Memorial Day, May 29, 2006

Margaret and Mother tending the graves at Calvary Cemetery in St. Paul, Minnesota.

We make the pilgrimage from Minneapolis to the cemetery in St. Paul every Memorial Day. The Nolan Family Plot. My Father's people. We usually attend the Memorial Mass, but this day was oppressively hot -- we chose to stay close to the relatives and remain still in the shade. Madge cleared the overgrowth from the edges of the stones, keeping the struggling hosta alive for another year. Mother read the names and dates out loud -- some names recalled a veiled moment: Stella and Edmund Nagan. Other names delivered abundant, complex memories: William Joseph and Thomas Edward. Others, still, remained faceless: uncles who died during WWII or as young boys, from disease.

We acknowledge those who have come before us. We commit them all to memory for another year.

Peacefully rest.