Monday, May 26, 2008

Memorial Day

to all Veterans
ceremony, not enough
to make up for death

I played today at a Veteran's cemetery for a Memorial Day ceremony. I went in to this thinking it was just another day, just another gig. In fact, I even forgot to shave and had to do an emergency scrape in the men's bathroom, something I hate. I knew that there would be speeches, and from experience I knew that we would be outside, standing, in the hot sun. It's sad, but I admit that I was dreading the experience, and now that I think about it, I'm ashamed.

Once out there, we played a few patriotic tunes that were very well appreciated by the audience. It seemed nearly impossible to play in the hot humid atmosphere, the sweat getting in the way of even being able to hold my instrument. As we finished the National Anthem, a military fly-over swept over the audience. Perfect timing. The speakers had spoken about MIA/POWs and what the "missing man" formation means. All of things I knew but had forgotten. Then a woman came to the podium and was introduced as the local representative of the American Gold Star Mothers. This organization is for all mothers of fallen Veterans, all those mothers who gave up their son or daughter in the defense of our country.

I will never remember the words she said or the names of the men she spoke about, but I remember thinking about the mother of my own children, and how she would feel if she lost one of hers to war, to a violent death. It killed me standing there, hearing those stories and shamed me to think of the attitude I had going into the ceremony. I played the last song with everything I had, what little I had to give in honor of those whose mothers wished they could be there to hear. I imagined how little my personal struggle with the heat and humidity meant in comparison with the struggle of those young men and women, and the families they left behind. I don't consider myself a great patriot, and I may not always agree with war, but I can with all I have honor those that lost their lives fighting. To all of those who can't read my words, I thank you for your sacrifice and wish that you had never had to fight.

Thank you, to all Veterans.

2 comments:

teahouse said...

Amen to that.

I just found you via Greg Howard. So I don't know what you play. I'm a musician too, and I love playing these types of concerts. The energy is always palpable and un-reproducible.

Kosher Tofu said...

I'm always amazed at how mundane some performances seem, then I'm snapped out of it by the reactions of the audience, the energy. Oh, and I play clarinet and sax. Thanks for checking out my blog!