why it matters

[stoveguy2esw]

a weekend of normalcy in my little circle of family and friends.

took my daughter back to school for a summer class
a cousin of mine got married (to an army guy)
an old army buddy posted about his daughter's graduation with honors from high school
cut da grass (sigh) but i had a few cold ones in the process (yay)
continued planning trip to outer banks (NC) staying in Avon
smoked a shoulder on the pellet grill (still doing so)

weekend started as each veterans day and memorial day weekend starts, by taking my dog tags off the hook in my room and donning them for the weekend, my personal reminder of friends ive lost (along with those we've lost who i never met).

interesting thing about this weekend, its normal in a lot of way as i mentioned above, what not normal is that its a weekend when we take a moment to reflect on how we got here.
we got here due to those who answered the call, ran to the sound of the guns and gave blood, sweat, tears, limbs, lives. so that we could have this perfectly normal weekend.

we dedicate this "long weekend" annually to the remembrance of those brave souls, living and dead, who made this weekend possible. our veterans. live and dead, its more than just a monday off.

NSDQ
Freighttrain (thanks BB for turning me on to your unit link)

God Bless all you vets out there, for affording me this perfect weekend

 

[DAKSY]

My weekend started with a 45 mile in the rain, with the Patriot Guard Riders of New York & about 150 other volunteers, to be part of the Flag Placement Ceremony for EVERY one of the 12,000 gravesites at the Gerald B. H. Solomon National Cemetery. From there we rode 35 miles back to Troy, stood a flag line at a funeral for a Vietnam US Army Veteran & then escorted him to his final resting place West of Albany where we stood another flag line in the (now blowing sideways) rain. Took Sunday to work on the house & rode with the Patriot Guard In the Memorial Day Parade in Albany. Got to see the new Star Trek in 3D later in the day. Great flic, altho quite predictable to an old Trekker like me...

 

[Scols]

Glad you guys had a good weekend . Thanks to you and all others who have served.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

My weekend started with a 45 mile in the rain, with the Patriot Guard Riders of New York & about 150 other volunteers, to be part of the Flag Placement Ceremony for EVERY one of the 12,000 gravesites at the Gerald B. H. Solomon National Cemetery. From there we rode 35 miles back to Troy, stood a flag line at a funeral for a Vietnam US Army Veteran & then escorted him to his final resting place West of Albany where we stood another flag line in the (now blowing sideways) rain. Took Sunday to work on the house & rode with the Patriot Guard In the Memorial Day Parade in Albany. Got to see the new Star Trek in 3D later in the day. Great flic, altho quite predictable to an old Trekker like me...

God Bless ya Bob, you and your compadres in the PGR are in my opinion the epitome of why America is the nation it is. for goodness sake PLEASE let me know if you ever get down to Va. i'd love to buy you a brew (and dinner) just to shake your hand.
"patriot" as a word unfortunately is politicized, bandied about like a badge of honor tarnished by the causes of those who regularly abuse the word.

this man and his fellow riders bless us with a reminder of the TRUE definition of the word, "True Patriots" God Bless all of you!

 

[fossil]

Ride long and prosper.