... to all our S-Z family, ...Thank you, especially those who have served our country ... and a special prayer of Thanks for those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we may enjoy the Freedom we have ...

Back at ya Tony enjoy the festivities.......
I just got home from a Big outdoor Pool opening BBQ Gig lots of fun, ...man it's hot outside today........

On the way home I was dying for a Vanilla Root Beer Float....
so I stopped at the roadside Ice Cream stand to get one,.,.....I had on my Army T-Shirt......so the man asked me what I wanted, ...I told him and he said "did you serve in the Army ?" I said yes in 1969,......he looked me dead in the eyes and said, "This One is On Me,...Thank You For Your Service"
I said "your very welcome", and put a $10.00 bill in the tip jar on the counter and said "that's for your workers!!"
Happy Memorial Day!

Good stuff, Donny

Thanx Bill,...it was a fun gig, do it every year!

I did a double today, the first at an upscale Jewish retirement community. Two of the residents there were incarcerated in German concentration camps, and both were scheduled to be executed, but fortunately, the Americans arrived in the nick of time to prevent this. Both have numbers tattooed on their forearms. A year ago, there were three of these individuals there, but one, who I spoke with many times, passed away last December. He was a major in the Austrian army, and was also scheduled for execution, but managed to escape while on a work gang. He spent several months hiding out on the forest, surviving on whatever he could find and trying not to freeze to death. He was a pretty incredible person and I am proud to have known him, even though it was just for a few years.

The second job was at an Assisted Living Center in Bel Air, MD, and all the vets wore hats provided by the facility that was emblazoned with the name of their military units, ships, etc... There were about 30 of them from WWII and the Korean War, but only one from Vietnam. The guy from Vietnam was missing both legs from the knees down.

I used to perform at the local VA Hospital here, but last year, due to budget cuts, they cut out the musical entertainment on Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, and other similar occasions. It was not much of a monetary loss for me to lose those jobs, but what really irks me is the way our vets at most government run facilities. If it were not for the intervention of the American Legion and other similar groups, the situation would be far worse than it currently is, and from my perspective, it's pretty damned pathetic.

Gary

Thanks for this post all of you, but especially Gary. I've known several people, both men and women who had numbers tatooed on their arms. It was always a privilege to be in their presence. And to all of you guys on the zone who served, you have my utmost respect.

Joe