Remembering

On Monday we were asked to sing the Star Spangled Banner again before the Cranfest Parade. It's an honor that I do not take lightly. The only problem is that it is soooo hard for me to sing it without crying. Especially last year during our salute to the military. There we were with all of those veterans of all ages standing around us at attention, saluting and some even crying. I just kept telling myself, just look at the book Deanna, look at the book (we didn't really need the book, just used it to keep from thinking too hard). I'm not just talking a "few" veterans. We had upwards to 150,000 people at the festival and the moving Vietnam Wall. There were vets all over. So many stories... so many lives lost. It was a moving experience for many of us.

Then I remember Cranfest 2001. Just a few days after the towers fell. People were still so emotional and raw. We decided to have a moment of silence and you never would have believed that awesome moment God gave us. Imagine this if you can. A small town that is made of up only 5 blocks on Main Street. This whole town is filled to capacity with people. There are booths lining each yard on the main drag. Thousands upon thousands of people are walking around. It is shoulder to shoulder people. Everyone talking and laughing (unless they are eating). Music plays on many corners and you can hear loud amusement ride music in the background. We ask for a moment of silence for the victims and you can see it happen. Just like dropping a pebble into a pond the people close to us were silent and then in waves the rest just stopped, stood still and listened. Suddenly this huge crowd was making no noise and we were all together, one big family. Then we rang the bells in the church towers from either side of the town, so all you could hear were bells tolling loud and clear AND THEN the coolest part of it all. One of our local bald eagle pair was curious and he came winging his way in and soared right over the town, very close to the ground. That was about all most of us could stand. There were quite a few tears that day and then....we all sang God Bless America. It was one of the most moving moments in my life. You should have heard that song ring. You could actually feel it coursing through your body. The sorrow, the pride, the resolve. The resolve to make it right, to stand as one against this enemy. That was then.... what about now?

In 2008 have we learned any lessons? I'm telling you I am so sick of listening to people who are not proud of America. I'm sick of listening to the whiners and complainers who really don't know what they are complaining about, they just complain to complain. It's kind of like those professional mourners that spend their lives going to funerals and crying and wailing. Sometimes they didn't even know the person, but they can sure put on a show. Now, it seems like we have this tide of people running through our nation that have no idea what they don't like, but they don't like it. I would bet that at least half of them wouldn't recognize the officials they complain about in a picture. I bet half of them never even voted. I bet half of them only voted for the party and not for their own convictions. It is so frustrating!!!!!

I work with some people that are voting along party lines, but could not tell you the name of the vice presidential candidate on the Democr*tic side, yet they are voting for them. There are people on both sides doing this. What has happened to people?

What happened to the resolve after the towers fell? What happened to the unity of the country. Now it seems to be the blame game and everyone is blaming us instead of the idiots that were the creators of that terrible act. It's kind of like two houses in the path of the tornado. One is blown away and the other is saved. Wonderful story, except when we blame the house owners instead of the tornado. Get a grip people. Where is your patriotism? Where is your thankfullness? We live in the greatest country in the world. We live in Freedom! Freedom! Do we realize how many people would love to live in this country and can't? Do we realize how blessed we truly are?

Try going to the supermarket and looking at the aisles. That's freedom. Most countries do not have the varieties we have. Look just at the green beans. Many countries have just one brand, one variety. You just find one type of green bean on the shelf. How many do we have, I count 6 just off the top of my head.

When you get into your car are you grateful that you have it? When you move from one room in your home to another are you grateful that you do not live in a one room shack with a dirt floor? When you decide tonight to have chicken and potatoes and tomorrow night to have beef are you grateful that you have variety? Are you even just grateful to have food? When you go to your Dr. and complain about the cost are you grateful there is a Doctor to go to? When you go to bed at night are you grateful for the pillows, blankets and BED?

I truly believe that this is what has happened to this nation. We have forgotten to be grateful. We live in the greatest nation, have the most blessings, enjoy the most freedom, are blessed with the most opportunities and don't even see it. We forget what our forefathers endured to bring us to this point and we spend more time in arguments and debating. We play the blame game, when truly we should just be grateful that we are here and grateful for our blessings. Sure things cost more, but they are still available......we're rich and we don't even see the important things.

When it all boils down to it, did the towers teach us anything? It seems to me that we need to practice being grateful, sit down and read the constitution and start being Americans again.

God Bless America.

dea