thank a vet

oh the veteran's day parade, how those bugles played and played
how those glossy horses tossed their flossy manes and neighed
and the rattle and ryhme of the tenor drummer's time
filled all the hungry hearts of us with melodies sublime

from a poem by james whitcomb riley...i changed the words a bit..;-)

there was a veteran's day parade downtown yesterday. after i sent the big kids to school and puttered around for a bit, i packed the littler kids in the car and headed down. mom let me in on a parking secret. just behind the soup kitchen she helps out at on fridays there is a gated lot. and it's right at the beginning of the parade route. mom, regina, and her kids were already parked on the curb when i walked up. there were lots of people lined up, but nothing compared to the thanksgiving day parade. there was lots to see. helicopters, tractors, horses, tanks, convertibles with people sitting up on the back and waving. the BEST part were the people passing out flags and candy. of course that was george and mary jane's favorite. my favorite was probably the old men and women barely able to grasp a flag waving it and smiling. i nudged george. "say thank you", i told him. the coolest float was the float where men reinacted the famous iwo jima flag hoisting crew. pretty cool. the bands were loud and good and didn't disappoint. i was especially impressed by a middle school marching band. they played so loud and confident. their marching wasn't half bad either. the marching rotc and jrrotc groups displayed varying abilities of a crowd of young people marching in step. the first homeschooled jrrotc troop was represented as well. when the young soldiers marched past holding their rubber replicas of machine guns i couldn't help but think of fr. kevin. he's over there helping these guys sort out things. he's bringing God to the troops and i miss him. i wouldn't ask for him to be back here for the world because i know what he's doing is what is the best for all of us. thanks kevin! we pray for you everyday.