Dear readers and fellow bloggers:
Good morning. This Memorial Day week-end is much, much more than an occasion to dust-off the grill and engage in our very first barbecue experience of the summer. It is a time of of remembrance. Today we officially remember the U.S. servicemen and servicewomen that fought and died for us. If we can enjoy the freedom and opportunities of the greatest nation in the history of Mankind (like my dear father Mario used to tell us) it is because they have duly protected us from many threats.
When we were a teenager, we won a scholarship from Youth for Understanding to study six months in a Michigan high school, which was scheduled to start in January 1972. When we were heading back home in the boardwalk from the Ramirez Beach of Montevideo one December 1971 evening (remember that it is the Summer season in the Southern Hemisphere) with our mother Gladys and our brother Gustavo, she abruptly stopped in her tracks, smiled at us and very excitedly said:
-“Mirá Marito, están bajando la bandera en la embajada.” (Look, they’re lowering the flag in the embassy)
-“Muy pronto vas a estar ahí…Qué emocionante” (You will soon be there…What a great emotion)
We looked to the right and we could clearly see an impeccably dressed Marine lowering the flag. The three of us stood there in awe at the simple, yet meaningful show, of the Marine Corps’ pageantry. That image was seared in our retinas, constituting the first experience from the country we would eventually adopt as ours. Our parents were always proud and supportive of our choice.
Note. This picture of the Marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima was taken from Wikimedia Images.
By Joe Rosenthal – https://www.apnews.com/f00e1181d57a414a848ac96b772839fddirect link. This file was derived from: Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, larger.jpeg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=77823832
Thank you for making the ultimate sacrifice for each and all of us.
God Bless our Heroes of the Unique United States of America.
Stay distant. Stay safe. Stay beautiful.
What do you think? Please tell us.
Don’t leave me alone.
