Saturday, July 4, 2009

What cost?

Yes, I know it's the 4th of July. I love the USA...but people make up any nation. Children are almost like people, just smaller.

A few days ago, I was talking to a beautiful little boy of six months of age or so. He was healthily plump, sturdily built, had vivid blue eyes, and smiled at me almost the entire time. I'm a wee bit of a germophobe, but when the little guy put his fist into his mouth, and then used a finger to smear saliva around my face (while laughing his little block-shaped head off), I didn't flinch. It was totally worth it.

Yesterday, I went with a friend to the park, escorting a two-year old girl. The closest park has about five different fountains in one small area, two of them designed just to enable children to swivel and shoot each other with streams of spray. Kay was shy to run into the water with the other, larger children, so I finally sighed, and put a hand down so she could grab my thumb, and I was ready to catch her if she slipped on the wet concrete. Then we ran through the spray together. I hadn't planned on getting wet at all, not generally being a fan of most water-based recreation. When I saw the enormous grin on that little face, though, getting soaked was totally worth it.

You know, we don't really work to protect our freedoms for ourselves as much as we do it for the next generation. We as a nation are not as free as we once were, but we're still much freer than most of the rest of the world. We have to continue to protect our freedoms, and even regain some lost ground- for our children's sake.

I head out to TX tomorrow for training. With any luck, I'll get to see the TX contingent (Phlegm, LawDog, Matt G, et al.) while I'm there. Not sure how much online time I'll have, but don't worry.

5 comments:

Old NFO said...

Thanks for making that little girls day! Sometimes you just gotta let your hair down :-) Travel safe and say hi everyone for me!

J.R.Shirley said...

Will do.

Matt G said...

Good things are coming for you, friend. :)

And, as you're coming to TX, I should rather say that good things are coming to me, too. We need to work out a schedule, you know it?

J.R.Shirley said...

I agree, but I'm not sure yet how much time I'll have free, and if I do get weekends (I would think)...

HollyB said...

Lookin' forward to seein' and huggin' you.


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