Alpha Centauri 2

Community => Recreation Commons => Topic started by: Dio on May 26, 2014, 04:21:28 PM

Title: Memorial Day 2014
Post by: Dio on May 26, 2014, 04:21:28 PM

Today is Memorial Day in the United States of America. Please remember to honor the people that died protecting this country.

Title: Re: Memorial Day 2014
Post by: Buster's Uncle on May 26, 2014, 04:45:03 PM

When that fighter pilot who was shot down in Yugoslavia about twenty years ago was rescued, he said in his speech something like "People are calling me a hero.  Don't thank me; thank the veteran next to you."

So I turned to my dad sitting next to me and said "Daddy, thank you for serving in Korea; people laugh at the domino theory, but Stalin and Mao believed in it, and it was necessary to oppose them.  Thank you, and it did matter."

...The day before Buster's Daddy's wedding, Buster's Other Grampa was taking a bunch of the groomsmen on a tour of the Marine base where he taught law.  I had a thought, and shook his hand and said the same thing about his (traumatic) service in Vietnam.

I heard later that Buster's Momma cried when she found out I did that.  Apparently I, in 2003, was the first person to ever thank the man.  Huh.

Title: Re: Memorial Day 2014
Post by: BlaneckW on May 26, 2014, 11:19:46 PM

Huh.

Title: Re: Memorial Day 2014
Post by: Green1 on May 27, 2014, 04:12:19 AM

Nothing against veterans and such, but does anyone else hate holidays?

Everything here except Wal-Mart and a few convenience stores stay closed and I can not get anything done. Public busses run on a Sunday schedule, if at all. Can't go to the YMCA, can't go wash clothes (laundry is closed), can't go to handle this internet dropping issue (Cox Cable is closed), Can't go looking for better apartments like I wanted to do (all offices are closed), can't do much of anything except sleep a lot and lay under my too-small air conditioning unit which is struggling to keep up with the 90 degree weather.

Well, at least I get holiday pay for sleeping late today and tomorrow will be a half day.

Bah... humbug...

Title: Re: Memorial Day 2014
Post by: Rusty Edge on May 27, 2014, 06:34:16 PM

Quote from: BUncle on May 26, 2014, 04:45:03 PM

When that fighter pilot who was shot down in Yugoslavia about twenty years ago was rescued, he said in his speech something like "People are calling me a hero.  Don't thank me; thank the veteran next to you."

So I turned to my dad sitting next to me and said "Daddy, thank you for serving in Korea; people laugh at the domino theory, but Stalin and Mao believed in it, and it was necessary to oppose them.  Thank you, and it did matter."

...The day before Buster's Daddy's wedding, Buster's Other Grampa was taking a bunch of the groomsmen on a tour of the Marine base where he taught law.  I had a thought, and shook his hand and said the same thing about his (traumatic) service in Vietnam.

I heard later that Buster's Momma cried when she found out I did that.  Apparently I, in 2003, was the first person to ever thank the man.  Huh.

Great story, Buncle. I interrupted my Mosquito book to read about American sailors in the Viet Nam Era. They may have joined the Navy, thinking they would be safe, but 1967 was a bad summer, with the notorious incidents aboard the USS Liberty in June, and the USS Forrestal in July.
____________________________________________________________

I'm sorry for going off on a tangent.


 

Title: Re: Memorial Day 2014
Post by: ariete on May 28, 2014, 12:39:44 PM

 :-X

Title: Re: Memorial Day 2014
Post by: Valka on May 29, 2014, 06:34:00 PM

The only day we have similar to this is Remembrance Day, on November 11. In most communities, the stores have the decency to stay closed until noon (except the big chain stores, of course). The ceremonies are conducted at 11 am, and it would never occur to me to go shopping at that time. I'm always watching the Parliament Hill ceremonies (the one time during the year I don't mind public prayer on government property, especially since last year when atheists were finally acknowledged).

Title: Re: Memorial Day 2014
Post by: Green1 on May 30, 2014, 03:09:13 AM

Quote from: Valka on May 29, 2014, 06:34:00 PM

The only day we have similar to this is Remembrance Day, on November 11. In most communities, the stores have the decency to stay closed until noon (except the big chain stores, of course). The ceremonies are conducted at 11 am, and it would never occur to me to go shopping at that time. I'm always watching the Parliament Hill ceremonies (the one time during the year I don't mind public prayer on government property, especially since last year when atheists were finally acknowledged).

I live and breathe the big city. From the time I left in a beat up car and 300 dollars in the 90s to go to New Orleans to even now. My new city closes everything do not like it.

Kudos to them acknowledging atheists. Without the Unitarian Universalists here and the atheist "resistance" groups like the CAAA here, I would be completely overwhelm and out numbered in hostile territory. It gets worse the further into the Bible belt you go. Crazy people.

Title: Re: Memorial Day 2014
Post by: Buster's Uncle on May 30, 2014, 03:11:49 AM

I would have thought you understood them better than that.

Title: Re: Memorial Day 2014
Post by: Green1 on May 30, 2014, 03:17:44 AM

Quote from: BUncle on May 30, 2014, 03:11:49 AM

I would have thought you understood them better than that.

I understand perfectly. I still maintain there should be less holidays when everything shuts down.

Title: Re: Memorial Day 2014
Post by: Geo on May 30, 2014, 03:37:56 AM

How many holidays sre wd talkin' here? ;relish

Title: Re: Memorial Day 2014
Post by: Green1 on May 30, 2014, 04:49:22 AM

Quote from: Geo on May 30, 2014, 03:37:56 AM

How many holidays sre wd talkin' here? ;relish

Breaking it down. US Holidays.

Presidents Day -WTF!!!!
Martin Luther King Day - good guy, but WTF!!!!!
Memorial day - grrrrr
Labor day - everybody except actual - ahem- laborers off. Just make it "middle class desk jockey day"
veterans Day - Didn't we do this Memorial day?
Columbus day - WTF x 5

Independence Day. Have the fireworks, but bankers get your ass in there.

Thanksgiving. This is okay.
Christmas. This is Okay

Easter - WTF, but keep the Cadbury eggs.

Holiday to MAKE a double pay holiday - Mothers Day. Currently a "hallmark holiday" but eliminate useless holidays and replace it with this one.

Title: Re: Memorial Day 2014
Post by: Buster's Uncle on May 30, 2014, 04:56:58 AM

;lol ;b;

King Day I disagree on, as it's really important to the people it's for, and we ought to give them that one and not complain.

Christmas is (technically) a religious holiday.  Not religious enough for my mom or Bill O'Riley, but too religious for Yitzi.  That's a real and thorny problem.

Easter is worse but not diluted.

You left out Father's day.

Title: Re: Memorial Day 2014
Post by: Dio on May 30, 2014, 05:04:39 AM

Quote from: Green1 on May 30, 2014, 04:49:22 AM

Quote from: Geo on May 30, 2014, 03:37:56 AM

How many holidays sre wd talkin' here? ;relish

Breaking it down. US Holidays.

Presidents Day -WTF!!!!
Martin Luther King Day - good guy, but WTF!!!!!
Memorial day - grrrrr
Labor day - everybody except actual - ahem- laborers off. Just make it "middle class desk jockey day"
veterans Day - Didn't we do this Memorial day?
Columbus day - WTF x 5

Independence Day. Have the fireworks, but bankers get your ass in there.

Thanksgiving. This is okay.
Christmas. This is Okay

Easter - WTF, but keep the Cadbury eggs.

Holiday to MAKE a double pay holiday - Mothers Day. Currently a "hallmark holiday" but eliminate useless holidays and replace it with this one.

I do not get Columbus Day off...

Title: Re: Memorial Day 2014
Post by: JarlWolf on May 30, 2014, 11:05:42 AM

For over here, May 9th is Victory day, October 24th is a soldiers respect holiday, and November 7th celebrate the October Revolution. (We used the Gregorian calendar back then, which explains why it is displaced.)

Title: Re: Memorial Day 2014
Post by: Geo on May 30, 2014, 11:46:53 AM

11 holidays? One more then an honest laborer like me gets throughout the year. Public sector in my region gets one more: Flemish holiday.

Jarlwolf: with the calender change, did May 1st (labours day) get misplaced too?

Title: Re: Memorial Day 2014
Post by: Buster's Uncle on May 30, 2014, 03:39:47 PM

I believe the Julian calendar's roughly 13 days behind.  Isaac Asimov used to complain that immigrating to America when he was four made him 13 days older than he really was.  -I don't think it would have lost as much as another day since 1904 - he'd be 110 if he was still alive.  I recall an article about it ending with "I want my 13 days back!  I want my 13 days back!"

Title: Re: Memorial Day 2014
Post by: Geo on May 30, 2014, 04:11:56 PM

Depends on when the Gregorian calendar was introduced in Soviet Union/Russia (for the first of May I mean).

Poor Asimov. Suffering from permanent temporal displacement. No wonder his scifi stories always involved some kind of FTL drive. ;)

Title: Re: Memorial Day 2014
Post by: Buster's Uncle on May 30, 2014, 04:24:07 PM

He lived a long life and died rich, of a social disease.  I'd say he did okay, despite the time glitch.

Title: Re: Memorial Day 2014
Post by: Geo on May 30, 2014, 05:47:43 PM

72 is old? ???
Looks like he might at any time have decided to pick up those 13 days by celebrating his birthday before Chrismas 1919 instead of the early days of 1920.

Title: Re: Memorial Day 2014
Post by: Buster's Uncle on May 30, 2014, 05:56:59 PM

Ooh, I see I made him 16 years older than he was - he'd object to that.  72 still isn't young...

Title: Re: Memorial Day 2014
Post by: Valka on May 30, 2014, 06:20:03 PM

72 may not be young, but it's not ancient. One thing that calendar mixup did was affect Asimov's military service.

Thank goodness he did not get sent with the others to observe the nuclear bomb tests, or he might not have lived long enough to write some of his best works.

Title: Re: Memorial Day 2014
Post by: Geo on May 30, 2014, 07:00:21 PM

Quote from: BUncle on May 30, 2014, 05:56:59 PM

Ooh, I see I made him 16 years older than he was - he'd object to that.  72 still isn't young...

My father is already older then that, and might still have another 2 decades in him.

Quote from: Valka on May 30, 2014, 06:20:03 PM

Thank goodness he did not get sent with the others to observe the nuclear bomb tests, or he might not have lived long enough to write some of his best works.

Did many of the observers die earlier then expected (cancer, radiation sickness, or what)?

Title: Re: Memorial Day 2014
Post by: Buster's Uncle on May 30, 2014, 07:26:40 PM

My dad made it to 73, and it was still way too soon.

I believe there was at least a very high incidence among soldiers present at early tests as essentially experiments.  Easy enough to google.

Title: Re: Memorial Day 2014
Post by: Green1 on May 30, 2014, 07:44:15 PM

I think Apollo astronauts got more rads than the folks witnessing tests and folks like Buzz Aldrin ad crew are still kicking around.

Title: Re: Memorial Day 2014
Post by: Valka on May 30, 2014, 07:59:50 PM

I was basing my post on what Asimov said in the second volume of his autobiography.

It's a fascinating read, btw - just 3 huge books!  :D

Title: Re: Memorial Day 2014
Post by: Buster's Uncle on May 30, 2014, 08:08:26 PM

In Joy Still Felt?  Good book, though I don't recall him discussing the bomb test 28 years after reading - I did notice that after talking about Hubbard and Scientology a fair bit in In Memory Yet Green, not a word afterward - and wondered if that reflected Hubbard dropping out of his circle entirely by that period, or something more sinister.

Title: Re: Memorial Day 2014
Post by: Valka on May 31, 2014, 12:40:12 AM

It might have been in the first book - I don't have copies of either of those, so I can't look it up. I do have a copy of the third volume, and that one didn't mention his war service, to my recollection.