Special Opinion - Thoughts on honoring our veterans

Thoughts on honoring our veterans

That’s My Opinion – Special Edition

By Bob Robinson

I get lots of “stuff.”

Sometimes I see something that works for a particular day of the year – Christmas, New Years, Mother’s Day, Independence Day… almost never for Father’s Day.

I wonder why.

And I get a lot of “stuff” for Memorial Day and Veterans Day… two of the days we reserve for honoring those who serve us.

Somehow they never seem fitting.

How do you express your gratitude for what these men and women have done for us? Somehow you read through it and even though the right words and thoughts are there, something always seems to be missing.

Somehow it always falls a little short.

Part of it, I’m sure, is that a lot of the “stuff” comes from the vast reaches of cyberspace. Even though it may say “this is a true story” we’ve all learned it could just as easily be the product of an overactive (or maybe underactive?) mind.

I usually end up just writing from the heart.

Last weekend I watched 500 kids write Holiday Greetings cards for our armed forces overseas. It was one of three projects Key Club International Ohio District completed at its annual Fall Rally in Columbus.

Next weekend, Nov. 20, from 5 to 7 p.m. prior to the Holiday Christmas Parade in downtown Greenville, volunteers will be approaching you to sign Holiday Greetings cards for these same military personnel.

Many of the volunteers will be our own Greenville High School Key Club members.

Take a few seconds to sign a card… here in the comfort of our community it’s hard to comprehend how much they will mean to a soldier sitting guard duty somewhere in the wilderness of Afghanistan.

If you have a chance, stop by the Darke County Red Cross, 130 Martz Street (across from Pizza Hut), and pick up a calling card to send to a loved one overseas.

As always, when you see a veteran, take a brief moment to tell him or her “thank you for your service.”

I know many veterans – I thank them all – there are a few who have been or are important in my life: Thank you Al, Rich, Rob, Clint, Cory, and especially Dwayne, my nephew who is currently in harm’s way in Afghanistan.

I have been blessed beyond belief. I’ve survived all the challenges of a stupid youth and lived to do my own small part in trying to make the lives of others a little better. Despite hard work and attempting to live the spiritual life demanded of me, I know my blessings are not earned. They are a gift.

A gift from our Maker… and a gift from those who serve us.

The brief lesson noted below is one of those “stuffs” that I get on occasion. I think you’ll agree it is appropriate.

A few years ago, a school teacher did something unusual. On the first day of school, with the permission of her superiors, she removed all of the desks from her classroom.

When the first period kids entered the room they discovered that there were no desks.

'Where're our desks?' they asked.

She replied, 'You can't have a desk until you tell me how you earned the right to sit at a desk.'

‘Our grades?' they asked.

'No,' she said.

'Our behavior?'

She told them, 'No, it's not even your behavior.'

And so, they came and went, the first period, second period, third period; still no desks in the classroom.

By early afternoon television news crews had started gathering in the classroom to report about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of her room.

The final period of the day came and as the puzzled students found seats on the floor of the desk-less classroom, the teacher said, 'Throughout the day no one has been able to tell me just what he/she has done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily found in this classroom. Now I am going to tell you.'

At this point, the teacher went over to the door of her classroom and opened it.

Twenty-seven (27) U.S. Veterans, all in uniform, walked into the classroom, each one carrying a school desk. The Vets began placing the school desks in rows, and then they would walk over and stand alongside the wall. By the time the last soldier had put the final desk in place those kids started to understand, perhaps for the first time in their lives, just how the right to sit at those desks had been earned.

The teacher said, 'You didn't earn the right to sit at these desks. These heroes did it for you. They placed the desks here for you. Now, it's up to you to use them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students, to be good citizens. They paid the price so that you could have the freedom to get an education. Don't ever forget it.'

As always, that’s my opinion. What’s yours?

Bob Robinson is the retired editor of The Daily Advocate, Greenville, Ohio. If you wish to receive a daily notification of his comments, opinions and reports, send your email address to: opinionsbybob@gmail.com. Feel free to express your views.