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If you weren't able to participate in any of the Memorial Day activities, a visit to the VA's Website would be a good stop this evening: http://www1.va.gov/opa/speceven/memday/index.asp.

I have a few relatives in Houston National Cemetery, and don't live too far from it. It's a big place; only about 30 acres smaller than Arlington National. Several years ago, I sort of started a personal tradition without realizing I'd done so. Today, I had three others come along with me.

The notion is: take flowers; spend some time on the grounds acknowledging the meaning of the day; and select a grave that has no flowers or adornment...meaning it's probable no one has visited, at least not since the previous Thursday when the groundskeepers do their once-per-week clean-up.

Hot day. The flowers won't last long. But the idea is the recognition, by a total stranger, of this veteran's service. "My" veteran today was Roberto Garcia; Private, U.S. Army Air Corps in WWII; born 4/17/1919.