A Day in Paradise

I'm sitting here watching the water go by just enjoying the quiet.   It's been a hot day and being down by the water has been quite cooling. It's so peaceful here. My first thought was, "I don't want to leave".  Yet I know that soon enough that I will need to depart or I will be riding home in the dark.   But first, the hymn "When Peace Like A River" came to mind. What a privilege to enjoy God's creation!

Winter in my Veins

So I was thinking about how much time I've actually spent over the last thirty nine years working in the cold.  Having been born in Michigan I've had opportunity to be near the cold more then someone that lived in Southern California.   Maybe a better way to consider it would be to look at what I've done.  Most people just live in colder areas and do what's necessary to get by on the day to day. Myself, I not only lived in an area that got any lot of snow (200 inches a year average) but I also went out of my way to spend time in it. I went walking when most people would be sitting by their fireplaces. I was on the ice of Lake Superior eating breakfast Christmas morning while others were opening gifts.  Of the nineteen years I've worked for Walmart/Sams, I think five of those have been spent working in a freezer. So even when I wasn't living in Michigan I was still working in the cold. Then of course the three years I spent I Colorado I rode outside year round.   One day it hit -17 with the wind chill.   I guess I really do bleed blue.

Remembering ALL Those Who Serve

We're approaching Independence Day and I know since this is a time when we take a look back I want take a bit of a Memorial Day approach.  After all, where would we be without those Freedom Fighters protecting us here and abroad?                                                                                                 

A little more then a week ago there was a tragic accident at the   Dayton Airshow.  (http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/06/24/wing-walker-jane-wicker-dies-in-fiery-crash-at-dayton-air-show).  Thankfully I didn't see it live but the video was just as horrific.

Later on that day I went on a bike ride and remembered seeing a flag that was lowered and wasn't sure why.  It took a couple minutes but then I remembered.  I'm not sure if that's relevant but that got me thinking about all those men and women serving our country on both sides of the world.  They put themselves in harms way every day and more then we know don't come back, at least not standing up.  Do we really honor them with more then just words or are they just numbers on the evening news?   That is just the war effort.  What about the home front?  The policemen, firefighters, coastguard, and every one else serving our country who die every day and aren't recognized except by maybe a number somewhere in a paper or a passing news story.

This is a big problem and not one that can really be fixed because there are too many servicemen and women die every day.  (When I say servicemen and women I am including anyone anywhere protecting people in the name of freedom.)  I understand.  That said, I think I have a plausible solution.  At the very every least every government building should have two flags poles, both flying the Stars and Stripes.  One of  those flags should always be at half mast.    My personal opinion is that it should be that way across the board.  Really, why not just fly two flags on the same pole?   Now, some will ask, and rightly so, what about events like 9/11, the CT shooting, and others?  At these times both flags would be at half mast.

The bottom line is that we need to be reminded that people are every day protecting our country.  I'm sure there are people out there who've forgotten all about the war and think the military is just a big political joke from an era gone by.  Something we don't need anymore.  They don't see the war or the affects of it.  What a lot of people are forgetting is that the very reason they have that freedom to think the way they do is because of the thousands of men and women who have died so they could think the very thoughts they are thinking.  Now, I know it will take a whole lot more then just sticking a flag at half permanently to get people to change their focus.  Some people it might not even phase.  But it sure would be a cool start and more importantly I think that it would be good for the family members of those who do lose loved ones to see that their country is recognizing their service.  At the same time for those families of local Freedom Fighters (policemen etc) for them to know that they are being included among the ranks of those honored by every flag at half mast would be a great privilege.  That's my dime for the day!