What is Memorial Day?

Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery

Every year when Memorial Day comes around it is amazing to see how many people do not truly understand the significance of the day. Most commonly they seem to think it is the time to thank all veterans and/or those currently serving in the military. In fact, it is a day to mourn and remember all the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the armed forces of our country.

That distinction made me wonder about whether my 3rd great-grandfather Andrew Hungler should be honored on Memorial Day? Andrew enlisted in the US Navy in August of 1864, where he served as quartermaster on the USS Milwaukee. The ship supported the Union forces during the Mobile Campaign as they attacked the Confederate fortifications defending the city of Mobile, Alabama in early 1865. On 28 March 1865 the Milwaukee struck a mine and later sank. All of her crew members were rescued by the USS Kickapoo.

However Andrew came home from the war later that year as a cripple. The cause was listed as rheumatism, which they said he contracted on the ship. There are extensive medical records of Civil War soldiers, and they show over 160,000 cases of acute rheumatism, and acute rheumatic fever was known to be the main cause. Heart damage from this disease is common, and indeed Andrew succumbed to heart failure in 1869. He had been bedridden from the time he came home from the war.

So my question is, on Memorial Day do we honor our military men and women who died as a result of their time in the service? It seems to me that we should as in Andrew's case he would not have gotten rheumatic fever had he not been on a ship during the war. But the answer is no - Memorial Day is only for those who died during their service. I'll honor his memory on Veteran's Day instead.

Battle of the Oldies but Goodies

Cresswind versus Imagery

Last Saturday the pickleball club at Imagery participated in a tournament at Cresswind, another 55+ active adult community in the Charlotte area. This is the second time we have played there, and it always such a fun time. They have four permanent pickleball courts, but their tennis courts are striped for pickleball which gives them eight additional courts. We have never hosted them because we just have two permanent pickleball courts. We can only add an additional four pickleball courts by taping out the two tennis courts here. 

The weather was perfect with blue skies, light winds and temperatures in the mid-70s. The clubs were broken down by sex and skill level. We played the same team two times, for a total of six games. It was competitive and fun, and my partner and I won four of our six games. Our two losses were to the same team, and they went on to win our division, so we felt pretty good about our performance.

At the end of the day, we all just love the game of pickleball. We are blessed at this stage of our lives to be able to participate in the sport, have fun, and make new friends. Pickle on!

Thoughts on Mother's Day

Mother's Day

Mother's Day always brings mixed emotions. For me the day has always been about my mom, and later my mother-in-law. Even when I became a mom in 1985, I stilled viewed that day as being about the two most important women in my life. My mom died in a car accident in 1989, and my mother-in-law quietly and lovingly patched the hole in my heart. Since she is now gone as well, it is a bittersweet day.

Both of our children live pretty far away from us, so I did not see them on Sunday, except through FaceTime. God bless technology and the capabilities it brings to help us keep in touch. My husband made me breakfast, and then we later picked up lunch and ate it at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte in their botanical garden. It was a beautiful day, and many people had the same idea as us.

UNCC Botanical Garden

Later Jim grilled steaks, and we enjoyed a nice dinner in our screened porch. We went outside after it got dark in an attempt to see the aurora borealis, but old aurora did not make an appearance. Apparently people in our neighborhood saw it on Friday night, but we missed it.

Dallas Park

Gaston County held a household hazardous waste collection on Saturday at Dallas Park. We have been collecting used batteries for awhile, and I thought it was a good opportunity to get them out of the house. It was beautiful Saturday morning, so we decided to take the 35 minute drive to the park and dispose of the batteries.

We were the only ones pulling into the drop off location at the time, so all the employees rushed to the car to get our materials. Several hustled to the back of our SUV, expecting me to pop open the back for them to unload items. I felt really bad just rolling down a window to hand them a plastic bag partially filled with batteries. I think they were quite surprised and disappointed.

After the drop off we drove through the park. What a surprise it turned out to be! It has three ponds you can fish in or walk around, a couple of playgrounds, a splash pad, ball fields and tennis courts, an equestrian center including a camping area, and numerous pavilions. Especially of interest to us were the numerous historic building located there. There was a history of each one listed, and a QR code you could scan to see photos of the inside of each building. 

The beauty of the park made it worth the drive to properly dispose of our batteries. I hope to be able to take my granddaughter there the next time they come for a visit.

Dallas Park