June 03, 1982 - Memorial Day ThoughtsSECOND SECTION
irb e buffloth Timez JUNE 3,1982
Memorial Day Thoughts
Memorial Day weekend. It was a miser-
able, rainy Saturday and most stayed
inside but by 10 o'clock Sunday morning
the sun was out and the world was once
again a joyous place to be. Everywhere
there seemed to be people. Just getting out
on the Main Road was an experience in
survival. Where did the people come
from?
It seemed everyone had their own
challenge. Some were going fishing, others
to the beach. Some wanted to work around
their place, others were off to church.
Some went to yard sales, others to their
boats. All were doing things that a good
sunny day made possible.
Tomorrow would be Memorial Day -- a
day of meaning to some but to most just
another vacation day. It's odd how easy it
is to forget. I'm afraid it is a sign of the
times. We live for today, with little thought
of what has passed. I must admit it was a
long time ago when I wore those bell-
bottomed trousers and coat of Navy blue.
Yet once in the service you never
completely forget. Some I'm sure still
carry the scars of those dark and scarey
days in one way or another. Distant lands
still lurk in many a mind and great and
small battles still rumble away in confused
dreams.
I myself often think of a young Jewish
boy named Colin whose hopes for a new
world in Israel never came true; of a
young black cook from Chicago who never
saw that exciting city again; or the rough
and tough machinist mate who could whip
anybody at any time except for a rainy
night and a well aimed torpedo. Yes, there
were many more who never did see their
dreams come true. But like most, I was
one of the lucky ones and many of my
dreams have come true. Yet there is
always that thought of those left behind
whose dreams were left unfulfilled.
Tonight Barbara and I are eating a quiet
dinner out on our back lawn. The scars of
those days long ago have almost faded.
Still it was because of those young men I
have what's before me now. Someone had
to stand up and be counted and it seemed
so right and proper that my Memorial Day
weekend be spent with them in mind.
Oriole Builds Hanging Nest
Our world still has its oriole that comes
back each year and weaves its hanging
nest in our backyard. I'm sure it is the
same bird because each year the nest is
built within a 30 -foot circle of where it was
the year before. Perhaps not in the same
tree, but surely in the same general area.
And can orioles sing! All day long this
gaudy orange and black male has darted
about proclaiming victory over all and
celebrating the event of nest building to
everyone.
The female has been busy visiting the
garden and from there she's taken strings
and threads from old lines and twine once
used for tying plants. It is with these she is
reinforcing her hanging nest. Very seldom
is an oriole's nest low. Some day I hope to
find one to photograph. Usually they hang
at least 20 -30 feet up in a tree and out on the
very end of a swaying limb.
After Barbara and I finished dinner, we
were enjoying the tail end of the sunshine
and as we looked down the long line of
pines, a crow was being driven off by
another bird. Crows are real scoundrels.
They like the eggs and young of other birds
and think nothing of robbing and
devouring them on sight.
Crows are starting to come back; years
ago they were common. Very common. I
often remember as a kid being awakened
by their call in the treetops outside my
bedroom window. There was a time not too
long ago when they became quite scarce
and there was so much concern that the
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TODAY'S WISTERIA Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
Conservation Department has put them on
the protected list during the nesting
season.
Berries Are Coming
After dinner, we strolled out in the
garden where we saw to our delight the
first glistening red strawberries. How
we'll look forward to these in the coming
weeks. That reminds me I'll have to check
on my wild strawberry patch up on the
back hill. They should be getting ready to
sample any time now. The wild ones, of all
strawberries, have the best taste, but they
are the smallest. Guess it's like so many
things you can't have it both ways -- size
and taste.
I'd better end this for I've got work to do.
A good friend of ours just brought a whole
trailer load of salt hay he had taken from
his beach. The high tides and the right
wind presented it to him with no charge. I
INFANTS
MA111 ]LOAD
find it to be one of the best mulches you can
get, particularly if it's had a good washing
from rain. We'll put it around our squash,
pumpkins, cucumbers and tomatoes. Then
when they produce, their fruit won't be on
the ground and the weeds won't have to be
pulled. The time saved will be put
somewhere else. And there is always
something that has to be done around the
place.
No matter what we do Memorial Day
weekend, my mind will always drift back
to those days when everyone gave so much
for their country. It was a different time
with a different feeling. It seems we lost
something that was very precious.
Perhaps we should all try to get some of
that feeling back for we do have a great
country here -- thanks to those who served.
PAULSTOUTENBURGH
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