Mother Nature

Showers the Sky

With

Light after light after light...

Memorial Day fireworks, our traditional display of honor, cannot compare to the spectacular display overhead.

Tiny pinpricks of light.

Flashes of brilliance here and then gone.

Our heroes.

Our soldiers.

Those brave hearts lost to us forever.

It is the beginning of the Memorial Day weekend, and soon festivities will begin. Barbecues, festivals, trips to the Farmer’s Market, late night gatherings, friends and family huddled nearby. Perhaps there will be a parade. A fireworks display.

A long weekend, a race at Indy, the goose bumps on my arms as Jim Nabors sings “Back Home Again In Indiana” for the very last time. Overhead, jets will buzz the infield. Thousands will doff their hats and headgear, place hand over heart as the National Anthem soars over the loudspeakers.

Did you take a moment?

To remember?

To recall that Memorial Day is a day to honor the fallen. The lost. Those who will not return to us again. The names on the graves, the known, and those who lie in fields marked by small white crosses dotting the country side across the sea and here at home in Arlington, the nameless. The soldiers at their posts guarding the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Unknown.

It is our job, the ones left behind,  to bless those who mourn, who weep, to remember them. To make them...

Known.

Known for their bravery, their steady determination. their strength of character and their dedication to preserving the welfare of a free nation.

Remember them not for where they fell, but for where they stood.

They stood up for you. They stood up for me.

If nothing else, look up at the night sky as the tiny lights flash and stream. Perhaps Mother Nature does know best. Perhaps, She, felt we all needed a reminder that they are still with us. Tiny pinpricks of light, each a soul flying through the universe, sending us a glimpse of eternal light.

Reach up. Raise a hand. Wave a greeting and you just might catch one in the palm of your hand. Hold it close and be sure to simply say...

Thank you.

And if you are a clumsy oaf like me and not particularly lucky when stargazing, do the next best thing....

Say it with your heart.

I remember you.

Comet 209P/Linear is transmitting a Memorial Day message.

Godspeed soldier. Godspeed.

Like every poppy in the field...

Each shooting star in the night sky...

We salute you...

With hand over heart. 

We remember You.