Memorial Day

A departure from the complaints.

After the War (Tim Irvine)http://rope.wbap.com/mark/afterthewar.mp3

My name is Billy Johnson.
Indiana's my state.
I turned 21 back in '68.
Drafted into the army, sent to Fort Leonard Wood.
When I left my hometown, I prayed it wasn't for good.

His name was Hector Gonzalez, from San Jose.
We got stuck with KP the very first day.
After peelin' potatoes for hours on end,
Hector and I were the closest of friends.

When they put us on a troop jet, and flew us to 'Nam,
Some guy stood up in the back and read the twenty-third psalm.
He talked about walkin' through that valley of death.
I said, "Hector I'm scared." He said, "Just take a deep breath."

When we got off the plane and our assignments came in,
I got sent to Pleiku, he got sent to Long Binh.
He hugged me goodbye and turned around at the door,
And he said, "Don't forget look me up, after the war."

About three months later, he wrote me a letter.
He said some days are rough and some days are better,
And a kid named Gilardo we knew from basic training,
Was missing in action up north. "By the way, I meant what I said before:
Don't forget to look me up, after the war."

I was out on patrol in the spring of '69,
I stepped on a trip wire, took some shrapnel from a mine.
Spent the rest of my tour in a hospital bed,
With a pin in my leg, and a plate in my head.

On the plane ride home, I thought of all I'd been through.
I'd lived nine lives and I was just 22.
And I thought about Hector and what I'd promised before,
And I planned to look him up, right after the war.

Twenty-one years later in Washington, DC,
I was there on vacation with my family.
I went out to that park to see that wall,
And face up to a past I didn't want to recall.

First, I looked for that guy that Hector wrote me about,
He wasn't on the list, I guess he lucked out.
Then my eyes caught a name at the top of the page,
Corporal Hector Gonzalez, 21 years of age.

My throat got tight. My mouth went dry.
I looked up at that wall and I started to cry.
And the memories hit me like incoming fire,
From a time when we were so-o-o young,
Hector wavin' at me from the door,
Sayin', "Don't forget to look me up, after the war."

I lay awake some nights. I can still hear the guns,
Still hear the screams, I can still taste the blood.
I can still see Hector wavin' goodbye from the door,
Sayin', "Don't forget to look me up, after the war."

Easy Solution to a Non-Problem

Why do people feel the need to ban things they can easily avoid?
"I don't like what you said on the radio." Ok. Change the station.
"I don't like gambling." Ok, don't do it.

See how easy that is? If you don't like it, be a grown up and avoid it. But the anti-smoking people don't seem to understand this simple concept. They get government to make rules that force bars and restaurants to disallow smoking in their establishments.

I know the customer is always right. But that is a customer service approach, not a law. As a customer do you have the right to demand that they cook something that is not on the menu? You can suggest to them that they expand their menu. But ultimately it is up to the owner to decide on this.

No one is forcing you to go to that restautant or bar. You have the right to avoid spending time there. I don't smoke. I don't drink. I don't spend time in places where that goes on. I make the big boy decision to avoid that establishment.

What right do I have to demand that a business that has an established theme, clientele, decor, menu and pricing structure, to change to meet my desires?

"But the children!!" Ok here is the adult thing to do: DO NOT GO IN THERE. "But, the workers!!" So, they didn't know it was a smoking establishment? They are forced to work there? The adult thing to do if you work in a restaurant and don't want to be surrounded by smoke: GET A DIFFERENT JOB. See how easy that is.

Maybe we need a disclaimer on that door that shows what happens in the building, like a consumer information panel. I'd support this if it let the owners have the freedom to run their business as they see fit.

You know, I really want to go to that strip club, but I don't want to see nudity. You need to cover those girls up.
I just moved to the country but don't like the smell of manure. Let's change the zoning to force the farmer out.
I want that home stereo system. I can't afford it. I will only pay you this much, and you have to accept it.
See how stupid that sounds?