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Ojai Valley Memorial Day May 29, 2006 By Shelly Bloom Picture this: It is May 29, 2006 Memorial Day, in the Ojai Valley, California. It is a beautiful day, the sun is shining, and the clouds in a blue sky provide a picturesque backdrop to this city that remembers its past. The people of the Ojai Valley are gathering in Libbey Park, strolling beneath the Mission arches that frame the entrance to the park. It is a spring day that seems like most spring days, but today is different. There are a surprising number of men and women wearing parts of uniforms of bygone American wars and current conflicts: khaki, Navy blue, some camos with the globe, anchor and eagle, others with U. S. Army patches; Coast Guard blue, Air Force blue; caps and hats that signify a combat zone as definitively as a theater of operations ribbon. These men and women are here to share the stories of a particular time of their lives, a time when fear was a dominant emotion, when duty was a stronger instinct than self preservation. The people are here to listen to them, to honor them and their service, even if some still question the national policies that put these men and women in harm's way. Along with the men and women are the memorabilia of past struggles; pictures of those who served as much younger men and women; pictures of those who served, but now rest, their duty done. Overhead, airplanes decked in warbird colors fly over the gathering; from Libbey Bowl, students play songs that their grandparents remember and danced to; and at the end of the day, the soulful notes of Taps are heard. The music is a book mark for the minds of grey haired men and women who suddenly recall old faces, forgotten names, and hidden events. What do we learn from the past? What tocsins are sounded? What pleasures are remembered? It is not only the children who will take away an appreciation of what we did for our country, and our world. Our families are also a part of the stories to be shared and those who tell and those who listen will leave thinking of what went before. The pictures and sounds of this day will be recorded, saved not only in our memories, but in a way that we will be able to see again, and see what we missed. We will be able to share the thoughts that we had at that moment with those who were not there, and we will be able to reflect in solitude in time to come. The 2005 Ojai Valley Memorial Day Celebration DVD Captures the events of the day and the men and women who made it memorable. |