Hopefully this puts you in the holiday spirit.
My uncle Don writes for ESPN and just published this article.
It’s too long to quote but give it a read.
Comes Santa for a Soldier
By Don Barone
Bassmaster.com“They said there’ll be snow at Christmas
They said there’ll be peace on Earth
But instead it just kept on raining …”
Dateline: American soil
I try to understand, but I don’t.
I try to believe, but I can’t.
I try to hope, but nothing happens.
When I scream, no one hears me.
When I cry, no one wipes my tears.
When I shake, no one holds me.
I am alone.
I am far from home.
I am alone.
I am a stranger here.
I am alone.
I am away from my loved ones.
I am alone.
I am hated here.
I am alone.
I am away from my family, and I miss them.
I am alone.
I am here to protect you.
I am alone.
I am here on foreign soil for Christmas.
I am alone.
I am an American soldier.
We are given a present every day. It can’t be wrapped. It won’t fit in a stocking, card, or under the tree.
But it is the most important gift we will ever be given.
Period. End of story. Turn out the lights.
The gift … freedom.
PHOTO GALLERYClick here
Without it, we are not us. We would be someone else who wishes they were us.
We are free.
Free to be smart … free to be stupid … free to come … free to go … free to stay … free to do stuff … free to do nothing. Free to be free!
Imagine that. We Americans have a no-leash law … for us. Be we mutts or pedigrees, no muzzles.
Freedom is what brings “man” and “kind” together.
Santa doesn’t bring freedom. You can ask Santa for freedom, but you’ll probably only get socks. Maybe a gift card.
Freedom is a gift that everyone wants, but not something everyone wants to give. Some believe it is OK for them, but not for you. You do what they say, but not what they do.
You’ve got to snatch freedom. Grab it, hold onto it, wrangle with it, fight for it.
I saw freedom in Best Buy last week. Standing there in line, freedom just snuck up on me. Freedom in HDTV.
I was waiting to check out, in front of me, 20 or so people, behind me, even more. It was Black & Blue Tuesday. As I stood there I was watching a bank of high-def TVs and thinking about how this used to be how the world looked when I had young eyes, not so much anymore.
HDTV is ophthalmology with a remote.
But then I saw what was actually happening inside the TV case. Car bombs in Iraq, rifles perched on rocks in Afghanistan … young American servicemen and servicewomen far from home, protecting our freedom, every day, but especially during this holiday period.
And it hit me so strong, that I stepped out of line. I’m giving gift cards; they’re giving their lives.
So I went home.