Remembering the Day!

I'm taking time off from the saga of getting to Now to actually "being" in the Now.  I'll resume my saga in another post.

I was invited to attend a Memorial Day ceremony today.  I had other more important activities to do.  You know, the typical activities for this holiday.  I really wanted to go to watch a friend take a picture of flowers and turn it into a painting.  But an odd set of events happened to change my mind.  First my email messed up so I went to Facebook.  Now I don't go to Facebook very often, but this time it was different.  There was a posting titled "Semper Fi"  from a friend who doesn't post very often.  It was a video of President Ronald Reagan giving a speech about freedom and there were military people of many generations.  The parts that caught my attention the most was Arlington Cemetery with Marines folding the flag after a funeral.  Even now the thoughts of that video move me to tears.

My family has strong ties to the military and I consider myself very patriotic.  This video reminded me of what this holiday is really about my Mom, Dad, Uncle Leon, and Uncle Harlen.  They all served and NEED to be remembered today.

So my day changed, I went to this cemetery.  I have passed it Monday - Friday for over 30 years and never stopped to read the historical marker.

The first thing I noticed was the solemn crowd.  The families gathered, young and old, to pay tribute to loved ones and friends.

The ceremony began with Call to Assemble by the bugler and the march to the flagpole by Civil War soldiers carrying rifles with flag bearers preceding them.

Then the flag was raised by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, while The National Anthem was sung by 3 young ladies.  A Memorial Day speech was given by General John A. Logan's great - great -granddaughter.

The young ladies sang "God Bless America" while tears streamed down my face.   Then "General John A. Logan" read General Order #11.

Wreaths were laid at the graves of 5 Civil War soldiers assisted by Girl Scouts.  The last wreath was set before the grave of the Unknown Soldier.

The presenter of the wreath to Unknown Soldier was a modern day soldier from Company C, 33rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion.

Then there were Special Military Honors by Company C of the 31st Illinois Volunteer Infantry.

The ceremony ended with the most somber rendition of "Taps" I have ever heard.  The crowd left so quietly I was impressed.  Then I remembered the picnics we would have on Memorial day.  They were in the cemetery while my Mom and Grandma fussed with flowers and straightened around the graves of loved ones.  

This was what Memorial Day is all about. Now my challenge to you, where was the first Decoration Day held, what is General Order # 11, and who wrote it???  I didn't know until today and found only one person who could answer the questions.  I will reveal it in my next post. 

This cemetery is situated between two very busy highways and yet after everyone left I found it very quiet and soothing. 

 But then every cemetery has it's strife, right??

This is a Civil War cemetery, yes all the graves I found were before 1866!  So I found this very interesting!!!

Yes this does not touch the ground!

                                                                                                                                       

As Paul Harvey would say  "That's the rest of the story".

Thank you for the invitation, Carla!!

Trying to Get to Now Part 2

Well, I'm already making revisions, probably the first of many!  Instead of fast forwarding to 16 years I should have said 14 years later.  I didn't want to make myself older than I am.  So now on with my relationship with SIU.

I tried to get a job there for many years and even turned down some.  I later discovered some things are meant to be.  I started working there when I was 31 years old.  (I can only remember that fact because my cashier # was 31.)  Anyway, I thought myself older and experienced, but I had a supervisor 2 years my junior who taught me about SIU. We did a lot of extra activities together on and off Campus and she loved to take walks on campus. Also a very kind considerate Director of the Student Center, Mr. Corker, yes I say this out of respect for him.  (I still can't call him by his first name, like you are with a grade school teacher you see 20 years later.)  Mr. Corker was passionate about the Student Center and extremely involved at work and on his free time.   There were also 2 co-workers, Jeri and Betty.  We would walk during our lunches, I forgot to mention my 3rd favorite place on Campus, Thompson Woods!!!  We had many walks, talks... cussing and discussing, kids, work, husbands, or just the beauty of the woods.  

We enjoyed Campus like it belonged to us and we belonged to it!  From the perch at my desk on the second floor I could watch the seasons change with the trees out the window.  One Spring we had a nest full of baby birds, watching the rain come down, the beautiful color changes in the trees, or the snow gently falling. We could watch the busyness of Campus below us.  At night in the Summer we would gather with others from the Student Center to listen to the Sunset Concerts.  Children playing in the fountains and adults enjoying a Summer night together!  The trees shading our chairs and blankets on the ground, a family picnic. There wasn't boss, supervisor, student relationships, just family and friends.  Once again Old Campus was enchanting.  

Later I enjoyed and had the opportunity to enjoy another side of Campus.  A friend of mine was a police officer on Campus.  He knew it from a different perspective and had been there since 1964.  He knew the Campus inside out - from the steam tunnels to the tops of buildings and around Campus Lake.  Once again a renewed interest and a new romantic side of the University.

Let's get Closer to Now, a few years ago the University started the process of construction on a new building outside the Student Center.  In my eyes, it greatly changed Campus!  A great deal of the old trees were taken out and in their place ----CONCRETE!!!  The thru-way along Faner  was ripped up!  With these changes more concrete!  The distinction between Old Campus and the other buildings became very noticeable.  I thought it all an eye sore and the beauty of Campus gave way to a more modern campus.  It lost so much of it's old charm.  With all these changes I became depressed at what I saw and I hated to walk.

When the new building went up the parking garage was torn down.  This meant I had to go to work early.  I used my Ipod as a timer to remind me to start work.  (I would walk the halls in the Student Center to avoid the hideous concrete.) On one particular day after much grumbling to myself , I stated to self  "There has to still be beauty on this campus and I will use my Ipod to record it."  I saw things or should I say I went looking for things and started looking for beauty.  Sometimes it was small, a flower by the Ag. Building or a squirrel on a tree.  The seasons changed and I found myself outside walking every morning no matter what the weather was.   I would put my images on my work computer and when they popped up I would remember how beautiful my surrounding really were.

 I became interested in photography after the purchase of a new DSLR.  Thank you Leon!!    This brought on a new aspect of my love affair with Campus.  I took a class through ALPS with Rene and every week was a challenge.  One challenge was a sunrise---how am I going to get a sunrise!!?  So there I am getting my tired butt out of bed to watch one of the most beautiful sunrises in my life right there on Campus!  In the Fall I went to work early to make images of leaves, remember Thompson Woods?  I spent weeks in the Woods with gorgeous colors and wonderful light . Also a favorite was an early morning with fog over Campus Lake!  Yes, I had rediscovered the old flame of a long relationship!!!

Have to go now, but we are almost to Now.  So stick with me, please.  

Begin at the Beginning to Get to Now!

Since I was 11 years old I thought SIU (Southern Illinois University) was the most beautiful university!  The first time I was there without an adult, my 8 year old sister and I took the bus from Carterville to "Old Campus".  It was a seven mile trip and we were riding with college students.  I felt very independent and grown up!   When we arrived on the campus I felt like I was back in Europe.  (I had spent 1 1/2 years in France and 2 years in England as a military dependent.) I stood in awe of the old buildings and beautiful landscaping.  The trees were huge and shaded lovely benches to sit and read.  There were flowers and hostas everywhere.

We went into the first building for our class in Spanish.  It smelled old and the staircase was of dark polished wood.  Our class lasted 2 sessions because my sister and I decided we were much smarter than the professor! He was speaking Castilian Spanish and we had lived in Southern California for the last 2 years.
We decided not to tell Mom we had dropped out and we would explore, an adventure.  My Mom was always having adventures with us when we were younger, but that is a story for another time!

We went from building to old building exploring every cranny.  Always the smell of the old wood and books. Our 2 favorites by far were the library and U School (the university teaching school).  We liked to walk down the halls at U School and try to find the reliefs on the outside of each classroom. They were depictions of nursery rhymes and each one would spark a singing of that rhyme.  There was an indoor pool on one end and a theater at the other.

Our other favorite was Morris Library.  So many books and so many places to curl up, hide and read.  Each day that Summer was a new reading room,  new places to explore, or a trip to the top floor.  (At that time it was the tallest building on campus!)

And so began my love affair with "Campus"!  As a matter of fact my first date was on Campus.  My date (later to be my husband) took me to a play and afterwards we walked campus.  It was early Spring when I was 16. The play was "Romeo and Juliet" and to add to the romance the trees were all blooming. I can still smell the air and the coolness of the night.  I knew that night I would marry him and go to college at SIU.

Now fast forward 16 years, many plays later and many many walks later!  I took my 5 year old daughter to her first of many performances at Shryock Auditorium.  We took a long walk through the buildings of Old Campus between blossoming trees and azaleas past the fountain to the front of the magnificent building.  The Stairs of Shryock were magical to us.  "Run from stairs to the fountain" or "Hop up the stairs to the magnolia trees".  The musicals, the ballets, "The Christmas Carol", "The Nutcracker" all chances to be on Campus and walk.  But the interior of this building is elegant with rich curtains and fixtures.  We would pretend we were rich Victorian ladies attending the performance.

Well, I'm halfway to Now so more next time!!  Thanks for joining me for a little reminiscing.  Sometimes we really do need to remember our past to appreciate our future.

Getting started and why.

Note to self:  Must start a blog because:
1) It is raining.
2) I want a place to keep my thoughts.  (I've collected way too many diaries!)
3) Share and develop my photography images.
4)  Post ideas on enjoying retirement/life when I can't afford to travel the world!
5)  Must be others out there with similiar interests.