Belated Thanks

Well, I didn't make the ceremony nor the parade. So let me take this opportunity to publicly thank any Veterans who might be reading. I'm sure we're huge amongst the armed forces.

I'd also like to defend one member of our armed forces who wrote this post in the Daily News. I enjoyed the piece yesterday morning when I read it.

I thought it conveyed a simple but important message: You don't need a big dramatic moment to be a hero. You can be a hero every day by showing kindness, courage, compassion and some common sense. Perhaps the message is a bit trite, but folks absolutely need to hear it every single day.

I was shocked when people started slamming the guy for diminishing the word hero, as if it can only be applied to those people who risk their lives for others. (A friend noted the delicious irony that most of these critics--the folks who supposedly know what heroism is--don't assign their real names to their comments.)

I'll tell you what folks. If I had a teenaged kid who, after hearing this speech, thought twice about getting into a car with a drunk friend or doing something equally wreckless than I'd be counting the author as one of my heroes.

I don't see how that takes away from those soldiers who risked their lives or made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Courage or heroism isn't finite. It can be demonstrated by many, albeit in varying degrees.

That said, our veterans do have an overabundance of it, and I'm grateful for that.

So thanks to our veterans. Thanks to Joshua Potts. Thanks to Staff Sgt. Desire Wilfred "Sweets" Chatigny Jr. and the folks who are looking for his remains.

And thank you Tim Hanke.