Like Leaves in Autumn

Where does the hour go?

(when we turn the clock ahead

and that hour just evaporates

like a summer puddle on a hot sidewalk

here, then gone...

no memory of it...

no moments, no minutes

just a sense that it was here

like a long dead relative in an old photograph

touching on some part of you you can't define)

Where are all those hours I spent with you?

(turning the clock ahead

watching those moments blow away

like leaves in autumn

they were here

I have some sense of them...

but now they're gone)

Where have all those moments gone?

Veteran's Day

Those of you that know me well also know that I am a veteran.  I served in the United States Air Force for nearly ten years.  Every Veterans Day a lot of people thank me for my service, and I appreciate that.  It is good to see that many people out there appreciate the sacrifices that serving in the armed forces entail.

But I have been giving this a lot of thought for the last few weeks and I have decided that this year, the best way to thank me for my service is to do one simple thing.  Vote.

I can’t speak for every veteran, but I know that the single biggest reason I support my country is that it actually is a place where you can say most anything you want, as long as you’re willing to live with the consequences of that.  I am willing to listen to whatever someone has to say, even if I disagree completely with what is being said.  After all, as Voltaire said, “I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” And the right to vote, to have a voice in selecting who will run this country, is the reason that many young men and women are even now wearing uniforms and standing guard.

So, I don’t care if you’re Republican or Democrat, gay or straight, black, white or any color in between –just vote every time you can.  That shows you’re thankful to veterans in a way that gives meaning to the service they have given this country.