Lisbeth Darsh explains why she’ll be suffering through a Hero workout this Memorial Day.
Memorial Day rolls around each year, and we give it lip service. There are parades and speeches and flags placed on front porches, but I’m not certain many folks stop and listen. I’m not sure people halt what they’re doing and consider and appreciate the sacrifices made by those who served.
In the years after the horrific military casualties of the Civil War, families would gather for “dinner on the ground” near the graves of their loved ones. They would eat and drink and celebrate those they had lost. They had dinner with them. This is believed to be the start of the picnic tradition on Memorial Day.
In our modern society, somehow it feels as if we have lost the purpose in our picnic. In many ways, we have forsaken a certain amount of community with our armed forces and with those who gave all. But I’m proud that we strive to maintain the connection in much of the CrossFit world. We embrace and support and celebrate our service members, even after they have passed out of this world.
So if some people find it odd CrossFit has a tradition of remembering athletes who paid the ultimate price while serving their country, I don’t really care. Let others wonder about our Hero workouts and question whether doing these workouts serves a purpose. When you think about it, however, honoring sacrifice with shopping is far more ridiculous. Better we should do a workout and speak the names of those who perished in the service of their country: That would be an honor.