Memorial Day

At this very moment, Somerville's Memorial Day Parade is passing in front of my house, with all its marching bands, sirens, and even the occasional cannon firing. Actually, the parade path winds the exact route I walk home from church, so following today's service I got to see a great deal of the goings on.

Which set me to wondering: How should one celebrate Memorial Day? Parades are wonderful things--the very fact that we have them is an obvious sign that the community supports and thanks its veterans. Parades also bring the community together briefly, and instill a sense of national pride in the citizenry, especially from the old (who are the primary participants in the parade) to the young (who are often most bedazzled by the spectacle). But there's no specific connection between parades and Memorial Day; after all, we have parades on many major holidays. And the parade can't be primarily about thanking the participants, although many active military personnel participate, because of the two holidays we dedicate to the Armed Forces it's Veteran's Day where we celebrate our current military force, and Memorial Day where we commemorate the fallen.

Indeed, viewed from a certain perspective, the way people generally choose to celebrate Memorial Day--with barbecues, pool openings, and general frivolity--is quite peculiar. If Memorial Day is meant to honor the memory of military personnel who are no longer among us, including those who died in the heat of battle, there's very little that could be more sobering. What could be more tragic than the thought of the many young men, years younger than I am now, who died on foreign shores, far from home, from the places they knew, and the people that they loved?

One could always say, I suppose, that they would want us to be happy, and that they would want us to enjoy the fruits of their sacrifice. That today of all days we should be happy, and remember the fallen well. Still, there is a powerful sadness in Memorial Day that isn't echoed in the cannon fire, and isn't reflected in the faces of the people watching the parade go by.

In the end, the only thing that I can find that ties them is their cause. Both soldiers on the battlefield and people cheering at a parade do what they do from a love of their country, and of what it represents. It seems strange to me that that should be it, but it's possible that nationalism and somber reflection have a difficult time occupying the same space.

The Big Easy, Part Deux

What else is there to say about the Big Easy? Probably most importantly, the city is anything but self-pitying. It's full of chintzy t-shirts, a wonderful variety of beads, pralines of every imaginable variety, Abita beer, and of course, the omnipresent fleur-de-lis (which is not, as it turns out, just the symbol for the local football team).

Of course, there's more than natural resiliency at work here. Whatever the best way to move past a natural disaster is psychologically, if you have a city that earns a large part of its revenue from tourism the best way to move forward economically is to get things back to normal, and quickly. Someone told me the first businesses to open on Bourbon Street following Hurricane Katrina were the strip clubs. I'm purposefully choosing not to find out whether or not that's true, though it certainly is interesting.

The other thing about New Orleans is that it's hot. Even in May, the temperatures were in the mid-80's with a stifling humidity. What I enjoyed more than anything (besides seeing Irene) about coming back to New England was the brisk spring air. Always good to be home again.

Interlude

Since we're on the topic of New Orleans, I just had to pass along a great recipe for Vegetarian Jambalaya I found. Simple and tasty.

INGREDIENTS

* 1 medium onion, finely chopped
* 1 cup chopped celery
* 1 cup chopped green pepper
* 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
* 4 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 3 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
* 2 cups water
* 1 cup uncooked rice
* 2 tablespoons soy sauce
* 2 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon paprika
* 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* 6 tablespoons sour cream (the truly crucial ingredient)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large nonstick skillet saute the onion, celery, green pepper, mushrooms
and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in the water, tomatoes, rice, soy sauce,
parsley, salt, paprika, cayenne, chili powder and pepper.
2. Transfer to a 2-1/2-qt. baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Cover
and bake at 350 degrees until rice is tender (use the length advised on the
package as a guide) and the liquid is absorbed. Top each serving with a
generous dollop of sour cream.

(taken from AllRecipes and slightly altered)

Enjoy!

The Big Easy

I've just returned from Chip's bachelor party in New Orleans and, as promised, this is my blog post about it--although one notably without pictures. My camera was lost to the bayou, never to be found again.

First off, it's probably worth stating that it was not technically a bachelor party. Chip was married in St. Thomas (or some Caribbean Island or another) several months ago and had a corresponding, legally binding marriage in the States sometime shortly thereafter. He's going to have a proper, invite-all-my-friends-and-family-wedding in September of which I am lucky enough to be a part.

So this bachelor party had a slightly different feel, and that, perhaps coupled with the fact that we're all getting a little bit older, made for it being a bit more tame than four nights with your closest friends in New Orleans might suggest.

There was a fan boat tour, a lot of jazz music at bars and such, a healthy dose of Bourbon Street, and some beignets and cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde, which everyone says is a must.

More interesting to me, and I assume to you, was exactly what kind of condition New Orleans was in. The French Quarter, being the major driver in New Orleans tourist based economy, was perfect on the surface. If you managed to walk a bit away from Bourbon Street the view changed. The only part of some buildings that still stood was the facade--or perhaps that was the only part that wasn't demolished. The number of vacant houses and offices in the French Quarter, again away from Bourbon Street, was surprising. Even on Bourbon Street, only the first floor of most buildings was rented. The second and third floors were empty.

We'll consider this Part I. Look for future installments soon!

The Harvard Divinity Ball

Last night Irene and I went to a Black Tie fundraiser at the Faculty Club at Harvard. All of the proceeds went to Response, Inc., which assists local battered women. Those canny Divinity students managed to raise $5,300 dollars, which I thought was pretty good. The only downside was that the ball was, errr, a swing dance party. And, as it turns, some of those Harvard students can really swing dance...

And I can't. But I have pictures!



Irene got me the white jacket and bow tie at a thrift store. Class all the way! You can see the rest of the pictures here.

Milk Confusion

Did you know that I spent my entire life thinking that 2% milk was healthier than 1% milk? Did we used to drink 2% at home?