The sun rose over the horizon like an angry bloodshot eye. Mortar rounds had kept his whole base pinned down (and awake) since sunset — His eyes were equally as bloodshot. It was a long night. It had been a long tour. His third.
The soldier stretched, headed to the bathroom, showered and shaved. As his razor scraped across his face, he thought of all his friends who had died and been injured in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He thought of his father’s injury in Vietnam. He thought of his grandfather’s time in a POW camp in Germany during World War 2. Sacrifices. Sacrifices for a country that he loved.
He looked at his watch and did the math in his head. The polls were about to close back home. If he could make a sacrifice out in the middle of nowhere, people back home could vote. He wiped the rest of the shaving cream off his face, fumbled with the dog tags around his neck and went to get dressed. He looked at the picture of his beautiful wife and kids and smiled.
He was doing his part. Now it was up to the folks back home to do theirs on this election day.
I saw this post yesterday, and heard you read it on the air. Touching piece.
As you mentioned in another post, our government is playing games, and the pawns are we, the people. I was heartbroken yesterday to learn that a dear friend’s daughter who is about 16 weeks pregnant is facing life-threatening brain surgery next week for a newly discovered congenital defect. The girl is 16, and her Daddy, while understandibly upset that his child is pregnant, now has to deal with this from Afghanistan. He and his wife also have 2 young sons that are growing up too fast while Daddy is on the other side of the world, fighting a fruitless war.
It was immediately after learning this news that it hit me-I forgot to vote for the first time since turning 18. Work, open house at school, band practice…and I forgot to do my part. I am ashamed of myself.