I hope everyone had a fun, safe, and cool fourth this year spent with friends and family!
Troy worked a morning shift so we made plans for later afternoon. We grilled out-- the American thing to do. Burgers, sweet corn on the cob, broccoli and carrot slaw, and loaded potato casserole. Yum!
After dinner, we enjoyed this patriotic dessert. I got the inspiration for it from this site. I used strawberries, blueberries, and bananas.
After dinner, we got ready, put on our red, white, and blue, and headed to Mud Island for their fireworks show.
With all the fun events associated with the 4th of July, its easy to forget the real meaning and true appreciation of such celebration. Its easy to put focus on making the most creative patriotic dessert, picking out the best red, white, and blue outfit, deciding on which fireworks show to attend, planning out parties and get togethers with family and friends, trying to fight the crowds, traffic, and heat, etc. but its important to recognize the real reason we do all these things.
My dad, who is currently in Boston (and watched the fireworks show at the Boston Harbor--so cool, patriotic, and historic!) forwarded me this email from Dr. Black, the CEO of Aegis. The Hayes are big fans of the Blacks-- their character, their service in the community and government (his wife is Diane Black, Congressman in Washington), their heart, and their generosity. Here is the email from Dr. Black.
Dave’s Ruminations:
I have attached two pictures to this email, both from my time in Vietnam. The first shows me standing in front of our “hooches” in Danang which were the living quarters we shared with rats the size of German Sheppard puppies. No air conditioning and nothing fancy….just a place to get out of the torrential rains when they came and a place to rest on the “inside”………..sort of. The second picture shows Danang under attack in the spring of 1969 by combined North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Viet Cong (VC) forces. I am the guy on the left with the M-14 strapped on my shoulder. The hooches in the first picture are in the background of the second picture and were pretty much flattened by the time this engagement was over……..we held our ground but the other units around us pulled back. Our unit was provided a meritorious unit combat ribbon for not retreating………although frankly I don’t think any Marine in our unit ever thought about pulling out. By the time the battle was over three days later the whole area was a mess……of course that is not to say it started out looking that great! And of course this was just one more experience and one more chance to survive. Nothing special except I happen to have a picture of the engagement…………
I share the pictures and the story just to remind everyone that today, tomorrow and every day there are men and women protecting you and me from harm. Every day, and every hour of the day, there are military on guard experiencing what most Americans will never see or know. Less than 1% of citizens will ever even attempt to join the military services and help defend our country. But that is always how it has been. Less than 3% of colonists actively fought the British for our American independence…....demonstrating that it is always true that a small percentage of people can make a huge difference in the world. Since our founding as a nation over 1,300,000 men and women have died in service to our country in over 30 engagements/wars which have defined our nations values and protected our liberties. The sacrifice is great and almost beyond comprehension. I have just learned through the Veterans Administration and Centers for Disease Control that over 70% of the men who served in-country in Vietnam during the war are now deceased. Most Vietnam veterans will be dead by 2015 due to cancer and PTSD leading to drug/alcohol abuse and/or suicide. Quite disturbing that Vietnam veterans are dying at a much greater rate than the general population. I had read once that the real cost of war is the continuing pain after the shooting stops. These numbers and statements seem to bear out that the real sacrifice of serving is not during a war but from all the “baggage” carried around after returning home.
Please take time this July 4th to celebrate and also to recognize those currently in service. We owe them our thanks today and tomorrow and every day.
And I hope you and your family have a great July 4th!
Finally, I flew out of Vietnam heading home on July 4, 1969 which provides me a very special personal celebration every July 4th.
Thanks for reading,
Dave
Such a great reminder of the "realness" of what it takes for us to put on our red, white, and blue, eat burgers and watermelon, and watch fireworks. To all those who have served, who are currently serving, and who will service in the future: THANK YOU for your service, dedication, and sacrifice for the great US of A! (Side note: being out of the country twice in the last 7 months makes me exceptionally grateful. You really don't realize how great we have it in America until you travel to other less-flourished parts of the world.)
In other news… look whats in fruition! Our first tomato from our tomato plant! Itty bitty!
