Take a little time to honor the fallen and to become inspired

Veterans Day is to honor veterans, and Memorial Day is to remember the fallen … but we’re running a series of vignettes this weekend about veterans who give accounts of their service and remember others they served with and reflect on the meaning of service.

Here’s hoping we strike the right chord.

In addition, of course, we’ll have had reporting on preparations at area cemeteries and thoughts from people who help decorate military graves and who ponder the sacrifice made by service men and women. And we’ll have a reporter covering some of the services on Monday for the Tuesday edition.

We’re happy that we have ample subjects to source stories and plenty of events to cover to remember the holiday.

We’d just like to encourage our friends and neighbors to consider attending a service in person – whether you were in the military or not, you will feel good about attending a Memorial Day service, walking on hallowed ground, being part of the population that takes a little time to care. You might hear the firing of rifles, perhaps the sounds of aircraft, maybe hear some inspirational music, listen to a keynote speech or a special program and take part in prayers. And hear the playing of taps. If you’re traveling or your schedule doesn’t allow you to attend a service, we suggest you take a quiet walk through a cemetery while veterans’ graves are decorated for the day. It’s a touching experience. When you see the number of people who have in the past served the United States, it’s inspiring. It only takes a little time.

____________________ highly aware of common things over time. One of the most common tragedies and cause of great sadness: the meaningless loss of life due to a drunk driver. One of the most common things that ruins a life? Drunken driving. What is the most common root ingredient of all prosecutions? Action taken while drunken.

We do not advocate for abstinence. Not at all. But we do advocate for responsible action. Please take care.

_________________

It’s a momentous season for thousands of kids and family members as area schools conduct their commencement exercises.

We want to congratulate all; and we plan on covering many of the graduations. We regret the fact that we can’t have a staff member or a correspondent at every one of them. We simply don’t have the resources.

But we do welcome and encourage photo submissions from parents and onlookers and school personnel. Send your shots to adnewsroom@appealdemocrat. com and we’ll consider them for use in the next few issues of Family & Friends.

And here’s one other item for graduation season: We set up a quick, informal, online survey to find out what people who have been out and about for a while have in the way of advice for new graduates.

Whatever you would advise graduates on how to have a better life, that’s what we want to know about ... along with the era you graduated in and who and what you remember most clearly from your own high school days. This survey will be up and running for a couple weeks – throughout the local graduation season.

To participate, go to our website at appealdemocrat.com and click on the heading, “Advice to Graduates” near the top of the home page. Thanks.