Memorial Day at Frank and Ellie's, 1998
Windermere, Florida
The lake bumped the sand
causing the water to wrinkle
at the end of the long grass slope
that started back up at the house
The slope was lime green and shadow leaves swayed across it in the breezy heat
The barbecue was smoky with hamburgers,
and the table was piled with bowls of cole slaw, potato salad,
pickles, catsup and mustard
We sat under towering oak trees
with black angled branches
and a white blue sky
that held the heat in like
the lid on a pot of corn on the cob
Bessie the dog ran through the trees and into the lake
while the four small boys splashed in the water
and Grandpa shouted advice about their plastic raft,
him being an old Navy man
The furniture in the house was American Primitive,
dark wood-spoked chairs on an intricate wood floor
and bright orange crate labels from the family business
hung framed against pine slat walls
A small American flag waved out of the large spoon pitcher on the stove next to Grandma’s three layer chocolate cake, and the childrens' popsicles were red, white and blue
and left their mouths patriotic with color
It was Memorial Day that warm Florida Monday
We didn't mention it, but it was there. Z
(Between the burgers and the ribs, the chance to have a day off in the sun with friends and family, stop a minute or two and remember who made all this possible. Memorial Day is for memories. Blessings to you who lost a loved one fighting for our freedom, and blessings to you who are missing someone now who’s still at it. We owe them a lot. No, we owe them everything.)
Thanks to Mustang for the wonderful Memorial Day Video!
A REMINDER FROM THE PROUD MOTHER OF A MARINE WHO RECENTLY CAME HOME: George Orwell once observed, "People sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
Thanks, Joan.
48 comments:
What can I say? BRILLIANT prose. Excellent. This one's a keeper. I sensed that I was there. Detail in writing is a big plus and it's all here.
Hey, Steve, thanks a lot for stopping by; YOU MADE MY DAY!
Thanks so much. I wish you a marvelous weekend.
your imagery is truly spectacular, z. i truly admire your skill.
happy happy!
heidianne jackson
http://biggirlpants.typepad.com
I wish I had the talent for descriptive writing demonstrated in this exceptional post, Z. Reading, one can see it, feel it, smell it, and almost taste those burgers. I want to thank you for your link, but more than that . . . to thank you for your love of America and all who serve Her. If only half of our citizens were as patriotic and as dedicated as you are, I would have no concerns about our future. May God bless you and Mr. Z; my best to you both on this Memorial Day weekend.
Semper Fi
How wonderful!
It really sets a calm family mood, and what is better?
Very evocative poem, Z. Too much specificity on the picnic table perhaps but that's my only complaint. Love the image of the water wrinkling when it butts up against the sand.
Very nice Z and like the poem...I really really like it.
Lovely post, Z. Wishing you and Mr. Z a fabulous Memorial Day weekend.
That was beautiful. Thank you.
Here in FL our lakes tend to have large gators, so MY dogs don't do much swimming in ours! :-)
Morgan
I'm there, Z. That cake is good, and your Grandpa tells a mean tale.
Many thanks to our veterans and soldiers.
I wrote Bill O'Reilly about yesterday's show. E.D. was always a favorite of mine, but she betrayed an ignorance of the gas price issue that was truly eye-opening last night. Think Bill will read my note? I know, I know, WHEN PIGS FLY!
Morgan
Thanks, everyone....you're all very kind, I appreciate the support and enthusiasm! SO much. Marvelous weekends to you all!
Morgan....I hope he does, but I have a lot of buddies who've written to him. Of course, if you made it PITHY and didn't BLOVIATE...!? Let us know...I have dinner guests coming any minute so I can't watch. It'll be all Mr. and Mrs. Z can do to sneak some looks at the Laker game!!
Way to kick off the summer Z. I've dabbled in poetry a bit. But I defer to the better prose.
Z, how lovely, your prose. Pure Americana, is there anything better?
Yes, this is what brave men have fought and died for. The simple joys that fill our lives in this great land. This is the gift of freedom. Just to be ourselves.
Thanks to all who have and do, serve our country so bravely. And thanks for the gifts you continue to protect.
God bless you one and all.
And, God bless America.
Pris
Memorial Day is also the start of summer, and thoughts of a long vacation from the school dominate children's thoughts.
Emily Dickinson memorialized it this way in the mid-nineteenth-century.
From all the jails the boys and girls
Ecstatically leap—
Beloved, only afternoon
That prison doesn’t keep.
They storm the earth and stun the air, 5
A mob of solid bliss.
Alas! that frowns could lie in wait
For such a foe as this!
From FreeThinke
A wonderful weekend to the Zs.
Had no idea this was one of yours... fabulous!
Think of me while I have to work.. :-)
God Bless everyone that is now serving or has ever served in the United States Military.
I want to wish all of you a Safe and Happy Memorial Day.
God Bless America, God Save The Republic.
Bonjour Madame Z. How have you been? Great post. As with every Memorial Day week-end its important to remember the REAL reason for this day. Without the Brave;there is no Land of the Free. God bless all our veterans and those brave men and women who are currently serving to defend us. And to all my good friends, while you're enjoying this wonderful week-end, you might just think about donating to the USO. You can do that at USO.org. Have a great week-end everyone. Johnnymac.
Nice post,z, w/ sparkles of brilliance.
Happy Memorial Day.
Okay... okay. There was a flat note or two (lime/white-blue)... but the sparkles (smokey w/hamburgers/patriotic with color) were magnificent.
I wouldn't want to see your head swell. ;-)
FJ..I GOT that 'sparkles' meant 'rare and far between', you needn't elaborate.
I may not prefer Corot like you do or think every road in a poem has to be metaphorical, but I got 'sparkles'.
:-)
Like an opal in the rough. I can only imagine what some serious polishing could accomplish...
Keep writing, z. Just keep writing.
Thanks, FJ, but I haven't written anything in a few years. These are old poems I've dug up, and I have to admit I don't spend a lot of time polishing. I should, I guess, if I ever DO start writing again.
I appreciate your encouragement. Hey, if I work harder, maybe I can become a diamond in the rough!? HA!!! Thanks. xxx
Dear Z, this is fabulous! It brought reminded me of Memorial Day with my grandparents in Louisiana! I felt right at home and you put a smile on my face today!!
Video was great, I'm so proud to be an American!
Happy Memorial Day and you should start writing again. You have a wonderful talent!
OGDEN NASH on SEASIDE RECREATION
Pretty Halcyon Days
How pleasant to sit on the beach,
On the beach, on the sand, in the sun,
With ocean galore within reach,
And nothing at all to be done!
No letters to answer,
No bills to be burned,
No work to be shirked,
No cash to be earned.
It is pleasant to sit on the beach
With nothing at all to be done.
How pleasant to look at the ocean,
Democratic and damp; indiscriminate;
It fills me with noble emotion
To think I am able to swim in it.
To lave in the wave,
Majestic and chilly,
Tomorrow I crave;
But today it is silly.
It is pleasant to look at the ocean;
Tomorrow, perhaps, I shall swim in it.
How pleasant to gaze at the sailors,
As their sailboats they manfully sail
With the vigor of vikings and whalers
In the days of the viking and whale.
They sport on the brink
Of the shad and the shark;
If it’s windy they sink;
If it isn’t, they park.
It is pleasant to gaze at the sailors,
To gaze without having to sail.
How pleasant the salt anaesthetic
Of the air and the sand and the sun;
Leave the earth to the strong and athletic,
And the sea to adventure upon.
But the sun and the sand
No contractor can copy;
We lie in the land
Of the lotus and poppy;
We vegetate, calm and aesthetic,
On the beach, on the sand, in the sun.
~ Ogden Nash (1902-1971)
Submitted by ~ FreeThinke
It is indeed an exceptional post, Z. You are extremely talented!
Have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend and God bless. :)
That about sums us up, FT. Noble citizens of the Republic of Lotus Eaters.
I often wonder which is mine:
Tolerance, or a rubber spine? -- O.N.
FJ,
You remind of this, but I can't remember who said it first, can you?
Of all the questions that I ponder
Two come easily to mind
Does absence make the heart grow fonder
Or does out of sight mean out of mind?
HMDW!
FT
Nope, sorry FT.
But I suspect that the answer to that puzzler lay both in the nature of the memory and duration of the absence.
"Absence sharpens love, presence strengthens it" --Benjamin Franklin
Stuff like this should be published. You should seriously consider it. Try Lulu.com, or, go for an agent.
"..we owe them everything."
Indeed Z, enjoy the burgers and the time with the family.
THANK YOU, all. Your comments mean a LOT to me.
FJ...how's about "aluminum sky"?
Buttermilk sky's been used (Smile)
The sky's the limit.....have a WONDERFUL WEEKEND and remember our soldiers, never let them be far from your minds. Remember their moms. Especially their moms.
z - i'm so thankful today - we took our family and met up with two other families in branson at silver dollar city - when it was time to go, i got ahead of everybody else and ended up on the tram that takes everyone back to their vehicles - LO AND BEHOLD, an army recruiter, his wife and two young sons sat next to me and i just turned to him (he had on a MOSUL 9/07 tee) and thanked him for his service and thanked his wife and told their two young sons how proud they must be of their daddy - the mother got tears in her eyes and they all thanked ME for recognizing his sacrifice for this great country - it made my day, heck, my whole week, month and year!
almost better than that - i met a man, and his german wife, who'd been in the big one ww2 and i thanked him for his service (navy) - he was the biggest and funniest man - he said he'd met his little wife in germany and she'd taken him prisoner of war over 50 years ago! i said, "nah, she just saved the rest of u.s. women from you!" we had a very good laugh.
nanc, what a GREAT day! Thank YOU for thanking that recruiter and being so nice to his family. We ALL should do that every time we see a soldier, right?
How wonderful that it made you THAT happy. Says a lot about you, but we all already knew that.
As for the Sailor and his German wife? That is THE cutest line I've heard in a while... "she took me prisoner of war fifty years ago". AAAAHHHHH!!! Sounds like an adoring and happy husband, right?! (Well, those Germans CAN be cute, TRUST ME!)
Thanks for sharing this here, nanc.....what treasures on a weekend especially appropriate for these kinds of treasures.
Beautiful Z! Have a wonderful Memorial Day!
z - she was the tiniest little german woman i've EVER seen - probably about five foot nothing and he towered over my six foot two husband and he was so enamored of her STILL AFTER SO MANY YEARS! she had a very thick accent and was so attentive to him - we were all trying out the bbq sauces we were buying and honestly, i could have hung around them ALL day long!
i always make it a point to approach soldiers i recognize either from uniform, hats or tee shirts and thank them and their families. i'm humbled by their presence in my midst and like to let them know - even if it means we cry - tears dry, but the memory of a vet and their loved ones stays with you long after you've said your hellos and goodbyes.
Once again I want to wish everyone a Safe and Happy Memorial Day.
Z, Just for laughs. It's good to laugh. Go to my site. I have a list of links on the left side bar. Start by reading the link to your site (GeeeeeZ) as if you were reading a sentence, then continue reading the next link. I didn't plan that but I like it.
God Bless America, God Save The Republic.
Z, BTW, that link below yours deals with Veterans issues. It's host is a member or Rolling Thunder so he is in D.C. today for the parade.
God Bless all those that have served or are now serving our country.
God Bless America, God Save The Republic.
I felt just like I was in Florida... wait, I am in Florida!
Just kidding. Lovely poem. My sentiments exactly, except you said it better.
hey Z!...Blessed Memorial Day to you and yours! :)
Later today, Mr. AOW and I will go to our local VFW for a cookout with the veterans there and, no doubt, some of the bikers from Rolling Thunder.
On this Memorial Day weekend may we not forget those who served and gave the ultimate sacrifice!
PS: Z, a great piece of writing!
Aluminum does evoke thoughts of a lid, but doesn't quite call forth low clouds to mind...
Sorry, I can't help much, Z. I'm not a poet, just a lover of great poetry.
OK, I like "aluminum." I think the qualities of aluminum are evocative of that kind of white-hot sky, and it goes very well with the image of the lid on the pot of corn.
cj, works for me, too. Maybe I'll change it. As if it really matters! But, good to get as close as you can, right? Thanks.
Thank you for visiting my blog.
It was nice to read for a change, a poem not all made up of metaphors and abstraction.
FYI: There's a fascinating interview about LINCOLN on C-Span coming up 8:00 PM California time, 11:00 PM EDT.
A Professor di Lorenzo, who has done formidable research with primary sources holds unorthodox views about The Great Emancipator.
Birtan Lamb asks the questions. Di Lorenzo answers them articulately without missing a beat.
FreeThinke
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