Last year, just before Memorial Day, I was in a meeting with an attorney who, although born, raised and educated in the United States was completely clueless as to what Memorial Day was all about. Despite being highly educated and easily more intelligent than myself, she believed Memorial Day was a day to remember any and all lost loved ones.

In discussing everyone's plans for the upcoming holiday, I commented that I didn't have any plans other than being sure to put our flag out and to remember all those that had died so that we could be there that day. She responded that her and her family would be remembering her aunt that had passed away at an early age. I was somewhat confused and asked if her aunt had been in the military. She responded that her aunt had not been in the service. I replied that Memorial Day was really about remembering those who have died in our nation's service. She responded confidently that Memorial Day (she emphasized "Memorial" as if this would make it clearer to me) was about remembering everyone who has died. I just silently nodded and tried to hide my disappointment and disbelief.

Let's get one thing perfectly clear. And, on this there is no debate. Memorial Day is a very specific well defined day of remembrance solely for those who have died in our nation's service. It's not even about honoring those that are currently serving in our armed forces. That day is Armed Forces Day which was just held on the 21st of last month. And, this most sacred of all days, certainly isn't about remembering some aunt who never saw the inside of a barracks or held a rifle and who didn't selflessly and heroically lay down her life so that the American people could enjoy the freedoms that are the envy of the world.

Sure, you can celebrate the weighing of people name Chris or Christine on December 25. You can celebrate everyone's birthday on January 1 and you can celebrate how much you love Doritos on July 4. It's a free country. We're not going to chop your head off as happens in some other countries if you don't toe the line. But, if you want to be right and show some respect for those that paid the ultimate price so that we could sit back and be dumb, fat and lazy if we so choose, then you'll spend a few minutes today remembering those who have died in our nation's service. Ideally, you will take a few moments at 3:00 p.m. (local time) during the "National Moment of Remembrance" to pay your respect.

This is the before picture of this year's garden project.

Fortunately, I had a lot of help from Drew. Together, we installed a cement brick boarder which matches the retaining wall around the rest of the garden (a little of which can be seen in the far right of the top and bottom pictures).

Then we planted (from left to right) four Hosta Tardiana Halcyons (Funkia, Plantain Lily), one Zuni Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia Indica X Fauriei), three Gulf Stream Nandinas (Nandina Domestica) and five Patriot Hostas (Hosta Fortunei).

We still want to plant some Emerald Blue Creeping Phlox (Phlox Subulata) under the Crape Myrtle but the nursery was out of them. They flower in the spring and that's when people are most likely to buy them, so that's when the nursery carries them. Also, between the Nandinas and the Patriot Hostas we want to put a Japanese Maple (Acer Palmatum) but we are evaluating the amount of shade the spot receives first.

Today Drew, Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa Youngman and Aunt Catherine went to the Tulsa Zoo. The Tulsa Zoo won the title of "America's Favorite Zoo" in a contest held last year by Microsoft in connection with their Zoo Tycoon 2 game. The Tulsa Zoo covers 78 acres and has nearly 1,500 animals from 436 different species.

During April through July, the Tulsa Zoo has two male koalas, Maloo and Coombah, on loan from the San Diego Zoo.

Click on "continue reading" to see many more photos from the Tulsa Zoo.

Lions and tigers and bears, Oh my!

Notice the keg next to the tiger? I think he had a late night!

Mr. bear was less than a cooperative model.

I caught Mr. Elephant in the middle of his dust shower.

The giraffes have one of the largest, and tallest, habitats.

The rhinos continued on with the day's theme: Rest & Sleep.

The cheetahs, doing what cats do best.

The chimpanzees were resting too.

The meerkats were absolutely hilarious!

The seals were in full non-stop swim mode.

The African Penguins were quite active and looked like they were having fun.

This guy is probably one of the oldest residents of the zoo.

I caught Mr. Iguana smiling.

A colorful little fellow.

No animal just stands around as much as the flamingos.

Of course, a Memorial Day Weekend trip to the zoo wouldn't be complete without, and there is no better way to finish this post than with, an American Bald Eagle.

I know what I'll be doing this weekend...

I just wanted to say that the following seven "Republicans" are complete idiots: John McCain (Arizona), John Warner (Virginia), Mike DeWine (Ohio), Lindsay Graham (South Carolina), Susan Collins (Maine), Olympia Snowe (Maine) and Lincoln Chaffee (Rhode Island).

Instead of taking the time to explain or argue the point right now, I'll just refer back to this post in the not so distant future with a big, "I told you so."

Ten years ago today, sometime around 6:30 am, I broke snuck into an unoccupied floor of the City Place Building in downtown Oklahoma City. It was the building I worked in at my first job in Oklahoma City so I was familiar with the view it offered and I knew I would have a fairly descent view of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building implosion scheduled for 7:00 am that morning. I set up my Canon EOS 650 with a telephoto lens on a tripod, took some wide angle photos, zoomed in, took one more photo, set the camera to continuous exposure (approximately 3 frames a second), got reasonably comfortable, put my finger on the shutter button, looked toward what remained of the Murrah Building and waited.

Less than 150 pounds of explosives had been carefully placed at 420 locations by CDI (Controlled Demolition, Inc.). At 7:01 am, the button was pushed to implode the building. A split second later, I pushed and held the shutter button on my camera. Seven seconds later it was done. The second photo below is the first one I took of the implosion. The next three photos are 3, 8 and 12 frames later. I waited some time for the smoke to clear before taking the last photo.

Shortly after the implosion, the bodies of the remaining three victims of the April 19th bombing were removed from the rubble. My story about the day of the bombing.

This evening, we all attended Drew's Aunt Catherine's dance recital. We got to see Catherine perform ballet, modern and tap routines. It was Drew's second recital. We all sat up close, which was a good idea as Drew paid a lot of attention to the dancers and never made any fuss.

Yesterday, Drew attended his third wedding. The daughter of a coworker of mine got married. However, Drew was probably most excited by the Bananas Foster dessert, a fancy twist to his favorite fruit.

President Harry S. Truman led the effort to establish a single holiday for citizens to come together and thank our military members for their patriotic service in support of our country.

On August 31, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace separate Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force Days. The single-day celebration stemmed from the unification of the Armed Forces under one department--the Department of Defense.

It is fitting and proper that we devote one day each year to paying special tribute to those whose constancy and courage constitute one of the bulwarks guarding the freedom of this nation and the peace of the free world.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953

Today let us, as Americans, honor the American fighting man. For it is he--the soldier, the sailor, the Airman, the Marine--who has fought to preserve freedom. It is his valor that has given renewed hope to the free world that by working together in discipline and faith our ideals of freedom will always prevail.

Admiral Forrest P. Sherman

Word to the Nation: Guard zealously your right to serve in the Armed Forces, for without them, there will be no other rights to guard.

President John F. Kennedy, 1962

This is the day on which we have the welcome opportunity to pay special tribute to the men and women of the Armed Forces...to all the individuals who are in the service of their country all over the world. Armed Forces Day won't be a matter of parades and receptions for a good many of them. They will all be in line of duty and some of them may give their lives in that duty.

It is our most earnest hope that those who are in positions of peril, that those who have made exceptional sacrifices, yes, and those who are afflicted with plain drudgery and boredom, may somehow know that we hold them in exceptional esteem. Perhaps if we are a little more conscious of our debt of honored affection they may be a little more aware of how much we think of them.

New York Times, May 17, 1952

(Armed Forces Day is celebrated annually on the third Saturday of May. Armed Forces Week begins on the second Saturday of May and ends on the third Sunday of May, the day after Armed Forces Day. Because of their unique training schedules, National Guard and Reserve units may celebrate Armed Forces Day/Week over any period in May.)

There's nothing more fun than watching daddy mow the lawn.

This weekend, Friday through Sunday, Wendy's is giving out free Jr. Frostys. (FYI, they are 6 oz which equals 1/2 a soda can.) This promotion is the company's official thank-you to customers who have stood by it after the recent failed attempt to defraud the company by a piece of human debris which, though unsuccessful, did result in a measurable drop in sales.

Besides having excellent burgers, Wendy's also has a nice variety of healthier options including my favorites: the Fresh Fruit Bowl with lo-fat yogurt (only 220 calories with 1 gram of fat) and the Mandarin Chicken Salad with Fat-Free French Dressing (hold the almonds and rice noodles, only 250 calories with 24 grams of protein and just 2 grams of fat).

So, stop by Wendy's for a free Frosty and let them know that you support them!

On Drew's nine month checkup, he was 90th percentile in height and 70th percentile for weight. I missed reporting on his 12 month checkup. However, today Drew had his 18 month check up and I am most proud to report that he is 97th percentile in height and 75th percentile in weight. Woot woot...we've got a ball player!

Drew also got two shots and, althought he made a sad face, he didn't cry.

My brother-in-law, David, attended the gigantic Star Wars Celebration III held in Indianapolis, Indiana, April 21-24. David is very possibly the most knowledgeable Star Wars fan in existence who still retains his normalcy. Out of the seven rolls of film he took, I've picked the thirty best photographs of fans who attended the convention dressed in costume, all of which can be found by clicking on "Continue reading" below.

David determined the characters names in all the photographs and in which episodes or other media they appeared in, even if sometimes it was at a distance for just a second or two. So, before you try and correct a reference, you better know your Star Wars episodes, books, comics and cartoons. Here is a montage of the photos:

The photos are of the following characters:

1. Aayla Secura and possibly Qui-Gon Jinn
2. Boba Fett
3. Chewbacca, Sandpeople or Tusken Raiders and unknown Jedi
4. Han Solo and Princess Leia
5. Clone Troopers
6. Lyn Me
7. Imperial Guard, Stormtrooper, Princess Leia, Jango Fett and Boba Fett
8. Imperial Guard, Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader
9. General Grievous
10. Padme Amidala in Picnic Costume
11. Jango Fett and Zam Wesell
12. Queen Amidala
13. Aurra Sing
14. Princess Leia
15. Boushh, Chewbacca and Stormtrooper
16. Padme Amidala and Princess Leia
17. Sooner Trooper, Bail Organa's assistant, Imperial Fleet Trooper
18. Zuckuss
19. Darth Vader
20. Tusken Raiders and Jawa
21. Stormtroopers
22. Aayla Secura
23. Quinlan Vos and Khaleen
24. Princess Leia and unknown Mandalorian
25. Mara Jade (Expanded Universe)
26. Stormtrooper
27. Darth Maul
28. Snowtrooper, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Tauntaun
29. Femtrooper (Storm Hottie) (officially Sith Vixen)
30. Aayla Secura

Aayla Secura (II, III) and possibly Qui-Gon Jinn (I)

Boba Fett (IV-VI)

Chewbacca (III-VI), Sandpeople or Tusken Raiders (I, II and IV) and unknown Jedi

Han Solo (IV and VI) and Princess Leia (VI)

Clone Troopers (Clone Wars Cartoon)

Lyn Me (VI Special Edition)

Imperial Guard (II, III and VI), Stormtrooper (IV-VI), Princess Leia (VI), Jango Fett (II), and Boba Fett (IV-VI)

Imperial Guard (II, III and VI), Emperor Palpatine (V, VI), and Darth Vader (III-VI)

General Grievous (III)

Padme Amidala in Picnic Costume (II)

Jango Fett and Zam Wesell (II)

Queen Amidala (I)

Aurra Sing (I)

Princess Leia (VI)

Boushh (VI), Chewbacca (III-VI), and Stormtrooper (IV-VI)

Padme Amidala (II) and Princess Leia (VI)

Sooner Trooper, Bail Organa's assistant (III), Imperial Fleet Trooper (IV and VI)

Zuckuss (V)

Darth Vader (Star Wars Infinities Comic Book)

Tusken Raiders and Jawa (I, II and IV)

Stormtroopers (IV-VI)

Aayla Secura (II, III)

Quinlan Vos and Khaleen (Expanded Universe)

Princess Leia (VI) and unknown Mandalorian

Mara Jade (Expanded Universe)

Stormtrooper (IV-VI)

Darth Maul (I)

Snowtrooper, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Tauntaun (V)

Femtrooper (Storm Hottie) (officially Sith Vixen)

Aayla Secura (II, III)

"Mama" enjoying her card and gifts from Drew on Mother's Day. It's also Drew's half-birthday and he's very excited about his new "Melmo."

I'm bummed.

I just sat down ready to do a blog entry, work on some digital photos and do a little research on Westlaw for work. Such long weekend nights at the computer usually start, as they did tonight, with surfing over to Dahl.com to download the Friday radio show of Steve Dahl, 27 year veteran of Chicago radio, so that I can listen to it while I work.

I grew up in Chicago and listened to what was then Steve and Garry (Meier) starting in the early eighties. Steve Dahl had first gained national attention on July 12, 1979, for Disco Demolition which blew up a pile of disco records at the Chicago White Sox's Old Comiskey Park between ga