on veteran's day

canon digital rebel xsi

I know that at at least one of my grandfathers served in the military. It is possible they both did. It just wasn't something really discussed.

My father was drafted for Vietnam, but he was rejected because of his flat feet. And maybe also because he was partially deaf in one ear (and maybe because the U.S. government realized giving him a gun was a bad idea). I often wonder what would have happened if he had gone off to war. My mom saved the clipping from the newspaper that showed his name on a list of local men that had been drafted. I once found it tucked away in a photo album, lost long ago. But beyond that, it wasn't mentioned.

Growing up I remember getting the day off from school. I might have gone to a parade when I was little, but if my Mom had work, it was a scramble to figure out what to do with us.

When I worked and I got the day off, I'm sad to report that I used it to prepare for Thanksgiving. I have always been offended by the sales though. I never understood that.

This year I have noticed a lot more companies offering specials for just for veterans. I know Applebee's gave away free meals today to veterans. A way of saying thank you for serving our country. I think this is more in line with the spirit of the day.

I also think it is important that people using today as an opportunity to bring to light some of the many problems that often plague our veterans. For example, there are estimates that many of the homeless out there, are veterans (in fact numbers I saw today were saying about 25%). And of those, over 3/4 of them have mental illness and/or drug addiction. There are also major issues regarding getting proper health care for veterans. One study found that over 2500 US veterans died last year due to lack of health insurance.

This four-minute interview sums things up. Meet Dale. He will make you think about how we should be treating our veterans.

Maybe tomorrow I'll tell you how I got messaged (DM'd) on Twitter by Scott Simon (yes, the guy from NPR).


on the night stand :: Moleskin Daily Planner 2010 (Large Red)