As I mature, I seem to be paying more attention to the reason behind some of our special national days like Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Independence Day. I have a feeling that this happens as we grow older and have memories of family and friends that served in the military. We have so much for us to be thankful.
I really enjoy seeing short videos showing a parent or family member that is currently in the military who returns home on leave a few days earlier than expected by their family members.
I had something like that happen to me while stationed at Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland. My parents told me that they were planning a road trip to the Maryland area and they would be pulling their small camping trailer. No date had been set.
One Friday evening, I had some friends with me with weekend passes. We were driving toward Baltimore when we pulled up beside a car that was towing a camper at a traffic light. It was my folks. I’ll never forget that evening.
I spent six years in the Indiana National Guard. I enjoy looking back on those years. I’m still in contact with several of the guys that I served with. We were on the list to be activated a couple of times and that required us doing double of the amount of training.
I’d love to see more people honoring our folks currently in the military. I’d also really like to see more stories on television and in print that tell special stories about anyone who is making their communities better. Good stories encourage people to do good things.
During the pandemic I have spent more time inside our house and have watched a lot of TV shows. I enjoy NCIS New Orleans and JAG, each series is connected with the U.S. Navy. I like the other NCIS shows also but the music on the New Orleans show is really good. Sometimes at the end of a really good episode when I watch some of the characters saluting, I find myself also saluting from my recliner.
One of our neighbors is a retired U.S. Postal worker. He is also a former member of the Army. As we learned that we both had a military background, when we saw each other from a distance, we started saluting each other in lieu of a friendly wave.
One of his former Army buddies will be visiting with them this week. It is so cool that they stay so connected. I believe he and his wife are coming to Indianapolis from New Hampshire by airplane. I’m looking forward to meeting them with a good salute.
I’d love to see more good stories shown on local and national television news. I think our younger folks should be exposed to stories about people doing wonderful, special things and not so much about the negative stories.
I think we should celebrate the good things and the people doing all the right stuff.
A HAPPY DAY
Last Friday afternoon was amazing. Stuart (the therapy dog and part-time columnist) and some of his human friends set up a Drive-Thru Drop Off at the Beck Service Center to collect items on the “Wish List” for his friends living at the Southside Animal Shelter.
We had it set-up for a couple of hours prior to the monthly cruise-in car show. It was great to see folks pull up and donate pet supplies. I really enjoyed seeing people walk up to see and pet Stuart. He made lots of new friends that afternoon.
I also met some very nice people that donated supplies and stopped to tell us how much they enjoyed reading The Southsider Voice each week. I remember one lady leaning down to complement Stuart on his articles. His tail was going very strongly.
Lots of friends stopped by, including two of my high school classmates, Sharon David and Robert Hawkins. Some of the patrons made donations before they came back to take part in the cruise-in.
I was greatly pleased with the number of people and families who pulled up and made a donation. The following day, all the donations were delivered to the Southside Animal Shelter. Stuart and I were able to visit with the shelter staff for a few minutes while unloading supplies.
Stuart was a resident of the Southside Animal Shelter for a while where we met and began our lives together. He was tired last Friday evening, but he also was a very happy dog.