Our
first stop was a visit to Cayuga Cemetery
to decorate our parents and grandparents graves. We retold stories of
how “that was what Memorial weekend was all about” when we were growing up.
Back
then we loaded the family car and made the cemetery circuit. We had a few
flowers mother had cut from her peony and rose bushes to place in remembrance
of lost loved ones. We would walk among the dead, listening to the living tell “who
they were” and “what our connection was” to those grey headstones. Sister and I
don’t remember really liking the
holiday tradition, but it was something we did annually to show respect for
those that had passed away. As she and I drove and discussed, we honestly
remembered more about the day spent with family, than the stories about the
dead. For us it was more about meeting up with other family and sharing a
picnic lunch. Fried chicken and limp paper plates; and there might be a trip to
the creek in there now and again, but Memorial Day was for remembering.
Julia
and I drove Highway 76 in Branson and
commented on all the changes since the last time we were in town. Buildings
going up and coming down, businesses going in and going out. We always have to
recall our family vacation to Branson, one of the very few we took as a farming
family. Julia and I set up a howl to stay in a motel with a swimming pool. We
can’t remember if we even swam, but we remember Daddy drove 76 until he found
one for us. We observed other families there that, maybe like us, didn’t have huge
vacation budgets. But, just like ours, their daddy allowed those kids to make
some choices, too. That’s why they were playing mini-golf in the heat of the
day and eating ice cream before lunchtime. They were making memories.
Being
back at Silver Dollar City as Willamae for a couple of days was so much fun.
One reason I love it there is all the good, clean, wholesome fun that theme
park stands for, and another reason is because of the wonderful memories that
came flooding back. The smell of creosote and evergreen trees mingled with
baking breads and scented candles, thrown in with wood chips and funnel cakes,
yep, that’s Silver Dollar City. Willamae hung out on Main Street and greeted
the folks coming into the park with “Welcome to Siiiiiilver Dollar City!” just
the way I remembered it. I loved
watching all the families come in, little guys so excited they were about to
come out of their skin just to be there with mom and dad, to have fun! I asked what they were going to do, and the
plans just fell out of their mouths with anticipation. I loved it. Of course,
there were those teenagers whose body language told me that they weren’t nearly
as excited to be there on a family vacation. Willamae would try to get a little
tease in about putting their iPhones away, but I can say I saw just as many
senior adults with their head in their phones as teenagers.
Every
show Willamae and Borderline Bluegrass performed, we had a patriotic number.
JonBoy, our emcee, reminded our crowds that Memorial Day was about remembering
those that didn’t make it back from wars, and there were some teary eyes as we
united to remember. Folks thanked us. We felt blessed to be there, and memories
were made. What did you remember this Memorial Day?
