Veterans Day

 Thursday is Veterans Day which to me is a very important and well deserved day of recognition for our soldiers that allow us to live the lives that we do and worry about the stupid things that we all do when they are out there risking their lives.  In my lifetime there have been several wars most of which have been in the middle east and have been brutally nasty in the way that they are fought.  Having never served I will never know the depth of what it takes to be a soldier.  To go into someplace knowing that this could be it for you.  What I do see alot of is the way that our Veterans are treated after they come home.  Many seem to be forgotten and not treated with the respect that they deserve.  VA hospitals are few and far between and the services that are offered and covered seem to be on that same level.  In North Carolina there are 3 VA hospitals in a state with 8 military bases.  Too often in my travels I have seen homeless veterans who cannot find work or cannot function in society with their current disabilities.  Most people look the other way with that sort of stuff on a daily basis.  I believe that this country should help our troops and soldiers more than any other population in our country but this is not the way that it is.  Most often these are poor kids from poor neighborhoods who then come home and get lost in the cracks because these VA centers and hospitals are so far that they are unable to travel just to get the services that they need.  Post traumatic stress disorder is not a new and rising occurance it is just that people are talking about it now.  Think of what it would be like to be in those situations and seeing the things that they have seen and your response is that I cannot imagine that and thats their reality.  Veterans are in my family just as they are probably in yours and I am thankful for them serving as well as the millions of others who humbly serve their country so that I can write a blog and go to concerts.  There is something much deeper there and this shouldnt be a one day a year occurance, thank a Vet whenever you can.  Don't take freedom for granted...