Genuine Respect For Veterans

Editor's Note: this draft was left over from Veteran's Day. As explained in the Christmas post, it was one of several that were delayed by a very busy November.

I love the fall. The weather gets cooler, football season is in full swing and it has my favorite holidays: Halloween, Thanksgiving and Labor Day. It also has Veterans Day. I appreciate how schools, businesses and other organizations recognize veterans on their special holiday. I also like how the month of November has morphed into Veterans Month. I’m a veteran myself, and this year I was reminded of the very genuine respect that’s out there for veterans. 

I sported patriotic colors on Veteran's Day.

 

For the past few years, I’ve attended a special Veteran’s Day lunch at my son’s school. We agreed last year that I would not attend this year, giving me the day to myself. So I decided to fuel up with one of the special free lunch offers then hit the greenway trail. Golden Corral started this tradition of providing a free meal or other service several years ago and it’s really caught on. I went to the Applebee’s in Knightdale and sat at the bar between an Army Reservist in uniform and an Air Force retiree. We all had a nice conversation while we waited on our food. The staff couldn’t have been nicer. There were even boy scouts at the door handing us additional coupons. They were friendly and polite, and really made all the veterans feel welcome. I’ve got a pretty good bs detector, but these people were genuine. I tanked up on chicken strips, thanked them profusely, drove home and got ready to do a little biking, or PT (physical training from my army days).

Shameless plug: the Applebee’s in Knightdale serves good food and has friendly service on other days as well.  

I started out north on the Neuse River greenway trail. The weather was almost ideal for a ride. It was clear and cool and it felt great to be out pedaling. I had limited time, so I decided to turn back at the bridge near the Buffalo Road park. I stopped for a break on the bridge. There were lots of other riders, joggers and walkers enjoying the trail. An older couple out walking with their grandson stopped so the toddler could look at the river. I noticed that the man carried himself with a familiar and distinctive air. I made eye contact with him and – taking a chance – said “Happy Veteran’s Day.” He regarded me for a second, then said, “To you too, young man. Where did you serve?” We had a very pleasant conversation. He had served in the Navy during Vietnam and for several years after. His wife joined us in between explaining to the boy that it was too cold to go swimming in the river.  They had been married while he served and started their family after he got out. They asked about my service during Desert Storm. We talked for about 15 minutes. As I got on my back to return home, we shook hands all around and the woman said, “Thank you for your service.” A lot of people say those words. She really meant them.