Happy Veteran's Day!

I have the privilege of knowing a few people who have been in in the military and who have served/are serving our country. They are being saluted today, and should be everyday. I am one of those very patriotic people. It irritates me when people move, talk, or don't remove their hat during the National Anthem. It used to bring tears to my eyes every time I heard it. It still makes me so proud. Living in Washington, DC, I walked the halls of our nation's capitol building daily. I drove past symbols of our nation daily. But my absolute favorite thing to do when I lived there was to visit Arlington National Cemetery. Wow. Talk about a place of honor, reverence, freedom, pride, sacrifice, and service. This place is absolutely wonderful it is solemn, quiet and humbling. If you ever get the opportunity to go here, go. And then go back again. It will humble you, and make you fully understand why you are proud to be an American. My roommate and I went every Tuesday after work on The Hill. We would get on the Metro and ride out to Arlington and see the Changing of the Guard, and then walk over to Iwo Jima to see the Marine Corps silent drill team. It is dead silent and all you hear is the clicking of the guns and their heels, the commands of the officers, the claps of their gloved hands on their legs. Then, the 21 gun salute. Then, silence. This always takes my breath away and I am so honored I got to take part in such a special ceremony each week. Thank you to all of our veterans for allowing us the freedoms we have. Go over to Keyona's site, tell her Thank you! She is one of the many men and women who are serving our military (and she has a great blog too)! Thanks Keyona!

It is the
Veteran,
not the preacher,
who has given us freedom of religion


It is the
Veteran,
not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the
Veteran,
not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech

It is the
Veteran,
not the community organizer,
who has given us freedom to assemble


It is the
Veteran,
not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial

It is the
Veteran,
not the politician,
who has given us the right to vote.


It is the
Veteran who
salutes the flag


It is the
Veteran
who serves under the flag.
**Poem taken from here.