Mike Royko captured the dichotomy pretty well. Truth to tell though, here in Leavenworth, the parade will be well attended, because of the large number of federal and state employees. An irony, is that a lot of veterans, who work side-by-side with and for those Federal employees as contractors, will either be doing corporate make-work, catching up on administrivia, or, like me, taking a day of vacation. Unlike last year, the Castle Technical will not be parading. I'm taking a day of vacation in order to work my Rotary Club's Veteran's Day pancake breakfast. I am the Prez, after all, the duties aren't onerous, but they're there...
Disabled vets eat free, and while I think you should prove who you are at the polling place, we'll take your word for it at the breakfast. With the VA domiciliary just down the street, we'll have plenty of takers. It's been my exeperience that vets like me, Bill, and Chuck, who would all qualify, don't ask for free brekkies.
But we're happy to slap a plate of flapjacks (all you can eat) and sausage in front of the ones who do ask.
And we still make plenty of money for the fund-raising aspect. In past years the club has sent that money to Project Valour-IT. The board will consider that when next it meets.
Mike Royko captured some of the dichotomy of Veteran's Day pretty well, in this column from over 20 years ago:
Disabled vets eat free, and while I think you should prove who you are at the polling place, we'll take your word for it at the breakfast. With the VA domiciliary just down the street, we'll have plenty of takers. It's been my exeperience that vets like me, Bill, and Chuck, who would all qualify, don't ask for free brekkies.
But we're happy to slap a plate of flapjacks (all you can eat) and sausage in front of the ones who do ask.
And we still make plenty of money for the fund-raising aspect. In past years the club has sent that money to Project Valour-IT. The board will consider that when next it meets.
Mike Royko captured some of the dichotomy of Veteran's Day pretty well, in this column from over 20 years ago:
So, go out there and enjoy your day to the maximum limit of your ability to do so. Especially you guys and gals at the ends of the spectrum.I just phoned six friends and asked them what they will be doing on Monday.
They all said the same thing: working.
Me, too.
There is something else we share. We are all military veterans.
And there is a third thing we have in common. We are not employees of the federal government, state government, county government, municipal government, the Postal Service, the courts, banks, or S & Ls, and we don’t teach school.
If we did, we would be among the many millions of people who will spend Monday goofing off.
Which is why it is about time Congress revised the ridiculous terms of Veterans Day as a national holiday.
The purpose of Veterans Day is to honor all veterans.
So how does this country honor them?...
...By letting the veterans, the majority of whom work in the private sector, spend the day at their jobs so they can pay taxes that permit millions of non-veterans to get paid for doing nothing.
As my friend Harry put it:
"First I went through basic training. Then infantry school. Then I got on a crowded, stinking troop ship that took 23 days to get from San Francisco to Japan. We went through a storm that had 90 percent of the guys on the ship throwing up for a week.
"Then I rode a beat-up transport plane from Japan to Korea, and it almost went down in the drink. I think the pilot was drunk.
"When I got to Korea, I was lucky. The war ended seven months after I got there, and I didn’t kill anybody and nobody killed me.
"But it was still a miserable experience. Then when my tour was over, I got on another troop ship and it took 21 stinking days to cross the Pacific.
"When I got home on leave, one of the older guys at the neighborhood bar — he was a World War II vet — told me I was a ----head because we didn’t win, we only got a tie.
"So now on Veterans Day I get up in the morning and go down to the office and work.
"You know what my nephew does? He sleeps in. That’s because he works for the state.
"And do you know what he did during the Vietnam War? He ducked the draft by getting a job teaching at an inner-city school.
"Now, is that a raw deal or what?"
Of course that’s a raw deal. So I propose that the members of Congress revise Veterans Day to provide the following:
- All veterans — and only veterans — should have the day off from work. It doesn’t matter if they were combat heroes or stateside clerk-typists.
Anybody who went through basic training and was awakened before dawn by a red-neck drill sergeant who bellowed: "Drop your whatsis and grab your socks and fall out on the road," is entitled.
- Those veterans who wish to march in parades, make speeches or listen to speeches can do so. But for those who don’t, all local gambling laws should be suspended for the day to permit vets to gather in taverns, pull a couple of tables together and spend the day playing poker, blackjack, craps, drinking and telling lewd lies about lewd experiences with lewd women. All bar prices should be rolled back to enlisted men’s club prices, Officers can pay the going rate, the stiffs.
- All anti-smoking laws will be suspended for Veterans Day. The same hold for all misdemeanor laws pertaining to disorderly conduct, non-felonious brawling, leering, gawking and any other gross and disgusting public behavior that does not harm another individual.
- It will be a treasonable offense for any spouse or live-in girlfriend (or boyfriend, if it applies) to utter the dreaded words: "What time will you be home tonight?"
- Anyone caught posing as a veteran will be required to eat a triple portion of chipped beef on toast, with Spam on the side, and spend the day watching a chaplain present a color-slide presentation on the horrors of VD.
- Regardless of how high his office, no politician who had the opportunity to serve in the military, but didn’t, will be allowed to make a patriotic speech, appear on TV, or poke his nose out of his office for the entire day.
Any politician who defies this ban will be required to spend 12 hours wearing headphones and listening to tapes of President Clinton explaining his deferments.
Now, deal the cards and pass the tequila.
- Mike Royko
But, when our Chapter decided to provide support (food) to North Korea and other enemies of my country I had to leave. RI can rationalize it all they want, but sending food to NK was unacceptable to me as an American.
*trots back to class before kaydets finish break*
My club hasn't sent food to North Korea, but we have sent school supplies to Iraq, personal demand items to Afghanistan, and we contribute to Project Valour-IT.
Sounds to me like you just need to find a club that's a better fit - if that's geographically possible.
But any organization like Rotary, especially ones with an international reach, are going to offend someone.
Veterans Day: The day that Veterans go to work, and the civllians stay home.
Well done, I hope this is a good day for all of us.
We do get MLK day off, though.
Bill the COSiner is doing the work of Angels on this Veteran's Day. I'm sure, however, he's remembering absent friends who remain young.
I have only one caveat to add to that: It will only be treasonous if said question is asked after having turned down an offer to accompany the spouse or significant other.
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Had it been only a specific club event I would have, with regret, just moved to another club, but Distict and RI supported the effort. NFW I want my money, time or effort supporting the NORK's- I would just as soon support the Taliban.
That said, I still miss my Rotary friends and being involved in the the other Rotary community efforts, and some years I still help with the Christmas Bell Ringing.
Rotary was one of the best, most fulfilling and rewarding groups I've ever been involved with.
Regards,