Let me start with a giant THANK YOU … 2 words that can mean so much and sound like so little.
What I mean is, it says so much in one way, then again, it can’t cover what we feel in another … this still isn’t sounding right now is it?
That is to say, that 2 little words just can’t explain the thanks and gratitude to the people who have done, and will continue to do, the things needed to help keep us safe, free and all around the most lucky and blesses people on the face of the Earth.
It is though, all that I have I can say.
So, until another word or 2 comes along that is better, this is the best I have to offer.
It is heart felt and meant though … I hope that the sentiment and feelings put behind it is felt and scene for what I truly feel and mean.

Now, let me restart with an attempt to say that this is not me trying to take anything away form our current Veterans!
I think everyone knows how I feel about them.
If not read back over my older blog’s in Blog’s From Before.
The bottom line is, Veteran’s are Heroes!
I respect them, and would not be able to do anything I do today without them.

All of that being said, I think I want to take a little different direction this time around though.
Lets talk about the Veterans of the future.
The young men and the women who are becoming and/or will become or future Heroes.
Part of me wants to make a quick joke about the soldiers, no the Heroes of the future and how they will be fighting off aliens and terminator robots … not today though.
Heads up for my new readers, the Veterans Day blog’s aren’t normally funny … or even fun …

The reason I am bringing up the current and next generation of Heroes is simple.
They are the topic that is on my mind right now!
I just got hit with 2 realizations back to back.
The second one following the first literally days after the first.
The second now being the first one we talk about as we work our way backwards …

The shooting at Fort Hood.
I will not refer to the shooter by anything even remotely kind such as man or person, just shooter.
Here we have a shooter who worked with, trained with, stood next, toke vows of protection, and also swearing oaths to uphold and protect …
This shooter is not only a Psychiatrist but also a Major in the US Army …
That means he has gone to collage, passed so many tests I can’t even count, while also passing a bunch of boards of higher ranking people to prove he should be where he is.
So the question is, WHAT THE ____ HAPPENED?
This shooter decided to go into a place where our troops are either filled with dread and fear as they are about to leave to go protect us, or a place filled with hope while still filled with despair as our troops return home to recover from the horrors they have just left in an attempt to learn how to live with the nightmares they just lived through … and live with the nightmares they might have been forced to instill into others.
The place he choose was very disturbing to say the least.
This place where we try to help people through mental trauma and fears most can‘t even grasp.
The calm relaxing everything will be OK atmosphere we all try to administer on others as we know it might not be before they are then shipped off into a desert filled with both blood and pain.
Then the calm and somber location we try to cope and comfort our troops with as they return to a world that is not as they remember it.
This place should be treated as an off limits area.
Like when you see the Red Cross flag you know not to shoot.
Then again, we are no longer dealing with normal people anymore are we?
This though, Dear God this should still be off limits!!!
These people both coming and going are not in the war, either yet or anymore!
I will give you that this will help to keep some from wanting to go over.
It will also make some want to go over even more because they think that our country is under attack again.
The people returning though … the few who might have been coming in unscathed that day ... poor, poor people ...
All I can say is, I am so sorry … … … So, So Sorry … … …
It used to be that they might come home to protesters … not normally shooters …

Another thing, this shooter has set back the Muslim-American people SO far!
He has risked the lives of so many good people and I can only hope he lives through it to see the error of his ways … and then be forced to judge his own soul, only to then find himself unwanted …
It is still not known, as of the time I am writing this anyway, if this shooter is connected to any larger organization.
If he is/was, run in fear you cockroaches because our troops are not going to look kindly on your kind!

Lets move on to the first thing that has me thinking about our current troops.
This one hit’s a lot closer to home.
Typing it now is actually putting tears in my eyes just thinking about it … this is as bad as the Horrible Marley and Me movie …
So much so I am going to go walk Wonder Dog for a few minutes to clear the thoughts … BRB …

Well, I hope that the wait wasn’t to bad for you all.
Thanks for your patience and understanding.
I have a friend I meet back during my time in the Army in 95.
We have been friends ever since.
I have mentioned him once or twice in my blog’s and everyone who knows me know who he is.
I am trying to lighten the mood a little so shush and injoy it before it goes back to sad and depressing!
I feel it is time for him to finally be named.
No not because he is imaginary but because I never use people’s real names when I am writing.
So from this day forth I dub him Kermit!
This comes from a picture I have of him from a field exercise we where on when he is squatting down with a stupid smile on his face.
He himself said he looks like Kermit the Frog in this picture.
There for, he is now and forever, or until I decide otherwise … or he says he doesn’t like it … Kermit!

Back to the topic of depression, Kermit just got deployed back to that ____ dessert.
I was felling kind of OK with it …
I mean he is going to be on the back lines sending the troops home.
He will be doing, as I understand it anyway, the exit checks to send our people home.
He will only have a 6 month deployment … but it will cover over Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and of course his birthday.
I guess this hit me harder today because I started looking more and more into this shooter at Fort Hood.
This was supposed to be a safe spot, as is where Kermit will be and look what happened there.
It didn’t play out very well in my head as to how much worse it could be back over there.
One of the big things that is bothering me is this, who will watch over him?
We had each other when we where over there and that was always good enough.
Now, he is over there with a bunch of people he doesn’t know, trusting in them to be what he needs when he needs them.
Just like everyone had put their trust in this Major in Fort Hood …

He though, like all of our other Heroes over there are, is in a strange boat.
They have to trust the people they are assigned to work with.
They don’t know them, they don’t know what they can do or if they will do what is needed.
This does not help there mind set of they are in a desert with people trying to kill them!
Our people are being put through and being forced to do things that are borderline unthinkable, and have no clue who is standing right behind them as they do it.
They do this though because they feel the need to.
They do this so they can protect there friends, family and America in general.

I say that Kermit is my friend.
That’s saying a lot to the people who know me.
I only have 2 after all, La Wife and Kermit.
He is though, and I mean no disrespect to my blood family, my brother.
I don’t know what will happen if something happens to him.
I mean I have told him I would help take care of his family if anything does happen to him and he knows I hold that statement in the highest of high regard.
Then again though, if he did die in that desert, I can’t say I wont go all John Rambo on a one way trip back over to that God forsaken place.
I am not joking about that part …
The worst part is, La Wife and I have talked about it … I honestly think she would understand … but I have made promises to her, and to him that I need to keep in mind and put first.
Must of you have no clue how strong a bond a promise from me is … but it has never before been put to a test like La Wife or his death …

As always, God Bless our troops, our Veterans and America.
We are the most blessed people to have what we have, and live where we live.

That’s all I have to say today … I know it is a little disjointed and off kilter and I am sorry.
I also know that this isn’t my best work, deal with it!
You all should see what all I have deleted ...
This topic is hitting closer to home then most of you know, and more so right now.

Please take today's topic though for what it is meant to say, and please remember the people it is about.
The heroes of Yesterday, Today and the Future!
They gave/give me the freedom to be able to write it, and you to read it …

Never Forget and Never Forgotten!

Thank you ...

I borrowed this picture from NoReasonComic.Com
It just kind of hit something inside, and I wanted to share it with the rest of you.
Then I read up on it to find a little more out about it.
If you could please, go take a look at what they have to say about today and you will understand the picture a lot more.
It has a great, and short, story!
It is based on something they do up there, and a song about it.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWwB9NwDpq0)
They do things a little differently up there then we do, and we could learn a little something from them it seems.
Darn, who would think Canadians could be more patriotic then most of us?