Well, here we are, Actual Memorial Day May 30*, a cold and rainy Not At All Summery Launch of the Summer Season featuring — in Massachusetts anyway — a lifting of all coronavirus pandemic restrictions. So Etiquetteer’s mind is all over the place on a few possibly relevant items:
SEERSUCKER: A couple days ago, before the weather completely deteriorated, Etiquetteer climbed into a seersucker suit to run errands downtown. Two gentlemen passing by chose to comment on it. The first said “Nice look!” which was gratifying. The other, who had perhaps already enjoyed too much Fireball, took issue, beginning with “Ahhhh, yah wearin’ that a day early!” “Actually, no, this is the weekend we can start!” Etiquetteer smilingly replied while increasing his stride. Remember, seersucker is fine whenever the weather is warm, Mother told you not to talk to strangers, and being drunk in public does not make you as cute as Dean Martin or Foster Brooks, especially before noon.
OBSERVING MEMORIAL DAY: Everyone forgets that the actual purpose of Memorial Day is not to mark the official start of the summer season but to honor those in military service who have died**. The Memorial Day Foundation has some ideas about how you should observe Memorial Day. Etiquetteer always takes out Dear Grandfather’s*** copy of The Complete Poems of Robert W. Service to read aloud his favorite poem, “The Cremation of Sam McGee.” “In Flanders Field” might be considered more appropriate. If you are hosting a Memorial Day gathering like a picnic or a barbecue, Etiquetteer certainly recommends a moment of silence, brief prayer, and/or a toast in memory of Those Who Have Served.
PATIENCE: For some it’s a bitter blow that, on a long-anticipated holiday weekend when coronavirus pandemic restrictions are at last being lifted, the weather is so very very bad! An important part of Perfect Propriety is accepting these setbacks gracefully, with patience. As the late Victor Frankenstein so famously said, “If science teaches us anything, it teaches us to accept our failures, as well as our successes, with quiet dignity and grace.” We have already come through so much, we cannot let the rain and clouds dampen our spirits! There’s plenty to do indoors, perhaps with a slightly expanded circle of people.
However you’re spending your Memorial Day weekend, Etiquetteer wishes you Safety, Joy, and of course, Perfect Propriety.
*Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday of May, but the Actual Day is May 30.
**The Veterans’ Administration history of Memorial Day, including its beginning as Decoration Day, is most helpful.
***A veteran of World War I.