[Snakeadelic]

So many Americans still have no idea what exactly Memorial Day is about. My mom remembers, largely because her only brother (and only younger sibling) was lost in the Pacific in about 1983. He was Air Force Search & Rescue and was never heard from again after leaving the rescue plane in the middle of a freakin' typhoon trying to rescue the crew of another craft. It's believed he hit a piece of wreckage instead of clear water. If not for his courage, I might also be one of the many Americans who forget that this holiday wasn't originally about alcohol and conspicuous consumption.

I don't celebrate Veterans' Day. Whether a soldier saw combat is of no importance to me--those who serve assume the risk of injury and/or death regardless of the political atmosphere at the time. Instead of confining my gratitude for their willingness to take that chance, I help veterans whenever I can. We have a neighbor who's constantly fighting with the VA over his level of disability; he acquired a knee injury in the service and his VA care team does not feel such an injury could have significant impacts on his hip and spine. Every non-VA doctor he's seen insists that the knee injury has de-stabilized and injured the hip on that side as well as his spine. I celebrate veterans by being good to them at any chance all year long. I have a garage half-full of things that belong to the widow of the veteran who once lived downstairs, and I do not charge a storage fee. When the fella duking it out with the VA needs food I sling home-cooked leftovers his way. It feels like the right thing to do.