Remembering

I like Memorial Day. Perhaps it is because it is a day we remember we are FREE from the tyranny of other Nations and their leaders because so “many have given some, and some have given all.” I like the flags at half-mast, and in the little town where I spend most of my time now, every Church and many other buildings are lined with American flags along the right of way. The Church I attend has eight flags. It is a beautiful sight.

I do have one thing that bothers me. It is probably “silly.” But, hey, I am old and I get to be silly now and again. I saw on the “news” what you read here:

President Obama laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington Cemetery on Memorial Day to honor the men and women who have died serving in the U.S. military. Their sacrifice, he said, is “a debt we will never repay.” (TIME)

That is an excellent tradition, and every President I can remember has done that on Memorial Day. But I want them let me do it next year. Here’s how it happens – a  soldier brings a wreath to where the President is standing. The President reaches out and puts his hands on it and with the soldier walking backwards holding the wreath along with the President, they place it on the support stand in front of the tomb. Now, maybe that is to show that the civilian President and the military can work together. I guess that is an OK thing. But I want to carry it all by myself. I can handle the weight, and I can hang it properly.

Here’s my thinking. Although the military is a select and special TEAM, each soldier is an individual who is willingly choosing to put his life on the line for America, and for me. Surely I can carry the wreath to honor them by myself.

Every President I have seen has done it that way. Maybe I am missing something here. When (????) I am President, I will ask that soldier to hand it to me, and join me in the walk to the tomb. I will carry the load. He has already done his share.