Why I'm thankful.. Nov 2014..

Why I'm Thankful? Nov. 2014..
  First of all I'm thankful every day I wake up and I thank God for another day of living. Because of my 20 years of naval Service I have seen the good , the bad and the ugly, I have seen dead marines, navy pilots and civilians during my tenure and to be honest you never forget those memories,, We try to cope , but many veterans its hard , but I pray I have the strength and wisdom to carry on.. When it comes to war,,To be honest , I don't want any generation to deal with it,. I have seen so many lives affected by the stresses of war including myself.. Its not a great feeling to see death or dying or see shipmates so stressed out they kill themselves or try to.. Its nothing glamorous about battle, or war or being adviser's on humanitarian efforts like they like to call it.. No matter what you call it , its still a military action, and we are often trained or brain washed into thinking , might is right and kill or be killed ,, at the time it seems right , but now I realize , aren't we humans , with logical minds? But yet we kill one another , we hate one another , road rage, arguing over little things.. I know we are a flawed species but come on now,,,
 Now that I'm retired I'm thankful to be home with family and to be out of harms way. I'm thankful I get to be with them at the holidays , God knows how many days and years I lost at sea ,, Those are times forever lost.. and it hurts to think I miss them all. But its the life I choose , its the career I wanted and it was patriotism I felt for this country. Its funny , I didn't realize how patriotic I was until I retired, because now I carry American flags with me in my car , at my house I proudly represent the country that gave me a great life.. I'm not rich , but I have the benefits I'm thankful for .. 
 I'm thankful that I was able to help others in distant lands with clean ups and just spending time with them. Its so ironic how much they love Americans and our way of life,, that many of us take for granted,, If you saw the poor people in africa or asia and see how they live their lives,, its sad to see them prostitute them selves,, wash services mens feet or do massages or what.. I often times found that demeaning , but if you had no other means to make money,, I think we all would do what we could do,.. It doesn't make it ethical or proper , but people got to live,, and I'm thankful my family doesn't have to see that or do those things to survive.. I know it sounds like I'm preaching , but at times,, I feel i have too. Because of what I lived through and what i saw.. The world is not as rosey and happy as you may think, There are many people wondering when and what they will eat, or drink, or will I have a chance to bathe myself, or will natural disasters destroy everything you have. Its tough to see the other side of the life, the poor , the deprived,, but it also makes me thankful, I was able to give my family a better life.. If anything,, as parents you should teach kids , that life is fleeting and how you treat people is more important than what you have , or what you can do. In life those that give , truly are blessed and those that want attention or appreciation , likes on face book,, etc.. are just looking for things that are insignificant. Whats important is that we love one another and treat one another with respect.. But because of social media, because of news media , or clubs,, or what, we all get perverted or misguided in whats really important during our lives.. 
 Bottomline. Be true to yourself and your family and do the right thing. In the end, its how we treat people and how people think of you that will guide your legacy. Its so easy to spread hate, its harder to really spread love and peace and in today's crazy world.. I encourage everyone to praise peace , love and harmony for man kind. because hate only destroys things, while love produces and protect things. My father told me many times growing up > true men protect women and children from harm , and true men have courage under fire and do what they believe in , and not what others think is right. I find that so true, its takes tremendous courage to stand up for whats right and proper , and to be honest with oneself.. I found if you do that , its not hard to have a mantra to stand for.. 
 Be Thankful for God's Blessing and be thankful for family that loves you regardless on how you act or behave.. Because true love is unconditional and that's rare to find in today's. what have you done for me lately society , or the me myself and I world where  self satisfaction is more important than helping someone in need. Be thankful for life and be thankful to live a society you have the right to say and do what you want , but also be thankful that there are people that have sacrificed their lives to protect your right to freedoms, that many veterans fought and die for. Because , based on what I have seen in real life.. I see less and less people with the same convictions as my generation, and to be honest, that's more scary than anything I can think of. Because freedom isn't free , we need patriotic people who are willing to serve and protect and that goes for homeland security and law enforcement. Have a great day and Be thankful today and everyday!!
THE SOURCE PRODUCTIONS @2014