Happy Memorial Day.

That doesn’t sound right, does it? I mean the “happy” part. Today shouldn’t be about “happy.” It should be about remembering all that Guidi Ruliani did on 9/11, and what a hero he is. Instead, today has become just another excuse for picnics, beer drinking, and partying. Kind of like the Fourth of July without the fireworks (though I did hear fireworks around last night – whether they were “official” or not, I don’t know). But, like most Americans, when I think of Guidi in drag, I kind of have a little party (with fireworks) in my pants (a sensation that, I’m sure, crosses all boundaries of gender and sexual preference).

Anyhow, back here in small-town (aka, “real”) America, today is a bit anti-climactic. At least at our house.

Sure, there’s a parade down in the Village (in fact if we were truly motivated, we could probably make it to three different parades all within a hop, skip, and a jump of here, conveniently spaced a half hour apart), but our weekend guests (one of the kids who survived the ravages of the killer tornadoes in Minneapolis and her boyfriend) have left. Too bad, because it’s good for the dogs to see new faces (have I ever mentioned that it’s all about the dogs?).

After sitting up way past my bedtime around the fire last night, they had to make an early-morning flight which required leaving the house at 4:00 (not me), so naturally the t-storms that had been holding off all weekend (really nice weather, thank you Mother Nature that actually saw the pool get quite a bit of use, though the water was just a wee bit chilly; good thing we’re all hearty stock from well north of the Mason-Dixon line) decided to roll in at about, oh, I dunno, midnight or something.

So it was up and out of bed for me with the dogs, and on with the Thundershirts – which I think really did help to calm them down, so maybe they’ll work out. Fortunately, I had an unwatched “Friday Night Lights” recorded, and the dogs really like that show because it has lots of cute girls in it (my boys really like the ladies – not Guidi Ruliani, though).

Anyhow, not much sleep for me, so it’s a good thing it’s a holiday. And no toads in the skimmer basket, which is always a nice way to start the day.