Veteran's Day - Again

A friend of mine sent this video.

This morning I had a strange dream. It was Veteran's Day and I wanted nothing but to go home. I was in a very bad neighborhood in the U.S. – a fictional city with a real name, to put it in 'dream' speak. I was threatened by a transient with an M-16. Someone killed/murdered him and cut off his head. It was horrifying and excessive. I tried to get a friend, who also happens to be one of the top executives of Oracle, to allow me to leave the area with him and his wife. He didn't see me. I was stuck in the very horrible neighborhood — the kinds of horrors and horrible ghettos which are only in dreams, at least to most of us. I "stole" a truck-like conveyance, then some cross county-type skis to get out of town. The people harassed me and chased after me. I took off running just to get home. It was a nightmare.

There are some Veteran's who have experienced things that I never have or likely never will. They indeed have demons. They've seen things – and others have done things – that are truly horrifying, though justifiable in war. Some of them are my closest friends, and they just want to come home. But the thoughts of their nightmarish experiences resurface again and again. They cannot run away, though they try. Their thoughts will always stay with them though they may physically be home.

God bless all those who serve. Those who haven't experienced fighting for freedom can never truly understand the gratitude of freedom and peace. It is the bane of warriors to keep us safe, and I cannot express my gratitude enough for them – my colleagues, my teammates, my friends.

...some of them didn't make it home, some of them never will.