I played in a parade this morning in Fairport and it was hot, but fun. The street was bursting with people and there seemed to be kids everywhere. It was close to the perfect morning – no rain, warm, lots of families, etc. 

Prior to the parade starting I watched a small ceremony at the Fairport firehouse where they played some music, read some prayers, and read the names of firefighters who had passed away during the prior year. It was a very nice ceremony and all the firefighters stood there quietly in their dress uniforms despite the building heat. 

America is the greatest nation on earth, likely the greatest the earth has ever known and it’s gotten that way due to the sacrifice of many men and women. Amazingly, America has been at war almost ½ of my life starting with Desert Storm at the end of high school all the way up to today, where we are at war in Afghanistan and Iraq and of course we are fighting the mysterious war on terror, which has no face or location. 

We all see the ceremonies and tributes to our military and they are touching and help us honor all those who serve, past present and future, but the other night I saw a brief clip on TV of a young boy whose father was killed 6 years ago in Iraq. The boy is now 11 and he paid a stirring tribute to his father. I have to admit that I cried watching that simply because that’s the real price of war, the loved ones who never come home, or the ones who come home changed forever in some physical or psychological way. For them and those that love them every day is a battle and the hardship they endure is theirs for a lifetime. It was so very painful to watch the little boy who despite his brave facade clearly only wanted to see his dad again. 

While we can pay tribute to our war heroes on Memorial day I believe it’s also possible to honor them by they way we live every day. What better way to honor those who have given so much than to live our lives to the fullest, being the best people, fathers, mothers, citizens, or whatever we can be day in and day out.