In Memoriam

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Author Message Ralph Liebing, RA, CSI, CDT Senior Member Username: rliebing Post Number: 1241 Registered: 02-2003 Posted on Wednesday, May 25, 2011 - 10:38 am:    110525 IN MEMORIAM…….. BY Ralph Liebing, RA, CSI, CDT, Cincinnati, OH Nothing can, or ever should, overshadow or diminish the sacrifices we remember on Memorial Day and other commemorative days where we salute, recall, and remember those who served defending our freedom-- and gave their all. Teens who never saw their twenties! Older people who got no chance to retire. Lives ended with the crack of the rifle, or the rumble of the tornado, Families with an eternal void, but such wonderful, unfading memories of the good times, in spite of the devastation of property or the lifeless strewn across the battlefield. Thank you, we say-- we know you rest in peace, and we live in the freedom you bought us! Each lost soul has made some sacrifices and helped others, at some time-- the rotation f life. This is a gigantic element of Americana—so troubling in a way; so touching; so all-encompassing to each and every corner of America. It happens continuously and we really don’t understand in most cases why-- especially cancer in small ones, or grenade explosion the day before heading home. In the micorcausm of family, a community, a workplace, a profession, there are similar but tiny reflections of good deeds, sacrifices, and massive effort, often in face of very difficult circumstances. No, not life-threatening, but still making way for a future, yet unchartered unknown and with fogged perspective. Parent strives for a better day for each child; siblings despite normal “differences” pull for each other; neighbors are ready to help; churches and schools are ever present; and community services abound from emergency help to other assistance in times of various needs. In each of these there is some sacrifice, some caring, some effort to make better for those coming on. So from the glitter, snap and precision of an Arlington internment, to that small family group in some remote rural area, each passed on for whatever reason, IS reason for our tears, and lasting memories. So on Memorial Day, we symbolically shake that hand again, or snap a salute with arthritic hands to send our eternal thanks. Man, woman, or child; new or old, each has touched us and our lives and changed us, perhaps just a little. Tough in business we be, but soft in purely human time-- it’s time to emphasize memories we carry daily. Salute! Thanks! and God Bless!