Monday Musings:
Here we are, heading into this year's Thanksgiving Day week, and the subsequent "fun-filled" shopping weekend; the "official" start of the holiday season.
By now, all of you know the drill...right:
Lots to eat, family get-togethers, Black Friday shopping...yeah, the whole nine yards, and we'll be mulling over that later this week, but today, I want to zero in on something I saw on Glenn Beck last Friday.
His show was focusing on something that's often overlooked these days by too many of us...GRATITUDE.
We often acknowledge such things in our minds, but how frequently do we actually VOICE that gratitude?
We thank the policeman for arriving and solving our problem, we thank the fireman for saving our house, and we thank our military personnel for doing what they do, but do we perform such acts of kindness out of reflex, or a more profound sense of gratitude. Are we in fact GRATEFUL that they are there to serve us in ways even our family members can fall short of doing?
Gratitude itself has been the foundation of several religions in the world, and WIKI has a great article on it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gratitude
In our everyday world, with ALL the problems that come at us from every direction, and at every level imaginable, it gets hard to take time to be grateful...mainly because we're too busy picking and choosing our problems that we're tackling at the moment.
And, as is often the case, gratitude is relegated to the oh-so-familiar "back-burner" in our lives....we can always be grateful TOMORROW, we say.
Well, life CAN be full of tomorrows, but sometimes, we can easily run short of those.
You never know what might be lurking around the nearest corner, ready to pounce on you.
So, it behooves us to remember to take a moment now and then in our crazy-ass world to stop and just be grateful for what we have, and who we are.
Many times, we set aside special days to recognize our gratitude, or otherwise display it to those most deserving, and that's a good thing. it keeps us mindful of how fortunate we are, even in adverse times.
My folks always told me: "No matter how bad you think things are, there is ALWAYS someone worse off than us."
I never forgot that.
And I've seen such people that were worse off.
Not a pretty picture.
But even people like that many times display an inner strength, because even THEY are grateful for what THEY have (because someone is even more worse off than they are).
People can be very remarkable that way.
What we need to do this Thanksgiving, is to resolve to do BETTER when it come to acknowledging our gratitude, and then being able to show it...pass it forward, if you will, to let others know that they are appreciated.
We shouldn't just wait until tomorrow, because eventually, EVERY one of us WILL come up short of those tomorrows.
Now, I said all that to say THIS:
*** When was the last time you saw a war hero needlessly killed?
Not in battle, mind you...but right here on our streets in America?
Well, it happens...even after such gratitude has been bestowed.
Here is a story that will make you think, and get the emotions stirred.
It's about (of all things)...a dog, but not just ANY dog.
It's about how a dog SAVED soldiers lives overseas, and was brought back to America, given kudos, and loved by those she saved.
This is the face of a war hero.


Remember it well.


I recommend you watch the video at this link to the entire story.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/arizona-worker-fired-for-euthanizing-war-hero-dog/
I'm still bothered by this, and do plan to show our gratitude for those without a real voice by donating to Operation Baghdad Pups (they have their own website), in order to ensure that such animals receive the love, care AND gratitude they deserve for their part in helping our soldiers both IN theater and back home here.
Here's the link:
https://www.spcai.org/baghdad-pups.html
Many times, "we" are the only voice they truly have, and by getting the word out, each and every one of us can do our part when it comes to "service".
When a soldier wishes to bring an animal back HERE, it's not as easy as putting them in a carrier, drop them on a cargo plane returning stateside and picking them up at the airbase...it's a lot more complicated.
The animals have to go through quarantine, get shots, and in some cases, have to undergo medical treatment for injuries sustained in theater.
And it ain't cheap...
It costs well over a THOUSAND bucks to bring JUST ONE dog or cat over here.
Sgt. Terry Young knew this when he brought "Target" over here. She's the dog in the picture above.
Target and 2 other dogs the soldiers befriended (Rufus, seen here with Target, & Sasha) scared off a suicide bomber at their camp. The dogs were wounded when the bomber detonated himself (taking out a wall), and sadly, Sasha's wounds were too bad....and she died.
Had these dogs NOT alerted the soldiers, they would in all likelihood NOT be having Thanksgiving dinner with their families.
Long story short - the soldiers wanted to convey their GRATITUDE to these brave animals...and wanted to give them a better chance at a much better life.
Target was able to enjoy a few brief months of such a life.
Hopefully, other soldiers won't suffer similar situations with any pet they bring home.
Life can be weird, sometimes. Perhaps a little too weird for some people.
As we get older, we grow used to seeing "another empty chair" at our Thanksgiving tables...
But we should never get so used to it, that we forget or overlook those that should be at those chairs.
I like to think that every chair at our table is never REALLY empty.
The unoccupied chairs are still occupied.
They are occupied with great memories of better times...times we need to recall, and be grateful for, because it made it all possible for those whose chair is NOT empty this year...and hopefully will remain that way for years to come.
Yeah, never hurts to be rich with gratitude wherever you go.
And it certainly never hurts to "spread the wealth" either.
You'd be surprised how far a little of it can go.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.

(( Remember - 33 Shopping Days Until Christmas))