Memorial Day weekend picture perfect, just as I expected 10 years ago

By Jay Warren
WSLS10 Anchor
Published: May 26, 2008

Without debate or question, this would have to have been one of the prettiest Memorial Day weekends on record. It wasn’t too hot, or wet, or windy, or even cold. It was just perfect.

I remember my first Memorial Day working in Roanoke. The assignment manager sent me to cover a memorial service at the site of the yet-to-be built D-Day Memorial. It was 1998 and the D-Day Memorial was nothing more than a grassy field on top of a hill in Bedford County with a great view.

That Memorial Day weekend was hot. I moved to the mountains of Virginia from a reporting/anchoring job in the heart of the Mississippi Delta. The heat there is oppressive and all consuming from April to November (and sometimes December). There is no other way to put it: a Mississippi summer can be pure misery. So, as you can imagine, I was more than excited to be moving here in April ready to avoid a painful, sweaty summer. That Memorial Day in Bedford County brought back flashbacks to Mississippi and it had me wondering if I had actually escaped the heat of the Deep South! It was humid, sticky, uncomfortable, and just plant HOT!

Of course, intervening years have shown me that my fears were unfounded. In fact, the weather around here is quite temperate. Rarely is it extreme, thankfully. And, this past weekend is a prime example and it was just what I expected when I moved here 10 years ago! I hope you enjoyed it.