Thank God it’s Monday, again. I always look forward to every Monday – even Memorial Day, despite its solemn reason. Mondays are my happy place, as well as my 52 Chances a year, in which I get to share Memories of My Mom with you.
As the last Monday in May (for 2026), it’s National Memorial Day, which is meant to be a day of solace, honoring veterans who gave their lives to protect our country and constitution, so that we can continue enjoying our freedoms.
Memorial Day was officially established as a U.S. federal holiday in May of 1971. Nevertheless, the tradition of paying tribute to our fallen soldiers originated more than a century earlier, when it was originally referred to as Decoration Day.
It seemed to begin after the American Civil War ended, in the spring of 1866, when local people were noticeably paying homage to their fallen heroes by decorating their graves with fresh, spring flowers.
Today, we maintain that tradition of remembrance for our veterans, by decorating their graves with spring floral wreaths and American flags. We also observe this day with formal ceremonies of appreciation and parades of honor.
Numerous American towns, both big and small, have erected monuments to honor their own local veteran heroes. Today, beginning at 1:00 p.m., here, in St. Clair, there’s a traditional parade that marches about a mile through town, from the Catholic church to the Veteran’s Memorial.
All the local community groups and service members participate – the police, EMS, and fire departments; as well as the Mayor, city council members, and other local politicians; plus school bands, sports teams and cheerleaders, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and, of course, our local, living veterans.
The parade ends at our town’s Veterans’ Memorial monument and is traditionally followed by a commemorative service, during which a wreath is placed at the foot of the statue and “Taps” is played by a local trumpeter. The itinerary ends with community participation in the “National Moment of Remembrance” at 3:00 p.m.
“Food is the essence of hospitality. It’s given away as gifts. Food is associated with celebrations and holidays. Food has emotional connotations.” – Gloria Pitzer, Gloria Pitzer’s National Home News (National Home News, St. Clair, MI; Vol. 5, No. 9; September 1978, p. 7)
After the veteran’s memorial ceremony is over, many residents typically “observe” the rest of the day with small gatherings of family and/or friends for pot-luck picnics or backyard barbecues. By the way, May is National Barbecue Month, even though barbecuing is celebrated all summer long.
FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…
As seen in…
My Cup Runneth Over and I Can’t Find My Mop (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; Dec. 1989, p. 4)
WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS…
WE ALL EXPECT life to be good to us – most of the time. That isn’t too much to ask, now, is it? But when things don’t work out the way we had planned or [as we had] hoped… the tendency is there to feel [that] life gave us lemons.
The best experiences often come out of the biggest disappointments. So, when life gives you lemons, you have to make lemonade – turning a ‘let-down’ into a ‘set-up’… Norman Vincent Peale once said that God never closes a door that he hasn’t opened a window.
But the opportunities that are available to us aren’t always the most obvious when we’re in the throes of self-pity or weary from overwork… You certainly won’t hear opportunity knocking at the front door if you’re in the backyard, looking for four-leaf clovers.
To seize every opportunity to express your very best effort is the kind of motivation with which I grew up and have passed on to our five, now-adult, children.
When they all lined up for this Memorial Day snapshot [in 1969 (above)], before we left to march in the big parade in beautiful, downtown Algonac; little did we know how beautifully our [lives] would tun out. How little did we know what big challenges would tempt us to give up [and] succumb to defeat.
This holiday generates a burst of patriotic colors, as everything gets adorned in red, white and blue, which lasts throughout the summer – until Labor Day weekend, at least. Essentially, Americans view the whole Memorial Day weekend as the unofficial start of summer and, likewise, Labor Day weekend as the unofficial end of summer.
According to Google AI, when I asked, “what percent of Americans take a vacation during Memorial Day weekend”, only about 1 in 7 or 45 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home. That’s roughly 13% of the U.S. population. The rest of the population either stays home or takes a local day trip (less than 50 miles away).
The Saturday of Memorial Day weekend is usually the first big travel day of the year and maybe the busiest. However, this year, with the high cost of gas (and everything else), many families are scaling back on their usual travel plans.
Regardless, Americans will find ways to “celebrate”, even the most somber of holidays – such as Memorial Day, All Soul’s Day/Day of the Dead (November 1st and 2nd), and Patriot Day/National Day of Service and Remembrance (September 11th) – with optimism, happiness, and hope – but most of all with food.
As I wrote last year, the real meaning of today’s holiday unfortunately gets lost among those who, instead, focus on it as the “gateway-to-summertime” – thanks, in large part, to marketing trends that promote it as such to push the sales of beer, picnic foods, charcoal, grills and accessories; as well as water and beach related merchandise.
We generally like to celebrate anything with fellowship, food and beverages, in some manner or form. Whatever the reason – whether it’s for a solemn observance or a happy celebration – there’s usually food (and drinks) involved. Food comforts us. Food makes us happy. Food energizes us. Food breaks the ice, igniting socialization.
We’ll celebrate a wide array of life’s special events – graduations, family and class reunions, baby and bridal showers, weddings and anniversaries, birthdays, confirmations, baptisms, and bar mitzvahs; as well as simply getting a new job or promotion, buying a house, retiring and more. Even funerals are being referred to now as “Celebrations of Life”.
Recently, in the news, there have been stories about a new trend for “Gen-Z-ers”, who are now commemorating their traditional spring proms with “send-off” pre-parties that are several hours long and similar to small scale graduation parties that celebrate the event with family, neighbors, and classmates; including a food buffet, drinks, music, and the like.
“Spring-almost-summer! What better time to remember Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Memorial Day (but not necessarily in that order). Considering how pickles, tennis shoes, and libraries all get a week of recognition, it just doesn’t seem fair that Mothers only get one day but that is, at least, equal time with fathers and presidents and veterans.” – Gloria Pitzer, Gloria Pitzer’s Secret Recipes Newsletter (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; May-June 1991, 150th Issue; p. 1).
I mentioned, in a previous blog post, that Memorial Day is one of those holidays that doesn’t make Wikipedia’s top 10 most celebrated Public Holidays in the United States, which are (in order) Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day, Independence Day, Halloween, Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and New Year’s Day.
However, it did make the list for the next five, additional, noteworthy “unofficial holidays” that are largely celebrated with food (and/or drinks) in some way; including Super Bowl Sunday, opening day of Major League Baseball, Memorial Day weekend, Labor Day weekend, and New Year’s Eve.
On this day, 36 years ago (1990), a “CNN News” crew came out to Mom and Dad’s house, in St. Clair, to record an interview with Mom, about her “copycat cookery” concept and being the Secret RecipesTM Detective.
They were so impressed with the home based operation, they even came back the next day to film her doing her regular Tuesday radio visits. That Memorial Day, though, Mom had whipped up a smorgasbord of her favorite picnic foods for the interview.
There was an abundance of Kentucky style chicken, coleslaw, and biscuits, as well as a variety of salads and finger foods – enough to feed the whole crew and then some. We (the family) couldn’t wait to come over after the crew left so we could eat all the leftovers.
Memorial Day, around here, is usually sunny and 75°F; pleasant enough for a backyard gathering. I remember that year it was very hot, as I was six months pregnant with my third child and had to seek refuge in their air conditioned office, most of the time.
This year, we’re anticipating average holiday weather conditions. Comfortable enough for a small gathering of those of us who opted out of the higher expense for a weekend getaway to stay home and enjoy a backyard barbecue, instead… After we first celebrate our fallen heroes, who paid the ultimate cost so that we can enjoy our freedoms.
LAST THOUGHTS…
As Americans, we tend to brag about and celebrate our freedoms but let us never forget at what cost we get to enjoy them. Today, in honor of all who’ve served, make it a point to…
- Visit a cemetery and decorate a veteran’s grave (or many) with U.S. flags and floral wreaths or bouquets.
- Attend a Memorial Day ceremony held in any one of the veterans’ cemeteries across the country.
- Recognize and thank our living veterans for their services and sacrifices. Visit a veterans’ home to talk with the residents, as they all have stories to tell and time on their hands.
- Donate letters (and “thank you” cards), shelf-stable food, and non-perishable goods to organizations collecting for care packages to send to our overseas troops.
- Attend or participate in a Memorial Day parade, honoring our veterans – for they gave all so that we’re able to celebrate our freedoms.
- In lieu of the “National Moment of Remembrance”, pause for a couple of minutes at 3:00 p.m., today, to honor the memories and sacrifices of our fallen military members (and their surviving families).
- Put a U.S. flag on or in front of your home – as well as a military branch’s flag or the POW/MIA flag – to wave proudly!
Among any one of these things (or in all of them), there’s something that each of us can and should put into practice today to truly honor our fallen heroes and observe this day’s real meaning.
Thanks for visiting! I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my memories of my mom, her memories, and other related things. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at therecipedetective@outlook.com. You can also find me on Facebook: @TheRecipeDetective. I look forward to hearing from you!
IN CLOSING…
In honor of Thursday, being National Beef Burger Day and National Hamburger Day, PLUS it’s National Hamburger Month, here’s Mom’s copycat recipe for “Lump’s Golly Burgers”; as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – The Best of the Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 17). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3rd Edition)]. As always, I’m asking only for proper credit if you care to re-share it.
P.S. Food-for-thought until next Monday…
The month of May celebrates… American Cheese Month, Better Speech and Language Month, National Asparagus Month, National Stroke Awareness Month, Older Americans Month, National Egg Month, National Get Caught Reading Month, National Photography Month, National Preservation Month, National Recommitment Month, National Salad Month, National Salsa Month, National Strawberry Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and more.
Today is also… National Brown-Bag It Day and National Wine Day. In honor of the latter, here’s a tip from Mom…
“Keep a CORKED BOTTLE of wine on its side so that the cork will remain wet from the wine, which causes the cork to swell and prevents any air from getting in the bottle. If a corked bottle of wine is kept in an upright position, the cork dries out and the wine can take in air, causing it to lose everything it’s worked for – before its time!” – Gloria Pitzer, “Did You Know…”, Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – The Best of the Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 305). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3rd Edition)].
Tomorrow is… National Blueberry Cheesecake Day.
May 27th, is… National Grape Popsicle Day. Plus, as the last Wednesday in May (for 2026), it’s also… National Senior Health & Fitness Day.
Thursday, May 28th, is… National Brisket Day.
Friday, May 29th, is… National Coq Au Vin Day.
Saturday, May 30th, is… National Creativity Day, National Water a Flower Day, and National Mint Julep Day.
Sunday, May 31st, is the last day of the month, as well as… National Macaroon Day, National Utah Day, and National Smile Day.
Have a great week!
…21 down and 31 to go.
