As a handyman, I just can’t help it. I notice when things are broken, or not working as well as they once did, and try to fix them. And, I’m sensing that Memorial Day has become one of those things.
We’ve got a holiday weekend on which we’re supposed to honor, reflect on, and be grateful for the many who made the ultimate sacrifice, so that the lives of our families would be better. So, most of us do – what? Watch fast cars run around a famous race track, eat barbecued meat, take a day off from work, and drink adult beverages? Not that there’s anything wrong with those things, but – for real?
Maybe Memorial Day has become a victim of America’s own success. It’s been so long since the average American family has been personally touched by a war with mass casualties that, for many, there isn’t even a local cemetery to visit that’s the final resting place of someone we personally knew who died in battle – a suitable venue for us to honor, reflect on, and be grateful for their sacrifice.
So, on this Memorial Day weekend, please allow this grateful handyman to offer this step-by-step Memorial Day repair manual.
Step #1: FULLY understand how grateful we should be to them
Every country has, and will always have, their war dead. But ours are special – really. They didn’t just fight for land, or to protect people of their own blood. Coming from the only country ever founded based on an idea, they fought for enlightened principles, the shorthand version of which is “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Even to this day, NO nation takes liberty as seriously as we do. And, no nation in history has liberated as many as our armed forces have – it’s in the hundreds of millions.
Step #2: Honor their sacrifice by having a fulfilling weekend
If they died for our life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, the least we can do is enjoy them. By pursuit of happiness, our founders probably did not have roller coasters, bar hopping, reality TV shows, Snapchat, or other “fun” things in mind. They probably meant the more serious things that give us a longer-term glow, like family, vocation, community, and faith. So enjoying your family and friends over the Memorial Day weekend in a roundabout way DOES honor the fallen.
Step #3: Recognize and be proud of your own contributions
Here’s an exercise that you can do that, if it works for us handymen, it ought to work for you, too. Think about how your family’s vocations contribute to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. For you health care and legal professionals, it’s pretty easy – you’ve got life and liberty covered. Most of the rest of us are in the the pursuit of happiness business. Here’s just some of the ways Fix St Louis helps make happiness possible:
- Keep water from destroying your home
- Keep pests out of your home
- Help keep your house at the same temperature year-round
- Provide lighting so there’s more to do than go to bed after sundown
- Allow you to enjoy the convenience of modern appliances
- Make your house more secure
- Make your house more enjoyable by being more beautiful
Memorial Day weekend. There, I fixed it. Now go forth and pursue happiness.
Dr Steve
Fix St Louis
314-434-4100