Memorial Day 2011

Hard to believe that with Memorial Day, the summer officially starts.  How ironic is to celebrate the start of vacations and end of school with a day that remembers and honors the men and women who died in wars; it started with remembrance of those who perished in the Civil War.  As a child, Memorial Day was a day my Tia Luisa and mom would gather flowers from the back yard and tied them into neat little bundles for those cemeteries we were to visit.  Rodolfo and Amanda would pick us up around 10 in the morning and we'd head first to Golden Gate National Cemetery, where tia Luisa's husband is buried.  William Thomas Erickson passed away in April, 1959.  I'm the heir to his garnet ring that I cherish dearly.  By the way, Tia Luisa lies next to him; she passed away in May of 1997.

After that, it was a trek northbound on El Camino Real, a time when there was no Tanforan Shopping Center or mini malls; almost like driving in the country.  Our last stops would be in Colma to visit Holy Cross Cemetery and the Italian Cemetery.  Almost everyone in our family is at Holy Cross...from "la comadrita" Cira to baby Brenda; my father and lately my friend Frank and my mom.  Our last stop was the Italian Cemetery were my biological mother is interred, Beatriz Gonzalez de Perez.  She died in October of 1956.

Though the day was a bittersweet one, we'd end up at a farmer's market type of establishment and got fresh fruit...watermelon, oranges, and vegetables.  We'd come home for a lavish dinner; my cousin Rudy and I would play games.  Home made tortillas, bbq chicken, rice, beans- a banquet I miss dearly now.

I hope your Memorial Day is full of memories of those who have left us and those times we shall always cherish!