Monday, May 21, 2018

the season

We are headed toward Memorial day. For me that will always mean poppies and a parade. That is what happened on that day when I was a child. The boys from the VFW would be offering those poppies. I don't remember anyone ever complaining about that. Mom always gave them a dollar. That poppy was then displayed on your person somewhere. I think it was a signal that you had already purchased one and so wouldn't be asked again. People surely were more polite and subtle back in the day. We all went to the parade and saluted that flag as it passed in review. Along with Memorial Day observances came the arrival of the " season. " The season, of course, was when all the rich folks came on the weekends to spend their money. It was a time before their summer houses and cottages had heating systems, and so they waited until the warm weather to arrive.
 To those of us that lived there it was met with mixed reviews. It was a necessity but a big pain in the butt. They had the money and we needed that money. The season really did determine what kind of year you would have. During those summer months it was like living in an amusement park and you were just the hired hands. That was the feeling and the atmosphere. Keep the guests happy, keep them spending their money. Rules would be overlooked, exceptions made and smiles all around. Back then there were few that stayed for the weekend without owning a place of their own, or having a summer rental at least. There were a few hotels/motels around but generally speaking that wasn't the folks that had the real money, they were tolerated. Slowly a lower class of wealthy began to come for the weekends and the real wealthy stayed all week! I had left by the time that became the norm.
 I can't say what it must be like to live there today. It was the place of my birth and it is a place that holds a special spot in my memories. I think that has to be true of everyone, no matter where they were born. I'm certain the little neighborhoods must still exist. Surely there are pockets of resistance. I can say with certainty I was never overly receptive to those invaders. I realize, of course, that I wasn't dependent upon those invaders. I was dependent upon my parents. I expect had I remained those folks would have become very important to me. After all, money makes the world go round. And those folks are the well spring. Perhaps, had I stayed , I could have become a character in the park. I've heard of a few that make there living being just that these days. Just like a big amusement park you do need a few characters to stimulate trade, a little interaction with the money people. That began with the sport fisherman and it was the sport fisherman that basically ended a way of life for those same " characters. " Before that it was mostly just the artists that came to take in the beauty of the scenery and escape the summer heat of the city. Nothing like a cool ocean breeze and fresh salt air to do that.
 All of that is a memory now. Here in Greensboro there will be no parade, no poppies for sale. The VFW post closed its' doors a few years back, a lack on interest. People don't want to come to a parade celebrating the military. We don't have one for Veterans day either. There will be a little league parade however followed by the Lions club selling BBQ chicken. Or maybe it is the fire department, I get those confused. Now I'm not saying Greensboro is anti-military we are a small town, mostly agricultural and conservative. That is changing slowly. There is money to be made from passing tourists headed to the bigger playgrounds like Ocean City Maryland and Rehoboth Beach in Delaware. The main routes pass close by. All that is needed is an attraction. The housing developments have been cropping up, a sort of half way point between the money and the beaches. All that is missing is the entertainment. Farming is a slow, smelly process and so not many what to experience that. Goose hunting is in the fall and winter and is falling out of favor anyway. Greensboro is too far from the real water, like the bay or ocean. All we have is the choptank river and in Greensboro that ain't much.
 Well, I'll be sure to purchase a few small American flags and take them to the cemetery. I know a few vets in the Greensboro cemetery. That will be my ceremony. I don't really need a parade. Maybe I'll run across someone selling a poppy. If so, one will be purchased for sure. Memorial Day. Remember the purpose of that day and then, let the season begin. I've seen a few seasons and a few celebrations. In Greensboro it will be yard sale and farm stand season. That's the summer here, along with beach traffic.      

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