Today, as on every November 11, we honor our veterans. It’s a beautiful and breezy day here, so the flag was being borne upward in this shot, set against our magnolia and mimosa trees, with neighbors’ trees in the distance.
Respecting and caring for our veterans has always been something I’m passionate about. If it seems at odds for a pacifist to feel that way, wanting a world without wars is not meant to disrespect in any way those willing to put their lives on the line to keep our country, and the countries of our allies, protected. There’s a true line from generations of my forebears to me, including ancestors who fought in the American Revolution and beyond, to my father being an Army veteran who landed in Normandy on D Day and was career military, and to my brother, who served in the Air Force, and to my sister, who worked at a VA hospital facility for many years as a nurse.
Any policy that attempts to reduce or limit our nation’s care of veterans, including health care, should never be accepted by us no matter what party we vote for. When a service member or veteran is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to self and family for you, no matter what your political affiliation, you should be willing to return that respect in kind, including as part of your tax dollars.
If you have a military cemetery near you, it can provide a quiet place to visit for mindful meditations on gratitude, care for others, courage, and peace.
A new smaller skeleton joined the pack at Houndstooth Hall: young Ambrose’s twin sister Amarise (whatever century some variety of plague occurred was hard on this family). Here’s a photo from her first appearance on Instagram, wearing a “Who The Hell Is Ben Cote?” button that I let her claim because, as Lord Cuttlebone explains, “Never come between a girl and her devotion to a guitarist, songwriter, performer, and possessor of great hair.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. For more of my Instagram skeleton Halloween homages to music artists, check behind the cut.
