Don’t silence the cannon

EDITOR,
Susan Kirk, I am sorry you and your dog suffered some stress from the cannon fire at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park on Memorial Day weekend. However, this “noise pollution” as you call it is to many of us a reminder of how awful war is, and how many we’ve lost.
It is, in my opinion, a great way to remind all of us who live our relatively peaceful lives that freedom is not free.
I think the mock battles should take place every year, as honoring Civil War veterans from both sides started our present Memorial Day.
I think all citizens should hear the drama of war in this safe fashion, where the only suffering you do in your quiet little Felton world is to endure the noise without the shells that made our veterans cringe for real during combat.
There is plenty of advance notice about the Memorial Day re-enactment every year. Put your dog inside for the day, or go someplace away from the noise with your dog so the rest of us patriots and veterans can again feel, in some small measure, the ferocity and drama of war, and in so doing, pay some small token of respect to those who won us our freedom.
And to quote you: “We must remember we are still engaged in a war on several fronts, where big boom-booms are killing our guys and theirs everyday.”
The re-enactment is an entirely appropriate way to do just that.
Lyle Fleming, Felton