Thursday
I received this today from a dear friend. I believe my dear readers
would want to take it to heart:
Fredi’s late husband was buried today with full military
honors at the nearby Veterans Cemetery. I had never been to a
military funeral. It had been a long long time since I
attended a Jewish funeral. It was an amazing display to see the two
of them together.
The service was conducted in an open air structure. (Some
of this is going to seem non-informational to you since you have
attended a military funeral… but
it was totally new to me!) The honor guard stood at
attention as we arrived. There was a representative from each
of the branches of the service and I made sure to thank each of
them as I passed by. I hope they knew that I was completely serious
when I thanked them for their service. The military person who
conducted his portion of the service warned us that the volleys
would be loud, and most of those in attendance covered their ears,
but it didn’t seem that bad to me. I admit that I flinched. I don’t
think we should kid ourselves about the level of noise when a gun
is fired. And I wanted to make certain that I honored everyone who
has ever fired a gun in defense of this nation by listening to the
noise their guns make.
The flag folding part is really awe inspiring. I remember
that my mother received the flag that draped my father’s coffin,
but it certainly was not folded in front of us. When Taps faded,
there was a calliope sounding rendition of a patriotic tune, but I
forget what it was. It played nearly constantly, but once the
Cantor began, I guess they either cut it off or I was not aware of
it.
They offered us the shell casings of the bullets fired and
I took one because it felt rude not to. What in God’s name am I
supposed to be doing with it? I thanked the service men and women
again as we left and then we made our way out.
If Fredi hadn’t taken 10:30 AM today, there wasn’t another
available time for internment until next Tuesday and that obviously
would have been a tremendous problem. Can there be that many
service men/women and their families who are dying? And I was taken
by the lines upon lines of simple white headstones standing there
in the cool crisp late fall morning sun — which made only a
momentary appearance on the otherwise gray day. It made me think
about how many such small cemeteries there are honoring men, women
and families who placed defending this nation as a priority on
their list of life accomplishments. It made me think about the vast
number of those who have died putting America first. It is an
understanding that made me feel abundantly grateful and at the same
time reminded me how ignorant we are as to the vast number of souls
who have put their lives on the line. I think we can all honor the
collective memory better than we do with a few days that are only
half-heartedly observed — and then mostly as a day when the retail
chains offer specials and discounts.
I have a renewed appreciation. And while I have always
admired you for your support of the military men, women, wives and
families I applaud you for it now.
Be well.
