Memorial Day in Bristol…
There are certain mix-ups that a community should avoid at all costs.
Take the wreath-laying Memorial Day service in Bristol, which I would summarize here, but my father has already done a good job of that.
As 11:00 neared, we looked for the mayor, vice-mayor, the VFW honor guard, or just anyone who looked like they were part of the memorial service. The WJHL guy with the microphone was suddenly on his cell phone, someone said “Call the mayor!” “The Mayor’s in Italy, he won’t be here!” “Who’s in charge of the city?” “It’s Memorial Day! Everything’s closed.”
So, I took three photos. We chatted with a few people. I called Glen, who was doing his laundry to go back to Johnson City and asked him to drop off a couple of cold Diet Cokes on his way out of town. I’m really glad he did. We had something cold to drink as we walked home.
It seems that the event is scheduled for Tuesday at noon! Sorry, Veterans. My wife and I have to work during the day and can’t make it. Noon keeps the event small and intimate – just right for the city leaders to have their photos taken without a lot of folks standing around taking up valuable megapixels of that new digital-film stuff.
Bristol is a small town, and people are used to things in the town – particularly public events – being just a little bit screwy as a result. But to schedule a Memorial Day event, announce it, and then shift it to the day after Memorial Day without telling anybody? That shows a blatant disregard for the community as a whole.