"........SO THAT OTHERS MAY LIVE!"

A July the Forth Celebration. I was lucky enough to spend the entire week-end, out in th' country, with good family and friends. My sister in law had spent hours on a "special" surprise tribute to those of us who had served. There were six of us that had. We all watched as three of my grandchildren (11, 10, and 7 years old) marched in front of us holding the "FLAG". We all listened to a marching drumbeat in the background as these three young men marched as if they had already served. They marched with pride. Yes, there were just a few tears in th' crowd and even th' tough old veterans welled-up. I know I did. We had good food and drink. We laughed, we cried, we hugged each other and we all remembered times past. The tribute was a GIFT that I will remember for quite some time.

Later we went in th' house. The television was on and all these young children from two to fourteen were watching. It was Michael Jackson dancin' and holdin' his garbage! His crotch! We changed th' channel and there he was again. We turned off th' television and the kiddos went and played some more. We had to explain to a few, that if a man grabs himself like that, you should run away and scream. Of course, bein' "SURVIVORS" we had already taught them a few things like that anyway. They understood and joined th' others.

In light of this, I feel I am forced, no required, no QUITE HONORED to give you a lil' somethin' written by A REAL ICON! A soldier that is now serving his third, I said, "THIRD" tour in Iraq. Here are his words:

"I was just watching the news, and I caught part of a report on Michael Jackson . As we all know, Jackson died the other day. He was an entertainer who performed for decades. He made millions, he spent millions, and he did a lot of things that make him a villain to many people. I understand that his death would affect a lot of people, and I respect those people who mourn his death, but that isn't the point of my rant.Why is it that when ONE man dies, the whole of America loses their minds with grief. When a man dies whose only contribution to the country was to ENTERTAIN people, the American people find the need to flock to a memorial in Hollywood , and even Congress sees the need to hold a "moment of silence" for his passing? Am I missing something here? ONE man dies, and all of a sudden he's a freaking martyr because he entertained us for a few decades? What about all those SOLDIERS who have died to give us freedom? All those Soldiers who, knowing that they would be asked to fight in a war, still raised their hands and swore to defend the Constitution and the United States of America . Where is their moment of silence? Where are the people flocking to their graves or memorials and mourning over them because they made the ultimate sacrifice? Why is it when a Soldier dies, there are more people saying "good riddence," and "thank God for IED's?" When did this country become so calloused to the sacrifice of GOOD MEN and WOMEN, that they can arbitrarily blow off their deaths, and instead,throw themselves into mourning for a "Pop Icon?" I think that if they are going to hold a moment of silence IN CONGRESS for Michael Jackson, they need to hold a moment of silence for every single service member killed in Iraq and Afghanistan . They need to PUBLICLY recognize every life that has been lost so that the American people can live their callous little lives in the luxury and freedom that WE, those that are living and those that have gone on, have provided for them. But, wait, that would take too much time, because there have been so many willing to make that sacrifice. After all, we will never make millions of dollars. We will never star in movies, or write hit songs that the world will listen too. We only shed our blood, sweat and tears so that people can enjoy what they have. Sorry if I have offended, but I needed to say it. Remember these five words the next time you think of someone who is serving in the military;"So that others may live...""

Signed simply,
ISAAC

ICON? Folks, some of you CANNOT handle a REAL ICON! Look at that picture above! Look at it HARD! That my fiends is a REAL ICON! Congress even had a "moment of silence" for Michael? Give me a break! I'm just too dang tee'd off to continue! Besides Ol' Isaac did it for me. THANK YOU ISSAC!!! And God bless you all, over there! ........and there you have a few more opinions from TH' DUMB OL EAST TEXAS BOY and a few "HARD TO FACE" FACTS from ISAAC.