Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: In-Law(s) (05/08/08)
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TITLE: Tears of Pride | Previous Challenge Entry
By Norm MacDonald
05/09/08 -
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It is not often I cry at parades. In fact, it is not often you will ever find me at a parade. However, there are times when a person discovers it is in the interest of their own well-being to do things they might not otherwise do. Similar to eating broccoli.
Every Memorial Day weekend, our family celebrates my father-in-law’s birthday. It has become an occasion I both anticipate and dread. It is not that I find being around my Pennsylvania in-laws unpleasant - quite the contrary. It is the fact that the birthday celebration usually involves four or five dozen extended family members that I do not know very well, even after attending close to twenty-five of these festivities.
An element of tradition accompanying the birthday weekend is the annual Peter’s Township Memorial Day parade followed by a home cooked breakfast at my sister in-law’s house. The parade lasts about five minutes. Breakfast can go on for hours.
Last year, the parade was extended by three minutes as most of the Hutchison kids and grandkids marched in honor of my father in-law, Jack Hutchison, a World War II veteran. We carried a huge banner and wore t-shirts that bore the American flag and words such as, “My Dad Served in World War II,” “My Grandpa Served in World War II,” or something similar depending on our relationship to Jack.
Participating in the Peters Township Parade was special and drew a great deal of attention from folks lining the street. However, that was not the significant part. What made that particular parade special was that Jack Hutchison attended it. Not only did he attend it, he marched in it! His t-shirt read, “I served in World War II.”
We have done many different projects to celebrate Dad’s birthday including working together on a Habitat for Humanity house, but I have never felt more pride or been more humbled than I was that day. And yes, I cried. I cried several times in fact.
Alas, I may cry again. That weekend will not be the same ever again. Each year it becomes more tenuous whether the parade, as it is known, will continue. My sister and brother in-law, who cooked the breakfast, have moved to another state. And finally, it is most unlikely that Jack Hutchison will ever be seen again in any parade of any kind. But that is okay. Some things loose significance if repeated too often. Their value diminishes with each occurrence. Therefore, I will treasure the Peters Township Memorial Day parade of 2007 and say with pride – “I was there and marched with one of my favorite war heroes.”
Go ahead, attend a Memorial Day parade this year. Watch with joy, stand with pride and whisper “God bless the troops who keep us safe and protect our freedoms, then – now – and in the future!” Of course, it is perfectly fine to shed a tear or two.
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