It's late May, which in the U.S. means that we are in the midst of Memorial Day Weekend. Like many holidays, and many American holidays, there is a political and nationalistic cast to this holiday: on Memorial Day, the last Monday of May, we are supposed to think of our dead, especially our war dead. When I was a child we had a Memorial Day Parade, and we always ended up at the cemetery. Union Memorial, Evergreen Cemetery, Barrington, IL Often it was hot, really hot, and we would stand around the Union Memorial at Evergreen Cemetery. There were actual veterans in the parade, of course, and an honor salute. My most vivid memory was when a fellow member of the trombone section fainted on me from heat and dehydration in about the eighth grade or so. I knew how important the holiday was, really I did. It's just that it can be awfully hot at the end of May. That sense of patriotism is missing in a lot of holiday celebrations these days. For most Americans, Memorial Day wee...
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