Memorial Day, 2008

Do you know who Walter Gropius is? I didn’t. I looked him up on Wikipedia and discovered that he was a German architect who is “widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modern architecture.” He is also a man honored with a Google logo. On May 18, 2008, Google changed the letters spelling its name into modern-looking buildings to honor the 125th birthday of Mr. Gropius.

It’s quite an honor. He joins Martin Luther King Jr., Alexander Graham Bell, and Mom as the people who have prompted a Google logo in 2008 (unless you also count Valentine’s and St. Patrick’s day). Google has further honored Earth Day, the 50th anniversary of the LEGO brick, and the Persian New Year.

If you were to look on the site on Monday, May 26, 2008, however, all you would see is the regular Google logo. For whatever reason, the day that was set aside to commemorate men and women who died in service to their country didn’t rank as worthy of a logo change.

It would be easy to continue with a rant against Google. It’s founders have become very wealthy in the land of liberty that others have died to protect. But it’s always easier (for me anyway) to find faults in others. For my part, my commemoration today will consist of not going to work, putting the flag out, and firing up the barbeque. If you have lost a loved one in military service, I doubt you’ll be touched by my day’s activities.

In contrast to the day I’ll enjoy today is October 21, 2006. I had driven to Yuma, Arizona with my wife and kids to celebrate the 40th birthday of my brother-in-law, who serves in the Marines. He and his family lived on base, and we had another barbeque with several of his neighbors that Saturday night. One of his fellow marines showed up late, and after finishing his plate he looked around at what was going on. Then he said “This is nice. I’m not sure what to do with the free time I have, I usually get home later.”

He had been at work since early that morning, and after putting in a long (12-14 hours?) day on a Saturday, he was still happy for the couple hours he had with his family that night. That long day on Saturday was still shorter than the days he had been putting in during the week.
Similarly, my brother-in-law has worked some very long hours. Besides the time spent in Iraq in 2003, he was stationed in Okinawa when the tsunami hit, and spent many long days and nights during the relief effort.

Memorial day wasn’t intended to honor my brother-in-law, nor those of his fellow Marines who are thankfully still alive. I mention them because our freedoms have been purchased by all sorts of sacrifices - some their entire lives, others a portion of it. On the day that we have set aside to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, Google will go about it’s business, ignoring them, and I’ll be manning the grill. Perhaps I should spend my time appreciating architecture or playing with LEGO’s instead.