Jewells of Thought

Veterans Day. Respect for our Veterans should be given every day. It has been a month or longer now since this happened. Mom and I walk our local family Cemetery. It’s less than 5 minutes away from home and the best location for our daily walks.

Mowing has been a fun hobby and part-time job for both of us for over a decade. So we have learned and experienced how to mow for others and gained a reputation for doing a good job. There are times when we can’t help but be put on our “inspector” hats when we see certain yards not up to our standards though. It’s similar when we’re at the cemetery as well.

A recent monument went up this year for a Veteran. After it was mowed around remnants were left on the stone. It irritated me that grass was left on this stone for several days. I don’t even remember how long this process took.

Finally Mom and I took some wipes and washed off the stone it took some work. My righteous anger fueled this endeavor. It was just frustrating for me to see a beautiful white stone with grass which could have been averted and it wasn’t. Then it wasn’t seen and taken care of but maybe I am just being paranoid.

A stone is just a stone right?

The take away for me was the location. This Veteran’s stone was straight across from my Great Uncle’s stone. He served tours during Vietnam. My uncle told me about coming home… he didn’t get the welcome home that the men did from World War II. Instead they got spit on, cursed on, egged, and called baby-killers.

With this in my head I couldn’t let the grass go. The men and women who serve our Country deserve our respect even in death.