Father’s Day is fast approaching! Have you bought your gift? Does your dad insist he doesn’t need anything at all? Finding a unique or useful present for the dad that seemingly has everything can be challenging. Here are a handful of unique ideas to inspire you.

1. Smart home gadgets
Connected technology is the perfect gift for the geeky dad. For example, a smart doorbell, thermostat, or a set of smart LED bulbs are something he typically wouldn’t buy for himself but would be grateful to own.

2. Reading accessories
If your dad is a bookworm but already has shelves full of reading material, get him some fun accessories to improve his reading experience. For example, a set of stylish bookends, a clip-on book light, a bathtub caddy book stand, a page anchor, or “lazy reading glasses” will allow your dad to dive into a great read. If your dad listens to audiobooks, get him a nice pair of noise-canceling headphones.

3. Outdoor equipment
If you have an outdoorsy dad, consider getting him something he can use while enjoying nature. For instance, a pair of binoculars, a fancy multi-tool, an insulated camping chair, or a soft-sided beer cooler make great gifts.

4. Cooking utensils
Does your dad love to cook or grill? Help him elevate his food game with a unique gift. A digital meat thermometer, barbecue tool set, handheld food torch, or salt block are gifts that are sure to please. You could also buy him a subscription to a monthly meat or spice box.

Visit your local shops to curate the ideal gift for your dad this Father’s Day.

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Memorial Day is a day of remembrance, honoring all who have died in service to the United States. It takes place annually on the last Monday in May and includes commemorative traditions like services, parades, speeches, and flag ceremonies. Thousands of people choose to observe the day by visiting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington D.C.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a neoclassical, white marble sarcophagus, stands atop a hill overlooking Washington, D.C. It’s located in Arlington National Cemetery, the final resting place for numerous presidents, Supreme Court justices, astronauts, and other public servants, including more than 400,000 military personnel, veterans, and their immediate families.

The Tomb began as a resting place for one unknown service member from World War I, and today it’s the grave of three unidentified service members. It serves as a symbolic grave for all fallen service members whose remains haven’t been found or identified. It also serves as a place of mourning and a site for reflection on military service.

A sentinel has been on duty in front of the Tomb every minute of every day since 1937, ensuring the Unknown Soldiers forever rest with dignity and honor.

On Memorial Day, a national ceremony is held at the Tomb with nearly 5,000 people in attendance. The president typically delivers an address. The ceremony is free and open to the public.

This Memorial Day, look for a service in your area to pay your respects to service members who have fought and died while serving the United States of America.

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Few tributes are as moving as the traditional flyover at a military funeral or important public event. The flyover is even more dramatic when one aircraft zooms out of formation in the Missing Man Salute.

The missing man formation evolved from early flyovers. The first non-military flyover was in 1936 for King George V. The first U.S. flyover was in 1938, when 50 aircraft honored Major General Oscar Westover, flying with one empty space. By the end of World War II, the formation included the pull-up, when one plane flies out of formation, sometimes to the setting sun.

The formation is usually flown by four to six aircraft in a V formation. The flight leader is at the point of the arrowhead. As the formation approaches the gravesite or ceremonial area, the wingman following to the leader’s right leaves the formation in a spectacular pull-up, suggesting the hero’s soul going up to God.

The U.S. Navy Blue Angels are famous for their dramatic flyovers, including their missing man formations.

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It began with the stark reality. After World War I, in fields and towns throughout Europe, poppies began growing everywhere.

A wreath of red poppies rests on a memorial in the cemetery of St. John’s Church in Beck Row, England, Nov. 10, 2019. (Airman 1st Class Joseph Barron/U.S. Air Force photo)

Scientists said the growth on the battlefields was because former battlefields had become enriched with lime from the rubble left by the war.

But it was the poet, Lt Colonel John McCrae, who saw the poppies as a memorial to the bloodshed in a war that shattered Europe.

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row.
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

Today, in the U.S., the poppy is distributed by The American Legion for donations to support veterans and active-duty military personnel. Poppy Day is May 26, the Friday before Memorial Day.

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This year, families will celebrate Mother’s Day on May 14. Many children will surprise Mom with their finest drawings and a few kind words about how much they love her. Husbands will celebrate the occasion with flowers and a special gift, such as jewelry or perfume.

If you are having trouble coming up with ideas for a Mother’s Day gift, take some time to look at the things that surround Mom. Chances are you’ll soon notice the things she likes. Does she use her few spare moments to take a bubble bath with aromatic oils? Does she collect teddy bears? Does she read book after book? Does she wear silk scarves? Does she pay careful attention to her make-up and manicure? Does she play a sport? A few minutes of careful observation will reveal a lot about the type of gift she would appreciate.

For the person who devotes her daily life to her children, this is the day to show Mom your love and appreciation. A family celebration is probably the best gift that you can give her.

You can celebrate Mother’s Day away from home by planning a picnic at a local park or enjoying a hassle-free meal at a favorite restaurant. You can also plan a small party at home to celebrate Mom’s special day. You can make a special meal and take care of all of Mom’s chores. You can also add to the festivity by decorating the house with balloons and ribbons. But most of all, what Mom will probably appreciate the most is being surrounded by the people she loves.

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It was 1936, and one mother sat worrying in a makeshift tent at the edge of a California pea field. She had seven hungry children, a broken-down car, no place to stay, and no work.

Dorothea Lange’s famous “Migrant Mother photograph.

Thompson (seated) with three of her daughters (from L. to R.), Katherine, Ruby, and Norma, in 1979, 43 years after Migrant Mother

Her situation was similar to 2,500 other people who came to work in the same fields, but those fields of peas had just been ruined by freezing rain. Now there was no work and no food.

But there was one important difference. Dorothea Lange, a photographer working for the U.S. government, took a photo of her that day — the most famous photo ever taken of the Great Depression. She called it Migrant Mother.

Although that one photo made Lange famous, it did nothing for Florence Owens Thompson, then 32. She had been on a long hard road. She had six children when her first husband, Cleo Owens, died five years before. After his death, she met Jim Hill, and by the time she arrived at that pea field, she had a seventh child.

Thompson didn’t know it then, but she left that pea field an icon of a painful era. While she did know about the famous image, she remained anonymous for 40 years. In the late 1970s, a reporter tracked her down. She wasn’t pleased with the fame that brought her no money when she needed it.

But her life had changed. She had picked cotton, tended bar, cooked, worked in fields — everything to support her family, now grown to nine children. She had married again to a hospital administrator, George Thompson, and the family became financially secure.

In the end, the famous photo helped to raise donations for her medical care before her death in 1983. Her grave marker reads FLORENCE LEONA THOMPSON, Migrant Mother – A Legend of the Strength of American Motherhood.

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