Wishing You All a Blessed Thanksgiving

Norman Rockwell

That painting is how I remember Thanksgiving growing up. I do believe that my paternal grandmother had that very dress and wore the same apron over it. She's been gone since 1972 but she lives forever in my heart.

Times change, customs change, not everyone had the same kind of wonderful childhood I did, but my memories are mine and mine alone. Sure my brothers were there, no doubt some of their memories duplicate mine, no doubt they also diverge from mine in many ways.

My Mom and my Dad were both the youngest children of their respective families, perhaps that's why I remember my grandparents, both sides, being at our home on Thanksgiving and at Christmas as well. The WSO will tell you, if she's being honest, that the youngest is forever the "baby" of the family and is often just a little bit spoiled. I was the oldest, I got blamed for many things, most of which were indeed my fault as "I should know better, being the oldest."

Anyhoo.

I've had Thanksgivings in the service where there was no special meal with family. Sure, the chow halls would do their best to prepare something resembling the traditional Thanksgiving meal - turkey, stuffing, and the like - but it was never the same. Perhaps had I been deployed over a holiday it might have seemed special, but I was fortunate in that respect. Never been shot at, hope to maintain that record.

I think about the guys and gals out on the line, somewhere far from home, somewhere where you do get shot at. I think of those folks often, they are one of the things I am thankful for, them and the so-called first responders here at home. Medical personnel, police, fire fighters, you know who I mean.

"First responders" has become a popular term, no doubt because those are the folks who are the first on scene at fires, accidents, crimes, etc. But that's not all they do. They are out there, doing their jobs every single day. It's not just a "first response" kind of thing, it's a ready to respond in the event they are needed. You may gather that it's a term I'm not all that fond of. Makes it sound as if that's all they do. They also train constantly in the event they do have to respond.

For the same reason I abhor the term "warfighter." Corporate types in the defense industry love this term and throw it around constantly. But while the folks at the tip of the spear do all the dirty work, the kids in the rear areas making sure the trigger pullers get fed, get paid, are clothed, and have something come out when they do need to pull the trigger are just as important. They too are a long way from home in a place, while safer, sucks almost as bad.

Some military folks like to whine about civilians, I don't. Every time someone thanks me for being a veteran, I thank them for paying me, feeding me, clothing me, housing me, and training me for all of those years. I like to say it's a team effort, and it is, also, without a civilian population, what need have we of a military to protect them? Both are needed, one supports, one protects, does anyone seriously think that war will end one day?

Sure, right about the time of the Second Coming, certainly no sooner.

So enjoy your Thanksgiving, I'm sure you have something to be thankful for, even in a country where everyone seems at loggerheads over politics. It's never as bad as the meejah likes to paint it. It also looks far worse for you city folk than it does for us folk out here in suburbia. What's on television isn't real, the people you deal with every day are, care about one another. Be thankful for the little blessings as well as the large.

Peace be with you...

Happy Thanksgiving.