What a lovely way to start this Memorial Day.  One of our first Thanksgiving Soldiers came home this morning from Iraq.  Jonathan is a medic, and he's been helping to save lives in Iraq.  What a joy and delight he is, and I'm sure his new wife was overjoyed to pick him up at an ungodly hour this morning!  I remember his disappointment in not getting to visit with her on the phone that Thanksgiving Day.  She was then his sweetheart and not yet his wife.  Thank you, Aunt Tammy, for keeping me apprised of his well-being. 

I know that Memorial Day is all about remembering our fallen heroes, but is it not also about remembering our heroes currently deployed, or about to be deployed?  I don't know if I embarrass folks in my company, when I spot someone wearing our country's uniform, I stop whatever I am doing to go tell them "Thank you for your service!" and shake their hand.  They always seem to appreciate it.  Especially when they have just finished boot, and they have their family visiting as they stroll along the Riverwalk.  I've had parent trail me down, when their offspring was out of earshot, to tell me how much that meant to them and their young serviceperson.  I do it because of what my friends and family had to endure when they returned home to derision and vitriol from Viet Nam. 

Thanks to the internet, and folks like Baldilocks & Blackfive, that will not happen to this generation of heroes.  I am so grateful to these folks for "outing" the phonies who are trying to take a page out of John F'ing sKerry's book in demeaning and vilifying our troops!   I'm a strong believer that the TRUTH will win out everytime!  It only took 30 years for the extent of sKerry's lies to be told, but with the internet, we do not have to go back over that trial. 

Today, at 3 p.m. EST, I hope you'll join us with a moment of prayer and reflection for all of our fallen heroes.  Without them, we would not be enjoying the barbecues, the picnics, or the freedom we all enjoy.