Hello, May

May is my favorite month of the year.

It's the month of family birthdays and anniversaries, graduations, of baseball games, of mowing the green, green grass a couple of times a week. It's a time of hearing the almost constant hum and rumble of farm equipment, of dandelions at all stages showing themselves, of the orioles flying by until we get the grape jelly and the orange slices out for them to feast on.

I love the scents and sights of flowers and fresh mown grass and Spanish hot dogs. I'm so proud of all those kids in caps and gowns and baseball uniforms. It is a time of richness, activity, and celebration. I hope you enjoy it, too.

Memorial Day is in May. It's the day of the Race. We capitalize that word hereabouts, don't we? Kind of like our neighbors to the south do the Derby, also in May.

In 1971, the traditional date for Memorial Day changed from May 30 to the last Monday in May. For a long time, the VFW objected to the Race being run on Memorial day, but they lost that battle. There is still veiled (and not so veiled) resentment by some that the intent of the day has been lost to its entertainment value.

I get that. Because I don't think it being the Day of the Race is as important as giving thought and honor and gratitude to the military who have died serving this country. I don't think the roar of the engines matters as much as the American flags waving in cemeteries all over the country.

Those are the reasons, then, that I love May. I hope it's a wonderful month for you, that Memorial Day weekend is a great time of remembrance.

I know I'm early in talking about it, and one reason this post might seem out of order is because I've been working on it all week. I've changed everything around, then changed it again. I've thought oh, the hell with it more than once because I'm tired of being upset, of trying to say what I feel without alienating anyone.

So maybe you should stop here, because the fact that I need to say these things doesn't mean you have to read them.

I already had this more than half-written--more than once--when the news came out that President Trump wants to rename Veterans Day “Victory Day for World War I Day” and create another holiday on May 8 to commemorate World War II.

I suppose these ideas don't have anything to do with Memorial Day--yet. He's never made a secret of his disrespect for the military, although he does claim to love winners (until they disagree with him), but if he does this latest thing in his plans for the country, he will be throwing all the veterans of Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, and every other conflict away.

He wants to "celebrate our victories," this man who also said "the country’s top civilian honor was 'much better' than its top military honor, because the service members who receive the latter are 'in very bad shape' or 'dead'." Who said about John McCain, "He’s not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured."

I suppose it's forgivable for a man who's suffered with bone spurs to have contempt for the veteran who served the country he "leads." But I don't think so.

Have a good week. Be nice to somebody.