Time Out

I’m taking a time out on my sarcastic November gratitude blog to give a shout out for my sister Ellen’s birthday. She would have been 51 today and I miss her so much. We miss her on this side of the veil, but realize how much she suffered from a miserable disease on this side. I hope she is totally enjoying all her relatives on the other side, having a blast and feels great.

OK the other time out is about Veteran's Day. The last few years it has become the fashionable thing for anyone that learns that Scott is a veteran to automatically say, "Thank you for your service". Now my husband spent this honorable day in his garage doing just what he wanted to do. But, he gets pretty annoyed by this automatic response. To begin with, everyone currently serving in the military or that has joined in the last 40+ years signed up voluntarily...they weren't drafted and they went in knowing that they would get a paycheck and benefits. No one in the armed services is there for free. The military veteran "society" is also famous for a lot of liars, not everyone that served was in the Rangers, or the Seals, or Green Beret's. They weren't all 101st or in active combat. But unless you have an awesome security clearance you will never know the difference. There are a lot of typists, cooks, mechanics, electricians, and desk jockeys that keep the military running.

Plus, in the military life style not everyone is a flag waving patriot, I know this because remember, we were in for a long time. There were good squadrons and bad squadrons, good CO's and bad, good years and bad. And just because someone has a DD214 doesn't necessarily make them a hero. There are good guys and bad, at BTW did you know that Los Angeles gangs have infiltrated every branch of the service? Look, my husband carried a gun, he has been in a lot of places and done a lot of things he can't say. Then he cross trained and spent time fixing computers and aircraft. we are grateful for the benefits and the retirement check. But if you want to thank him for his service, mean it. It's not just a catch phrase.