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Here in the U.S. May is the month to remember:

May 5...In the United States, Cinco de Mayo is a day to celebrate Mexican-
American culture.

May 6...National Day of Prayer is held on the first Thursday of May each
year, inviting Americans of all faiths to pray for the country and its leaders.

May 9...Mothers' Day is an annual holiday that recognizes mothers,
motherhood and maternal bonds in general, as well the positive
contributions that they make to society. In the United States, it is celebrated
on the second Sunday in May

May 15...Armed Forces Day was created in 1949 to honor Americans
serving in the five U.S. military branches – the Army, Navy, Marines, Air
Force, and Coast Guard – following the consolidation of the military
services in the Department of Defense. It was intended to replace the
separate Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Days, but
observance of these days, especially within each particular service,
continues to this day.

May 31...Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of
remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service.


It is to those men and women--living and dead--who have
sacrificed and continue to sacrifice so much for us that this
Sketch Notes is dedicated.

I am sharing with you a short email below that my daughter
wrote to me after I had forwarded an email allegedly
written by a doctor who, when finding himself jaded by long
hours, lack of sleep and the endless parade of human
suffering, finds himself caring for an elderly military retiree
and reminding himself just what citizens of that age, "the
Greatest Generation," represent.

Maybe, like me, in this time of domino technology, celebrity
worship, endless reality shows, political power plays and
economic uncertainty, you find yourself wondering if the
unbelievable sacrifices made in a more distant generation
can still be appreciated as they should be.

My daughter Mindy, only thirty-six years old, cannot
remember those times when not only soldiers and other
military personnel but ordinary citizens of all ages also
sacrificed and worked hard every day to preserve our
freedom and ideals. It was indeed a generation that pulled
together with such an awesome determination and a
strength I often wonder if we can ever possess again. I
wonder how our young soldiers in harm's way feel today
without that unique support.

And yet, after reading that chance email I had forwarded to
her, she wrote back to me a rare email of her own:


Hey Mama,

Thanks for sending this to me; our elders are a rich treasure trove of
knowledge and courage. I try my best to treat, well, everyone, with the
utmost respect. Pete and I are in the habit of thanking uniformed military
personnel for their service. We give a military discount at our store. There is
a guy named Tim that comes in our store because it's on his bus route to
work; he is a Vietnam veteran and has some emotional problems; he
gardens as a therapeutic solution. He is very active with the Veteran's
Affairs place near our old house, and has talked to us some about how
frustrating it is to get the public to understand disabled veteran's plights. I
found an article in one of our trade magazines about a gardening program
that about 20 Veteran's Affairs centers around the country are participating
in, so I am going to show it to him. Gardening to him is a joy; it completely
takes his mind off of everything else, and he has a gift for it. I am forever
giving him cuttings of plants and talking to him about gardening in general.
He appreciates our friendship and doesn't abuse it by asking for things for
free. I give him things but he pays for stuff also. In any case, I know the
older generation suffered through things I truly can barely imagine; death
was a much closer playmate for the older generations for so many different
reasons, disease, war, poverty, loss of hope. I try to be thankful every day
for the privileges and rights that I have as a result of former generations of
Americans. My generation and the ones following just have not been tested
in the same ways at all. I do have to say that our society is changing so
quickly, it can be traumatic in different ways, and we have to develop
different coping mechanisms. I know my friends and I think a lot about how
things have become the reality we live in and are constantly trying to
educate ourselves about the world and the particular social dynamic we exist
in. We worry worry worry; we vote; we donate to causes; we try to be
good people. We are terribly afraid for our children. We wage war against
ignorance. We are thankful. We feel hopeless and ineffectual; we discover
ways to help. We try to stay sane. I'm pretty sure that's what every
generation of humanity has gone through. And all generations suffer when
their elders pass away. Blech. It's just not fun to think about; but our
memories are long and we do think about it.

I love you Mama!
Other holidays in May 2010 in United States
Loyalty Day (Saturday, May 1, 2010)
Law Day (Saturday, May 1, 2010)
Lag B'Omer (Sunday, May 2, 2010)
World Press Freedom Day (Monday, May 3, 2010)
Rhode Island Independence Day (Tuesday, May 4, 2010)
Primary Election Day Indiana (Tuesday, May 4, 2010)
Cinco de Mayo (Wednesday, May 5, 2010)
Truman Day (Friday, May 7, 2010)
Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their
Lives during the Second World War (Saturday, May 8, 2010)
Truman Day (Saturday, May 8, 2010)
Mother's Day (Sunday, May 9, 2010)
Confederate Memorial Day (Monday, May 10, 2010)
Primary Election Day West Virginia (Tuesday, May 11, 2010)
Ascension Day (Thursday, May 13, 2010)
International Day of Families (Saturday, May 15, 2010)
Peace Officers Memorial Day (Saturday, May 15, 2010)
Armed Forces Day (Saturday, May 15, 2010)
World Information Society Day (Monday, May 17, 2010)
Shavuot (Wednesday, May 19, 2010)
National Defense Transportation Day (Friday, May 21, 2010)
World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development
(Friday, May 21, 2010)
National Maritime Day (Saturday, May 22, 2010)
International Day for Biological Diversity (Saturday, May 22, 2010)
Pentecost (Sunday, May 23, 2010)
Whit Monday (Monday, May 24, 2010)
African Liberation Day (Tuesday, May 25, 2010)
International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers (Saturday, May 29,
2010)
Trinity Sunday (Sunday, May 30, 2010)
Jefferson Davis Birthday (Monday, May 31, 2010)
Memorial Day (Monday, May 31, 2010)
World No Tobacco Day (Monday, May 31, 2010)
In 1915, inspired by the poem "In Flanders Fields,"
Moina Michael wrote her own poem:

We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.
Welcome to Sketch Notes, the
seasonal and creative page of
my personal Website:

http://www.leannmarshall.com



If you have written something
you would like to see in a
future edition of Sketch Notes,
email me.

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