Memorial Day 2025

It is Memorial Day, and this year, it's almost slipped right by me.  I don't watch much TV, so I haven't seem all the ads about the sales that may or may not be happening.  I don't live in a military town, so that aspect of Memorial Day is missing.  It doesn't feel particularly summery, and even if it did, my clothes don't change much (layers!), so I don't need to unpack one closet after packing up the past season's clothes.

I'm also not working a full-time job in the way that I have in the past, so this day isn't a day off for me in the way it has been in the past.  Many days in May and early June are days off for me this year.

I don't have major Memorial Day plans, like I might have in the past.  Long ago, my Jacksonville friends celebrated birthdays with a huge party, and we would go--now they are divorced.  Most of my Florida friends who used to do Memorial Day cook outs have moved various places, as have we.  Later this morning, I'll take one of the cars in for service.  I've already done some grading for my online classes and some poetry writing.  Plus, I made a few submissions to the few literary journals which are still open and not charging fees.  

Overall, it will be a low-key Memorial Day, and that's fine with me.  I feel fortunate that it's not a day of personal grieving for me.  While I've known many people who have served in the military, I don't know of any who have died.

I've spent some time reflecting on how few of us these days know people who have served in the military, and even fewer of us have first hand knowledge of military deaths.  I also know that some amount of class privilege is a marker.  But medical developments are also responsible.  We didn't have the number of military deaths for conflicts in this century, compared to past centuries--we have the equipment and techniques to keep wounded soldiers alive as they are transported from the battlefield.

Still, it's a good day to think about sacrifices made for those of us who haven't had to fight.  It's a good day to remind ourselves that we're not done with war and to look for ways to encourage leaders to back away from conflict.  It's good to remember that we still have military forces serving in all sorts of places, both conflict zones and peaceful ones and dangerous places that aren't full-blown conflict zones.