Everyone who knows me is aware that I love having fun with family, friends, colleagues, and customers. Heck, I love having fun with total strangers (that guy who is being super friendly to everyone in the airport waiting area during the flight delay — yup, that’s me!).
And so, given my fondness for fun, it’s easy to understand why I also love holidays. When you’re a kid, you take holidays for granted. When you’re an adult, you learn to appreciate them more.
But make no mistake: to me Memorial Day has never been a conventional holiday.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that on Memorial Day people shouldn’t have a barbecue, head out in the RV, play football with the kids — or do anything else. We have the freedom to spend Memorial Day as we wish.
But ask yourself: Where did that freedom come from? It came from the men and women of our Armed Forces who made the ultimate sacrifice.
We owe these heroes a debt that we can never pay. But it is one that we can — and I believe, we must — honor in our hearts, in our thoughts, and in our actions.
And we must also thank the men and women who serve and protect our country today, at home and abroad. We only need to see what is happening in Eastern Europe to know the crucial importance of always being vigilant, powerful and strong. Freedom is NOT free. And those who would seek to harm us must never be allowed to forget that while America doesn’t start fights, we sure as hell finish them.
This Memorial Day, please take time from whatever you’re doing to remember what it is all about. I know that I will.
God Bless America,
Nicky Smith