I can't believe it's been so long since I've blogged! Time-stealers are abundant in my life, but I'll try to do better. Now that I've got the apology out of the way, let's get on to what's on my mind this morning: Memorial Day, or Decoration Day as the old-timers call it.

It's our day to honor those who have given the ultimate price for our country. When you speak of these fallen heroe's, words like honor, duty, and character are commonly used. I get choked up every time I see the red, white and blue colors furling in the breeze over the backdrop of white crosses on a green manicured cemetery. Each cross represents someone's husband, father, brother, son or daughter. They are not numbers, they are people. People who had dreams of a future. Maybe they wanted to come off the field of war and become a simple farmer, a trucker, a preacher, a doctor, a lawyer. Maybe they had dreams of raising their own sons and daughters in a better world. One thing is certain, they served.

They might not have had strong feelings about the reason for the war itself. They may have been drafted into service. But, they went. They didn't run. Their country called and they answered. For that I honor them. I try to think of them as individuals because it makes it so much more personal. That one man/woman lying in that one grave under that one white cross served his country, lost his life, and now I can live my life in the freedom that the United States of America offers.

My only concern is that we are now living in a time when there is no draft. A segment of the population, for the most part, a lower income segment, that now serves the whole of America. The statistics show that the higher the income, the lower the chance of volunteering for armed service. Where is the sense of duty to our country? The sense of honor? Is it obsolete? 

Our country may be lost one day, not in the battlefield, but because of what we failed to teach in our homes and schools. Let me know what you think!