I’m so thankful for places like Lexington and Concord, Gettysburg, Pearl Harbor and Arlington.

Thank you to all of the Men and Women who have provided and protected the freedoms that we continue to enjoy in this great country today.

I’m especially grateful to those for whom I’m able to call my friends and family, one of which is my Grandfather in the photo below, who have served.  You all know who you are.  Whether I tell you directly or indirectly (such as posts like this one), please know how much my family and I appreciate your service, whether you are currently serving or it was many decades ago.

I remember sitting in front of the TV on day that the US went into Iraq in 1991 listening to the reports of what was happening.  Hearing about the jets and were leading the attacks and that they were doing this to bring freedom to the Kuwaiti people.

I wished that I could be there.  Secretly I’ve always wished that I could serve in the military and defend this great country myself, but due to some physical limitations they would never have taken me.  So my whole life I’ve sat on the sidelines and watched the rest of you with pride.

So Thank You for your service.

If only I could borrow the Delorean, I’d high tail it to Gettysburg, PA and punch in the date of June 30, 1863.

I’m not sure that it would have been possible to just watch and not been thrust into action, but it would have been cool and yet heartbreaking to have been able to see and hear history in the making.

I guess that I’ll have to settle for watching the Hollywood version.

Some of these tidbits from the Civil War are great.

144 years ago today marked the official beginning of the end of the U.S. Civil War.

General Robert E. Lee officially surrendered but it still took a while for the word to get out and for the actual fighting to stop all around the country.

Being able to visit Appomattox last summer was a bit of a lifelong dream finally able to come true.  Though we didn’t get a chance to spend much time there, it was still neat to spend some time where some of the men that I’ve heard about my whole life actually walked and did the things that I’ve learned about in a classroom.

Today would have been Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday.