Tomorrow is Memorial Day.
Most Americans will grill out, and countless cattle and hogs will have given their lives to make most of us happy in our backyards, not to mention tomatoes, sugar, mustard seed, vinegar ...
Erin talks about 10 things we can do to ameliorate the leak in the Gulf. For the most part, she's on target.
But today, I'm not thinking about that terrible tragedy, and it is a tragedy for our nation.
I'm thinking about Arden Bradley Cooper and Ronald Milton Randazzo.
I watched them die 100 yards away from me well over 18 years ago. I can still see it in my head.
I remember Cooper's mother coming to Fort Hood, six months after that day, and accepting the Silver Star on his behalf, knowing that nothing any of us could do would make up for her loss.
And I'm thinking, why am I here, and why isn't he here?
Tomorrow, I will make real BBQ ribs for my wife, along with some local grilled crookneck squash, zucchini, out of season corn (bought by her, not me!), and some local potatoes. It will be, for most folks, a three/four day weekend.
But for me, it's the day I remember my friends who died 100 yards away from me, in full sight. It's the vision that I wish would go away but won't. And I think that's how it should be, lest we forget the sacrifices of folks like Arden Bradley Cooper and Ronald Milton Randazzo.
--Al the Retired Army Guy
Thank you Al, in every sense of the word.
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