Sea lion makes splash at Monterey Bay race as it joins canoe crew

seal in a water

A racing team slicing through the waters of Monterey Bay over Memorial Day weekend got the shock of a lifetime when an overexcited sea lion launched itself straight onto their outrigger canoe in a now-viral moment caught on camera. The wild encounter unfolded during the Monterey Hoe Wa’a race on May 23, when the marine mammal suddenly burst from the water and landed directly on the narrow racing canoe packed with paddlers from Outrigger Santa Cruz. “I just screamed my head off,” paddler Channing Baker, who was sitting in seat three, told KTVU on Wednesday. “At first I thought it was a shark.”

Source: Sea lion makes splash at Monterey Bay race as it joins canoe crew

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
1 John 5:13

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Memorial Day ceremony at USS San Francisco Memorial honors those who died in Battle of Guadalcanal

tree and rows of military graves on a cemetery

Monday is Memorial Day, but one tradition always happens on the Sunday before.   In 1942, the USS San Francisco miraculously survived a pivotal battle in World War II and each year a memorial service is held to honor those who died.  But this year, there was a special guest who added his own footnote to history. Each year, the ceremony remains the same. The same parade of colors. The same memorial bell is ringing for those lost on the USS San Francisco.  And each year, a reminder of how ferocious the fighting was at the Battle of Guadalcanal on Nov. 12 and 13, 1942. “Ships maneuvered at close range in the darkness.  What followed was a point-blank naval gunfight,” said US Marine Corps historian, Master Gunnery Sgt. Jonathan Banks.  “Japanese search lights suddenly illuminated American ships.  And within moments, the night exploded with gunfire.”

The heavy cruiser USS San Francisco was in the middle of the fight, hit by more than two dozen shells.  Most of the command staff was killed, including the task force commander, San Francisco native Admiral Daniel Callahan.  Preserved at the memorial is the actual ship’s bridge railing, holes punched through it by the onslaught of shells.  For most, it’s a piece of history, but for one person in the audience, it was a memory. “A lot of times, they don’t tell the true story.  I’m telling you the true story,” said Tom McGarvey.  “I was there.  You know what I mean?  They know me now.” A lot of people know “Red” McGarvey as the guy who opened up Red’s Java House, the iconic little cafe on the Embarcadero near Oracle Park.  But what people didn’t know was that on that horrific night and morning, Red was a 16-year-old kid aboard a Merchant Marine ship hauling supplies in the middle of the fight.  He remembers another merchant freighter next to his that was hit and went down in about 20 minutes.

Source: Memorial Day ceremony at USS San Francisco Memorial honors those who died in Battle of Guadalcanal – CBS San Francisco

That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love.
Ephesians 3:16-17

For God so Loved the World

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Over 37,000 American flags planted on Boston Common for annual Memorial Day tradition

an american cemetery

Tens of thousands of American flags are on display on the Boston Common as part of the annual Memorial Day weekend tradition.  It’s the 16th year the flags have been on display, honoring over 37,000 Massachusetts service members who have died since the Revolutionary War.  Daniella Palma has spent the last five years volunteering to help place the whopping number of flags. Hundreds of volunteers from Home Base, A Sox Foundation, Mass General programs and Military Families of the Fallen take part.  “I love it. I think it’s a great thing that we do for the people that have served,” Palma said. “For me, it’s a hope that people take a moment and pause and reflect on what people have given for this country.”

Governor Maura Healey, alongside other state officials, visited the flags ahead of Memorial Day to honor fallen service members.  “What makes this memorial so meaningful is that it’s built by people showing up, year after year, to remember. A simple act of love and gratitude that, together, becomes something even more powerful,” said Governor Maura Healey in a social media post.  People walking around the historic park stopped to remember those who served and gave their lives for their country.  “I know a lot of people [who served], people I graduated with were in the Vietnam War,” Elizabeth Kingsley said.  “My late father served in World War II. I am active with Home Base and a couple of other veteran organizations to honor his memory,” Ed Scheinbart said. Doug Dell served in Vietnam and said Memorial Day has a deep meaning for him. He said that it took him a while to visit the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument, but now he makes sure he stops by every year.

Source: Over 37,000 American flags planted on Boston Common for annual Memorial Day tradition – CBS Boston

Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”
Luke 9:23

2 Timothy 3:12 

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John 15:18–20

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Galatians 1:6-10

“When truth becomes negotiable, faith becomes vulnerable so know the Gospel, stand on God’s Word, and seek His approval above the world’s applause.” “I am astonished that you are so…

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Isaiah 45:2

“I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, This verse reminds us…

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Memorial Day parades taking place across NYC this weekend

red ford mustang with flags of the usa

Memorial Day parades are taking place all across New York City’s five boroughs this weekend. Paradegoers may want to pack their umbrella before heading out, however. Inaugural NYC Memorial Day walk Five Borough Veterans will host its first Memorial Day Walk on Sunday, uniting veterans, military families and local community members.  The free walk begins at 12:30 p.m. at Cadman Plaza Park in Brooklyn. The group will walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and continue through Manhattan, making multiple stops at memorials along the way.  Stops include the Brooklyn War Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial Plaza, Coast Guard Memorial, East Coast Memorial, Korean War Memorial, and the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. 

Memorial Day Weekend in Queens The Forest Hills Memorial Day Parade is scheduled for Sunday. Metropolitan Avenue will be closed between 75th Avenue and Trotting Course Lane. Trotting Course Lane will be closed between Metropolitan Avenue and Pole Place. The College Point Memorial Day Parade is also set for Sunday.

The following street closures have been announced: 26th Avenue between 120th Street and College Point Boulevard College Point Boulevard between 26th Avenue and Graham Court 120th Street between 26th Avenue and Graham Court Graham Court between 120th Street and College Point Boulevard College Point Boulevard between Graham Court and 5th Avenue 5th Avenue between College Point Boulevard and College Place Poppenhusen Avenue between College Place and 119th Street

The Little Neck-Douglaston Memorial Day Parade is scheduled for Monday at 2 p.m. Northern Boulevard will be closed between Glenwood Street and 244th Street. Organizers say they will march rain or shine.

The Ridgewood Memorial Day Parade is also set for Monday at 11 a.m. Cypress Avenue will be closed between Myrtle and Putman avenues, and Myrtle Avenue will be closed between Cypress and Cooper avenues.

The Rockaway Beach Memorial Day Parade will take place on Monday. Rockaway Beach Boulevard will be closed between Beach 94th Street and Beach 130th Street.

Other Memorial Day parades The 107th Staten Island Memorial Day Parade is scheduled for Monday at noon. Hart Boulevard will be closed between Forest and Castleton avenues, along with Forest Avenue between Hart Boulevard and Ordell Avenue.

Brooklyn’s 159th Memorial Day Parade is set for Monday at 11 a.m. The NYPD announced the following street closures: 76th – 78th Street between Ridge Boulevard and 4th Avenue 3rd Avenue between 76th Street and 101st Street Marine Avenue between 3rd Avenue and 4th Avenue 4th Avenue between Marine Avenue and 101st Street 4th Avenue between 101st Street and 4th Avenue 101st Street between 4th Avenue and Fort Hamilton Parkway

Source: Memorial Day parades taking place across NYC this weekend – CBS New York

For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:7-8

Proverbs 21:23

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Volunteers set out to lay flags on every headstone at Fort Snelling National Cemetery

patriotic tribute at military cemetery

Thousands of Minnesotans are called to action this Memorial Day weekend, stemming from a simple conversation a decade ago. “We just feel like this is what we’re supposed to be doing on Memorial Day,” said Jill Cooper, a volunteer with Flags for Fort Snelling. Over 2,500 volunteers walk the hundreds of acres of Fort Snelling National Cemetery. “I was on a submarine and having served and lost people, you realize each one of these is a person or two people. These aren’t just symbols. These were people,” said Sean Wait, volunteer and veteran. It’s an annual tradition recognizing those people who served us. It started in 2015 with one mastermind who inquired with the cemetery and had a fraction of the volunteers she has now, to help her place the flags.

“For me, it’s very humbling, bringing it back to ‘this is what matters,'” said Joanne Malmstedt, president and founder of Flags for Fort Snelling. “I feel like so much of the younger generations have lost the importance of what all of this means.” Throughout the weekend, volunteers are placing roughly 195,000 flags to cover every headstone at Fort Snelling. Organizers told WCCO they’re still looking for those to help them collect the flags on Saturday. “It’s just really impactful when you look around, and you see and think, how many cemeteries there are around the country,” said Wait.  Flags for Fort Snelling is a registered 501C3. “I don’t collect a penny from this. Nobody gets a paycheck from this. Every penny that we receive goes right back to making sure these veterans can be honored and remembered from year to year,” said Malmstedt. “A promise was made to never forget so we need to make sure that’s upheld and remembered.”

Source: Volunteers set out to lay flags on every headstone at Fort Snelling National Cemetery – CBS Minnesota

This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
John 15:12

Psalm 5:8

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