Remembrance and paying respects to those who served should be a more conscious effort

If there is something that sticks out in my memory from last year’s Memorial Day program, it was the following two things.

One, there was almost no one, outside of the families of military and military veterans themselves, that showed up at the Memorial Day program at the Montgomery American Legion.

Two, the one thing that was asked of people by the veteran presenting was that you take out time to thank veterans but also to show up and do something in remembrance of those veterans on a day such as Memorial Day.

An overwhelming thought and feeling that people are just using the Memorial Day holiday weekend to start their summers of fishing, grilling, partying, going up north or otherwise not utilizing any of that time to pay respects for the ability to have those freedoms from those who served loomed within me.

Frankly, it’s what I have mostly done my whole life as well. Guilty. However, the more conversations I have with veterans the more I have realized my oversight in recognizing them.

Thus, would it be too hard to make a conscious effort to attend the mass coming up, stand along the parade side after that, go to the memorial program or just do some other item of effort to show that I or you care — that we appreciate that someone was willing to put in the sacrifice so we can have that luxury?

I don’t believe so.

It would fill my heart with joy to see the American Legion packed for the Memorial Day program or the street for the parade lined just how we line up for Kolacky Days.

Just do something conscious to remind yourself of how good we have it because others were willing to do things we were not.