A mixed bag today.....

Happy Thursday to you, loyal reader.  Today's entry is going to be a bit of a mixed bag of subjects that just happen to be on my mind.  It'll probably be shorter than some of my other entries as well since the various creatures in my house decided I didn't need much sleep last night.  My almost two year old son awoke screaming at 2 AM this morning.  He awakens sometimes during the night and we let him cry himself back to sleep usually but last night sounded like a bigger deal.  So, I was up until about 3 with him.  My wife had a crack of dawn meeting this morning for work which meant I had to take our new puppy, which we've had all of four days, out to do his business at 7 AM.  All of this has made Steve a very tired blogger. 

Today is June 6th and marks the 69th anniversary of the landing at Normandy.  Those who know me well know that I am a rabid history buff and World War II is my favorite time period.  Above and beyond all of that, it is important that we realize just what these brave men actually overcame in being successful on the beaches of Normandy and just what their sacrifices meant to us today.  I took three years of German in high school and, while it's an interesting language to learn, it's not one that I would prefer to speak on a daily basis.  Thanks to many, many brave men (and let's not forget the women at home) that never came to be.  I think the overwhelming debt that we own not only these men but also those who fought in conflicts both before and since, is largely taken for granted by our populace and lost in our daily lives for the most part.  My grandfather served in the famous "Redball Express" supply outfit.  To the day he died, thunderstorms terrified him due to the similarity between them and the shelling they endured and he often had nightmares.  War, for the most part, has been oversimplified and sterilized for our safe viewing.  If you've ever seen the movie "Saving Private Ryan", whose Normandy battle scenes are said to be as true to reality as possibly, you can appreciate what those young men faced as they charged well trained and well entrenched Germans on that day in June of 1944.  Yet, they did it anyway.  Remember them as you go about your daily business today. 


On that subject, I will mention briefly (although it's likely to show up later in a much longer blog entry) the continued disgust I have at the disparity in pay and adoration between our servicemen (who risk life and limb each time they awake in the morning) and the sports and entertainment industries where people are paid millions of dollars to play a game or make a movie.  Our society has constructed pedestals for our entertainers and relegates mostly to the back of their minds the young men and women who make this possible on a daily basis.  Make no mistake, I am as rabid a sports' fan as anyone.  Saturdays in the fall will find me in my living room, sometimes yelling at the TV and sometimes jumping for joy when my beloved Notre Dame Fighting Irish score a touchdown.  I also watch baseball, basketball and professional football.  I understand the allure they have and I also understand that it would be nothing short of a miracle to change society's attitude enough so that the true heroes in our world are compensated as they should be.  Don't you think it's extremely unfair that our service men and women make a paltry $30,000 a year or so to risk death or grievous bodily injury while we pay our athletes and movie stars millions to entertain us?  I certainly do. 

Lastly, I want to alert those of you who were Arias trial watchers that some of the sidebar conversations and closed door meeting transcripts from the trial are starting to be released.  I read about a few of them this morning and they are quite entertaining.  I'd encourage you to seek out the articles that are out there and be on the lookout for more. 

That'll do it for today, loyal readers.  Enjoy the rest of your Thursday and I'll talk to you soon.  Until then, this is Steve, over and out.