A Word about Sacrifice
Like some Americans, I am guilty of getting hung up on some
materialistic and luxury items. Today I caught myself complaining
that my company didn't give us Memorial Day off. Then I remembered
what it was all about, and shut my mouth.
To those of you that know me, shutting my mouth is somewhat of a
foreign concept. I've never been a stranger to making my opinion
known. In some ways, I'm doing that right now, and quite frankly, I
have no shame about it.
Starting in EMS, then moving to emergency dispatching, then law
enforcement, I got to see my fair share of death, misery, and
destruction. This doesn't even begin to hold a candle to what close
friends and co workers of mine have seen in combat zones. Things that
I wouldn't wish on anyone.
My dear friend and mentor passed away several years ago now. I miss
him very much. I can't begin to imagine the ache that a parent feels
of the loss of a child in service. I worked with a young lady who
lost her brother in Afghanistan. A young life cut short. She never
really discussed the hurt with me, as we weren't close, but you could
see it in her eyes. That always stuck with me. An older co worker
once said of his child in service that “It's easier to go off to
war yourself than to see your child go off to war”.
I would also like to point out that all of the Gold Star Families I
have met have something in common: they don't complain. Not at all.
Even though they are hurt, they speak of how proud they are that
their child, brother, sister, spouse had served. That they were just
doing their job. But no one complains.
I recently gave up my seat on a flight to a gentleman headed to a
specialist appointment. He was a service member with a prosthetic. I
don't tell you this because I'm trying to tell you how great I am.
I'm telling you this because that man taught me something. He taught
me that he had a smile with one foot. That he didn't give up. That I
could make the journey of multiple connections easier than him, but
he wouldn't complain if he did. If he's missing an appendage, than he
probably knows some people who gave it all. And to all of them, thank
you. And God bless you.
To the rest of us: Take a minute. Stop comparing what you have versus
what your friends have. Take inventory of the fact you're alive, have
what you have for limbs, and you're not being shot at. And be
thankful some stranger died in the name of freedom so we could be
here.