Mixed feelings on this Memorial Day 

Not too long ago like a great number of Americans do my wife and I made a pilgrimage to Omaha Beach It was a gorgeous sunny September day The sky was crystal clear with a mild temperature no wind and a lovely quietness Looking out at the English Channel towards England I thought This is crazy I announced to my wife How could such a pristine site once be a place of horror Soldiers had died where we stood Like a lot of boys my age I fretted and prayed for a high lottery number to avoid the military draft in and felt immensely relieved when I got lucky I was self-absorbed cowardly disguised as a pacifist and way too soft-hearted to be a soldier Patriotism meant little to me Secretly though I envied those who had the courage and a desire to serve our country In old age I still envy them It seems as I get closer to the no-tomorrow stage of life I admire and am grateful to them more than ever when I read and listen to their harrowing and horrific stories of combat their pride in having protected America s way of life and especially seeing their tears as they speak about their comrades their buddies who never returned Richard Schwartz It s Memorial Day So I ll visit the graves of family friends long-gone and in the last few days departed one just last week and of lesson the scarce I have known who died in war like Gordie Walensky marine the kid two grades ahead of me in high school ambushed in Da Nang South Vietnam and Morrie my dad s best high school friend who died in Italy in After that comes the barbecuing drinking maybe a beer or two playing specific catch with specific buddies catching certain sun and watching the Twins and Timberwolves After all Memorial Day is also the unofficial celebration of the beginning of summer But this year is different There s a chill in the air Things seem way off-kilter in America No need to list the whys Everyone knows When I was a boy and well into manhood when I got into a heap of trouble my mother would say to me I love you but right now I don t like you The first time she revealed that maybe I was six or seven it made no sense to me How can you love and not like someone at the same time Now on this Memorial Day my mother s words make more sense possibly more than ever I love my country but right now I don t like it Richard Schwartz of Minneapolis is a retired mentor The post Mixed feelings on this Memorial Day appeared first on MinnPost