Memorial Day is always a particularly satisfying long weekend, mostly because it marks an end to the longest stretch of work days without an official day off. For me, personally, it meant much more than that this year, as I’ve read several books now about some of the past sacrifices U.S. soldiers have made, specifically in World War II, but I’ve said enough about that lately. Long and short: I thought a hell of a lot more this year about why we celebrate Memorial Day.

It was also a weekend of passages. Every few years everybody hits a passage into another phase of their life. The story I want to tell here is far too long to get into any specifics, but it’s safe to say that my friend Leo passed from one phase to another this weekend. He might not know the full extent of it yet, but he will. He’s had an extremely tough eight years while dealing with a variety of family issues and he has not come out of it unscathed or unscarred. But he’s hung tough and that’s admirable. A person probably never “comes out” of some of the stuff he’s gone through. However, he’s maintained his great sense of humor, moral judgement, intelligence and common sense. He’s my friend. So when your friend buys a new house after spending eight years in a place that might remind him of some low points, this is and will be a new beginning and he deserves it. Knowing that moving can be a real pain in the ass, I volunteered to help my friend move his stuff on Saturday and yes, while moving is a pain, we had a good time. I’m glad I got to be a part of the first step to his next step.

In less serious news, Armor All recently launched a new product line. In the past, Armor All has almost solely been known for their car solvents and cleaners, however, after years and years of market research and polling their own customers, the folks at Armor All found that anal car owners are also anal about their anus. With that, they’ve launched a new Armor All product line.