Memorial DayThis Monday is Memorial Day, a 3-day weekend which has come to mark the beginning of summer. Its status as a day to remember members of the armed forces killed in action protecting American freedoms isn’t lessened, in my opinion, by the fact that most Americans will use this weekend to go out, let loose and have some fun. The area where I live has an influx today of thousands of visitors in RVs, SUVs and huge pickup trucks towing boats, jetskis, all-terrain vehicles; toys for adults to use here at the lake. They’re packing beer on ice, sunblock, inflatables, kids. They’ve worked hard, and they’re here to play hard. And the rest of America is doing the same this weekend, in a wide variety of ways. Could there be a more fitting memorial to the people who died to preserve these freedoms than the zealous, persistent, passionate use of them?

Happy Memorial Day.