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.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) topped Fortune's list of the best places to work. This is something that investors should note because a happy workforce is a productive workforce. Google gives workers generous perks like free meals, a swimming spa and on-site doctors along with shuttle-bus service from local train stations and -- get this -- free haircuts and on-site notaries. Of course, Googlers need to work hard to enjoy this largesse.

SC Johnson & Son, Container Store and Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ:WFMI), Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO), QUALCOMM Inc.(NASDAQ:QCOM) and Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ:SBUX) were among the companies that also made the cut.

Another company I wanted to point out on the list that many people outside the Northeast may not have heard of is Wegmans Food Markets. The level of service that you get by walking into one of the chain's supermarkets is unbelievable. When is the last time a cashier at a grocery store asked you whether you wanted your bags packed heavy or light? There are also great prepared meals. Wegmans prices for run-of-the-mill stuff such as milk or bread are competitive.

This list is a very clever marketing promotion for Fortune magazine. What company wouldn't want to be noticed for treating their workers well? Moreover, what company wouldn't want to crow about it?