https://twitchy.com/fuzzychimp/2026/05/25/monday-morning-meme-madness-n2428460

Throughout our careers, we have all enjoyed long holiday weekends. Remember, we would say, “We will have a little R&R” meaning Rest and Relaxation?

Aren’t we lucky that holidays always fall on Monday so we can take advantage of that 3 day weekend stretch? Obviously, they were not always planned that way.

George Washington went through his entire life celebrating his birthday on February 22. People my age will remember when the calendars had George Washington’s Birthday printed on that little square. In the late 1960s congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. That changed George Washington’s birthday to the third Monday in February. They also changed the name of the holiday to President’s Day.

I am sure  congress will eventually get around to changing Jesus’ Birthday since they have no problems to solve, right? It will become Divinity Day celebrated on the third Monday in December. Our congressional Muslims will love to see the word CHRISTmas removed from our calendars. The Monday belonging to Memorial Day is today. Do you wonder how that day of celebration started? 

In 1868, Commander in Chief John A. Logan of the grand Army of the Republic issued what was called General Order Number 11, designating May 30 as a memorial day. He declared it to be “for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land.” Where do you suppose that first Memorial Day took place?

The first national celebration of Memorial Day (originally Decoration Day) took place May 30, 1868, at Arlington National Cemetery. The national observance of Memorial Day still takes place there today, with the placing of a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the decoration of each grave with a small American flag. The holiday has changed a bit since it first began, which some argue was even earlier than Logan’s dedication.

Southern women decorated the graves of soldiers even before the end of the Civil War. In 1866, after the war, a women’s memorial association in Columbus, Mississippi, put flowers on the graves of both Confederate and Union soldiers. This act of generosity inspired the poem by Francis Miles Finch, “The Blue and the Gray.” Federal law changed the observance of the holiday to the last Monday in May and extended it to honor all those who died in American wars. People pay tribute not only with flowers but also with speeches and parades. 

I revere Memorial Day. I hope everyone in Tolley’s Topics Readerland has safe celebrations on Memorial Day. Enjoy your old fashioned R&R. Will you do me a little favor?

Today….try a serving of another kind of  R&R….Respect & Reflection….to honor our many Americans who…GAVE THEIR ALL… for us. 

 

Francis Miles Finch (1827–1907), a judge, law professor, and poet, was deeply moved by the story of the women of Columbus, Mississippi, who in 1866—only a year after the end of the Civil War—decorated the graves of both Union and Confederate dead. Seeing the moment as a symbol of reconciliation, Finch composed “The Blue and the Gray” as a commemoration.

 

By the flow of the inland river,
Whence the fleets of iron have fled,
Where the blades of the grave-grass quiver,
Asleep are the ranks of the dead:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day;
Under the one, the Blue,
Under the other, the Gray

These in the robings of glory,
Those in the gloom of defeat,
All with the battle-blood gory,
In the dusk of eternity meet:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgement-day
Under the laurel, the Blue,
Under the willow, the Gray.

From the silence of sorrowful hours
The desolate mourners go,
Lovingly laden with flowers
Alike for the friend and the foe;
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgement-day;
Under the roses, the Blue,
Under the lilies, the Gray.

So with an equal splendor,
The morning sun-rays fall,
With a touch impartially tender,
On the blossoms blooming for all:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day;
Broidered with gold, the Blue,
Mellowed with gold, the Gray.

So, when the summer calleth,
On forest and field of grain,
With an equal murmur falleth
The cooling drip of the rain:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment -day,
Wet with the rain, the Blue
Wet with the rain, the Gray.

Sadly, but not with upbraiding,
The generous deed was done,
In the storm of the years that are fading
No braver battle was won:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day;
Under the blossoms, the Blue,
Under the garlands, the Gray

No more shall the war cry sever,
Or the winding rivers be red;
They banish our anger forever
When they laurel the graves of our dead!
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day,
Love and tears for the Blue,
Tears and love for the Gray.

“WITH EMOTION AND PRIDE,
I LOVE THESE MEMES.”
-Sheila Tolley-

Jerald Collman, who served in Vietnam, received the bodies of fallen soldiers as an Army Graves Registration collection point officer.

To all my Friends,

Why do we Honor Memorial Day?

Throughout our Military History we have honored our Fallen; this has been reinforced since WWI up to the present day. It is in our Military Core Values to leave no Fallen behind. All efforts are made no matter how long the time frame it takes to bring our Fallen back to the USA, or to a Foreign Country International Cemetery. To this day, we are still trying to retrieve our Missing in Action and we will continue to do so until all have been accounted. Our Military Soldiers understand at times they will go in Harm’s Way. Knowing America will do what ever it takes to assure, if they become one of the Fallen, they will have a proper Burial no matter the circumstances; it’s the least we can do for them and their families.

For me, this is a Holy Day. It is also an emotional day for me due to my own experiences in Retrieving, Handling, Processing, Transporting, Notifying Family, and the Burial for our Fallen. It is also a fulfilling day too, knowing Graves Registration/Mortuary Affairs from the point of the Beginning and Ending are always with our Fallen; they are never left alone and we are with them on their Final Journey with Dignity, Reverence, Respect.

I made a Pledge in 1970 at the Quang Tri Graves Registration Point I would never forget the Fallen sacrifices they made for the United States of America. It has and will always be an Honor for me to have served our Fallen.

I am sending this notice out asking each one of you on Memorial Day to take a few seconds to thank our Fallen and Honor them and their families for their sacrifices.

Jerry/Jerald Collman

 

 

Life is a marathon, not a sprint.
Phillip C. McGraw

MEMORIAL DAY—In memory of those who died defending America.

https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a6359/history-of-memorial-day/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=mgu_ga_toc_md_pmx_prog_org_us_17942344289&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17942380478&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI2f-yncfAlAMVujjUAR09mgzOEAAYBCAAEgL9S_D_BwE

https://www.farmersalmanac.com/what-when-memorial-day-weekend

https://www.abmc.gov/video/fields-of-honor/

Man shot near White House.

https://nypost.com/2026/05/23/us-news/white-house-on-lockdown-after-dozens-of-shots-fired/

*****

Starman Musk’s ship.

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2026/05/23/starship-launch-was-amazing-n2202625

*****

The Chicago Bears might be moving to Indiana.

https://nypost.com/2026/05/22/sports/bears-focused-on-two-suburban-areas-for-new-stadium-with-no-viable-site-in-chicago/

*****

Are the Democrat run cities still not reporting serious crimes ???

https://www.breitbart.com/crime/2026/05/22/kash-patel-fbis-preliminary-crime-data-show-single-largest-decreases-in-violent-crime-and-murder-since-1937/

*****

Castro should send his cell phone to Honduras.

https://redstate.com/bobhoge/2026/05/20/the-nimitz-enters-the-chat-carrier-strike-group-arrives-in-caribbean-as-us-cuba-tensions-increase-n2202552

Canada is a woke country.

https://redstate.com/rc-maxwell/2026/05/21/dow-axes-canada-defense-board-over-carneys-antics-as-pm-downplays-the-hit-n2202548

*****

Will it ever stop ???????

https://redstate.com/ben-smith/2026/05/20/dhs-says-illegal-immigrant-truck-driver-killed-two-after-biden-admin-released-him-n2202554#google_vignette

No plus one for Taylor Swift wedding.

https://pagesix.com/2026/05/22/entertainment/taylor-swift-travis-kelce-wedding-guest-irked-by-alleged-invite-request/?_gl=1*bsywko*_ga*NTg1MzMxMTkyLjE3NzIyMTkxMjU.*_ga_0DZ7LHF5PZ*czE3Nzk1MzM5OTIkbzE2NyRnMSR0MTc3OTUzNjE0NSRqNTQkbDAkaDA.

*****

The Question Editor:    Are you still unconcerned about the condition of America, LL ?

The Who Cares Cat:   I use to be concerned, but not anymore.    I just report the Democrat Party and media lies.   I screamed at one time about the slimy politicians, but it didn’t help.   If you worry about the country, run for office or play these links.   They will make you feel better.    I have used them to show the need of a gun in the bathroom.

Be prepared.

https://theonion.com/nuclear-scientists-fucking-around-in-friend-s-backyard-1841186545/

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/

*****

She is goofy.

https://babylonbee.com/news/spencer-pratts-rhetoric-is-dangerous-warns-karen-bass-to-the-30-angelenos-who-havent-been-stabbed-to-death-by-hobos

https://www.newsmax.com/