Monday Maudlin

Every so often I have to go through my inbox and delete emails both read and unread. Mostly by now I can tell by the subject line whether I want to look at it or not. Some are deleted out of hand and some are left to at least open for a glimpse then a quick decision......delete or read it all.
Sometimes it's important, whether it is from family or not.
Sometimes I find something that makes me sad that I didn't catch it the first time around.

Sis, I'm sorry I didn't open it when you sent it. Thank you so much.

Having seen the elephant, I can tell you that most of the people serving in the military don't think of themselves as hero's. They'll tell you they are simply doing their job or trying to make sure others in the unit get to go back to their homes and loved ones one day too, and if they don't, you never forget it.

The world in it's bustle and hustle to reach the future gives those, the fallen, scant notice, but to someone somewhere, especially those who served with them there is always a piece of you that is forever lost. You didn't have to know them well or even hardly at all, but they'll always be a part of who you are that is missing, leaving you just a little bit less than whole.

Sometimes I think that the real hero's are the ones left behind, waiting at home for someone important that will never come through that door again, or perhaps, the hero's are those who send them off, never knowing if they will return, and if they do return will they be whole, standing tall, or bent or broken. But then......

I consider that today, when military service to this country is a completely voluntary option, perhaps even those who serve others, no matter what their MOS, whether on the front lines or behind a desk somewhere, they all deserve to have this song played for them.




Likely they'll not hear it from my puny efforts, but maybe just the fact that it's out there will let them know that someone, somewhere, cares.