🇺🇸 The Memorial Day Edition
This Memorial Day weekend, we remember the Americans who died in service to our country — and take a look at a few stories shaping the start of summer. From record travel and changing career paths to housing trends, summer jobs and a few lighter finds, here’s what to know going into your holiday weekend.
“We do not know one promise these men made, one pledge they gave, one word they spoke; but we do know they summed up and perfected, by one supreme act, the highest virtues of men and citizens. For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue.”
Then-Ohio Congressman James Garfield, speaking at Arlington National Cemetery on May 30, 1868, during the first national Decoration Day — the holiday we now know as Memorial Day.
Memorial Day honors the men and women who died in service to the United States. But its origin story is not as simple as one place, one date or one ceremony. More than 20 communities claim a connection to the holiday’s beginning, and historians still do not point to one single story as the origin.
Perhaps the question isn’t which Memorial Day origin story is true.
Perhaps the question is: What if they all are?
In this special SmartHER News episode, Jenna explores the history, mystery and meaning of Memorial Day — and how we hold together the grief and gratitude, remembrance and rest, at the heart of this American holiday.
WATCH ABOVE OR BY CLICKING HERE. You can also listen on podcasting platforms everywhere (Apple, Spotify).
🗣️ Your Conversation Starters:
🇺🇸 Etiquette: A thoughtful guide to observing Memorial Day, including a few simple do’s and don’ts to keep in mind.
📆 25th: This year’s Memorial Day falls on the earliest possible date for the holiday. We won’t see it this early again until 2037. Meanwhile, here’s a look at observances and events taking place across the country.
🚗 45 Million: The number of Americans expected to travel this Memorial Day weekend, according to AAA. The most popular way to go? Driving. AAA expects 39.1 million people to hit the road, even with the national average for regular gas now above $4.50 a gallon. Don’t worry, though — a Georgia handyman may have found a much smaller, more economical solution. 👇🏽
✈️ For Those Flying: To combat what Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called “a degradation in civility,” the Transportation Department launched a campaign last November aimed at bringing courtesy back to air travel. With that in mind, The Wall Street Journal wants to test your knowledge: “Do You Know How to Behave on a Flight?”
👀 ICYMI: Jenna covered a new TSA pilot program at Boston Logan International Airport, where some passengers can clear security at an off-site location before traveling to the airport. Just one of the stories covered on this week’s SCOOP ... 👇🏽
WATCH ABOVE OR BY CLICKING HERE. You can also listen on podcasting platforms everywhere (Apple, Spotify).
📎 Declutter Boom: After paying $1,000 for a professional organizer to help get her house under control, one woman shared the simple lessons that made the biggest difference. If sorting, purging and finding a place for everything sparks joy for you, you’re in luck: the professional organizing market is projected to grow to nearly $28 billion by 2033, according to market research estimates.
🔧 Skilled Trade: The CEO of the world’s largest recruitment firm says the traditional college-to-office job route may no longer guarantee a lucrative career, as demand for general trade jobs has jumped 30% since 2022. Meanwhile, entry-level job seekers with AI skills saw wage increases as well.
💻 Mundane Tasks: Speaking of AI, Google’s Gemini update includes the chance to have that personal assistant you always dreamed of.
📱 Instagram Update: The social media company recently announced Instants, a new feature that lets users send disappearing photos to close friends or mutual followers. So, like Stories? Not exactly. Think more Snapchat for Instagram.
💰 “The Anti-Weaponization Fund”: A “dark day for democracy” or a way to “right the wrongs” of the past? Jenna provides background on a new settlement related to a lawsuit brought by President Trump over allegedly leaked tax returns. Curious to learn more? CNN breaks down the settlement agreement line by line.
WATCH ABOVE OR BY CLICKING HERE. You can also listen on podcasting platforms everywhere (Apple, Spotify).
📉 “Now Hiring Summer Help”: Or maybe not? In the late 1990s, over 2 million teens worked summer jobs. This year, analysts expect that number to fall to 790,000. Why the downturn? Experts cite job cuts, tougher competition, economic uncertainty and shifting hiring patterns.
🏠 Housing Hustle: Single Gen Z women now outpace single Gen Z men in home buying, according to the National Association of Realtors. NAR’s deputy chief economist, Jessica Lautz, offers this perspective: “It wasn’t until the 1970s where women were legally protected to have a mortgage on their own. And they have embraced this and been very strongly embracing this.”
🙌🏽 What We Found SmartHER This Week:
Something interesting we discovered while digging into the origins of Memorial Day: the long weekend itself has a story.
As Jenna explains in this week’s special episode, lawmakers helped shape the modern Memorial Day weekend by moving the federal holiday to the last Monday in May — part of an effort to create more three-day weekends and support travel, recreation and the economy.
Memorial Day remains, first and foremost, a day to honor the men and women who died in service to the United States. But that history helps explain how the holiday also became tied to family gatherings, road trips and the unofficial start of summer.
And on that note, Jenna — in true “desperate mother” fashion — found a few gems for the whole family during a last-minute Target run before the holiday weekend. And most of them are on sale!
“People don’t give up, and you don’t realize how hard they’re still looking after 80 years.”
Don Teague, son of the late Navy Airman Robert Louis Cyr Jr., whose remains were recently identified more than 80 years after his death. Cyr was 19 when his World War II patrol plane crashed shortly after takeoff in the South Pacific. Earlier this month, his family buried him in Clearwater, Florida, next to his parents.
And that's The Weekend Digest!
❤️,
Jenna and the SHN Team
Daily news, interviews, our latest podcasts and more at www.SmartHERNews.com.
