[Those whom know me and my dislike of dogs understand the irony in writing about puppies. If that bothers you, just focus on the personal side of the story as it pertains to my mother.]
In my small-town Iowa, Memorial Day marked the beginning of summer break as the school year (almost) always ended the prior week. The festivities included a parade through the town in which our school’s high school and junior high bands played, ending in the cemetery for a brief tribute to the local war dead. Immediately afterwards, a longer – sometimes much longer – public ceremony was held in the high school gymnasium where the veterans sat on stage, which at the time included World War I veterans. Most band members didn’t grok the importance of the occasion, more often trying to stay awake while wondering why everyone droned on for so long.
The United States and other countries use poppies as the symbolic flower to remember their country’s veterans, and poppies have its own day in the United States. Many people wear poppies on Memorial Day, often purchased from a non-profit group raising money for their cause (or so I remember).
My mom and stepfather always had dogs, and new litters of puppies regularly appeared. One Memorial Day, the most recent puppies were old enough to get new owners. Mom put a box of puppies on the ground along the parade route with a sign Memorial Day Puppies. One gentleman asked Mom for one and retrieve his wallet from his back pocket, until Mom informed him that they were free. Confused, the man didn’t understand until he looked into the box and saw puppies, not poppies. Not sure whether he saw the humor in it, but perhaps he didn’t since he didn’t take a puppy. [Or, perhaps like me, he dislikes dogs. We’ll never know.]
Despite this, as I remember she successfully found new homes for the puppies because, aside from me, few can turn down a puppy, much less a Memorial Day Puppy!
Image Credit
“Poppy” by joeflintham is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
