Starting today, I am changing the name of my blog. Let me briefly explain. My father-in-law has a heart as big as all outdoors. He has been a wonderful example of a man who loves God, loves his wife, is committed to his children and grandchildren, and who sacrificed for this country's freedom. He represents the "old school" thinking, the America that didn't have to lock their doors at night for fear of intruders, worked hard to provide for their families, was thankful in abundance or in lack, respected people of all gender, race, religion or creed, understood patriotism and sacrifice and knew which bathroom they were supposed to go to in order to relieve themselves! My father-in-law sacrificed for all our freedoms with 2 tours in Viet Nam, have one of his eyes in his 2nd tour and, then returned home to the hostility of those who thought who thought he should have never been there in the first place. And now, he grieves at what he sees in this country. When he becomes bothered by these days in which we live, he has a go-to coping mechanism that is now recognized with great affection throughout the family...I'm gonna write a letter! Whether its to his congressman/woman, governor, mayor, corporate CEO or even the president, that's how he expresses his discontent. None of us really know who he has actually written but it is his right to freely express his opinion as an American, a noble patriarch and, the last of a dying pride, a patriot of this great nation. He gets it. My father got it, too. My uncles got it. Like them, my father-in-law understands the cost of freedom and the absolute privilege that we enjoy in this country to simply let our voice be known. So it is to my father-in-law that I dedicate my blog moving forward. I want to thank him and thousands like him, who sacrificed the comforts of their homes, postponed careers, endured the insults of dissenters, witnessed things that no person should have to see, left their loved ones at home to travel overseas to risk life and limb and then left a piece of their souls on foreign soil, and for what? To ensure that I have the right to write my letter. So, given the myriad of things going on in this world these days, whether they be good or bad, I'm gonna write a letter! In fact, I'm going to write one every week...just because at this particular time in the history of the world...I can! Thanks for opening my letter and reading it.
Dr. Russell Thomas