Observations

There is so much I could I blog about. So much has happened since my last post. I usually try to blog for Memorial Day and Veteran's Day. I missed blogging on Memorial Day. However, I would like to touch on that subject now. Over the weekend I attended a Blues Festival. The music was fantastic and I could blog for days just on the different blues act. However, something besides the music stayed with me from the weekend.

I have seen amputees before. However, last weekend I saw more amputees in one day than I had seen in my entire life at this festival. The first one I saw was on Friday. The man was in a wheel chair missing a leg. He appeared to be happy. He was enjoying the festival with his wife and son. He was obviously one of the few, one of the proud Marines. I gathered that by the Marine baseball hat he was wearing. I assumed he lost his leg being a proud Marine in Iraq or Afghanistan. Part of me wanted to go over and tell him thanks.I wanted to ask him if he lost his leg in action. The introverted part of me won out and I never did ask him. I didn't want to upset his happy vibe. I was thinking he probably didn't want to talk about how he lost his leg.

There was another gentleman at the festival who had the look like he was a former military person. He had lost both legs. The loss of his legs barely slowed him down and every time I saw him he appeared to be hustling off here or there.

I volunteered at this festival, on Saturday one of the session musicians entered a gate I was watching. The horn player, wanted to make sure he could park there and showed his artificial leg. He stated he lost his leg in Afghanistan.

I saw a couple who appeared to have peg legs. I thought to myself they must of lost their legs in an accident. The lady always managed to smile. The couple seamed to help one another and they appeared to be a loving a couple. My mind wandered to the terror the two had faced together.

The writer in me, saw stories in each of them. The war hero with his family, the war hero turned musician, the story unknown from the other amputee, and  the pegged legged couple. I never asked for the story but the story was there..

Any way the amputees did bring the latest wars in Iraq and Afghanistan back home to me. The first gulf war was more my generation. I was lucky the people I know made it home in one piece. My friends just went away for a long time. I know people died and I know people were wounded. The people I saw over the weekend brought home the war. Yes I know people paid the ultimate sacrifice in these wars.However, the folks who will live the rest of their lives missing a leg or two while serving for us in our military. They deserve our respect and our thanks regardless of politics.