Welcome to the start of Memorial Day Weekend.

Soldiers Outside My Window

Today’s Brew is flavored with gratitude. Unending gratitude for those who have given the full measure of their devotion to preserve our liberty and our lives. The military men and women who have fallen on far flung battlefields across the globe … or were encamped right outside my very window.

Looking today outside my sister’s third-floor window in La Plata, Maryland, the vista cannot be more serene. Rolling green fields dotted with trees. A winding country lane. Across that lane, an old wooden fence, old wooden barn, horses enjoying their leisurely morning.

The horses and inhabitants were not so leisurely during the Civil War. Linden Farm (1783) served for a time as a Union encampment. The officers lived in the magnificent home atop the hill. Down here, in the field before me, soldiers encamped. Mostly their duty here in Southern Maryland was to keep control of what was hard-core Confederate territory. (Maryland didn’t officially secede from the Union, but was — at least south of Baltimore — Confederate to the core.)

Yet how many would be killed in battle? How many were felled by disease?

The heavy Civil War bullets my family finds once belonged to real young men. Some of whom did not make it home.

No, this is not a battlefield. But this weekend, as I walk the land, how can I not consider it hallowed ground?  

For Memorial Day Weekend, military author and Stream writer Tom Sileo introduces us to Gold Star child Landon Carpenter, whose father was killed in Afghanistan just weeks before his birth. “My Dad Was a Great Person.”

Shortage of Lifeguards This Summer

One-third of the nation’s 309,000 public swimming pools may be closed this summer, and beaches may be unprotected due to a shortage of lifeguards. This according to the American Lifeguard Association. 

“Ever since lifeguarding started, we’ve had difficulty filling the ranks because it’s a tough job to obtain,” Wyatt Werneth, the association’s national spokesman said.

Reports The New York Post, “It takes very rigorous physical training, first aid and trauma training and a lot of tentative-type skills such as watching the water.” Then there’s the whole twirling the whistle thing. And if you’re on a beach in Southern Cal, developing the skill to run in slow motion in bronzed perfection.

Meanwhile, it seems dear ol’ Mom was engaged in some fake news. You know that whole business about not swimming until half-an-hour to an hour after eating?

Not true, says Dr. Michael Boniface, an emergency medicine physician with the Mayo Clinic, contrary to his own mother’s warning.

“We know now that really there is no scientific basis for that recommendation,” Dr. Boniface says. “You may end up with some stomach cramping or a muscle cramp, but this is not a dangerous activity to routinely enjoy.”

Texas School Shooter Apparently Walked in Uncontested Through an Unlocked Door

This is where you pray hard for composure. Authorities in Texas revealed Thursday that the man who killed 19 children in Uvalde was not confronted by a security guard, as early reports said, and apparently waltzed into the Robb Elementary through an unlocked door. More baffling, police did not move in on the killer for a full hour until Border Patrol tactical units arrived. They came under fire early on … but an hour? When the lives of little children were on the line? Did Parkland teach nothing?

The Stream has published several thought pieces on the shooting. Most recently:

Publisher James Robison wrote “The Tragic Consequences of Removing God from American Life.”

From Peter Wolfgang, “Sandy Hook, Robb Elementary and the Horrifically Normal Standard of Mass Shooting.”

Pastor Shane Idleman asks, “Could This Be The Primary Cause of Mass Shootings?”

Top Gun: Maverick Arrives and First Glimpse at Indiana Jones 5!

If you need to escape the horror of the week, or if you just feel the need for speed, Top Gun: Maverick lands in theaters today. Our military writer Tom Sileo has seen it and offers a hearty thumb’s up!

Saw #TopGunMaverick last night. It was fantastic & well worth the 36-year wait. While the special effects and action were amazing, what I'll remember most is the scene with Val Kilmer. It was perfect. #TopGun

— Tom Sileo (@TSileo) May 25, 2022

Kilmer has been AWOL from the big screen for years now in the wake of his battle with cancer. Tom Cruise, of course, barely looks like he’s aged a day in 36 years. The punk.

The return of Maverick isn’t the only big movie new for the day. Disney has released the first image from the upcoming Indiana Jones 5.

In 2023, Harrison Ford returns as the legendary #IndianaJones. Check out this first look of the new James Mangold-directed film. pic.twitter.com/ALs82tsmXw

— Indiana Jones (@IndianaJones) May 26, 2022

A Stream Milestone: 50,000 Stories Published!

Earlier this week, The Stream celebrated the publication of our 50,000th story. As the first staffer ever hired by The Stream, I can tell you that if I had socks on, they’d be blown off.

I tell you all about it in an article cleverly titled “A Stream Milestone: 50,000 Stories Published.”

Have a safe and blessed Memorial Day Weekend.

“The brave die never, though they sleep in dust, their courage nerves a thousand living men.” — Minot J. Savage

 

Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of The Stream, chief barista for The Brew and co-author, with John Zmirak, of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration. You can follow him at @StreamingAl at GETTR, Gab, Parler, and now at TRUTH Social.