Good Evening;
77 degrees at Midnight, with an 81% humidity factor
Is it any wonder my skin feels like the inside of a range hood?
93-95-93 degrees the next 3 days with a 'cold front' due on Thursday that will
drop the temps. all the way down to a frigid 88 degrees for the following 3 days!
What, THOR didn't like his portrayal in the movie and has been taking it out on us mere mortals for the past few months?
As in earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, floods, deadly thunderstorms and lightning and July/August heat in May?
I was up and out before 10:00 am. today because the shed is heating up due to the morning sun now. Spent an hour in the Giant and an hour on the bus and trains, and got to the Starbucks by 1:00 pm. I was supposed to go over Jenn's and shower but that fell apart when her mother got sick last night and couldn't take the kids, changing everyone's plans. The house was too small today for all of us because of the heat and crankiness of the kids. It also made no sense to shower at the time I would have been able to, at 9:00 pm. and immediately head back out into this soup. Hopefully tomorrow morning I can head over before it get's too hot and bathe, then get on a bus quickly for somewhere with A/C. I've got the fan blowing on me and it's bearable.
With any luck I'll make it through to the morning with skin still intact, and not covered with little red bumps.......
I'm getting gnumb from being gnibbled to gnubbins by gnasty gnats while watching GNUMB3RS !
(And way cool Bill Nye-{The Science Guy} is a guest star!...I used the stepkids as an excuse to watch the show every weekend....whether they wanted to or not...lol)
As you know, Loyal Readers, today, Monday, May 30th is Memorial Day. And as you also know, one of the causes I strongly promote is recognizing, acknowledging, and, assisting homeless veterans and their families.
I am asking you also to take time today to remember and thank ALL the men and women who have and are serving our country in the military. No matter what your politics or feelings on policy;...the men and women who have been and still are putting their lives on the line are the grandfathers, fathers, uncles, nephews, cousins, sons, and brothers, (and female equivalents) of us all.
It is almost 70 years from the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, each year sees fewer and fewer veterans of WW II are left, many stashed away in nursing homes or VA hospitals, forgotten and alone. The Veterans' Cemeteries tell a tale of the toll paid. Many times years after the war had ended for everyone else, it was still being waged in the souls and hearts and minds of those who were 'the sharp end of the spear'. Actions seen and done, injuries physical and psychological, to themselves and buddies still rage on in the heads of many.
As public approval for the warrior waned and nearly disappeared in the years after WW II, returning vets from Korea were ignored and forgotten, (even though the casualty count was greater than that of Vietnam), and Vietnam era vets were actively shunned and/or persecuted. With the introduction of the all volunteer military the gap between civilian and soldier widened, and even more so for the professional warrior (and their families too in many cases).
Having seen and experienced things which the people at home have no reference point to relate to, some of our returning vets retreated into their own heads, no longer able to suppress the demons of their memories, especially after living on the edge of death or destruction. Coming home to a world that places undue importance on trivial crap, that denigrates the sacrifices military life demands and then condemns and denounces the very deeds that a soldier is sent to perform, is it any wonder that the damage done by doing these same deeds, which most of us are informed from childhood are mortal sins, that on some young men and women, normal methods for coping with a sometimes hostile, sometimes indifferent society that has no damn clue, don't work. Sometimes resulting in extremes of isolation and paranoia, leading to homelessness.
But, in any way, shape, or form that you can, take a minute to stop and consider WHY we designate the last weekend in May....
Memorial Day.
Thanks,
Have a happy and safe holiday!
Later..................Dave
National Coalition for Homeless Veterans:
Click on the lnk=
No comments:
Post a Comment