Comments on: Veteran’s Day

By: Buck

Buck — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 21:56:53 +0000

After thinking a bit about today, and the meaning of it all, it struck me as very strange that the general population doesn’t observe Veteran’s Day. Yes, there are parades and speeches, and all. But most of the formal occasions will occur TOMORROW, on Saturday. There’s a reason I feel this way. I had every single Veteran’s Day off during my 22 years of active duty (before I was technically a veteran), because Veteran’s Day is a federal holiday. On the other hand, I *worked* every Veteran’s Day during my 17-year civilian career. Neither company I worked for during this 17 year period observed Veteran’s Day…the day was what we called a “light traffic day,” because only the banks and the government(s) closed their offices. Perhaps (and hopefully) this practice has changed, I dunno. I’ve been fully-retired for three years now, but I *did* notice most of my neighbors got into their cars this morning and headed out for work. Something’s wrong here…

By: Buck

Buck — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 19:55:00 +0000

Thanks for the link, Lex. My father has been gone for over 15 years now. He flew in B-17s over Germany with the 8th AF during WW II and went on to complete a 20-year career in the USAF, retiring as a Lt Col. He was like most WW II veterans in that he NEVER talked about his war experiences…until one night about a month before he died. I’ll never forget that evening, sitting in his garage, just the two of us and a bottle of bourbon. The stories came pouring out and I sat there…listening…mesmerized. I like to think that evening was his parting gift to me. And I treasure it.

Thanks for your service, Lex, and thank you oh-so-much for giving us a peek into your world through your writing.

By: FbL

FbL — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 17:21:11 +0000

Thank you for serving, Lex. You are one of the people I was thinking of when I wrote this: http://fuzzilicious.blogspot.com/2005/11/veterans-day-gets-personal.html

By: Dan

Dan — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 13:42:32 +0000

Capt. Lex, thank you for serving.

By: seawitch

seawitch — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 06:38:07 +0000

Thank you.

By: BillT

BillT — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 05:37:52 +0000

Thanks for the link and the comment, Lex–I owe ya “one each” snark-free day…