Should we ban shopping?

Today my son and I went to the Memorial Day Program at the Grandview Cemetery. He asked if he could go to a particular store that I have particular negative feelings about in quest of the latest Lego set (but having grandparents that live far away, he is never short of having a gift card to this store). Once we experienced the march of the bag pipes, the Color Guard, the Honor Guard, a variety of other groups (that I posted on an earlier blog), and the death-frightening firing squad (that's what they call themselves on the program flyer), I decided: NO.

I'm thinking of banning shopping from certain holidays. Never mind that I try to shop at our local Ten Thousand Villages (http://www.tenthousandvillages.com/home.php) for fair trade items (http://www.tenthousandvillages.com/php/fair.trade/fair.trade.fairprice.php) for those special birthdays and thank yous.

Today being Memorial Day, we are suppose to be thinking of those in service who paid the ultimate price: his or her life. Think of one individual in your life (perhaps this is real for you) and this one person is missing because he or she chose to defend our country. This person will miss weddings and children being born, baseball games and cookouts (as many of us did today), and will miss graduations and funerals. They never come back, and should we be "cheapening" their death by the "big Memorial Day sales?"

Can you really not live with yourself if you miss out on a 40% of all shoes at Macy's? Half-off everything in the store from noon to midnight at Kohls?

Alas, that Lego set will still be there tomorrow. And that store that I hate, it'll still be there in the morning. But today, I chose to honor our fallen by not handing one dollar to a store that thinks it's more important to make a sale, than to know what Memorial Day is truly about.

Memorial Day May 31, 2010

My son and I attended the service honoring fallen United States military members at the Grandview Cemetery in Fort Collins, CO at 10:30 am. What an honoring and sentimental service to those who have gone before us and have done so while serving our country. While I can't list deceased service members buried here (perhaps I could if I spend some time doing research), I would like to thank those who were there to honor those who are buried there, around our nation, and those who are MIA:

FLEET RESERVE ASSOC AND AUXILARY-BRANCH & UNIT 21
MARINE CORPS LEAGUE 785
GOLD STAR MOTHERS
DAR (Daughters of American Revolution) CACHE LA POUDRE CHAPTER
VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) AUXILIARY POST 1781
AMERICAN LEGION AUXILIARY UNITS 4 & 187
DAUGHTERS OF UNION VETERANS
FRA (Fleet Reserve Association) UNIT 21
COLOR GUARD
HONOR GUARD
COLORADO PATRIOTS DRUM AND FIFE CORPS
AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION CHAPTER 372
DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS AND AUXILIARY
SONS OF THE LEGION SQUADRON 4
AMERICAN LEGION RIDERS GROUP
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS

Individuals:
SGT. OF ARMS: MAC MCCORMICK-MARINE CORPS LEAGUE 785
Invocation: JOHN RINNIE-MARINE CORPS LEAGUE DET 785
keynote Speaker: COL. JOE CASSIDY-US ARMY RETIRED
Benediction: JOHN RINNIE-USMCL-DET 785
Honor Guard: FORT COLLINS ALL VETERANS HONOR GUARD
Echo Taps: SAM TRUJILLO JR & TOM ECKRICH
Amazing Grace: PETE LONG-BAG PIPES

There were also some AMAZING youth there to add to the services, and while I will not post their names for the sake of internet safety, know that your presence meant so much:

National Anthem: FT COLLINS HIGH SCHOOL-GIRL STATE DELIGATES
Reading of "A Gold Star Mother": AUX UNIT 187, JR MEMBER & STUDENT FROM O'DEA ELEMENTARY
Recessional From The Five Nations: AUX UNIT 187, JR MEMBER & STUDENT FROM POUDRE HIGH SCHOOL
Reading of "In Flanders Field": Boy Scout from Troop 96

The Boy Scouts also placed many, many flags out among the graves of deceased military around Fort Collins.

This is a day to remember those who were born before us, lived and learned before us, built a nation before us, and have died before us. We have much to be thankful for.