Tags
Family, Holiday, inspiration, Life, Memorial Day, relationships
I won’t be spending Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery this year and I feel a little guilty about it. As a child growing up in New England, I remember my family’s tradition of gathering at the cemetery to honor our relatives by straightening tombstones, clearing brush and debris, and finally decorating the graves with fresh flowers. We said prayers for the dearly departed before eating “dinner on the grounds” (quite literally, on a blanket.)
It was a family reunion of sorts – between both dead and living relatives. I never considered it strange that we were picnicking atop the graves of our ancestors. It was simply a peaceful, all-day event, which included sharing stories and laughter.
Today, I live too far away to continue the tradition, but part of my heart will be in Washington DC and Brookline, Massachusetts, on this holiday.
May they all rest in peace.
Renee Garrison is the award-winning author of The Anchor Clankers.
Renee Writes Now! 
I had the utmost respect for your dad, he was a great man!
Thank you, Mike. That’s nice to hear.
I will be continuing the tradition, as a band kid in dorchester we did a parade or two this weekend as well as a couple of us horn players would be honored to play taps, with the echo, of course(2 players) at Cedar Grove or the Larger Vets cemetery in Quincy. We try and go every year to attend Flag ceremony, in Canton where the folks are and there also is a huge Veterans section, hear the pipes and leave flowers, so I will say a prayer for the Captain, and be thankful for the ones who answered the call.
Hi, I went to Sanford Navel Academy (SNA) and there was a Capt. LeBlanc in charge of the school. I only got to see him on a few occasions. He was always nice to me.
Since Captain LeBlanc was in charge of discipline, you must have been well-behaved!