It’s Still Relevant

Had a, well, I’m honestly not sure how to describe it. Anyway, this happened to me at work today.

I was working Kosher when I noticed an older gentleman get in line at the Seafood counter, right next door to me. He was literally right next to my department. Anyway, what grabbed my attention was the fact that he was wearing a Korean War Veteran cap. I had rare moment where nothing vital needed to be done right away, so I took my gloves off, thanked the vet for his service and his sacrifice, and shook his hand.

At first, he tried to shrug it off, or at least downplay it. “That was a long time ago,” he said.

“It’s still relevant today, sir,” I told him, “It still matters.”

The instant the words left my mouth, the man’s demeanor changed. I don’t know exactly how to describe it: he was still smiling, but the look in his eye changed. They were filled with pain, sadness, grief.

“I still carry it with me,” he said. He held his hands over his heart, “I still carry it here.”

“I know it, sir,” I told him, “I know it, and I’m sorry.” At this point, I think we were both on the verge of breaking down in tears. I know I was. All I could think to say after that was “Thank you, again. Thank you so much.” I wanted to say, “I can’t describe how much I appreciate it,” but my words caught in my throat. I guess that was just as well, since by then he was at the front of his line and I finally had a customer in mine.

It didn’t occur to me until hours later that I never even thought to ask the man his name.

Even so, I meant what I said. His service to this country his sacrifice, for its people, even though it happened over sixty years ago, is still relevant. It still matters today. The same is true of all our veterans: from World War II to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, all of our veterans’ service and sacrifice are relevant. They still matter.

Never forget that. And never forget them.

The Longest Day

Sixty-seven years ago today, mover one hundred twenty thousand men, most barely older than boys, landed on the beaches at Normandy, France in the first phase of Operation Overlord, the liberation of Europe from the Nazi regime.

More than 10,000 of those men never made it off the sand.

Never forget their sacrifice.

Back To the Real World

And mountains of laundry await…

Yep, The Raptor Clan just got back from our annual family vacation. ‘Twas nice to have everyone all together again, and I daresay this will probably be the last time this will happen. Little Brother’s in college now, so we don’t see him much, and I just graduated (w00t!) so I’ll hopefully be heading out on my own soon (as soon as gainful employment and money allow it), so family vacations will soon become a thing of the past.

Anyway, we spent the week down in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Mama Raptor’s Sister owns a really nice beach house down there, and she graciously gave it to us for the week free of charge. It’s literally right on the beach. No lie, that house is awesome. I could rant and rave about it… but that’s a post for another time. One cool thing (in my opinion) about her place is that it’s pretty much spitting distance from Camp Lejeune, and right under the flight pattern for the USMC’s training exercises. We had AV-8B Harrier jump jets buzzing the house a couple times a day, and a CH-64 flew over the beach on Friday. That was pretty sweet.

Aside from the USMC, it was a nice and quiet week (not that I minded the jets, of course: that, to me, is the sound of freedom and I never get sick of it). Walked the beach multiple times a day, explored all the little towns nearby, discovered that I really like scallops, and ate more fried shrimps and scallops than any sane person probably should. Thank God I’ve got the metabolism of a hummingbird. Oh yeah, speaking of food, we found this great restaurant called (IIRC) Rucker John’s. One thing they had on the menu that I absolutely loved was a basket homemade croissants liberally drizzled in something called Honey Butter. Oh man, you haven’t lived until you’ve tried that.

One thing that happened on this vacation was quite unexpected. I had a revelation/discovery: I really, really want a sailboat. Not one of those dinky little Sunfish boats, but an honest-to-goodness yacht. I don’t mean a huge 150+ foot yacht that has dozens of cabins and needs a large crew to said, but a simple 30- to 40-footer that I could handle myself, with one cabin and a galley belowdecks. Something about sailing just… I don’t know… is enticing to me. Out there, all alone, peace and quiet, nothing but me and the ocean… that sounds pretty nice. I think I’ve even come up with the perfect name for my boat, too. Don’t laugh: it’s Serenity.

I said don’t laugh.

Anyway, I really like the south. Everything’s slower-paced, the people are really nice, the food is to die for (seafood in the east, BBQ further inland), Conservative politics, guns as an accepted part of society (seriously, how many gun stores do you seen on Main Street north of the Mason-Dixon Line). If the sailboat thing doesn’t work out, I think I’ll move down there…

Ding, Dong, Bin Laden’s Dead!

I’m sure you’ve already seen it all over the news, Facebook, the Blogosphere, etc., but I just have to say it.

Osama bin Laden is dead.

I’m not sure exactly where, when, or how he was killed. Most consistent report I’ve heard is that he was killed by some sort of special-forces or paramilitary team in a mansion outside of Islamabad, Pakistan. Personally, I don’t care where, when or how. All that matters to me is that he’s dead and gone. No more innocent people are going to die because of him, and for that, I celebrate this day.

I’m not the only one. CNN showed a crowd of I’d estimate upwards of 500 people outside the White House singing The Star Spangled Banner and God Bless America when the news finally broke. Images like that restore my faith in this country. We may disagree on politics, sometimes to the point of violence, but deep down, we are all still Americans.

However, not everyone feels as I do (and most of you probably do to) about this. A lot of my FB Friends are already chiming in that killing is wrong no matter what and who are we to rejoice in bin Laden’s death and we had no right to kill him, etc. ad-nauseum. Now, I disagree with those opinions (no duh), but I’m not going to debate them here. Not in a forum where they can’t defend themselves, and I’ll ask my readers to do the same.

That said, I hope the f***er’s just discovered that his 72 virgins are all wearing bacon bikinis, and that they only serve Pulled Pork in Hell.

American Pride

So Papa Raptor and I went to the Philadelphia Auto Show today, as is our annual tradition. There was the usual group of manufacturers (though Ferrari was conspicuously absent…) and as usual I drooled over the Aston Martins, Lambos, the Mercedes SLS, and the collection of antique cars on the first floor.

But only one car made me tear up…

She’s a one-of-a-kind Chevrolet Camaro, comissioned by General Motors as a tribute to our nation and to the brave men and women who have sacrificed so much for it.

It was painted 100% freehand by Mickey Harris.

I walked around the car for I don’t know how long. Definitely longer than any other car I saw at the show. I finally had to tear myself away from it because if I hadn’t I would have started crying right there in the middle of the Philadelphia Convention Center. After we got home, I learned that Papa Raptor had teared up when he saw the car too.

For more on the car, check out this video:

This Camaro is without a doubt a moving tribute to our men and women in uniform.

To all those who serve, thank you for your sacrifice. May God bless you.

A “LOL” I Can Get Behind

On average, we lose approximately 1,100 World War II Veterans every day. The Greatest Generation may be going to their rightful resting place, but the sacrificies and the fruits of their unimaginable ordeals on this earth will never be forgotten.

God bless all of our WWII Vets. To those who are no longer with us, rest peacefully. You have earned it.

It Is The Soldier

It is the Soldier, not the minister who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the Soldier, not the reporter who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the Soldier, not the poet who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer who has given us freedom to protest.

It is the Soldier, not the lawyer who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the Soldier, not the politician who has given us the right to vote.

It is the Soldier who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag.

-Charles Michael Province, U.S. Army.

Freedom is not, nor shall it ever be, free.

To all those who have served our nation in uniform, past, present, and future, thank you for your service and your sacrifice. God Bless You All.

Happy Birthday Devil Dogs!

On November 10, 1775, the Second Continental Congress passed a resolution calling for Captain Samuel Nichols to raise two battalions of Continental Marines to protect America’s ships from pirates and British warships.

For two hundred and thirty five years, the United States Marines have protected America’s ships and shores from all threats, both foreign and domestic, ever true to their creed: Semper Fidelis. Always Faithful.

To all of America’s Marines, past, present, and future: Thank you for your service and sacrifice. God bless you all. Semper Fi.

God Is Too Busy

A United States Marine was taking some college courses
between assignments. He had completed 20 missions in Iraq
and Afghanistan . One of the courses had a professor who
was an avowed atheist, and a member of the ACLU.

One day the professor shocked the class when he came in.
He looked to the ceiling and flatly stated, “GOD, if you are real, then
I want you to knock me off this platform… I’ll give you exactly 15 min.”
The lecture room fell silent. You could hear a pin drop. Ten minutes
went by and the professor proclaimed, “Here I am GOD, I’m still waiting.”

It got down to the last couple of minutes when the Marine got
out of his chair, went up to the professor, and cold-cocked him;
knocking him off the platform. The professor was out cold.

The Marine went back to his seat and sat there, silently.
The other students were shocked and stunned, and sat there
looking on in silence. The professor eventually came to,
noticeably shaken, looked at the Marine and asked,
“What in the world is the matter with you? Why did you do that?”

The Marine calmly replied,
“GOD was too busy today protecting America ‘s
soldiers who are protecting your right to say stupid
stuff and act like an idiot. So He sent me.”

The classroom erupted in cheers!

Moral: if you don’t know God, don’t make stupid remarks.

OORAH! God bless our soldiers. Especially the Marines!

Thanks to Mama Raptor for forwarding this to me.

Happy Late Birthday USCG!

Cannot Believe I forgot about this!

On August 4th, 1790, the United States Coast Guard was founded by Alexander Hamilton. The brave men and women who honorably serve in the Guard have been protecting our coast 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year ever since.

It’s easy to overlook the Coast Guard, and the other branches of the Armed Forces often crack jokes about it, but no one ever laughs when they’re in the water and the only thing between them and certain death are the men and women in the white and orange ship or chopper that’s racing towards them.

And a little known fact about the Guard, but it’s actually seen combat before. Coast Guardsmen piloted the landing craft at Normandy, Iwo Jima, and Guam, among other places. Sure, the Amry and Marines might have taken the beaches, but the Guard put them there. Don’t believe me? Ask the Marines.

To all of the men and women who have served or are serving in the United States Coast Guard, words cannot express my gratitude. Thank you for protecting our coastlines and our waters, and for coming to rescue those in desperate need even at the cost of your own lives. I salute you all.