Veteran's Day

We don't have a specific blog assignment due today and I was going to post my extra credit assignment but I decided to blog about Veteran's Day instead.

First of all: to all the veterans I want to thank you for serving our country.

Secondly: to all the soldiers, wherever you are stationed, thank you for serving our country & I hope you come home safely.

Thirdly: for the families thank you for supporting your soldiers

This year Veteran's Day holds a different meaning for me. As some of you know, last month my favorite veteran, Daddy Mac passed away. I wasn't able to go home to celebrate his life with my family and today I'm thinking about him and his service to our country. I wasn't born when he was in Japan and Korea but one of my fondest memories him relates to his service. Daddy Mac would never say "good-bye" but he would give me a big hug and say "I'll see you later. " He said that he did that because he always hated leaving his family and having to say good-bye so this was his way of accepting this hardship.

I feel that some people don't truly understand the hardship that those of us with family & friends in the military go through. When our loved one is overseas in a combat zone- we watch the news, pray everyday, and jump when the phone rings. Our thoughts are always with that person- where are they today, are they okay, and hoping that they are safe.

This morning I was greatly disappointed that I couldn't watch the Veteran's Day Parade and add my silent support for those serving and those that had served. I did take the time to thank a soldier on my way to class. I also texted one of my friends to wish him a nice day. This is one day that I think we should all be able to take off and take the time to do something nice to recognize those that make the sacrifice to serve our country.

So I want to thank Daddy Mac, Andy, Steve, Dave, Herald, Gary, Jason, Phil, Pat, Eric, and AJ for serving our country; I'm glad that you all made it back home!

This week we had more insect bytes due so mine are below:

http://ent612.wetpaint.com/page/strawberry (lygus bug is a key pest on strawberries)

http://ent612.wetpaint.com/page/brown+recluse+spider (yes, I got to do an arachnid!!)