Veterans Day

    
     November 11, 2018

        On this Veterans Day I would like to give thanks to all those who have served our country and all those who currently serve. I am safe and comfortable because of their dedication and service.

      Forty-eight years ago I was finishing my last year of enlistment in the Air Force at Fort Meade, MD where I worked at the NSA, and was thinking about my future and all that it held. I had just turned twenty-four. Passing up on reenlistment bonuses and on a GS-5 job at the NSA, I headed back to college, hopeful of completing it this time - dropped out as a junior in 1966. Long story short, I didn't finish and spent my time dabbling in carpentry, among other things. Lost, would be an appropriate description.  

     I say these things because I know many veterans may feel the same way when they reenter civilian life; they move from the well organized, regimented life of the service into the often chaotic and stressful everyday world, where there may or may not be someone watching their back. My heart breaks when veterans don't always get the help they need after combat or life in a war zone. My short TDY stint in Danang left lasting impressions, and I was a non-combatant. 

       A kind word or simple thank-you really does go a long way in lifting a veteran, or anyone for that matter. In this knee-jerk twitter laden society, civility is often overlooked by many, leaving us all with an empty feeling, and wondering how and why we can be so mean spirited towards each other. The heart needs refilling every day and those kind words reach far into the future and bring about changes we may never see, but they're there.

       So, on this Veterans Day, I give thanks to all those who have delivered freedom to my doorstep. God Speed to all.

P.S.   There is a pic from Okinawa on the 'about' page. I will endeavor to post more often - shouldn't be hard as the last one was over a year ago. Future posts will be on writing, as that is what I am doing in my retirement.

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