Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a federal holiday observed the last Monday in May to honor and mourn military personnel who died while serving in the US Armed Forces.

Armed Forces Day is an unofficial US holiday celebrated the third Saturday in May to honor those currently serving in the armed forces.

Veterans Day is a federal holiday observed November 11 to honor all veterans who served in the US Armed Forces and were discharged honorably.

Each of the three holidays is intended to honor military personnel, yet in distinct ways while drawing attention to a specific group. The differences and similarities can be a little confusing, at least to me.

The practice of decorating soldiers' graves with flowers as a memorial is an ancient custom. Memorial traditions in America increased considerably following the Civil War. Remembrance poppies became popular during WWI, starting in the UK.

An American flag is traditionally placed at each grave in national cemeteries to commemorate Memorial Day. This year cemeteries will remain open to the public though flag and wreath laying ceremonies will be closed events to discourage large crowds from gathering. The Veterans Administration advised groups not to organize their usual flag placement activities. However, individuals and families are still welcome to place flags while following CDC physical distancing guidelines.  

ReOpenNC protestors are organizing Memorial Day rallies in 5 NC cities to “honor fallen heroes by marching for freedom.”  Though thousands follow them on Facebook, only 200 people indicated they plan to participate while a meager 534 expressed interest in the rallies online.

The group’s call to action asks: “Will you take a stand against Roy Cooper and his Unconstitutional Executive Order?” Their tagline is “When tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty.”   

Adam Smith, the husband of ReOpenNC leader and co-founder Ashley Smith, said he is willing to kill people in resistance to the New World Order and NC Safer at Home emergency measures. He attempted to walk back his statement, saying it was more of a tribute to the American revolutionaries of 1776 than a comment on the emergency orders issued by Gov. Cooper. Pressed further he insisted that violence has to be an option. “I’m trying to make the men of this country stand up,” Smith said. “The last thing we want is bloodshed, but that’s something they should know we’re willing to do.”

Much of the empathy I had for the ReOpenNC movement evaporated after reading about the Smiths’ domestic terrorism inclinations. Group co-founder Kristen Elizabeth disavowed them in April after Ashley, Adam and others were arrested trying to breach the gate of the governor’s mansion. In March roughly 1,000 protesters gathered in Raleigh though subsequent rallies have drawn much smaller crowds, around 200 per event. It will be interesting to see how many people show up to their Memorial Day rallies today, and if any of them incite violence.

If you think you're too manly to wear a mask, you're doing manhood wrong. -- John Pavlovitz 

In the spirit of sharing softer news and/or silly vibes:

• Grim Reaper protested opening of FL beaches. 
• Relaxing Old Footage with Joe Pera is relaxing and amusing.
• VA Tech awarded honorary doctorate to paw-some pup therapy dog Dr. Moose.

Daily pandemic update:  

Japan lifted a nationwide state of emergency, gradually reopening the world's third-largest economy as government officials warned caution was still necessary to prevent another wave. In Russia cases climbed to 353,427 with 8,946 new infections in the past 24 hours.  Aljazeera.com timeline

25 May 2020	Cases		Deaths		Recovered
12:37 GMT*	Yesterday	Today	Yesterday	Today	Yesterday	Today
World	5,436,954	5,525,084	344,550	347,106	2,273,232	2,315,832
US	1,669,313	1,686,791	98,740	99,311	446,984	451,745
NY	369,656	371,193	29,112	29,231	63,514	64,082
CT	40,022	40,468	3,675	3,693	6,264	6,622
NC	22,878	23,364	778	784	11,637	11,637

*Documenting time of day because real time data updates continuously.
Tracking specific states:  NY is US epicenter. Son Reid lives in CT. I live in NC. 
Worldometers     Coronainusa     Starsexpress2020     https://ncov2019.live/

As of today 18% of closed cases in the US resulted in death; 82% recovered.

Globally 13% of closed cases resulted in death worldwide; 87% recovered.

Currently 2% of all active cases are considered serious or critical.

A moment of silence for those we’ve lost to coronavirus, including the first 100 in the US.

In the news: 

• AARP explored new etiquette protocols, family caregiving and health tips.
• Ann Coulter criticized Donald Trump and defended Jeff Sessions in multiple tweets.
• Chris Wallace questioned Dr. Birx about the growing death toll. He also called out White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany for questioning faith of reporters.
• Heavy rains led to slope failures and partial collapse of Blue Ridge Parkway near Roanoke VA.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced charges against him in corruption trial. 
• Jacinda Ardern kept her composure during live interview as 5.8 earthquake rattled New Zealand. 
• Kim Jong Un hosted a military meeting to discuss North Korea’s nuclear capabilities amid stalled denuclearization talks with US.
• Pool party at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri drew packed crowd.
• ProPublica investigated how NY suffered 10x the coronavirus deaths as CA.
• NC home school director charged with plotting to steal $700,000 in student financial aid to fund religious leader’s Halls of Knowledge at McCollum Ranch. 
• Springfield MO hair stylist served 84 clients over 8 days while experiencing symptoms of coronavirus; sick coworker potentially exposed 56 additional clients. 
• Thousands of race fans packed Ace Speedway during season opener, flouting public health guidance. NASCAR's Coca Cola 600 did not allow spectators in the stands. 
• Trump retweeted personal attacks against Nancy Pelosi, Stacey Abrams, and Hillary Clinton. Meanwhile some of his critics posted an image of Trump’s face pasted onto a photo of Queen Victoria with the caption HydroxychloroQueen.  
• Trump said Columbia University was “a liberal, disgraceful institution" when discussing study that found thousands of lives could have been saved had his administration recommended physical distancing measures sooner.
• US is adding Brazil to the coronavirus travel ban along with China, Iran, Europe, Ireland, and the UK. Brazil has the second most infections worldwide after the US, followed by Russia in third place. Like Trump, Bolsonaro is more concerned about the economy than the virus.
• Voting rights advocates claim in federal lawsuit that NC has failed to update its election laws to ensure voters can safely cast ballots during the pandemic.
• Winston Salem NC may soon have a drive in movie theater at Marketplace Mall.

Following Kenny Beck’s lead to share a few signs of hope:

• 10 year old boy rode his bike to raise money for Mississippi Food Network, enough to provide 18,000 meals to people in need.   
• 11 year old boy uses basketball to raise money for Sacramento CA food bank. 
• PA potato farmer partnered with art studio to sell spuds at pop-up co-op.

In my personal life…

Yesterday the weather was hot and humid with intermittent rain showers which kept us indoors most of the day. For entertainment we watched an eclectic mix of movies: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (from the Harry Potter universe), Ready or Not (about killer in-laws), Phenomenon (inspirational yet sad), and Grosse Pointe Blank (about a sentimental hit man). Film trivia and hidden messages, aka Easter eggs, are interesting to me. For example, the foreign assassin sent to kill Martin Blank during his high school reunion is named LaPoubelle, which in French means trash can; an inside joke about Euro trash. Linguistic humor isn't everyone's cup of Early Grey tea but Greg got a kick out of that particular play on words.  

Sunday brunch started with Boursin garlic and herb cheese on bagel crisps followed by scrambled eggs and bacon for me and a bacon, egg and shredded cheese quesadilla for Greg. Afterward I enjoyed a mug of mocha cold brew. Later in the afternoon Greg made milkshakes with frozen strawberries, milk, and a little sugar. His first try was pretty good though the second was spectacular, by far the best strawberry milkshake ever consumed, no contest. Better than yours, one might say (or sing). For dinner we ate leftover Chinese food.