Thank you Veterans!!!

[smokey the elder]

Many thanks to all the veterans, past, present and future, and looking forward to a day where they will not be needed.

[slick]

I've been looking at this thread for a couple days now trying to come up with the right words to say. Today is Memorial Day for you folks and I see that many of you have had family members connected to the service in one way or another.

Apparently one of my distant relatives was in the Boer War, but that's all I know. Don't know who it was and Mom can't remember. No other family members have been involved. When I read stories and think about what it must be like to have family abroad, it bring shivers to my spine.

I first want to say how much I admire those who have chosen to go overseas and I thank you for giving me the freedom that I have. To those family members left behind, I can only image how it must be for you.

Even though it is a workday for me, I will take time out to pause, remember, and give thanks.

[momoffuzzyfaces]

My step mom put my dad in a nursing home that was supposed to be secure. He managed to get out - twice! Once he just walked onto the elevator with a group of visitors. He was wearing street clothes and they just thought he was a visitor too.

The second time, he got out because he had watched the staff punch in the code that opened the door to the stair way. It was our zip code. Well, he wasn't as dumb as they though. He just punched the number in and got out. He managed to walk several miles to the motel where my step mom worked. She was sure surprised to find him in the lobby waiting for her!!!

Bless his heart; he had made it half way home!!!

One of the hardest things for him was having to stop driving. He loved cars and was the best shade tree mechanic I've ever seen. He always asked where my car was parked. I kept my keys safely in my pocket just in case.

I really miss him on Memorial Weekend. We always watched the Indy 500 together. Even when he was in the nursing home, I would go watch it with him. I don't think he realized which race it was by then but he still loved watching the cars.