May 26, 2005

Street Talk by Carol Rosen

With what is going on in Iraq and Afghanistan, does Memorial Day have more meaning to you?
(Asked at Almaden Via Valiente Plaza)


“It’s about the same for me. I didn’t go to Vietnam, I was in the Coast Guard at that time. I had some friends from high school that lost their lives in Vietnam. I plan to stay at home on Memorial Day away from the streets and traffic.”

Errol Smedley, 62
Almaden / Retired

“It’s always had meaning, but there’s more poignancy with all this [war in Iraq and Afghanistan] going on. It’s a number of things, not just the deaths of the young people or the people in their 30s and 40s who are fighting. I really feel for them and their families. My feelings also include the ones that come home and have to restart their lives and the ones who come home with injuries. I think it’s on my mind more so than just because it’s almost Memorial Day, I think about it often, and I wish I knew what to do about this to help.”

Sue VanStee, 55+
Almaden / Retired

“It probably does have more meaning to me. I thought about it, you can’t help but think about what’s going on. I appreciate what our servicemen and women have done for our country. My husband was in Korea late in that war. There’s been a lot of wars, I have mixed feelings about some of them.”

Pat Odens, early 70s
Almaden / Retired

“It [Memorial Day] probably will have more of an affect on me, more so because of my father who served in Korea and also for my son who is 19 and in college. I will think more about my dad and what he went through than what’s going on currently.”

Paula McLinden, 47
Almaden
Registered Nurse

“Yes it does affect me more this year, just being part of a generation that has troops in war makes you thankful for the sacrifices these men and women make. I went to school with Pat Tillman, his death makes me sad.”

Heidi Cummings, 27
Almaden
Office Manager

“I don’t have close relatives [who are fighting in either of those countries], and I don’t know anyone who has died. But I have more sympathy for the soldiers that are over there now.”

Lourdes Arivizu, 43
San Jose
Self-employed

“No, I see them as very unrelated even though I haven’t thought about it very much. Memorial Day to me is a time to remember those who supported and gave their lives for us in previous wars. This war is so insane that it doesn’t seem similar [to the others]. Having said that, the men and women who are giving us their lives and their efforts should be commended and thought of as heroes. But the leadership is typified by the statement, ‘you go to war with what you have.’ That statement when given was asinine. ”

Stephen Samuel, 43
Almaden
Mechanical Engineer

“I haven’t really thought about it that much. We go to the Sacramento Jazz Festival on Memorial Day weekend. On Sunday morning they have a gospel sing along. The Night Blooming Jazz Men will be there singing ‘Amazing Grace.’ Everyone takes their hats off, and it makes all of us cry.”

Allison Medlin, 43
Almaden
Homemaker