Yesterday, I went to a Memorial Day Parade and memorial service. It was a small one with a local school band, veterans, and kids on bikes. One of the township trustees was master of ceremony and an older resident sang appropriate songs.

Then the keynote speak stood up and started talking. She mentioned the stories told by veterans and how they shouldn’t be lost. I agreed with that until I realized she was pitching her book. She started outlining the chapters and was going to be available for signing afterwards. Now, the proceeds are supposed to go to an organization that supports a service for veterans, but it still felt a little tacky. Especially when she got to the end. She said completely unironically:

“We’ll be inside selling our books. We take check, cash, or credit card. The American Way.”

Really? The American way is now defined as check, cash, or credit? Someone let Superman know that this is right up there with Truth and Justice.

My mother used to travel to New England for several years in a row to visit a friend who lived in Rhode Island. She would then visit me at school in Boston. The trips continued even after I graduated and returned to Ohio.

On one such visit, she and her friend Lorna were walking through Boston Common. They had seen the monument dedicated to the pope for celebrating mass in the Common several years previous. Later on the walk, they were trying to remember where it was they wanted to go. Lorna said to my mother: “It’s over by the Pope’s erection.” Then they both stood there and giggled.

So that’s one of the things I’m remembering on this Mother’s Day.