And what are we up to today?
Forgotten War11/11/2013
Today there was a veteran sitting on one of the stone benches, talking. Whether anyone was around didn't seem to make a difference in his tone or the content of his speech. He said something that struck, and stuck: "People keep wishing me a Happy Veteran's Day. Happy Veteran's Day, they say. Veteran's Day is not happy." I don't want to philosophize about my visit today, or try to force it into some cosmic uber-meaning. Just that he's right. Why in god's name would you ever wish someone a "happy" Veteran's Day? It does not roll off the tongue. It does not evoke grins. It's not a celebration at all as much as a meditation on experiences that, hopefully, most of us cannot understand. It's recognition of people like him, who understand now whether they want to or not, and of other people who never came home. He said more. "When I had to wipe Steve's lips off my eyebrows, that was not happy."
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AuthorHello! My name is Grete and welcome to my writing blog! I am a writer or romance, horror, and general observation Archives
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