we are forgetting the ones we lost. That's if we remember anything about this day and don't simply look at it as the first day of summer which of course it isn't because that comes toward the end of June.
It's good to see that most towns have at least memorial services on this day. Some also have parades before or after such services. I think that as long as those traditions are carried on future generations will know what this day is really about and never forget our fallen heroes.
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