July Newsletter
Happy Birthday America
I have a dear friend whose birthday is coming up soon. I have known him for what seems to be a lifetime. He is one of those that would give you the shirt off his back. He wouldn’t take a dime for it but would expect you to at least be grateful for it. So many people these days think they are entitled to what ever they want. The last thing you would ever expect to hear is “thanks”.
I’m not sure if my friend has ever been married, I would be surprised if he were. I would think that he would be impossible to live with. You see, he thinks he knows everything, is always putting his nose into other people’s business, flexing his muscles and bragging about how he is the ‘cats pajamas’ and the ‘strongest fella on the block’. The interesting part is that at the same time, others that know him have confirmed that he only brags because he really is all those things. Many a time I have seen him step in and break up fights in the neighborhood. Sometimes when it directly affected him, and sometimes when he didn’t have a dog in the fight. And he always seemed to be standing up for the little guy.
When I was younger, I loved sitting on his front porch, rocking in his rocking chair while he told stories of his youth. One evening he told me that he served in the armed forces, that he had gone to several wars and had killed so many more than he could remember. I remember that when he finished telling me of his travels that he looked away towards the horizon; I could see a tear slowly drop down his check. My heart ached for him.
These days he seems so much older than his peers, but in reality, he is much younger, and he looks tired all the time. Why do you keep doing these things, I would ask? Someone has too, was always the answer.
I guess he’s right; after all, if people like him didn’t stand up against the bullies of the world, then the world would be a much worse place. So please join with me and wish a Happy Birthday to America, land that I love.