July 25 (Day 288)

After taking the last few days taking care of business at work, I have the opportunity to do another update.

I found out when I came back to work that our 4K forklift is broken…again. We got it back in March after some repairs. It seems the battery is dead. I think the contractors forget to switch off the lights in the evenings. They aren’t very bright and during twilight hours, they wouldn’t be that noticeable. Now I have to coordinate a flatbed and crane to come pick it up to transport it to the maintenance folks.

We have been having really windy conditions as of late. My May 10 posting has some pictures of work being done in our yard. In them you can see the covered portion of the sort area. Well, the wind tore off an 8 foot section of it. Fortunately, no one was hurt, and no damage was done, save for a couple of the 2X4s breaking. The plywood is still useable. Now I have to figure a way to fix it and make it sturdier.

I have to make some adjustments concerning our pending move. Evidently, some people were not using the same dimensions for my new yard as I was told I had, so that is turning out to be a headache. I just love it when the parties involved in a given project don’t communicate.

My friend Robert lent me his “bootleg” copies of the late 90s show “Seven Days.” For those unfamiliar, the show is about a government agency that has a machine that can send a person back in time 7 days. It is used to correct, usually prevent, something bad that happened. It was on for three seasons, and has not been released on DVD. I started watching it this past weekend. Once I get through it, I will start with seasons 2 and 3 of “In Plain Sight” and then season 2 of “Eureka.”

Well, I guess it’s time for a little vacation addendum. We spent July 4^th at Omaha Beach. I can’t think of a better place for our Independence Day than to spend time at one of our American Cemeteries abroad along with its Memorial. The opportunity to reflect on the sacrifices of our young men who paid the ultimate price for our continued freedoms is something that cannot be matched in my mind. (Let’s not forget the servicewomen who also have given their lives in conflict).

We were quite fortunate that a ceremony was beginning when we arrived at the Omaha Beach Memorial. There was a large group of kids from the U.S., and I presume other places, touring Europe. They participated in a flag-raising ceremony celebrating the nations that were involved in the D-day invasion. It was a celebratory, yet sobering, occasion, and I was glad we were there. The weather looked to be a little iffy at times, but the Lord deemed it fit not to interfere.

After the ceremony at the memorial, we headed up the road to the Normandy American Cemetery. As one would expect, it was beautiful. The grounds and landscaping were full of greenery and flowers, well-kept. Upon our arrival, a member of Les Fleurs de la Memorie greeted us. This association presents flowers and a card with a plot marker on it. The recipient of the flower is to find the marker and leave the flower on it. I thought this a neat way to remember our fallen heroes. The association’s goal is to have a sponsor for each grave, who will visit at least once a year.

At the cemetery, we were also blessed to have some groups providing music in front of the cemetery memorial. There was a group from a church from one of our southern states, maybe Louisiana or Mississippi. Of course, that isn’t as important as the message they presented in song, that we should not forget our heroes and we are still a Christian nation. They presented quotes from many of our founding fathers and other leaders to emphasize this point. Afterwards there was a jazz band celebrating the music of the WWII era. Mom noticed how many people were tapping their feet to the beat, and we had a little chuckle. It didn’t matter the age, gender, or race of the person. Good music is good music. There was more music planned, but we decided it was time to go, and we headed down to the actual beach adjacent to the cemetery.

We had to take quite a few steps down the hill, and then onto a shaded path, which led straight onto the sand. It was quite a beautiful beach. I just stood there thinking what it must have been like when our troops came in. I looked up the hill, picturing in my mind’s eye what those boys must have been thinking; the impossibility of it all. They completed their mission nonetheless.

I think this is a good stopping point.

Until next time…