Memorial Day

The Memorial Day weekend is a great time to pick up a book about the men and women who have helped preserve America's freedoms, and have fought for our country around the world. There are lots of great books on the topic, and some more personal readings such as diaries. For me, the one that resonates is a yellowed map and journal called "The Thunderbolt across Europe," which describes the route my dad's division, the 83rd Infantry, took in World War II. It led from the beaches of Normandy, across France, into Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge, and into Germany.

This schedule will be in effect Monday: Government offices, courts and libraries Closed in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard and Frederick counties, and in Baltimore City and Annapolis. Public schools Closed in all jurisdictions. Trash No pickup in Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Howard counties, and in Baltimore City (landfills and transfer stations closed) and Annapolis. Harford waste disposal center is closed. Check with contractor in Carroll, Harford and Frederick counties.

I liven in a relatively well off neighborhood. The majority of the people in the neighborhood stand for American family values and are not bashful about denouncing people who don't meet their standards. I am fairly liberal, retired military. Most of that service came about not because of any burning desire to fight the enemy but because I felt it was my duty. I was proud of the work I did. On Memorial Day I thought that it was right that I display my flag in respect for those who died serving their country.

The Howard County Police Department is launching a new, volunteer mounted patrol unit, just in time for Memorial Day weekend, the department announced Friday. The unit, made up of 12 volunteers and their horses, will patrol parks, pathways and other locations in the Savage area, acting as a "high visibility deterrent to crime," according to a news release from the department. It is the county's first mounted patrol. The volunteers, who will ride in pairs, will watch for and report violations and concerns, and assist in investigative and administrative work.

Reading this weekend's Sunpapers, which featured the military loved ones we lost this year and those we have lost in this long war, for which no end is yet in sight, was so sad. Even more the thought that family and friends of those lost or severely injured may feel they are being forgotten in these difficult times in our country saddened me even more. Please do what you can in future articles to assure them that is not so. I joined hundreds of Marylanders Monday at the memorial service at Dulaney Memorial Gardens to honor and remember them and greet the many veterans of other wars who were also there.

Ask children what Memorial Day means to them and they'll frequently say: "That's the day that the pools open. " Yet no other observance in America is more somber: It is the day we remember our war dead, pay homage to their sacrifice and courage, and recall the selflessness that embodies military service. Memorial Day also honors the families of the fallen: the mother who hears her child's 21-gun salute; the husband or wife who receives a folded flag; the young son or daughter who knows mom or dad only from a photograph.

Although Memorial Day has become synonymous with barbeques and cookouts, the municipalities of Aberdeen, Havre de Grace, Perryville and Port Deposit are determined to promote the original meaning, with the help of their respective local veterans organizations. Each town is hosting a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 30, to honor members of the military who fought and died in various wars throughout American history. Aberdeen The ceremony for Aberdeen will start at 11 a.m. at Veterans Park, hosted by the local American Legion Post 128, VFW Post 10028 and a local branch of the Catholic War Veterans.

Students at West Towson Elementary School participated in a Memorial Day assembly on Friday, May 27. Part of the school's Patriot and Defender Program, the school's event celebrated American spirit with songs, readings and awards. All grades at the school spent six weeks learning about American history, geography and civics as part of the Patriot and Defender Program. Students who complete the program were recognized Friday by local delegates and dignitaries from the American Legion and the Daughters of the American Revolution, as well school officials.

On Memorial Day 50 years ago, the nation was in the midst of a poignant period, never to be repeated, of celebrating fresh victory in Europe without knowing that triumph over Japan was but ten weeks away. Scores of young Americans were dying daily in the fierce battles for Okinawa and other Pacific strongpoints.The Evening Sun, in an editorial, captured the mixture of relief in Hitler's overthrow and the dread of what lay ahead in the Pacific. "This year we know half the task is done," the paper declared, but then added: "We cannot dare tell ourselves that by the time another Memorial Day comes the war in the East too will have ended in final victory, but it is the deepest hope of all Americans that it will be."

The Memorial Day weekend is more than the beginning of the swimming pool season: It kicks off a series of festivals which stretch long into the fall.Everyone has a favorite festival, be it a block party, the Howard County Fair (Aug. 10-17) or the Maryland State Fair (Aug. 24-Sept. 2). The Carroll County Farm Museum in Westminster is always a fun place to go to, particularly during the June 9 Deep Creek Fiddlers Convention. Annapolis is another sure bet, rain or shine.The following are our picks for this weekend:Baltimore City: Leakin Park's herb festival, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, familiarizes you with wild culinary and medicinal herbs in an extraordinary city wilderness park.

Eight people were shot — including six in two triple shootings — Thursday night in Baltimore, an "intolerable" burst of violence that killed three and which police said would spur extra patrols going into Memorial Day weekend. Hoping to avoid a replay of the 2010 Memorial Day weekend, during which nine people were killed, police said they would move some officers into patrol from administrative assignments and specialized units to beef up their presence downtown and in neighborhoods where the shootings took place Thursday.

The Memorial Day weekend is a great time to pick up a book about the men and women who have helped preserve America's freedoms, and have fought for our country around the world. There are lots of great books on the topic, and some more personal readings such as diaries. For me, the one that resonates is a yellowed map and journal called "The Thunderbolt across Europe," which describes the route my dad's division, the 83rd Infantry, took in World War II. It led from the beaches of Normandy, across France, into Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge, and into Germany.

The gang at Mission BBQ is inviting the public to have lunch with a group of World War II veterans visting from California. You'll find no sunshine patriots at Mission BBQ , these guys stick to their mission of honoring Americans in uniform every day. So, go, and get there at noon for the daily singing of the National Anthem, and stay for the good barbecue and a chat with the vets.

A century and a half ago — and a drive of about two and a half hours from Harford County in modern times — Union and Confederate forces were in the midst of positioning themselves to become the masters of Harpers Ferry at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers. The troops converging in late May of 1862 on the town, then part of Virginia as West Virginia was in the process of being established by virtue of its counties being pro-Union even as the balance of the state became the seat of government for the rebellion, would clash on the Maryland side.

State transportation officials hope you'll do a lot of sightseeing this Memorial Day weekend. Just not on the Bay Bridge. Travelers headed to the Eastern Shore for the first time since last summer might be surprised. For one thing, the toll has risen to $4 from $2.50. For another, the westbound span is being painted for the first time since it opened in 1973, and scaffolding is likely to be a distraction — and potential hot spot for fender-benders. "You're sightseeing. They're sightseeing.

•The times have been set for NCAA championship weekend at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. May 26: Division I semifinals, 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.; May 27: Division II championship, noon; Division III championship, 3 p.m.; May 28: Division I championship, 1 p.m. The move bucks a recent trend of 3:30 p.m. start times for the Memorial Day game, which tournament organizers expressed as a cause for a recent downturn in attendance. •Georgetown junior Chris Nourse is questionable to play against Maryland on Friday with a hand injury, a school official said.

These Memorial Day events are scheduled for today:* Maryland State Veterans Cemetery memorial service, 11 a.m. at 1080 Sunrise Beach Road, Crownsville.* Maryland State Veterans Cemetery in Dorchester County memorial service, 1:30 p.m. at 6827 Ellwood Road, Hurlock.* Veterans of Foreign Wars Dundalk Memorial Post No. 6694 memorial service, 9 a.m. at 6712 Pine Ave.* Baltimore District of the American Legion wreath-laying ceremonies, 11 a.m. at Baltimore National Cemetery on Frederick Road, east of Catonsville.

Editor: I write in support of Mr. Bowie's opinion expressed in the Dec. 21 in The Aegis Open Forum concerning Christmas, political correctness and the "Winter Holiday. " Washington, D.C. events of recent memory highlight that political correctness and common sense are two very different things. For those needing to know, winter begins on or about December 21 each year. During my many decades, I do not recall ever celebrating the start of winter or any other season with a holiday.

What in the world has happened to watermelon? Do you remember being a kid at those family picnics when, after eating your fill of hamburgers and hot dogs, someone would inevitably pull out a huge Tupperware container of lukewarm watermelon wedges? The Styrofoam cooler never seemed to keep them cold enough, and they always ended up sitting in a small puddle of watermelon juice that collected at the bottom of the bowl. Everyone, especially the kids, after having a napkin or two foisted on them by a responsible adult, would dig in to those wedges and marvel at how sweet and juicy they were.