Today we honor the troops that we have with us back in the States, during Hockey and Basketball games, and remember those that we have lost in and outside of battle. Today all the logos of the Basketball teams are in a Red, White, and Blue theme. Today Hockey teams are wearing jerseys in the pre-game warmups that are military cameoed. Football coaches have used tan headphones and sweaters during the games. In many of these sports, every point that all teams score, they will donate money to such beautiful charities as the Wounded Warrior Project. But there needs to be more than this for just one week and for one day in November. There needs to be more than just changing a light bulb green for one day to show support.
We need to show our love and support for our Veterans every day. It shouldn't be just for today and for Memorial Day. Every day if they go out, someone should pay for their meal, or get free food. They should live for free, and live tax free. They should be given their life in this country on a silver platter, after what sacrifices they have made. They should all have the biggest houses and the biggest paychecks. They shouldn't have to struggle in the country that they fought so hard to protect.
Today I visited the Veterans Memorial that we have on Long Island in Eisenhower Park, and I saw the name of my grandfather. He was a Navy veteran in World War II. He passed away in 1999, and was inducted into the memorial in 2005. It is incredible who shows up every now and then to the memorial. Old and Young always stop by, some are a little crazier than others, with some talking to the panel of names, and others just walk, jog, or run by on the track path. Some Veterans from all wars stop by to visit. Looking at the thousands of names of Long Islanders who have served is incredible, and they are undoubtably heroes of this area. It is truly beautiful area, as the Memorial sits on top of a hill, with a bunch of trees, overlooking a lake, and out across the small lake, is the 9/11 Memorial for Long Islanders who perished on that sad day. Incredible in the sense that the names of these innocent victims of that tragic day, are "protected" in the sense of the the veterans memorial above them.
We must make them feel so proud to be a Veteran and to be an American hero. We must make them want to embrace being a Veteran, and being in an incredible brotherhood and sisterhood of heroes. This is a must do, and not something that we should keep putting off every year.
What do you do if you see a Veteran on Veterans Day? Would you pay for a meal for them like I did?
Peace and Love,
DGS
Quote of the Day: "Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it." - William Arthur Ward