The thoughts that come to me in airports this time of the year can be summed up in 2 words...FUCKING TOURISTS.  The men & women in the military tend to not be in that group, and for that I'm quite grateful.

It the people who never travel and that can't understand why they can't bring a chainsaw on board that drive me nuts, these people are out in droves this time of year.

The good news, well for me at least, is that I don't plan on leaving Medellin until after the holidays or until they drag me out of here kicking and screaming, whichever comes first. lol

who sacrificed everything for me.
Thank you daddy!

after less than a week, I already need some rest. I am scared to out to a bar, I know I will start all over again.

I am so glad I rented a full sized condo instead of a hotel, I can actually relax and rest up before going out to start it all over again. BTW I've got an extra bedroom, come on down.

"If you can read this, thank a teacher;
if you can read this in english, thank a soldier"

I do have to confess, my parents taught me to read before I even entered kindergarten, and I was a soldier myself, so I guess I can keep my thank you's in the family. lol

I sure wish the country had the same attitude about the military back a hundred years ago when I was in uniform. I was called a lot of things, but hero wasn't one of them. Maybe that' why I don't really get into this hero worship and flag waving. I treat them with respect (much more than I ever recieved) for doing a tough job, but some of this stuff just seems a bit over the top to me. Soldiers are human beings like the rest of us, some good, some bad. Simply wearing the uniform does not make one a hero and calling them all heroes cheapens the sacrifices that the true heroes in uniform have made in this and every other war before it.

That I do this "hero worship and flag waving" as a homage to my father, who was in WWII, running around the jungles of the phillipines.(sp)

Also the many fine men, a brother, cousins and friends who served in Vietnam.

"You are not forgotten"

That goes also for the smartasses in the bunch

My last comments were made in general and not in response to your posts, the first part of my post was in response to yours, but it was meant more to be a bit tongue in cheek.

I meant what I said, but not at the expense of any of the true heroes that may have been a part of your family, or anyone elses for that matter.

This is just a personal side note. If you are traveling this holiday you will come across a young man or woman dressed in their fatigues visiting his or her family on leave for the holiday or returning from tour. Please....no matter what your view is on the current war, please take five seconds of your life and just walk up to them and say " Thank You." These few men and women and their families have sacrificed so much for so many. Can we truly look at ourselves and say we have made the same sacrifices in anything we have done?

" COURAGE IS LIKE LOVE, IT MUST HAVE HOPE FOR NOURISHMENT."

Thank You.

Er, I mean leisure.  Besides, it's not so much the shitholes that I go to as it is returning to Las Vegas with all the excited tourists.  The flights out are much, much quieter.

Still, I'll have my passport with me in case I need to come down and rescue you, lol.  There are still a couple unstamped pages.

I used to be the GM of a military museum and we had a T-shirt in our gift shop that said the same thing, except we said "thank a veteran" because it includes everybody (soldiers are just Army).

My Dad is also a WWII vet, and served in the Navy for four years in both the Atlantic and Pacific.  He's almost 90 and doing great- I think it's karma paying him back for the fact that he spent the best years of his youth getting shot at while he was three decks below the waterline in the ship's 120 degree engine room.

Fortunately, people are starting to get it.  A wealthy business man in the midwest is personally chartering 737's and flying groups of vets to Washington DC to see the WWII Memorial- all expenses paid.  When my Dad was invited to attend, he couldn't believe that anybody would think to do that for them, and he was even more shocked when the people in the airport clapped as these old men walked off the airplane.  He said it brought tears to their eyes and "made a lot of old vets very happy."

Our museum honored the vets of all eras at monthly special events.  Without exception, they were all extremely appreciative that we gave them an opportunity to share their experiences, and couldn't believe we'd get 5-600 people attending.  Of course, the pleasure was all ours.

The thing I enjoyed the most was watching the faces of the family members as their fragile old father or grandfather was being treated like a rock star by those in the audience.  The people at these events would wait in line just to get their autograph on a book or photograph, or to ask them a question.  Some even wanted to have their picture taken with them.

It was an eye-opening experience for many of the children or grandchildren.  They invariably left feeling very differently about the old man they'd only known as dad or grandpa when they found out his role in the war effort.  In many ways, the vet's legacy is the fact that the children DIDN'T have to know those things.  Because as my father once told me, "nobody is better off for having gone to war."  We're just lucky that some people are willing to serve so that the rest of us can enjoy our lives in peace and comfort.

So yeah, say it often and say it loud.  Because you can't thank them too many times.

What can I say?  I'm cranky today.  Once I get to Medellin I'll probably feel better, lol.

And it's about GD time someone said it.

Flawless post and DEAD-ON in many ways. This should be required reading for every person in this country.

(angry face only for dramatic effect...lol)

You are correct; it should read "thank a veteran"

May I refer you to these websites:

There is a WWII/Korean version:

http://www.beforeyougo.us/play_byg

Vietnam version:

http://www.beforeyougo.us/play_byg_vn

To all military personnel, past and present, wartime or not, I wish you peace in your heart & soul this Christmas night, and always....
and thank you from the bottom of my heart.

minutes to thank the man or woman in uniform.  Without their service, we wouldn't have a free country to enjoy.