Open Space

May Days

May is for moms, and I sure am missing mine. My inbox is being bombarded with Mother’s Day gift ideas, and my heart feels heavy wishing Mom was here so I could buy her a bouquet of brightly colored peonies, gerbera daisies, and sunflowers.

Moms aside, for me, May needs to be about movement which I sorely need. Someone else already writes the fitness column so don’t worry, I won’t be doling out exercise advice. But, I will tell you that since COVID arrived back in 2020, my food sensibilities departed along with my gym card.

It’s also going to be about making memories as we are headed out for a long overdue trip with friends. I can’t wait to get on a plane and embark on a new adventure. Keeping my fingers crossed that circumstances don’t change in a way that prevents us from traveling. I’m fine with wearing a mask and/or taking a COVID test as long as I can land in a foreign land and immerse myself in a different culture. Buon giorno. Come sta? Molto bene!

But enough about me.

What about you? How will you be kicking off your summer? Road trips are always great, and if you’re an ardent reader of the Old Town Crier, you probably have taken this mag along as your guide to some awesome Delmarva destinations. Day tripping is one of my fave things to do, riding along with the windows rolled down, and the radio cranked up. Wine country, anyone?

Perhaps for some of you, marriage is in the plans this month. COVID put a halt to many a bride’s plans so now hopefully they are back on the books. I know I’ve seen a lot of bachelor/bachelorette events over on social media. So fun to see everyone together having fun and celebrating.

And, speaking of fun—is there anything better than looking forward to Memorial Day weekend— the official kickoff to summer? Funny—there were many years that weekend was a downer for me either because I didn’t have grand plans or a weekend getaway. I’d be at work watching as people departed on Thursday with their weekender bags in tow, my biggest plan being to go to my parent’s for the obligatory holiday cookout.

Now I’d give anything to go join my parents for a few hours of simple conversation over some charred burgers and dogs. If COVID taught us anything, it is to savor the simple facets of our lives. Enjoy the time spent with loved ones, relish in the hugs, and savor the sweet, simple moments of our lives. I wish I had not taken them for granted, but trust that I’m saying ‘yes’ to invitations and appreciating the people in my world more than ever before.

May holds another memory for me. On May 20, 2011, I was medevacked from a hospital in Woodbridge to Washington Hospital Center for emergency double bypass surgery. I had what is known as the ‘widow maker’ which pretty much says everything. I was 44 years old.

All these years later, it still seems surreal. Another reminder not to take life for granted. In an instant, everything can change. It is important for me to remind myself of that day, and the healing that took place after because even now I do sometimes take my health and wellness for granted.

May is a good month to lean into a carefree lifestyle. Leave your worries behind as you breathe in the sunshine and get outdoors. Stretch your arms up to the sky and release the stress as you inhale the smells of summer—the mowed grass, mulch, and sweet scent of freshly picked strawberries. Life is good.

Many people buy and sell their homes and move over the summer months when the kids are out of school. Moving itself isn’t so fun, but once you’re settled in, there’s a new beginning and the start of a new chapter to look forward to. Make the best of it, and make some new friends along the way.

Move around, make some memories, but also make time for yourself. Do the things that make you happy, the things that bring you peace and joy. Make some art. Make some blueberry cobbler. Make over your outdoor space. Make amends with someone. Make a new pal.

May is all in the making so make them anything you want. Just make them easy and breezy like a Sunday morning with the music on and the wind in your hair.

About the Author: Lori is a local writer, painter and pet lover who loves to share her experiences and expertise with our readers. She has been penning a column for the OTC for over 20 years. Please follow Lori online on Medium for more missives like this.

In Flanders Fields

By Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow Between the crosses row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.

The poppy movement was inspired by the poem “In Flanders Fields” written by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae of the Canadian forces in 1915 before the United States entered World War I. By 1918 the poem was well known throughout the allied world. Moina Michael, an American woman, wrote these lines in reply:

We cherish too, the

Poppy red That grows on fields where valor led, It seems to signal to the skies That blood of heroes never dies

Selling replicas of the original Flanders’ poppy originated in some of the allied countries immediately after the Armistice.

A brief history of the artificial poppy

In the World War I battlefields of Belgium, poppies grew wild amid the ravaged landscape. How could such a pretty little flower grow wild while surrounded by death and destruction? The overturned soils of battle enabled the poppy seeds to be covered, thus allowing them to grow and to forever serve as a reminder of the bloodshed during that and future wars.

Madam Guerin, who was recognized as “the poppy lady from France”, sought and received the cooperation of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. early in 1922, after the Franco-American Children’s League was dissolved. The VFW conducted a poppy sale prior to Memorial Day, 1922, using only poppies that were made in France. In the 1923 poppy sale, due to the difficulty and delay in getting poppies from France, the VFW made use of a surplus of French poppies that were on hand and the balance was provided by a firm in New York City manufacturing artificial flowers.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States was the first veteran organization to promote a nationally organized campaign for the annual distribution of poppies assembled by American disabled and needy veterans. In 1924, the VFW patented the name “Buddy Poppy” for their version of the artificial flower. Buddy Poppy proceeds represents no profit to any VFW unit. All the money contributed by the public for Buddy Poppies is used in the cause of veteran’s welfare, or for the well being of their needy dependents and the orphans of veterans.

Following the 1924 sale, the VFW believed it would stimulate local sales if the poppies they used were assembled by disabled veterans in hospitals within their own jurisdiction. The 1924 encampment of the VFW at Atlantic City granted this privilege, under the provision that all poppies would be produced according to specifications set forth by the National Buddy Poppy Committee, and that all poppies would be assembled by disabled veterans in government hospitals and by needy veterans in workshops supervised by the VFW.

Around the same year, the American Legion Auxiliary adopted the poppy as the organization’s memorial flower and pledged its use to benefit our servicemen and their families. Today, the poppy continues to provide a financial and therapeutic benefit to those hospitalized and disabled veterans who construct them, as well as benefiting thousands of other veterans and their families.

Each nine-piece poppy is made by veterans for veterans in Auxiliary sponsored Poppy Shops that supplement physical and psychological therapy needed by hospitalized and disabled veterans. The Auxiliary provides the materials and the volunteers. The veteran makes the poppy and is paid a small amount for each painstakingly made flower. For some it is their only income.

No matter what the cost of maintaining and supplying the “Poppy Shops”, the memorial poppy is never sold, but given in exchange for a contribution.

Publishers Note: Information for this piece was taken from several different sources and is not meant to be a direct quote from the author.