Pages

Monday, May 30, 2011

Freedom is not Free

I want to share another poem I found on line.

The Soldier

It is the soldier, not the reporter,
Who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet
Who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,
who has given us the  freedom to  demonstrate.
It is the soldier, not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the soldier who  salutes the flag,
Who serves under the flag,
It is the soldier who's coffin is draped by the flag.
who allows the protestor to burn the flag.
Charles M. Province




It is late on Monday night, Memorial Day. Before I retire, two things come to mind. First of all, on Friday my Sweets took me to dinner at Chili's after a long trying work week. As we were getting our dinner an old sailor (I am talking probably WWII) was leaving the restaurant with his family. He was wearing his Navy whites and people were stopping him, hugging him and even taking his picture! It was a beautiful moment.  I stopped and thought about my late uncles, Tom  a WWII vet (U.S. Army/Air Corp), my late uncle "Munson" WWII (US Army),  my late brother-in-law Gary, US Army, my sisters ex Bob (US Army Vietnam), my late cousin Jessie (US Army Vietnam). My late father-in-law Carl, USN at Pearl Harbor WWII, my brother-in-law John, USN, USS America. My dear friend Kathy O'Gane, USN ,my hubby's cousin Carolyn USA Desert Storm.  My kids friends, Toby (US Army), Ben (USAF), Matthew (USN), Jason (US Army), Dan (USN). My husband's uncles Duane (US Army), Bud, US Army, Virgil USAF,  My mother's cousin's son James who was a US Marine and lost his life at Vietnam. I think of all the young men we knew who have their name on the Vietnam wall. I think how blessed we are to live here and currently still have freedom because of the selfless acts these military personnel perform daily. I just wanted to end my evening with a great big thank you to all of them!

Then I wanted to thank everyone who participated in my Pink Saturday third birthday celebration.  Because we had a change in plans at the last minute, we had to pull together a barbeque of our own instead of traveling to Pueblo to be with phamily. We ended up having a great time but everyone is exhausted from the day filled with fun so I will have my Sweets draw the lucky winner from my "pink surprise" giveaway tomorrow evening before 9 P.M. (MDT). I hope you will not mind. Leaving a comment on that Pink Post and following me are all I ask of you! Enjoy your week!

"The strongest reason for the people to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in the government." Thomas Jefferson

8 comments:

Jen said...

Very Nice Post.

Donnie said...

Very heartfelt post. That was lovely what those people did in the restaurant. Hope you have a wonderful week.

Tasha Anderson said...

What a lovely, inspiring post. Thank-you for your nice comment on my Memorial Day Post at frugaliciousme.com
XOXO,
Tasha

Jori said...

I am so grateful for our freedom, and the men and women who fight for it. Isn't it amazing the tremendous sacrifice that people are willing to make?

Jori said...

PS-I LOVE Nitty Gritty Dirt band! :)

Maryjane-The Beehive Cottage said...

Touching post! Feeling grateful!

Chatty Crone said...

Freedom is not free is it - thanks for reminding us.

Intense Guy said...

*hugs*

I hope someday - somehow - we can do away with wars, hunger, and poverty.