Decoration

Today was Decoration Day at the cemetery where many of my relatives are buried. My father as well as his parents, grandparents and a host of aunts, uncles and cousins are buried in this particular cemetery. For anyone unfamiliar with this term Decoration is when surviving family members place new floral arrangements on the headstone and graves of their deceased loved ones so that the cemetery is "decorated" with riot of color. Decoration is held yearly, being held on a set Sunday rather than a set date. Our Decoration therefore is the second Sunday in May. In years past, this event was a great social gathering, almost in the same category as a family reunion. Far-flung relatives would come together and catch up on the latest family news and gossip. As the years have passed fewer and fewer from each newer generation are attending Decoration. We had only a few family members attend this year.

Part of the reason for this years poor attendance may have to do with the weather. Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes moved through our area last night and I was up until after 2:00 A.M. keeping an eye and ear to the weather. The tornado sirens went off twice between midnight and 2:00 A.M. It is entirely possible that others experiencing a similar night did not have the energy or the desire to attend Decoration.

Despite report of several tornadoes in the area, our property did not sustain any damage, nor did I see any visible signs of damage in my travels this morning. The rain was very heavy last night, but I neither saw nor heard any evidence of hail and we had no wind to speak of. At least not in this immediate area. I did however overhear a discussion while at the cemetery about how the local electric company lineman had been working through the night. This information was volunteered by a woman who's brother works for the local electric company, so it is probably a very accurate statement.