boxingfanmanic 6h50o

As we all look forward to big barbecues this weekend, take a moment to the fallen. My husband, who is substantially older than me, served in Vietnam. The first KIA his unit took was his 2nd Lieutenant. (The life expectancy of USMC 2nd Lieutenants in Vietnam was, on average, two to five days.) For years, he thought about ing this man's family to express his condolences on the loss of someone he considered a true leader. About 30 years ago, he was near the man's hometown while traveling through a nearby airport. He picked up the phone at the airport, began dialing, then hung up, because what could he say, after all? The issue hung in his mind for another 15 years, then I suggested that he research the man's family to see if he could find any relatives and try again. He located a brother, Tommy, and placed a call. Over the years, this Tommy had received a number of calls about his brother, all of which turned out to be placed by people who never served, didn't know his brother, and for whatever reason called anyway. He'd become expert at ferreting out the liars, so he asked my husband how his brother looked when he got to San Diego to meet up with his unit. My husband told Tommy his brother had a black eye, which was true. Tommy asked how he got it. My husband said, "From you" -- also true. There was no bad blood between the brothers -- they'd just been in a barroom brawl with a bunch of other Marines the night before. They spoke for about an hour, and my husband got the chance to tell Tommy what a terrific leader his brother had been. Some weeks later, we traveled to Connecticut to meet Tommy and his sons. His sons had heard about their uncle all their lives, but were born long after the war. My husband told Tommy and his sons all of the stories he had about Richie, their uncle. A few months later, we traveled to the Marine Corps museum in Virginia to meet up with Tommy again, but this time were ed by two other grunts from their squad, and by their sergeant. Everyone brought pictures, NVA flags, and everything else they could think of to share with Tommy and his sons. None of these men had seen one another in 50 years, and their wives and I watched as they began talking excitedly, laughing and smiling, as if they had seen one another the day before. I turned to one of the other wives and said, "We could run through here naked right now, and they wouldn't even notice!" A few years ago, we went back to Connecticut to visit Tommy, and he took us to his brother's grave. The full weight of the cost of war fell on me as I subtracted the year of his birth from his death -- he was 23. And at 23, he'd already given more to his country than most of us ever will. As we celebrate this year's Memorial Day, please the Richies. the men who pledged "our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor" to found this new nation in 1776 -- most of whom died penniless. those who've made that ultimate sacrifice ever since then. It's the least we can do. 1o1x5y

For the last week, I've been absolutely marveling at judges who openly flout the laws of our nation by hiding or facilitating the escape of illegal aliens from their courtrooms. The question I want to ask is: Is it OK for me, an American citizen, to pick and choose the laws I wish to obey? If I disobey, will you hide me? When American wife beaters (as was the extant case in WI) are threatened with consequences, do you instead facilitate their escape? And what about all of the poor bastards whom you've sentenced to prison over the years? Why didn't you help them evade consequences for their actions? Anti-American prejudice?

I love watching Customer Wars, Neighborhood Wars, etc., etc. This is a truly guilty pleasure, because manners seem to have utterly disappeared. I mean, if I hear one more time, "I'm not that one...."
I was raised with some very simple rules. Yes, ma'am. No, sir. Please. Thank you. Never discuss three things: religion, money or politics. Always open the door for an older person. There are others, but you get the gist.
I wonder what would happen if everyone adopted manners as their New Year's resolution. We could dial back the temperature of social discourse dramatically. We could start smiling more and scowling less.
Think about it. If you agree, please this on.

I hope all within the sight of these words have many reasons to be thankful this year. In fact, I hope your list is so long that you forget your place halfway through. Joy to all.

If I were younger and unmarried, all I would be thinking about this idea would, "More for me!!!"