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Message: [QUOTE="Okiewan, post: 1231256, member: 16119"] So I've been watching the new Ken Burns series "The War". Good stuff. Pretty much everyone in the world has someone that was there or at least touched by it. In my case, it was my Grandfather and 2 uncles. Pardon me while I get a little melancholy ... He was working for Kraft Foods at the time and was exempt from the draft, tried to enlist anyway, they told him no due to his job... so he quit and went back. That bit of Patriotism got him on a boat to D-Day. He did several months in France, then off to OCS for Officer Training, where he became a 1st Lt. Nice story, right? Not so much. During his time there, like most others, his sense of "normal" changed; ie.. sent a picture of a German Soldier's head sitting on a burned-out tank... to my Grandmother. The letters he wrote were at times gruesome, etc. Seriously, that's whacked. It's just what war does to people I suppose. My Grandfather didn't meet his first daughter (my mom) for three years... My Grandmother could only wake him with a broom handle for years... because he'd come-up swinging, we've all heard of stuff like this. Getting to the point. When you see that old guy or woman that's maybe holding up traffic, or moving to slow in the line at the grocery store, or whatever... stop and think for a minute. They are the ones that put all this in place for you. They've seen and experienced SO much, done SO much, all of which has gotten you here. They too at one time where the young, vibrant couple with dreams of the future. That old man you see was getting heat at one time for the music he listened to, the "hotrod" he drove... Dad's hated him for going after their daughters, it's really no different than it's ever been. Why this post. Besides the Series mentioned; 2 things. 1) My Grandfather died years ago, my Grandmother is 87. I went to visit her last weekend, as there can't be a lot more time to spend with her. My busy life has left her behind, even though she was a big part of my youth. I'll be visiting her a lot more often. Her stories are incredible and while the mind is tight, the body is giving up. When she goes, it will be the end of an Era in mine and many others lives. Got someone like that? You can't get that time back. 2) I was held up in traffic yesterday. Someone was having a hard time deciding rather to go left, right or straight.... so he just took up three lanes, weaving side to side... three lanes of my busy schedule. I was pissed! "Damn it. Pick a Lane and make a decision!" As I got around, I saw that it was an "old man". First thought was, "shouldn't have a license". So I get home with my important self and watch the show (The War). Then I'm thinking, damn, that guy may very well have blitzed a jeep thru some crazy war situation back in the day... watched his friends die, maybe got injured himself and I'm bagging on him for 30 seconds of my precious time? That's just wrong. I could write for hours, no one would read it... If I could just make one point. PLEASE take a second to respect the old folks. They deserve it. Just as you will ... sooner than you think. [/QUOTE]

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