20 Jun 2017 Say ‘thank you’ – that’s a start

by Brenda McClain

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends”
(John 15:13).

My father was in the military, and we saw firsthand veterans from all walks of life. If you’ve never had a front seat to military life, perhaps you cannot understand the pride of serving for your country. For our family, we were united and tight-knit. We also maintained lifelong friends from across the world. We lived in North Africa — Tripoli, Libya, to be exact — and there were side excursions to many other places.

Perhaps my love of all things pasta comes from having Tina, our Italian housekeeper, making ravioli. What a fun scene that was in our kitchen when Tina cooked.

The scene changed when there were riots in Libya. We lived in the heart of the city and were sometimes afraid as we watched the rioting.

My father served in three wars. Old enough to live during the Cuban Missile Crisis, to this day we remember Father sitting us down to “talk” about what to expect. Mother got busy putting together our “emergency stash” in case we were bombed. It was a serious time, and even as children, we understood.

Mainly, we were scared something would happen to our father. Nothing catastrophic happened to our home or family, thankfully. Years later, when Mother was downsizing, she found our emergency stash box. It looked pitiful compared to today’s kits.

So, like with any military family, there are great opportunities and there are great tragedies. Our family escaped great tragedies, but too many others did not.

We must remember all who’ve served and honor their direct contribution to our safety.

Do you know any military families? Any veterans? Say thank you. Buy them a cup of coffee, and have an actual conversation with one who’s served and in many cases been forgotten.

It’s a start.