Remember
Hamburgers, check… Extra-long dogs, check… Cheese, check… buns, check… beans for sustained gas, check… Tater salad, check… onions to increase the gas potential, check… coleslaw to make it a slam dunk, check… assorted brews, check… okay what am I forgetting?…
CIGARS!… Oh my God… I can’t forget the CIGARS!!! How the hell could I forget the freakin’ smokes? What is a holiday without a gaggle of your favorite premium handrolled tobacco sticks of love? Okay… now am I forgetting about anything else? Come on, anything… there’s got to be something else we all need to remember for this Memorial Day holiday 2011?… Right?… Damn yeah, you know there is…
REMEMBER TO HONOR THE FALLEN IN YOUR HEARTS.
I talk about this every year, but I believe the reason we celebrate Memorial Day with barbecue feasts, family gatherings, swimming pool openings, along with a good cigar and your favorite drink is because of the hundreds of thousands of amazing men and women who fought in past and present wars made it possible for us to do so. And it all dates back to the late 1,700’s where settlers in Virginia rose up against the taxes and tyranny to form a new nation under some of the most heinous conditions imaginable.
Last summer I took the wife and kids to historic Williamsburg, Virginia and learned more than I ever knew before about the revolution and the incredible sacrifices so many men made… all in the name of freedom. We were out manned, out gunned, out numbered, and with so many key supplies cut off by the British we still managed to succeed in victory and create a way of life envied the world over. Without hesitation, men stood up against forces infinity stronger, more polished, and heavily armed, yet somehow, someway America prevailed, as it has done for hundreds and hundreds of years.
Fighting for our freedom goes back a long, long ways, and today we give special honor to those who have given the ultimate sacrifice. They have left behind parents, brother and sister, wives, and even children, and those are the ones who have truly suffered the most. Today I think about my neighbor’s boy, JT Wrobolewski, who died of battle wounds from gunfire in the Iraqi city of Ramadi, in April of 2004. JT was the first Marine from New Jersey, to lose his life in Iraq. Five years ago we visited his grave site in Arlington National Cemetery and the emotions were overwhelming. I still well up with tears as I sit here & remember.
Today we enjoy the barbecues, friends, the great outdoors, and our favorite smokes because so many brave souls fought so it could be. That’s why we should enjoy our family and friends and appreciate everything that we have in our lives.
Today we enjoy because we can… and we remember.
Tommy Z . JR Cigars Blog With the Zman
