I know it’s a fun holiday weekend. But while we’re off having a good old time, let’s remember why we can have a good old time.
Thanks for your sacrifice.
In gratitude.
You want to hear a sad story? (Probably not.) When I was in middle school - 7th grade - a dear friend’s older brother, 18 years old, was killed in Vietnam, killed by a sniper. It was a devastating blow to our small, close-knit community where everybody knows everybody else. Right after our high school graduation, my friend married another one of our friends. He and she had three children. He died of a heart attack when he was 36 years old. He’s buried next to his brother.
I don’t often think of my high school days- I alternated between nerd-ville and wild and crazy. I graduated a year early, Doesn’t matter. I still remember the day Jeff learned his brother had been killed. I remember the shock I felt at hearing about Jeff’s untimely death.
Sorry to be a captain bring-down. Have a wonderful weekend, just take a moment to recall why we have this wonderful weekend.
What a huge tragedy for your whole community.
It isn’t fair that we have what others died to achieve. Our freedom was hard-won; one look at some of the other societies on this planet, and you know how lucky we are to get the chances we do. The only thing we can do is to give it its proper value, and pass it on.
It was, Alicia. My dad always said… and didn’t Churchill say this too? Our system may be flawed but it’s better than anything else.
Just recently I’ve seen news items in Saudia Arabia, and in North Korea, and in China, and in Ukraine - places where dissent is punishable by death, imprisonment, flogging - where free speech isn’t even an idea, nor are human rights. Where running afoul of a religious law can get you killed.
It is scary. I wouldn’t even want to travel there, in case something odd happened and I had to depend on their ‘justice.’
We have to do more - the way we treat some people is scandalous - but at least there is the intent and the law and people trying, over time, to correct bad laws.
Yes, Alicia. That’s been true for ages. Jews are not allowed to visit the Saudi kingdom, let alone live there. Christians either. Only Muslims may live there. Even international government officials who happen to be Jewish are not allowed to visit or say accompany our president. Let’s chew on that for a while.
This is not mone. But I forget wheer O got ot ot who said it:
We must always remember that America IS the land of the free because we are also the home of the brave!
Thank a soldier today and everyday.
My Vietnam story is my brother and the son of my Girl Scout Leader went into marine Corp at very same time. Both left by bus on same day.
Six months later my brother was sent to Hawaii and Steve was sent to Vietnam. For months I struggled with the question, ‘Why Steve and not my brother?’ and struggled with the idea of why one and not the other? and Life is not fair.
Not sure I know the answers to this day. But I have learned and understand that we just go on and cope the best we can.
You had a wonderful blog post for Memorial Day, Roberta. Thank you.