2009 entry no. 4 of I'm Thankful For...

Today's thankful theme...this nation, its liberties and freedoms, and those that defend them now and have defended them in the past.

• My father served in the Air Force in the 1950s.
• My great uncle, who I never met, served in World War II...but never returned.
• My son's scoutmaster served in the Navy during World War II.
• Several co-workers from days gone by served in various branches before working for us.
• We just extended a job offer to a college senior to work for us beginning next summer. He served proudly in the navy before returning to school to get his degree.
• The son of a friend of mine is a member of the Kansas National Guard. He is currently deployed to "parts unknown" for an extended hitch.

I couldn't be prouder of this last young man. We first met when he was about 10 years old. He had just caught the fever of NASCAR racing - something I jumped on myself in the mid 1970s. He, his brother, his dad, random others, and I went to several races together in the early 1990s - Daytona, Talladega, Charlotte, Atlanta. As a matter of fact, it was he and his brother who hung the nickname "toomuchcountry" on me. Well, actually it was spoken as a bit on an insult. But I've worn it as a badge of honor ever since. Fast forward about 20 years, and this now almost 30 year-old "kid" is serving his country in uniform. He's not my child, but he certainly has my admiration and pride.

The freedoms we have today - the freedom to blog, tweet, text, and e-mail; freely worship the risen Savior or even a friggin' shrubbery; say what we want and listen to what we want; not testify against one's self; not have the po-leece come rummaging unreasonably through all your stuff; to own a gun; etc. - these are precious to this nation and us as individuals.

They have been repeatedly attacked by many different forces, but they've also been repeatedly defended by the folks in military uniform. If you are reading this and are serving or have served in the military - thank you!

I cannot imagine living in a country without these freedoms. I cannot imagine not having a military committed to defend them. And I cannot imagine a Thanksgiving without turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, and the NFL.

TMC