A Most Confusing Holiday

Memorial Day has long struck me as an odd holiday... on the one hand, it is a holiday set aside to commemorate military personnel who lost their lives in service to the nation, on the other hand, it is a day most people celebrate by going to the beach or throwing barbecue parties. As far as the meaning of Memorial Day goes, nobody has articulated it better than Eric Bogle.

I can't criticize anybody who spent the day at the beach or at a party- it's not like Americans get too many paid holidays, and these days of the gig economy even paid vacation time is becoming increasingly rare. I'm at work, but it may as well be a holiday- after an initial hour of dealing with the public, including a visitor who set off alarm bells with the manager on duty because she strayed away from her tour group on three occasions (I had to do an inspection tour to make sure she didn't pocket anything), I have our lovely property all to myself.

Part of me thinks that Memorial Day should be moved to a time of year when the weather isn't so gorgeous. It's hard to be solemn when it's sunny and warm outside. Maybe Presidents' Day and Memorial Day can be swapped- February is a much better time of year to be contemplative.