Freedom

As I sit here on our front porch drinking coffee this Memorial Day weekend Saturday, I was struck by  the fact that the only noises I hear for the most part are birds chirping (which is driving Jinx wild) and Maxie Pad grooming his legs with is big Ol' Labrador tongue. No bombs going off, no machine gun fire, no car bombs. I'm not worried about being drug off the porch by some jackboot thugs, hauled into police headquarters for questioning over where I got the bible, or having to bow down toward the big palace on the hill to an egomaniacal emperor. I/we don't have to worry about these things because we live in arguably the freest and greatest nation on the planet (Canada and a very few others as well). And we're free because of the millions of men and women who are serving/have served our nation in our armed forces. Although I can honestly say I don't ever take my freedom for granted, I do too often forget to thank God when I crawl out of bed in the morning and put my free feet on our bedroom floor to start my free day. A day when I can do about anything I choose or go anywhere I want without the fear of any of the unthinkable things already mentioned happening to or around me. Today, I'm thankful for people like my cousin Darin Volkart, who spent 2 years of his life in Iraq, and my next door neighbor, Ray Bonser, who for the last 63 years has carried metal in his chest from a shrapnel wound he received in the Korean War. I'm Thankful for folks who performed peace keeping duties around the world like Uncle Raymond and Don Baird. I'm thankful for guys like Granddad Stewart and Uncle Urcel Robertson who fought in the Pacific during WWII, witness to things so unthinkable they chose to live the rest of their lives trying hard to not even think about it, much less retell the stories. I'm thankful for people like my Great Grandpa "Paw Paw" Keil who fought trench warfare during WWI: I can only imagine what that was like. And I'm thankful for all those men and women who continue to serve the free people of our free nation, in the various branches of our military and law enforcement organizations. I'm thankful I can walk back in my house, get another cup of coffee, and come back out here to listen to the chirping of the birds...and not the bursting of bombs, thanks to people like my cousin Darin. Thanks "Big D"....I love you man!