Memorial Day – Celebrating Those Who Literally Fight for Your Right to Party

I always feel a little guilty grilling on Memorial Day. Being surrounded by all kinds of luscious food and ice-cold beer seems to be almost mocking the holiday's solemn meaning. Maybe we should really honor our vets by eating what they had to survive on while defending our country.

What if instead of lounging with a stack of slick, sticky barbecue pork ribs and potato salad, we dug a hole in the ground from which to enjoy something squeezed out of a pouch? Pop-Tarts notwithstanding, there are very few delicious things that come in pouches.

No one is less qualified to speak for veterans than me, but I don't think they would want us to go that far. I mean, what better example of what these brave men and women fought for, than backyards full of smoking grills and smiling faces?

So, if Uncle Jerry cooks the chicken breasts ten minutes past dry, and whoever made the beans was clearly just going through the motions, don't think of it as a poor meal, think of it as a meditation on what these heroes' sacrifices have made possible.

Photo (c) Flickr user Vince Alongi