Maria and I went to the Memorial Day Parade in Glens Falls, N.Y., and then to her mother’s house for a birthday celebration for her niece Amanda. Then back to the farm to feed the donkeys. Upstate parades are compelling. Veterans with craggy faces in be-ribboned hats, fireman and big trucks, people smiling and waving flags. People holding yellow ribbons for the dead in Iraq and Afghanistan, many from upstate.