AS WE AGE

Do we all get a little more patriotic, a little more appreciative as we get older? Do we look back at what made our country great and see that it is individuals after all? Like someone once said, a snowflake is not much by itself, but when it has unity, when it connects with others it can stop traffic.

Soldiering was something we played a lot as kids in backyard games. Our only ammo was the dirt we stuck in the ends of our rifle barrels and shot at the others. The yard bullets didn't go very far but sometimes under the right circumstances a little poof of dirt would give the effect of a shot from the gun. This was long before paint ball or real bullets that some of us tried like heck to avoid having to use.

But soldiers are preservers. They're heroes. If you missed a 60 Minutes segment on a US soldier who fought in Afghanistan who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, then you missed a great Memorial Day or any day story. Try to check it out on line. You may not be brought to tears, but I guarantee a gulp or two or a knot in your throat.

And that's today's entry from ON THE QT. Have a safe and respectful Memorial Day 2011.