Finally, we all should be thankful for our troops. Sometimes, you have to fight to make the world a better place, and more than a million Americans on active duty are doing so. Still, all too often the news out of Iraq seems bad. So I recently asked a Staff Sergeant serving in Iraq what he has to be thankful for this year.
?We are thankful for our families and friends that we miss so,? he wrote. ?We are thankful for those who we don?t even know who write us. We are thankful for the ?ordinary people? who help make freedom worth defending. We are thankful for children, all over the world, who remind us that there is hope. We are thankful that even in the poor conditions that we live in that we have food, clothing, and shelter.?
He adds, ?We are thankful that we live in such a great nation and more so, that we have been given the opportunity to defend it. We are thankful for our supporters who see that we have a job to do.?
As a soldier in a war zone, he?s obviously in great danger. But the home front has its threats, too. If you plan to hit the sales on ?Black Friday,? be careful. Last year, a Florida woman was knocked to the ground and trampled by a crowd at a Wal-Mart. Instead of helping, passersby considered whether to take the woman?s $29 DVD player. Happy holidays, indeed.
Oh, by the way, my friend says the soldiers in Iraq ?are in desperate need of pens, pencils, notebooks, paper, school supplies and little candies to hand out to the children,? as well as ?items such as baby wipes and other personal hygiene type items such as shampoo, deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc.? for our troops. Drop me a line if you?d like to send some supplies to him.
This year, our commercial Christmas can wait. First, let?s all take at least a moment this weekend to give thanks for our families, our country, and all the other good things all around us.