decoration day.

(all photos by me.)

both of my mom's brothers were pilots. they both went to war. never were the same after. but who is?

mom's dad wanted to go to vietnam and was just under the maximum age. right before he was to enlist, his appendix ruptured. he always regretted not being able to go.

my irish grandma moved to england on her own in the 1940's. she served as a nurse in london for the duration of WWII. if i pried, she would tell me stories about air raid sirens and always having to wear a helmet. never the gory details. 

besides "full metal jacket" i don't think i've ever sat through an entire war movie. can't really stomach it. can deal with "atonement", but not "saving private ryan".

i'm almost as liberal as they come, but i don't take for granted the liberties that i have. spending massive amounts of time with three grandparents all alive during the depression gave me an appreciation for the little things in life that i think more people my age need to have. 

"i leave you, hoping that the lamp of liberty will burn in your bosoms until there shall no longer be a doubt that all men are created free and equal."-lincoln, chicago, 1858