respect
this is the only photograph i've ever taken while crying.
we had gone out onto our front porch to watch the memorial day parade, smiling as michael (a.k.a. duff suds) passed us by in his VFD finery, getting goosebumps as the bagpipes whined and wailed. as a gaggle of little leaguers streamed past, dottie choked up and said "this is america." you couldn't help but smile at the kids yawning in the heat, the parents waiting patiently with water bottles and cellphones.
usually we just wander back inside once the parade is done, but this year michael's wife michele convinced us to follow the parade down to the cold spring cemetery, to watch the ceremony.
and as the dignitaries read the names of the fallen, i looked over at dottie -- a veteran herself of operation iraqi freedom -- and was overwhelmed with a wave of gratitude and affection. and then out of nowhere came the warbling heartbreak that is "taps." i looked over at dottie again, and saw her hand go up in salute. and i thought, she's allowed. she's earned that. she fought. she survived. she stood up for this fucked up, fabulous country of ours, and lived to come home so she could dance her ass off on friday afternoons, making this free world freer with her spirit and light.
respect
this is the only photograph i've ever taken while crying.
we had gone out onto our front porch to watch the memorial day parade, smiling as michael (a.k.a. duff suds) passed us by in his VFD finery, getting goosebumps as the bagpipes whined and wailed. as a gaggle of little leaguers streamed past, dottie choked up and said "this is america." you couldn't help but smile at the kids yawning in the heat, the parents waiting patiently with water bottles and cellphones.
usually we just wander back inside once the parade is done, but this year michael's wife michele convinced us to follow the parade down to the cold spring cemetery, to watch the ceremony.
and as the dignitaries read the names of the fallen, i looked over at dottie -- a veteran herself of operation iraqi freedom -- and was overwhelmed with a wave of gratitude and affection. and then out of nowhere came the warbling heartbreak that is "taps." i looked over at dottie again, and saw her hand go up in salute. and i thought, she's allowed. she's earned that. she fought. she survived. she stood up for this fucked up, fabulous country of ours, and lived to come home so she could dance her ass off on friday afternoons, making this free world freer with her spirit and light.