Lazing
into Summer
“Deep
summer is when laziness finds respectability.” Sam Keen
Even
though we're not into deep summer yet, it feels like it. Yesterday,
the temperature hit 90 degrees. We here at the lake did not lapse
into laziness, however. We scrubbed the screen-porch floor to
ceiling, and got the boat ready to ride. I cooked dinner of garden
vegetables and bread and we feasted. Everyone agreed that the very
best part of summer is being able to buy fresh local produce and cook
it on the same day it's picked. Then we did that most cherished of
summer rituals—made smores out at the fire pit that is built into
the landscape here.
I
was admonished yesterday by my cousin, Sandy, that gratitude should
be extended to people who have fought and died in wars, win or lose,
and she is absolutely right. Memorial day is when that sacrifice is
foremost in our minds. My father, and uncle, and many of my friends
were or are veterans. I have utmost respect for those who have chosen
to serve their country in the military, whichever country they serve.
I grieve for those who have died because of their willingness to
serve, and I would be deeply grateful if no other young person,
regardless of nationality, should ever again perish on a battlefield.
Memorial Day should also be a day of dedication to finding means to
disagree without resorting to violence.
Today,
in addition to being the beginning of summer, is a day of somber
reflection. It is a day of remembering the more than 2,800,000
Americans who have died serving in our military since this nation was
born. The weight of that, not to mention the millions of other children, sons
and daughters, soldiers, and civilians, who have been killed
in wars waged by humankind, should be a wake up call to all the
earth. Let us war no more.
Wouldn't
it be incredible to have nothing more to think about than lazing into
summer, at peace?
In
the Spirit,
Jane
No comments:
Post a Comment