
I'm looking forward to the big weekend coming up. We are going to be swimming at the pool, and the lake, and enjoying a campfire with our friends. My son is going to be smoking a brisket one night, and my husband is making steaks another. It's the widely recognized kickoff to the Summer. These and a few other plans are in the forefront of my mind, but as I was going over a list of the things I am going to be doing, a conversation I had a couple of years ago seems to take over.
I happened upon an older gentleman named John I have known for some time. He and his wife were usually at the bar area of a restaurant that used to be open in town. He was a veteran of the Vietnam war and didn't talk about it much, or anything else really. I knew he was because he always wore a hat with a US Marine insignia on it and someone had mentioned when he served. It was Memorial day and I told him I was thankful for his service and told the waitress to put their tab on ours.
Unexpectedly, he stopped me, and he said with a slightly sad look on his face, "I appreciate the thanks, but that's not what this day is about. There is Veteran's day for that. Most people don't know it, but today is for honoring the fallen soldiers."

