Saluting The People Who Molded Us

There’s a reason why we romanticize our childhoods and have a strong yearning for the past. We love “The Waltons,” “Leave It To Beaver,” and “The Andy Griffith Show” for the feel-good messages they share and the lessons they still teach today. Baby Boomers have found over a lifetime there are no free lunches. Our actions yield both benefits and consequences.

If you were raised in a household with responsible parents and grandparents who mentored and taught you the right values, you have a clear understanding of right and wrong. We have “The Greatest Generation” to thank for what they’ve taught us and left to us. They understood commitment and duty. They learned early on to step up, stand strong, and keep liberty shining.

That’s what they did.

We can say they never complained and, when called to duty, signed up and served. The biggest misconception is that they never complained. Oh sure, they complained – a lot. There were the duty dodgers – those who sat in the sidelines and watched the action while others did the work. That has always been true and continues to be so. Had it not been for those who stepped up, we would not be a free society today. There were those who stepped up and did what they had to – often at the expense of their own lives.

To those I say – grateful for your service to humanity and country.

Not all of us had great childhoods and mentors. Some of us come from broken homes and chaotic childhoods. There are those of you who were bullied at school and at home – victims of circumstances beyond your control. Alcoholic parents. Turbulent marriages. Abusive relatives. There are as many situations as there are people.

The list goes on and we all have our stories.

What matters is where we are today and hopefully what we will be tomorrow. And always remember – where there is breath, there is hope.