On the cusp of summer

On Memorial Day weekend I am often reminded of the aria composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by DuBose Heyward, for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess …

One of these mornings you're going to rise singing

And you'll spread your wings and you'll take to the sky …

Summertime and the living are easy…

What a pleasure to spend Monday morning cleaning the grill and enjoying the first hamburger of the season, surrounded by friends and family. To savor a rhubarb pie made from the rhubarb plant in the garden, topped with vanilla ice cream. To begin to feel the new sense of time that comes with summer. Days that languish into the evening. Mornings that begin much earlier.

This year, with the thousands of American flags around the Laconia Congregational Church, I was reminded of the time I visited the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines. Just a short ride from downtown Manilla, the cemetery covers 152 acres and is located on a prominent plateau, visible from the east, south and west. There is a total of 17,206 beautiful white crosses that stand out against the green grass, the largest number of graves of any cemetery for American personnel killed during World War II. The cemetery also holds war dead from the Philippines and other allied nations. It is difficult to take it all in.

Looking at the flags in Laconia I was reminded again of all the people who have lost their lives in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and in the many places where there has been and still is conflict in our world. It’s a sobering thought.

Notwithstanding, it isn’t just on Memorial Day we will think of the men and the women who have lost their lives defending our way of life. It isn’t just on Veteran’s Day that we thank and think of all of the men and women who have served in dangerous places across the globe to ultimately transform our world into a more peaceful place.

Now, on the cusp of summer, the beginning of the glorious summer season as we spread our wings, we will hold within our hearts all of those people who will not be with us to rise singing and enjoy the beauty of this glorious summer season. Understanding that for all of us, “every day is a gift.” Memorial Day is, after all, a time of reflection.

Elizabeth Howard is an author and journalist. Her books include: Ned O’Gorman: A Glance Back, a book she edited (Easton Studio Press, 2015), A Day with Bonefish Joe (David R. Godine, 2015), Queen Anne’s Lace and Wild Blackberry Pie, (Thornwillow Press, 2011). She lives in New York City and has a home in Laconia. You can send her a note at: Elizabeth@laconiadailysun.com