2005 Memorial Day Weekend

am i the only one that finds that a tad ironic? we have become a society that needs more than a day to celebrate the fallen, if we're truly remembering them at all. plus, we've built a whole weekend of celebration around it as well and the sales that have become associated with it all become a staple of our lives. we're pathetic, and we all eat it up, just so that we all have a chance to have a three-day weekend. i'm no better than the rest of us.

that being said, let's all buckle down for my retelling of the weekend's highlights.

having most of my father's siblings here in the east coast has made it easier for us all to come together in the rare moments that we can. we all gathered together not too long ago for one of my cousins' 15th, and before that we gathered during the holidays. it usually ends up in jersey somewhere.

this time, they all came down here.

this saturday past, it was nice not having to travel 5 hours to get to a family gathering; i had a full morning of work before that. all that lay between me and the said gathering was ten minutes of travel time from work.

i got there, and all of my cousins were already taking tequila shots in the kitchen, my uncles were playing hoops in the backyard (each shot from the freethrow line that went in garnered the shooter a dollar), and some aunts singing karaoke in the basement den.

i found myself moving around a bit, just to say hello to each one. i ended up sleeping with songs i haven't heard for the longest time stuck in my head.

sunday, we moved to Virginia for the festivities; a cousin brought in some long ribs from joisey and we all devoured it. it just so happened to be my paternal grandmother's birthday, so we used that as an excuse to continue the pigging out.

today's atmosphere was completely different though.

i wake up with a call from my dear sister, and she tells me that my paternal grandfather had passed away.