516- OUR 'MEMORIAL DAY' 2010........

A) Bagpipes..."Amazing Grace"...dualing bugles.....
B) This proud American cannot, will not, forget my experiences when last visiting our Arlington National Cemetery, along the Potomac River. I had paused by the JFK burual site, then walked on up the hilld to the Tombs of the Unknown Soldier. The scene is, forever, etched in my memory bank...quietness....respect...reverence. Then, I strained to hear a note or three of a familiar piece of music. And walked in that direction. A burial had taken place, and, as I moved closer, the music became more evident.
D) Off to the left, in a small woods, were the familiar notes of 'Taps' by a lone bugler. A second or three later, to the opposite side, hidden from my view, the same notes began...dualing. This AMERICAN, unabashedly, began to have a tiny tear or three stream down my face, with an everpresent light breeze moving across from left to right. Far off, to my left, across the River, I could make out the form of the memorial to Thomas Jefferson...and the very tall, pointed obelisk memorial to George Washington, glistening white in the sunshine.....
E) And another experience....at a football game in C-Ville, during halftime, the entire halftime was buzzing with chatter, 'cause our Wahoos were ahead!. And then "it" spread rapidly throughout the entire sunny, fall afternoon. Somewhere, hidden to me, a bagpiper began to prime and then play "Amazing Grace", to honor our fallen American soldier. Almost to the a second, the HUSH 'frozen' the chattering scene, for the bagpiper continued on with the familiar tune. This native Virginian looked around and noticed hundreds and hundreds of fans and players and cheerleader instantly either place a hand over their hearts or lower their face a bit. Even little children....
Once again, something inside of me swelled with AMERICAN pride inside. I shall never, ever, forget that scene that afternoon in a crowded football stadium at our University of Virginia in...C-Ville!! YOU GO, WAHOOS.......