Memorial Day more than a Day off to BBQ

For some people, Memorial Day may offer a day off to relax and have backyard barbecues, go to sales at shopping malls or it may mark the official thrust in to the summer season. But if truth be told, what should Americans be paying honor to during this May holiday, above, of course, a day off work?

On this day we could talk about any personal experiences we may have had, or what the holiday means to us and what it represents. We could remember the sacrifice that the men and women of our armed services have made for us so that we may live in a free democracy. Or we could learn more about the origins of this commemorative day:

According to the website http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html, “Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873.”

In the decades that followed, all of the northern states in the union adopted the holiday while the southern states refused, honoring their dead on different days. Following World War I, the May 30 Decoration Day transformed from a time to remember the Civil War to a day honoring Americans who have died in all wars.

The name Memorial Day may have been first used in 1868, but did not become common until after World War II, becoming the official name in 1967. Memorial Day was moved to the last Monday in May when Congress passed a bill in 1968 to make convenient three-day weekends for Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Washington’s Birthday.

So enjoy your BBQ, but in an effort to not forget the original meaning of Memorial Day, the “National Moment of Remembrance” resolution was passed in 2000. At 3 p.m. on Monday, Americans should “voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to ‘Taps.’”

By Cynthia

HP Volunteer

Tips for Online Dating

Today’s online technology helps facilitate dating for seniors. It is the “on the internet” dating that is the new and improved way for “Baby Boomers” to meet potential companions. There may be advantages over conventional techniques, but it is difficult to say if they prevail over any disadvantages. The approval of internet dating has grown so quickly that there is very little written about it. This convenience may call for further exploration. The result could be finding a friend, a pen pal, or a partner for serious relationships without going anywhere. Once in the database people are matched up. This website- www.seniordating123.com/senior-dating-service.html, says “Some websites are totally free, some may be free of charge only for a specific period of time, and others need prepayment.”

Despite the fact that years ago, dating may have been regarded as a disadvantage in public places by the sole realm of the so called “nerdy and socially challenged”. Or the other extreme of a stereo typical bar scene where a night out may not find you with the best suitable partner. Dating “today” seems to have come a considerably long way from the days of no internet. According to online dating site Match.com, “more than 20,000 people register to use the site every day. This includes “The Baby Boomer Generation- people born from 1946 – 1964”. A different website called -eHarmony says “their dating site is responsible for 2 percent of all marriages in the United States”.

So, how are all of these people finding success in love online? As stated by experts on the website - http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/bmag/sbsm0802/feature-online-love.html, honesty, patience and a well-thought-out profile are all anyone needs to find true love. In order to get started, a new user may think about doing a break down of their online profile into just four parts the website username, profile headline, picture and profile of themselves.

Website username

To set up a user name, it may take some creativity and ingenuity on your part. But it will be your identification on your website. You can be as unique or as standard as you want. For some ideas on user names this website - http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Username.com, may help. They say “The Internet is commonly asking for more and more user names for individual websites. A username is commonly paired with a password, but the username is not private.”

Profile headline

Navigation on a singles website can be simple, practical and helpful. For ideas on how to create the best website profile headline that best suits you, visit this website- http://www.excessvoice.com/article42.htm.

Picture and Internet Profile

Bring together a group of friends to help you review your online profile, and go step-by-step. Your friends can even give your profile a critique and offer suggestions before you post (put your profile online). They may even help you select the best picture of yourself for your profile.

A profile is the unique, customizable area on an online dating site which may contain an area to include a biographical story or paragraph of information about you. It may consist of a questionnaire or the ability to enter an essay s to provide an all inclusive look into your personality to possibly facilitate better matchmaking.

According to the website- http://www.videojug.com/interview/children-and-internet-social-networking-2. “An internet personal profile is the information that you put out there for everyone else to see about you. That could include photographs of yourself; it could include all kinds of information about where you go to school, what you like, and what you don't like. It's whatever you want other people to see about you.”

These tips may be a prescription for love, courtesy of online dating. Consider using a creative profile, browse through forums or chat with each other in an open environment without a hidden medical history. Today’s technology enables singles to do instant messaging, blog or send virtual gifts to each other. Online dating could be done by any combination of these ideas.

Internet dating for “Baby Boomers” might make it easier to find a suitable partner to spend their life with. The people featured on online dating websites are seniors who are single and interested in companionship, meeting as friends or looking for a partner in life.

By Cynthia

HP Volunteer

References:

http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/bmag/sbsm0802/feature-online-love.html,

www.seniordating123.com/senior-dating-service.html

http://www.videojug.com/interview/children-and-internet-social-networking-2.

http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Username.com