The Hull Times 05-26-11 Edition

2 THE HULL TIMES, Thursday, May 26, 2011 www.hulltimes.com
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Memorial Day deserves
special status as a
Day of Remembrance
Senator seeks return of
‘Blue Law’ closure for holiday
Op/Ed, submitted by
Senator Robert L. Hedlund
John A. Logan, famous American general during
the Mexican American War and the father of Memorial
Day, once said, “Let no vandalism of avarice or
neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or
to the coming generations, that we have forgotten, as
a people, the cost of a free and undivided Republic.”
To honor the soldiers and their sacrifice, the first
Memorial Day, then called Decoration Day, was conducted
in 1868 on May 30, chosen because it was not
the day of a battle during the Civil War.
These first Memorial Days, both in the North
and South, by all historical accounts were somber
occasions for families and friends to remember their
loved ones. Services were simple and the theme of the
day was remembrance. May 30 was chosen because
it retained significance as a day of peace during the
bloodiest conflict in American history.
This all changed on June 7, 1968, when the federal
government passed the Uniform Holidays Bill, which
moved three holidays from their traditional dates to a
specified Monday, creating a three-day weekend for each.
Memorial Day was one of them, and was moved
from the traditional May 30, a date of importance, to
the last Monday in May. This was the beginning of
the end for the traditional Memorial Day as a day of
remembrance.
As the VFW said in a 2002 Memorial Day address,
“Changing the date merely to create three-day weekends
has undermined the very meaning of the day. No
doubt, this has contributed a lot to the general public’s
nonchalant observance of Memorial Day.”
I could not agree with the VFW’s categorization of
Memorial Day more strongly. A day once reserved for
tradition and honor, for the linking of generations, has
over time been corrupted so as to dilute the significance
of the Memorial Day holiday. A three-day weekend
harkening the start of summer, barbeques, and special
sale promotions at the mall all compete for the attention
of our citizenry for the meaning of the day.
For this reason I have co-sponsored Senate Bill
1826, reinstituting our old Blue Law closure for Memorial
Day only. As politicians and elected officials,
we often invoke the specter of remembrance for our
war dead and their families; we say how important it
is to remember their sacrifices to honor their service.
We then conclude our speeches, and the few who
attend these ceremonies leave, and Memorial Day is
over, to be forgotten for another year.
That is not the ceremony I want for those who
have made the ultimate sacrifice for my freedom.
This Memorial Day, please remember General John
A. Logan and all the men and women who, in the
service of their country, gave their lives.
Remember what this day used to be about, not
what it has become.
[Hull is one of eight towns in Republican Robert
Hedlund’s state Senate district.] ∞
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“From Shadows and Symbols into the Truth”
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Letters to the Editor
To the Editor:
This week, Memorial Day honors those who sacrificed
all. Please attend a remembrance event or visit
a cemetery with our children so they learn freedom
isn’t free.
Thank you to patriotic Americans and local media
covering these events.
Anthony O’Brien
Lieut. Cdr., US Navy Seals (Ret.)
[Mr. O’Brien is a Plymouth County commissioner.
–Ed.]
Not all ‘townies’ were born in Hull…
To the Editor:
“So, are you from Hull?”
Careful. The answer to that question sums up your
entire character for some residents here.
During the course of the recent campaign and
election, I came to the realization that this distinction
is the new divide. More importantly, and much more
sadly, the line between born/raised here and moved
here is no longer just a line, but rather a gap that is
growing bigger, wider, and deeper.
Last spring, my husband and I embarked on buying
a new house. I had lived here nine years already
and my husband had lived here 35 years, raised here
’though not born here, a technicality for some.
After much searching – of towns, neighborhoods,
homes, but mostly, of our souls - we made the definitive
decision to stay here in Hull. Not because we had
found the perfect house, that came later, but regardless
of the town’s economy, the problems and progress in
the schools, the positives and negatives of town government,
we decided that our hearts belonged in Hull.
We chose to stay here, buy a home here, and raise
our family here. Therefore, I take great offense when
those on the other side of the line, during the recent
months especially, question the hearts and loyalties
of residents who live here but are not “true townies.”
I pay the town my taxes, vote in local elections,
attend town meeting, get involved in town issues. I
participate in local events, shop local business, utilize
local services, and support local townspeople, in good
times and bad. And, and, when I am out and about in
the rest of the poor unfortunate world that is not this
beautiful seven-mile stretch of Hull, I enthusiastically
brag about and defend our town. I invite and encourage
people to move here.
What about me then is not a townie?! If we all
gave as much effort to the issues facing our town as
we give opinions to this “townie” debate, we could
– all together, townie and transplant alike – salvage
our special community and make the most of all it
has to offer.
Thank you,
Bree Brasil, proud townie since 2001
Trash tells its own tale, leaves its own
trail…
To the Editor:
I live on James Ave. and every now and then, when
the trash at the end of the street builds up, I grab some
Riddle’s plastic bags – [See? I’m recycling.] – and do
a quick cleanup. Other people also pick up trash there.
It’s pretty much always the same kind of trash and is
an interesting snapshot of the drug culture among our
young adults.
Today – Thursday, May 19 – I found some new
items that I haven’t seen before. There are always
the flavored cigar wrappers [mostly grape] with the
tobacco pulled out and put into a plastic bag [usually
from Cumby’s]. These are unrolled and used to make
blunts, a joint with a nicotine rush. There were probably
20 of these wrappers.
Today, something new: Zig-Zag wraps, Purple
Thunder, “roll your own cigar.” Why waste good tobacco
when you don’t use it, anyway? Zig-Zag sees
a market opportunity.
There was also a large empty can of butane fuel and
an empty bag of balloons [?]. Food for thought there.
Then there are the plastic drink bottles, usually
about pint size, with a hole or two burned into one
end. These are used as a pipe to smoke said herb. The
hole is always burned into the end, never cut into it.
I found three of these. Also several of the very small
Ziplocs bags, some with a bit of herb still inside. A
good party always needs some alcohol and cigarettes
and there was the 18 pack or so of Keystone Lights,
four empty packs of Marlboros, and one empty pack
of Newport Lights. Also energy drink cans, food trash
[McDonald’s], and lots of Styrofoam, napkins, etc.
I don’t have a problem with people smoking a little
herb and having a beer. But do they have to leave all
of the trash at the end of the street? Pick up your trash,
Guys and Girls.
My wife went down one day when the usual
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