Those Who Serve

Yesterday I was at Lowes buying some plants to replace the ones my brown thumb has managed to kill. I had a cart full, and had just finished keying in my pin number for my checkcard when something caught my eye to my left. I saw a man walk in, probably in his late fifties or early sixties wearing a cap that said "Vietnam Vet", and a jacket with information about where he served during the war.

I asked the cashier to do me a favor. "Would you mind letting me push my basket to the side here for just a minute? I need to do something real quick."

"No problem" she said.

I made my way back through the garden area and caught up with the man, who was standing there dutifully while his wife wandered off exploring discount plant prices.

"Excuse me, sir," I said. "Would you mind if I spoke with you for just a minute?"

He looked at me strangely, obviously wondering what I was up to. "Sure," he said.

"Sir, I noticed your cap, and I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for serving our country, and I want to apologize to you for the way our country treated you when you came back."

Tears welled up in his eyes, as though a flood of memories were about to burst out from behind them. "Thank you," he said, as he reached out to give me, a perfect stranger, a hug. "You don't know how much that means to me."

We didn't chit chat. There was nothing really left to say. I said what needed to be said, and his response said it all.

This morning, I relayed this story to a brother in Christ who also served in Nam. He too teared up and thanked me, and said it meant more than I knew.

We need to remember to thank our men and women of the armed services rather than allow the scumbags who criticize them, call them baby-killers*, and spit in their faces to be the dominant voices that they hear when they return.

In light of what I experienced yesterday, I wanted to share this...




*On a side note, have you ever noticed that those that scream "baby killers" at our servicemen and women are so often the same ones screaming about women's "rights" to "their own bodies", so that they may kill their own babies on a whim anytime they so choose? Ironic, it is.

Memorial Day 2008

My heartfelt thanks to everyone who has ever lost a loved one for the cause of freedom and protection for me and my loved ones. May God bless you.

The following was written by a man whose blog I frequent because of his talent in the area of poetry and photography. He has written several very fine poems for this special day, and I suggest you stop by and visit his place and enjoy.

Their Sacrifice
They gave their all
for our country, for each of us
few of us know the horror, the fear,
what they faced in life,
going to dark places to keep us safe
We cannot know,
for we have not been there
all we can do, what we must do,
never to forget, always to honor
remember their sacrifice
which kept us free

May 25, 2008
Memorial Day
Raymond Foss
Poetry Where You Live