Memorial Day Fire Alarm

Spending the whole Memorial Day weekend at Drexel, I cannot think of anything more noteworthy than the fire alarm that rang all over Myers Hall Sunday afternoon. As far as I know (I'm a Myers resident and spend most of the time there), this has been the first alarm in many weeks, and the reason which caused it matters less (apparently someone had overcooked a piece of toast). However, I can connect this to Memorial Day, thinking of the more deafening and horrifying alarms that mark the start of a new day of combat. Our brave soldiers have to endure this sound on a daily basis, mixed with the echoes of gunshots and exploding bombs. In a combat ground, alarms can go on for hours without cease and there are no public safety or fire department workers that can solve the problem with a routine check. When the alarms are over, the only things left are the charred bodies of both valiant combatants and innocent civilians, sent to oblivion like the burnt slices of toast.