The Present of Today, Memorial Day with Past and Future Perspectives

In having a relaxing Memorial Day weekend, in what had to be the most perfect weather ever here with bluebird skies yesterday and today, I was watering the garden thinking about how the idea of community gardens had been resonating for me this year. 

I then grabbed a delicious beverage and the Grand Junction newspaper and headed out to get some vitamin D from 'the vitamin D machine' (sun) and found a really inspiring article about a Vietnam veteran who moved here after hurricane Katrina and was helped by the local Catholic soup kitchen who took the initiative to turn a vacant lot into a community garden with the involvement of the organization.  One of the stipulations was there were to be no fences so that if someone needed food they could come take it -- I think that is a really wonderful concept and I look forward to how their garden grows this summer.  There is a link to the article below for anyone who is interested in reading the story.  

I have had some connections with the military peripherally.  For starters, I'm proud to say my father is retired US Air Force and as a result of his being in the United States military I have been extended the benefit of military family of what I consider to be the best insurance company, USAA.  I am including a link to their Memorial Day Remembrance below and encourage people to watch and read if you have a few minutes; it is an example of this company's dedication to it's members and their families.  Of interest to you might be the history which I've copied here: 

On Memorial Day, we remember and honor those who have lost their lives in service to our country. First known as "Decoration Day," the tradition dates back to the Civil War when Southern women decorated the graves of fallen soldiers.

Memorial Day was first observed on May 30, 1868. The South refused to acknowledge the day until after World War I, when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war. In 1971, Congress declared Memorial Day a national holiday.

When I was working as an occupational therapist in the area of driving rehabilitation I had to interact with many insurance companies related to paying for my clients' services and USAA always paid promptly and once even paid for someone whose head injury occurred when being hit by a car as a bicyclist -- something they didn't HAVE to pay for, but they wanted him to return to driving with the least chance of future incidents.  THAT is exceptional, and it made sense, and in my estimation was a good investment on their part.  

A few years before that when doing internships, I went out of my way to get an internship at the Denver Veteran's Administration hospital and nursing home because it would provide one of the rare psychiatric rotations which are part of the history of occupational therapy.  I had a wonderful experience seeing a group of veterans who had been coming together three times a week for years to talk about life and what was going on and getting advisement from the occupational therapy staff, and I got to hear how much they had grown in the eight years the group had existed.  

As soon as I quit working in driving rehabilitation I approached a manager recruiting at a job fair for the  public utility organization I wanted to work for -- I never got a job with the organization but I learned much of benefit to me from a few years of his becoming my "insignificant other".   He took exception to that term, but since we never lived together I thought it was a humorous way to describe our relationship.  Not only was he a combat Vietnam veteran, serving as a 'code talker', he was an exceptionally effective trainer and was passionate about workers' rights.  I was appreciative of his information on that topic as the medical arena at that time was becoming a very difficult atmosphere.  Since I live now on a major route through the United States I got to see him this past Labor Day and he basically tasked me with utilizing Lumigrate to help the veterans, something I very much look forward to having the resources (time, energy, money) to do in the future.  So if you are reading and know any current or previous service people, please let them know about Lumigrate; many of their physical issues all in the areas that Lumigrate's information addresses. 

I found from being around him at events in public where people would see his 101st Airborn tattoo that it was very appreciated if people approached him and said 'I noticed your tattoo; thank you for your service.' I know many people also wear hats that detail their involvement. But I also realized that his displaying this so proudly at another level kept him from truly leaving the wounds of the past in the past, and in my opinion that would have been beneficial to healing.  I've written something in the Forums/Psychology about 'Going from something bad happening to you to letting go' and along the way it is helpful for people to say 'I'm sorry that happened to you', and then you work on letting it go.  It's always a part of the fabric that makes you what you are, and staying in the present while recognizing the past and looking toward the future, is where people can be the most effective.  Sometimes that is very, very difficult. 

Today, Memorial Day, I know that I have such deep appreciation for all who have served or supported those who have; for every person in the trenches there are many more who are in supportive roles, even for decades after a war or conflict is over. 

And that's why the story in today's paper meant so much to me today -- a veteran who wanted to give back and is taking things into his own hands.  Hands which, by the way, are having surgery on them but that didn't keep him from working on the garden.  See, like with Lumigrate's Forum area, if everyone grabs an oar (or a hoe or shovel, so to speak), it makes light work for all.  And hopefully nutritious and delicious eating for many in need. And I hope people working in the garden look to the future, understand the past, and mostly are in the present working with the soil and the plants and the people that come together to cook and eat it. 

I encourage everyone to think about how to serve -- your community online, your next door neighbor in your physical world ... others.  We're all in this together.   Respectfully this Memorial Day ~~ Mardy

www.usaa.com/inet/ent_blogs/Blogs

www.gjsentinel.com/news/articles/garden_is_payback_for_help