Merry Christmas... and Thanks.

Here’s yet another excellent video posted by Cynthia at Gazing at the Flag.

You should go check out Cynthia’s post…because she has text of the original poem narrated in this video, and its back-story. Which is way-cool.

I’ll admit: this video made me a bit “misty,” for at least two reasons. First and foremost, it made me think of all the troops spending this Christmas in the war zones, and of those troops serving in other lands this Christmas but not in Iraq or The ‘Stan. Those other guys are just as far from home, both literally and metaphorically.

Secondly…the video made me stop and think about my own Christmases-Past when I was deployed or stationed outside of the US. And ya know what? I’d trade this Christmas for any one of those Christmases I spent overseas…straight across, no questions asked. It’s a sort of “you had to be there” kinda thing, but the thought revolves around my Buds, my comrades-in-arms. We took care of each other, especially during this time of the year. And we always made the best of what we had, which, in the great grand scheme of things, usually wasn’t much. It may be a stretch to describe those Christmases-past as “good,” for we were separated from our loved ones, including the kids…most especially the kids. But they were memorable, in their own very special way.