Memorial Day
By Ray Shay
I believe an indication of our deep love of freedom can be measured by the large number of our warriors who perished protecting complete strangers on foreign lands. Many of the people they were protecting have never traveled to America, much less sipped from our hard fought cup of freedom.
I never served in the military, so I struggle to understand the depth of sacrifices of so many young people, many of whom were only kids when they died. I wondered if my own life had been snuffed out by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), a snipers bullet or in the up close personal type of armed combat of prior generations, what I would miss the most in my life?
I think it is a personal decision, but I can tell you hands down my greatest joy and thus my greatest loss would have never to have been a father.
I was thinking of our countless heroes from years past while I watched our youngest son, Ryan release a blue and white yoyo from his hand. The small disk was spinning relentlessly as it raced towards the dark hardwood floor of our living room floor. The white string neatly unfurled from it's tight confines before the yoyo struck the floor with a surprising deep sounding "clunk" and rolling a few inches before unceremoniously falling over.
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| Ryan Shay |
The look on Ryan's face was precious. Having just procured his very first yoyo at Del Sur Elementary School, he had discovered that even with his arm extended above his shoulder the yoyo string was still too long to be operational. He was simply too short.
I watched closely as Ryan critically assessed the situation. He thought for a moment and then deftly stepped up on to our living room couch (with his white soccer flats on), and tried again.
The extra about twenty inches of height was enough to allow his yoyo to reach the end of it's repetitive journey and quickly curl back up to his little right palm. With a sense of satisfaction, Ryan quickly turned his head and flashed me a devilish grin. He had solved the problem.
I just wanted to freeze that brief moment in time that so many of our veterans frequently miss.
Later in the day, I text Ryan' s older brothers Troy and Raymond the picture to the right. I found hanging in a gunsmith's shop in El Cajon. Two places, I rarely go.
I just wanted to freeze that brief moment in time that so many of our veterans frequently miss.
Later in the day, I text Ryan' s older brothers Troy and Raymond the picture to the right. I found hanging in a gunsmith's shop in El Cajon. Two places, I rarely go.
I noticed the poster on the right was hanging on a "peg board" on the wall of the business. I laughed to myself because I couldn't wait to ask our three sons if they knew what a "peg board" was. I began to practice various scenarios on how I could explain it to them.
Towards the end of the day, Theresa and I attended Raymond's last Lacrosse game of the season for the Del Norte Nighthawks. As luck would have it, Raymond took a shot at goal in overtime and scored the winning goal.
As his teammates swarmed him and everyone was cheering, I thought how fortunate we are that we can enjoy our freedoms and spend so much precious time with our children. A privilege so many military families cannot.
When we returned home, I located a pair of scissors and trimmed the length of Ryan's yoyo string so he could enjoy his timeless toy without leaving his shoe prints on our couch. He was so happy and for a split second he looked at me like I was his hero.
Deep in my heart, I knew I was not. I know who the true heroes really are. They are the moms, dads, sons and daughters who wear American flags on the shoulder of their military uniforms and too frequently surrender their dreams so we can have ours.
Theresa and I hope you had a great Memorial Holiday weekend.
Towards the end of the day, Theresa and I attended Raymond's last Lacrosse game of the season for the Del Norte Nighthawks. As luck would have it, Raymond took a shot at goal in overtime and scored the winning goal.
As his teammates swarmed him and everyone was cheering, I thought how fortunate we are that we can enjoy our freedoms and spend so much precious time with our children. A privilege so many military families cannot.
When we returned home, I located a pair of scissors and trimmed the length of Ryan's yoyo string so he could enjoy his timeless toy without leaving his shoe prints on our couch. He was so happy and for a split second he looked at me like I was his hero.
Deep in my heart, I knew I was not. I know who the true heroes really are. They are the moms, dads, sons and daughters who wear American flags on the shoulder of their military uniforms and too frequently surrender their dreams so we can have ours.
Theresa and I hope you had a great Memorial Holiday weekend.
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