When I think of Memorial Day it brings back memories of going to the cemetery with our immediate and extended family-16 of us-parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, and our grandmother. We would pick gladiolus and snapdragons from Grandma’s garden, and fill metal coffee cans with the colorful flowers. Once we arrived at the cemetery, the cans would be filled with water (there were no built in containers in the early-mid years of the 1900’s) and place them on the gravestones of family members.
I hadn’t visited the Visalia cemetery on Memorial Day in years
Flowers in hand-not a coffee can, we drove up to the gate. Little did we know about the beautiful sight in store. The Visalia cemetery has an event called the “Avenue of Flags.” The narrow roads throughout the cemetery are lined with American flags, each standing next to one another like the soldiers they represent, dancing gracefully in the wind.I was in such awe I didn’t think to take photos, so I sketched out a quick watercolor to share with you.
