Happy Memorial Day

This is one of those holidays that's become more about celebrating summer rather than our war dead, hasn't it? I don't know many actual war vets, which is sort of a relief, because that has to be a horrible experience and I'm grateful not many close to me have had to go through it. M and I watched a bit of "Halls of Montezuma" last night, which featured what looked like WWII footage, or at least training film of that era. How is it that we're not all pacifists by now? The most solemn Memorial Days I've ever spent were with Grandma in Wilbur. As part of her side of the family's reunion, we'd visit the cemetery (the one with the beautiful trees) and put flowers on the graves of relatives who had passed on. It was good to gain a bit of familiarity with the names of ancestors. And not to be morbid, but also just to have that nudge of death as a part of life. Not violent, unnecessary death, or as little of that as possible, but just the regular realization that it happens, will continue to happen, and of course will happen to me, hopefully later rather than sooner.

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Not much to report. It's been cold with a dark sky almost all weekend, which I'm sure had the movie producers cackling and rubbing their hands together with glee. It didn't rain enough on Saturday to moisten the earth at all, but we'll take it.

M returned home last evening. He was away for two days at an examination workshop, which he felt was extremely worthwhile. I spent the two days in bachelorette hibernation heaven, shopping, Chinese take out, a chick flick on the tube, sleeping in with both furry creatures snuggled up with me.

Rex had a great walk the other evening. He couldn't see the doe I tried to point out to him, but a few moments later he was after the turkey scurrying up the hill to hide under an oak. After he reached the tree, I heard an indignant gobble and the hen shot out of the oak branches in full flight and landed on the next hill to continue her evening stroll unmolested. As we continued up to the water tank, I saw another brown creature making its way through the grass. At first I thought it was another turkey it was so large, but then I made out the ears--it was an enormous rabbit. Though bunny was obviously much faster, Rex gave chase but turned left when he should've turned right and was really left in the dust. Because of the synagogue fences we don't have so many critters in the field behind our house, but at least they're not completely gone.

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M and I recently returned home from a working stint at Starbucks followed by an impromptu visit to the local multiplex to see "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," finished by a digestif of a dog walk. Maybe a bite of ice cream then a forlorn glance at our bookcase before bed--I don't think I'm in the mood for reading any of our current holdings, sigh.