Trusting you know Skip Gaskill by now. But not trusting you follow all the blog comments here, I’m reposting Skip’s comment from yesterday as today’s message:
“Jeff, believe it or not we prefer not to have to go to war.
Yesterday was the Marine Corps’ 235th birthday. Jamie and I will attend the Commandant’s Birthday Ball in DC Saturday night. This will be my 31st Ball. This was also mine and Jamie’s first date in 1979. Can you believe how fast it has gone?
This week Marines around the world (including the farthest reaches of Afghanistan) will share a birthday cake. The oldest Marine present gets the first bite and then he passes it to the youngest Marine present. This symbolizes passing on the knowledge and traditions of the Corps. It is also a day where we reflect on and honor those who are no longer with us.
Yesterday a friend of mine (LtGen in the Corps) found out his son (2nd Lt) was killed in Afghanistan while leading his Marines against the Taliban.
Most people in this country really don’t/can’t grasp the reality of our country being at war today. We hear about it in the media every day but we as a country are not “really” at war. Why do I say this?
Because with the exception of the families of the fallen and the families of the deployed, we aren’t being asked to do without commodities like soap, sugar, butter, etc., as families were during WWII. We aren’t in blackout conditions at night for public safety. We aren’t working around the clock to produce tanks, ships, or airplanes to meet the needs of the Services. We come and go as we please, we go to work, we go to school, we go to parties, dances, sporting events, etc. We have our freedom.
Why?
Because our leaders knew there was going to be a fight one way or another. Our enemy hates us and our way of life. Our very lifestyle is a threat to their beliefs and they are on a campaign to destroy it. So, our leaders decided that it would be better to fight in the enemy’s front yard rather than our own. This decision means that we don’t have to deal with air strikes, suicide bombers, IED’s, or close quarter battle in our streets, our alleys, our yards, and in our homes.
This is a good thing right?
Absolutely yes…with one minor drawback.
It’s a double edge sword…because we took the war to the enemy’s front yard we don’t/can’t feel the threat (which I’m here to tell you is real) here at home and it makes it difficult for us to comprehend the seriousness of the threat. We feel safe. We are Free.
If you take nothing else away from this blog please consider this…don’t ever take your freedom for granted…someone paid the bill on our behalf.
Quote: “Freedom has a taste the protected will never know.” – Anonymous (found written on a C-Ration Crate, Khe-Sanh, Republic of Viet Nam)
Ok, back to my words…Skip reminds us in a way we’ve rarely been reminded. Out of sight, out of mind. Right? To the hundreds of thousands of US Service women and men who’ve died to protect our Freedom, we owe a debt of gratitude we can never repay.
“You mean he just decided to ride his bike across the country by himself?”, my wife’s friend asked her recently.
Well, not exactly. In fact, not even close. The idea of a cross-country bicycle trip had been with me since 1973. The actual trip began nearly a decade later. So, no, I didn’t just decide.
It was more like a dream seed that was planted while on a three-week Boy Scout bus trip across the United States. From Pennsylvania to northern Idaho and back. A week out, a week there, a week back.
It was while crossing the Colorado Rocky Mountains when the dream seed was planted.
Out our chartered bus window, on our way across the continental divide (elevation some 10,000 feet) I saw three cyclists at about 8,000 feet on their way to the summit.
Their bicycles were loaded down with saddlebags full of camping gear, tents, sleeping bags. They appeared to be taking a break from their long climb, enjoying a snack and the spectacular scenery.
We sat on a bus, were young teens, and at the mercy of the bus schedule.
They were late teens, early twenties, sitting on bicycles, stopping when ever and where ever they wanted, for as long as they wanted.
To be able to not only see the majestic Rocky Mountains from that height, but to smell them, touch them, hear them….
Freedom. The United States of America. Freedom. United States Military Veterans.
Click here to see an inspirational video in honor of our American Veterans.
Monday night an old friend walked through our front yard to pay a visit. We were in a hurry to go to our company’s service awards banquet. So it was a brief visit at our doorstep.
Now keep in mind, from across the street, another neighbor saw this. He didn’t know I knew the person.
So, a Vietnam Veteran, a Marine, came walking marching across the street. He said, “I didn’t know who that was and I was just coming over to see if you needed any help”.
Johnnie is retired, and is battling some health challenges. He was covering my back. That’s what Marines do. That’s what our Military does. Like I said, Freedom – provided by our sponsors, the United States of America Veterans, active duty, civilians, and their families.
