Remember
Its Memorial Day weekend, and unlike most of my blogs which tend to get a bit windy Ill keep this short. Who doesnt like a three-day weekend? And…
Its Memorial Day weekend, and unlike most of my blogs which tend to get a bit windy Ill keep this short.
Who doesnt like a three-day weekend? And after the rough winter everyone had, we can truly identify with how the media call Memorial Day the traditional beginning of summer. Its a time of picnics and parades, visiting friends and family, and enjoying the outdoors. For woodworkers, its three days without answering (or making) business calls, paying much attention to email, and just taking advantage of some extended shop time. I know Ill be out in the shop part of the weekend.
But thats not how Memorial Day started. Originally a day to honor Civil War dead (the first organized observance was in 1868), it gradually become a day to honor all those who fell during wartime. Its scope has further widened in recent decades to remember all who weve lost, military or otherwise. A bit diluted from its origins, perhaps, but still on-point.
Nothing wrong at all with picnics, outdoor fun, visiting loved ones, or indoor pursuits of sawdust-making. Those things, after all, celebrate life. And as far as Im concerned, celebrating life is what remembering those before us is really all about.
All Im saying is, as we eat our burgers, watch our parades, and enjoy our uninterrupted shop time, lets not lose sight of what the day should be, and why and, more importantly, how were able to enjoy it.
Till next time,
A.J.
A.J. Hamler is the former editor of Woodshop News and Woodcraft Magazine. He's currently a freelance woodworking writer/editor, which is another way of stating self-employed. When he's not writing or in the shop, he enjoys science fiction, gourmet cooking and Civil War reenacting, but not at the same time.