Memorial Day U.S. Flag Etiquette

Memorial Day is just a few days away and it's a good time to refresh our memory on how to proudly display our flag in honor of our fallen heroes.

According to www.usflag.org, there is a protocol for properly displaying the flag, specifically on Memorial Day.

The flag is to be flown at half-staff until noon, and then raised to full-staff until sunset on that day. If the flag is properly illuminated or weather proof, it may remain all night. If not, the flag should be removed at sunset.

When raising the flag to half-staff, first raise it quickly to full-staff, then slowly down to half-staff.

General American Flag Etiquette:

The American flag should always be flown higher than other flags, such as state flags. If displaying flags of other nations, they should be flown separately but at the same height.

The American flag is never to touch the ground, be written on, be worn as clothing, have anything attached to it, or be printed on anything made to be disposable. The flag isn't to be flown in inclement weather, unless it is an "all-weather" flag. It isn't to be flown upside down, except as a distress signal.

For more information on Federal Law regarding display of the American flag, click here for a pdf sheet from the U.S. Senate.

Poppies of Memorial Day

Have you seen them? Veterans dispensing poppies in public places near Memorial Day? I have ... but it's been ... years and years and years. The last time I remember seeing poppies dispersed was years ago at a grocery store. I was just a child.

Sad, how some of our cherished traditions falter for lack of understanding and rememberance. My grandparents always accepted those poppies. I was probably told the significance of those poppies, but the memory escaped adulthood.

Decoration Day, or Memorial Day as we now call it, is quickly approaching. While researching a blog on the origins of Memorial Day I came across

This was the poem written by World War I Colonel John McCrae, a surgeon with Canada's First Brigade Artillery. It expressed McCrae's grief over the "row on row" of graves of soldiers who had died on Flanders' battlefields, located in a region of western Belgium and northern France. The poem presented a striking image of the bright red flowers blooming among the rows of white crosses and became a rallying cry to all who fought in the First World War. The first printed version of it reportedly was in December 1915, in the British magazine Punch.

McCrae's poem had a huge impact on two women, Anna E. Guerin of France and Georgia native Moina Michael. Both worked hard to initiate the sale of artificial poppies to help orphans and others left destitute by the war. By the time Guerin established the first sale in the U.S., in 1920 with the help of The American Legion, the poppy was well known in the allied countries — America, Britain, France, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — as the "Flower of Remembrance." Proceeds from that first sale went to the American and French Children's League.

In Flanders Fields
By John McCrae
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly.
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Espresso Brownies

I started to look ahead to Memorial Day on this overcast Saturday, the weekend before, and realized that there's rarely been one, a Memorial Day, in our family without some form of chocolate whether it be in the form of cake or brownies on our holiday menu. Both of my grandmothers favored it and we grandchildren have carried on.

Not a hard task to carry on, mind you.

Today, however, is filled with Saturday chores, sporting events, and engagements. Very little time but my boys were scavenging through the pantry for something sweet. I was thinking of Memorial Day ... so I tried something fast. It was so delicious, I just had to pass along.

Super easy, super quick prep work ... but oh so delicious results. If you're a brownie fan, this is a keeper!

Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Espresso Brownies

1 20 oz box Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Brownie Mix
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup Canola Oil
1 egg
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and prepare an 8 in x 8 in pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Place water, oil, egg and espresso in medium bowl and stir until fully mixed. Add brownie mix and stir until blended. Spread in prepared pan.

Bake in an 8 in x 8 in pan as follows. If your pan is glass, bake for 45-50 minutes. If your pan is metal, bake for 40-45 minutes.

Enjoy! And by the way, my 12-year-old absolutely loved these!