Monday, May 25, is Memorial Day in the United States, and while family gatherings and barbecues are great, all Americans, and certainly investors, should take time out to member those members of the U.S. Armed Forces who lost their lives defending our freedom, the U.S. Bill of Rights, and our democratic way of life.

Also take a moment to remember those current members of the U.S. Armed Forces fighting in two wars, in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as those who are stationed around the globe.

It is their sacrifice and service that has kept the United States a nation of free citizens, with free markets, with a government based on the consent of the governed -- a nation that, despite its many current problems, still represents the greatest civilization the world has ever known.

As you go about your picnics, parties, socials and reunions, please remember to take some time to remember the purpose of Memorial Day. Please take just a few moments to turn your focus away from all the whirling, swirling activities of life, take a deep breath and utter a word of thanks. Many are the ranks of brave souls who have given their lives for us. Think of them, remember them, give them thanks and be rightly humbled.

Thanks to all the many proud armed forces personnel who have set aside their own worthy lives to serve the likes of me. Thanks to the spouses, sons and daughters of our guardians, you have sacrificed everything to the prospects of uncertainty so that we may be safe. Thanks to the military chains of command which faithfully execute their tasks in an effort to successfully complete their mission and bring our warriors home safely. Thanks to our Commander in Chief, if for no other reason than because his is a difficult job. Thanks to each of you who through your tax funding help maintain the single most effective fighting force in the world.

Please just take one solitary moment to forget all the political arguments and half truths. Forget who's right or who's wrong. Forget who started it or when it should end. Please, just remember at the end of your day or somewhere in it that this one single thing is true: Someone out there is willing to die for you.

Say thanks.

The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas hit a record $3.196, not accounting for inflation, according to the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. If using inflationary terms, 1981's $3.223, we're probably going to surpass that quite soon, heading into the Memorial Day weekend.

If you read Brian White's Gasoline prices go off the deep end on May 7th, you would have read nationwide gas prices surged to $3.07. In just two weeks we've seen a 12 cent bump, and some analysts don't expect the momentum to stop.

According to an AAA survey, some 38.3 million Americans are expected to drive more than 50 miles or more during the Memorial Day weekend, up 1.7% from last year.

With gas prices growing ever so quickly, where do you stand? Do you plan to cut down your traveling this weekend? Will the growing prices reduce your driving habits at all?