Memories of a bygone era and a toast to patriotism

I remember with regret the cannon and the brick weapon, and my boyhood when they loomed at the bottom of my hillside home and steep hill between the Armory and the frequent patriotic events during the “duration” of my boyhood, and beyond.

I live there yet among my souvenirs galore. And I miss those memories and time gone by. I would watch the parades on special patriotic occasions when veterans would join and link yesterday/yesteryear/past war. And I miss the building and bricks even as well!

I had two uncles who fought in World War II, both, and each, heroically. One in the Battle of the Bulge, returned on crutches, and the other as a medic, and the letters and stars in the windows, gave dignity to my boyhood.

These are long, long ago by now, and the building itself is no longer there in any form, not even a memorial photograph. I miss my patriotism! I cherish the photographs of the uniforms and even the image of the statues and structures…and the lost virtues of belief and loyalty. So, here’s my toast to yesteryear!

MIKE FINK (mfink33@aol.com) is a professor emeritus at the Rhode Island School of Design.