Designated Memorial Day

Today has been designated Memorial Day by Congress. I know that Memorial Day is May 30, the day that Tommy was born, and for most of my life, the designated day to remember those who have departed this turf. I took a bike ride to the Minnesota Capitol and the memorials to Minnesota involvement in wars of the 19th and 20th Centuries. I've taken this bike ride for the last few years on this day, and every time there is a group of Viet Nam era vets clustered around the memorial to the war they know about intimately. These people decry war, rage against war. I guess they know something about the subject.

There were flowers in front of the memorial with all the names of Minnesota casualties on it.



There is a new memorial on the mall. It was dedicated last year, I think. It's the monument to commemorate the big war of the 20th century - World War II. I took a picture of that, too, with the Minnesota Capitol in the background with the flags at half staff, as they always are on Memorial Day. It was early enough in this gray day for some blue sky to be showing through the gathering clouds.



If Kurt Vonnegut were still alive and visiting the Minnesota capitol mall, he would notice that we have been at war a major part of the last century. Rightly or wrongly he might comment that we seem to be quite a warlike people. Rightly or wrongly.

My bike ride was a shade over 10 miles.