Where Has All The Polyester Gone?

We just had our annual visit to Florida National Cemetery where my parents rest in peace. While they were alive, my father would have said "don't bother, what's the point?" but mom would say "you were in Florida and didn't come to visit?" Anyone who knew my mom knows this to be true. There is a certain comfort in knowing they are there and feeling their presence.

This connection to the past  reminds me that we were not always the older generation. In fact, we were once the youngest generation. As time passes one generation cedes to the next their traditions, politics, and faith in the knowledge these will change and the hope that the best you had to offer would remain the same.

I looked around in church today, as I often do, to see what people are wearing. Not to judge, but to see how I measure up in the "dressed like a dowdy old lady department". I was amazed as I realized that the polyester double knits are suddenly vanishing. This is a bittersweet realization because along with the itchy, sweaty fabric an entire generation is vanishing. The World War II generation which grew up during the depression and learned that if it still works you don't replace it. So, if you are a member of that generation, wear your polyester with pride as a badge of survival in some of the most difficult times our country has had to face.

Here's to you Mom and Dad and, by the way, they said to say hi to all of you whose journeys do not take you to the gulf coast of Florida.