The Canning of Beer Halted ! ! !

More likely than not, anyone who's ever glanced at this blogaga is probably not even awake yet. (Unless, of course, you are reading this with your eyes closed.) After all, it's Memorial Day, and a lot of bar-related Twits and FBookers will be thinking of that crumpled wad of singles in your pocket (hmmmm . . . musta been at The Compass Lounge last night) and trying to scheme to get your remaining wealth into their cash registers. Such is life in a seasonal economy. To too many patrons and proprietors alike, it's just one big party weekend.

Now, I'm not one to piss on your parade. You've probably worked hard for whatever moolah you have. With that, you've earned the right to relax and to spend it as you wish. That IS, after all, what this great nation is all about.

Still, this is all I ask, yet again. Just once this weekend, do something to actively honor those who have ensured your continued freedom with their lives. This is not a political statement, because it's pretty clear that no one in elected office is doing much to reunite those who have been called into service with those who have been left at home to fend for themselves. That spirit faded with the end of World War II, when much was done "for the war effort." These days, the attitude about war is just "ho hum." Our nation is actively engaged in three battlefronts, and too many people are thinking more about their next cold drink and all the nonsense that proprietors are going through to get folks to drink at their well. Shame for not sharing a moment or two.

On this date back in 1942, the last beer cans were filled for civilian consumption. For the next five years, beer and ale was only sold in kegs and bottles. Aluminum cans had yet to be invented, and the steel used in making beer cans was needed for "the war effort." Ships, planes, tanks, trucks, jeeps all took priority over beer. And rightly so.

Tomorrow will be another day, and I can dismount from this high horse of mine and tend to my so-called saddle sores. Until then, please give Memorial Day at least a moment of the kind of thought that the occasion deserves.