Remember.....

Memorial Day means so many different things to so many different people. What does it mean to you?

To some, it's a time to get together, have a picnic, drink a few beers, play some volleyball or (the new yard game of the 21st century) corn hole, and just hang together.

For many others, it's a time to get some flowers and other decorations and head out to the cemetery in honor of loved ones who have moved on. They place flowers, or saddles (as they're called), or other decorative paraphernalia at the final resting place of loved ones.

For yet others, it's a time to remember the many, many, many brave young souls that have been sacrificed for the cause of freedom, liberty, and defense of the nation that meant so much to them. Revolutionary war vets long forgotten, who gave their lives to secure the freedom that we enjoy today. Civil war vets who fought -- many times against their own brothers -- to hold this great nation together. World War I and II vets who fought to defend our nation -- and the world -- from evil tyrants bent on world domination. Vets in the Korean and Vietnam wars, as well as the several other actions that our brave men and women have been involved in to defend those of other nations who were unable (or, in some cases possibly, unwilling) to defend themselves.

And today, of course, our brave young troops who have laid down their lives (and those who continue to risk their lives every day) to protect this great nation and the world from those who would seek to destroy us in the name of some misguided religion. Whether in Iraq, Afghanistan, or elsewhere, it is these brave young souls that are fighting to make the world a safer place not just for us, but for those whom we will leave behind: our children and grandchildren.

Remember these brave troops today as you set out to mark the day in whatever way you choose. If you gather with your family -- whether you are a staunch supporter or objector of the war -- say a prayer of thanks that someone values you and your country so much as to be willing to risk his or her life in the cause of defense. Most of these brave young people have never met you. Yet they're willing to risk their life so that you don't have to.

That, my friend, is what this day is all about. And don't you forget it!

Joe