Just another day off?

Holiday’s… are they simply a day off?

When I was in Italy last month we were surprised by a holiday. It was Wed. April 25th and we woke up at our hotel in Frascati Italy (a suburb of Rome), we got showered and dress, ready to spend another day scampering over the ancient ruins of Rome. We stopped at the front desk of the hotel, arranged the van that would take us 1.6km to the train station. A half hour later, we were on the quay at the Frascati train station, expecting the FR4 trian to be pulling into the station in a few minutes.

The first thing I noticed was that there was very few people at the station, and most of those people appeared to be tourists. The public parking lot was almost empty, and the station house and small cafe was closed. I was puzzled?

I spoke to a British couple that was standing on the platform. They informed me it was Italy’s Liberation Day, a national holiday and the trains were on a holiday schedule. It would be another hour before the next train would arrive to take us into Rome proper.

The front desk of the hotel knew we were headed for the train station to catch the 9:35 train. We had been doing this for three day straight, and the hotel arranges the van rides according to the train schedule. But no one at the front desk, nor the van driver mentioned that it was a holiday and that there would only be 6 trains that day servicing the Frascati station.

So we waited for the next train, got into Rome and spent the day marveling at the ancient wonders. And later that evening we got on the 7:27 PM train that took us back to to our rural hotel. When we arrive back in Frascati, we met that same British couple that we had spoke to in the morning, they had taken the same train back as we had.

I mentioned to them that I didn’t see any special events going on in Rome for the holiday. Liberation Day celebrates the day Italy was freed from the Germans during the rundown of WWII. I expected at least some evidence of the holiday in and around Rome. But there was nothing. No signs, no flags, no parades… nothing. The Brit said to me “Oh… holidays in Europe, in Britain… they are just excuses for another day off… we get a lot of days off.”

I understood what he was saying. No one at the hotel even thought about the holiday, didn’t even think about informing us of the holiday and the abbreviated public services… including the train schedule. It was just another day off for most of them. The only official celebration I could find was on Sky Italy TV, that evening, back in the hotel room, were they were broadcasting a rather boring speech my the new Italian president Monti.

On Memorial Day… what do you think about? Is it just another day off, or another day to shop for bargains and sales? What are you going to do today? I hope you will take the opportunity to relax, enjoy yourself, get some sun or take a hike or a walk. Granted, it is a holiday. But please, don’t forget what today is really all about. It’s about the men and woman who died in service to our military, protecting us and what we stand for.

It’s not just another day with a shorten train schedule… it’s not just another day off.

In this hassled,hectic,harassed world it seems REFLECTION is an archaic term. Your post was a thoughtful REFLECTION and eloquently
spoken(written).....THANK YOU for that. :soldiers:

In Europe, they have so many holidays, they lose their meaning, but hopefully Americans don't lose the meaning of Memorial Day. BTW, due to austerity, Portugal has cancelled four of their mandated holidays to help the economy.

For me this is not a day off, for me, I will be attending various events that will honor those that gave thier lives for this country. This weekend for me also is a time that we in the VFW raise funds for our relief fund that we use to support Veterans and help them out. No grilling, no drinking beer. My son who is currently in Afghanistan, is out on a mission, so I will also be thinking of him.


Thanks TLGT,

The Real Meaning of Memorial Day

Beyond the "it's another day off" crowd, I've noticed that many in the media don't seem to understand the meaning of the Memorial Day Holiday. Though it's never a bad time to honor America's finest young men and women, this holiday was actually meant to honor those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in the defense of our freedom. Veteran's Day is meant to honor the rest of America's finest.

Memorial Day was created as an occasion to honor those who have paid the ultimate price to ensure our freedom. It is our opportunity to stop and give thanks for the many who have died protecting that freedom.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/05/ ... orial-day/

I'm hoping we can maintain the purity of this particular secular holiday while avoiding a commercialization of it. It would be NEAT if those who are misinformed in the media could get their story straight.

Today we honor some of America's finest. They gave it all and we should never forget them. Or as Calvin Coolidge said, "A nation which forgets its defenders will itself be forgotten."

I would say he understood.

My hope is that the people who harrassed vets that came home from wars, especially Vietnam, feel some remorse for their past ignorance. I hope they've grown up enough to know that being a good singer doesn't make you an American idol - and while it's fine to protest a war, it's pathetiic and wrong to protest the men and women who risked everything for the rest of us.

This is one holiday that we ALL should be working...then give at least half of that day's pay to the families of fallen and wounded soldiers. How much of a "sacrifice" would that really be?

CB hopefully the biggest lesson of Vietnam was to not penalize the troops for what the politicians make them do. And to hold the troops to the moral standards of America civilian society is unfair.

FredHayek wrote: CB hopefully the biggest lesson of Vietnam was to not penalize the troops for what the politicians make them do. And to hold the troops to the moral standards of America civilian society is unfair.

Agreed

I think of those that have died for the freedoms we have left and what a waste some of them were since we are rushing to implement policies of anti freedom to quell the emotions of some in our society. I still honor them in my mind. Never attend a parade (traffic does not increase my respect for those that have joined and died for the cause), rarely watch on TV. Just have some good thoughts for relatives and others. I worry that if we fight unjust fights that the public does not support that we may loose our military might and loose far more soldiers and civilians. Essentially, just like every other day of the year. I think of those that dies in fights that were not needed or were done for political reasons. I think of the invention of the A bomb which in the end will not work out well and how many more will die as a result of WWII. For me it is about thought and not actions, a day like today, the wars and battles fought were the actions.

I also try and honor the freedom we still have left and enjoy it. Just a few moments of respect and always a thank you to those in service, who gave up so much personally, living or dead.

And then I work a little because I am self employed and "days off" are for the employee class or those working towards other peoples' goals, I have never taken a day off from my personal goals.

Thanks to those who served and those that support them and especially those that speak up for what is right or even what they think is right. Those that fight and speak up are true American Heroes and soldiers, GOPtwin included, even when I don't agree.