I was given a ball cap that says retired Navy on it. I am one that almost always wears a hat so it is getting good use. Now, every once in a while someone will approach me and say, thank you for your service. I never know how to respond. I usually just laugh and say you're welcome or no problem. I feel quite uncomfortable with it. I do appreciate the sentiment but just don't know how to react to it. I don't feel any big surge of pride or anything like that. What to say ? Any suggestions would be appreciated. If you have ever done that to someone, that is, say thank you for your service, what reply are you expecting, if any ?
Now I didn't fly the nest as much as I was nudged from it. Following my graduation from high school it was clear that I wasn't staying at home. That was known from early childhood on. It was the American dream after all. To go out in the world, get a job, get a wife, a home and have children. That was the preferred order of things. So the first order of business was a job. It was well established that I wasn't going to college. School days were over ! It had nothing to do with grades and everything to do with economics. The money wasn't there, and in my parents eyes, completely out of reach. It wasn't even a consideration. That left only one other option, getting a job. Landing a job where you could afford to rent a place of your own was quite a difficult proposition. Small town America isn't known for economic opportunities. In 1971 joining the service was a popular alternative. You could get paid, learn a trade perhaps, and most importantly be on your own. And so that was the choice I made. Dad drove me to the train station and off I went. After four years I returned home only to find things hadn't changed all that much, except that home wasn't there anymore. I returned to the Navy for another sixteen years. That is how I wound up being retired, and getting those, Thank You for your service greetings. I was only doing what was necessary for myself, that I was helping out the country was a fortunate byproduct. It was a job I enjoyed, for the most part, and came with benefits.
It appears to me that the American Dream has changed somewhat since those days. Kids stay at home well into their twenties whether they have a job or not. Many attend community colleges part time and work part time. That is different as I don't recall any community college options when I was graduating high school. Maybe they existed but I didn't hear about it. The dream now is to get a college degree and a high paying job. A wife and children are optional. Your wife may not even be a female anymore ! Marriages really are " contracts " now to be entered into and dissolved as desired. The pre-nuptial agreement clarifying your commitment to sharing. Wouldn't want to over commit now would we ? We have all volunteer armed forces so that " motivator " has been removed. There are online courses we can take to achieve that coveted degree to success. No need to actually leave home at all. Oh, it is a different world than the one I grew up in.
I do believe the American Dream lives on. The principles that founded this country have not changed all that much over the years. It is only in the manner in which we hope to achieve those goals that we have changed. This is true of every generation. I do see some fundamental changes happening now that concern me deeply. These fundamentals or foundations if your prefer, concern our morality and ethics. Both are closely tied to religious beliefs, although I will admit they do not have to be. I am not saying those that profess no religious belief are always immoral and unethical. It is my thought that they are just unaware. They are perhaps allowing their intelligence to block their emotions. Religion and the praising of God is an emotional response. It is a response to the universe, something man cannot comprehend. First one must become aware of the presence of God in that universe. But all that is theology. It concerns me deeply when I hear of the proposed removal of God from our society. To remove that awareness is to invite disaster. You can call it spiritualty if you like, but it is an integral part of our universe, it should not be ignored.
In my view of things I was shown the path. I may have been nudged down that path a bit. Was I unwilling ? No, I was not, although I admit to having a bit of trepidation in starting the journey. Are we showing our children the path ? Are we nudging them along that path or just holding their hands ? That is the question for the current generation to answer. The dream is out there but you must discover that dream for yourself. You may find that your dream isn't so unlike others as you believe it to be. There are fundamentals that do not change, there are truths in the world. Discover them and you discover the dream. From dreams reality emerges.
What has all this to do with a ball cap that says retired Navy ? When I was in school I had dreams. I'm not sure I remember what those dreams where, but they weren't anything like the reality of my life so far. Forty some years on from that nudge out of the nest and I'm working in a grocery store wearing a ball cap that says, retired Navy. You say thank you, and I say you're welcome. Doesn't seem like much to me. I am left questioning my response. It is a strange road we travel. I like it though so guess I'll continue on.
Now I didn't fly the nest as much as I was nudged from it. Following my graduation from high school it was clear that I wasn't staying at home. That was known from early childhood on. It was the American dream after all. To go out in the world, get a job, get a wife, a home and have children. That was the preferred order of things. So the first order of business was a job. It was well established that I wasn't going to college. School days were over ! It had nothing to do with grades and everything to do with economics. The money wasn't there, and in my parents eyes, completely out of reach. It wasn't even a consideration. That left only one other option, getting a job. Landing a job where you could afford to rent a place of your own was quite a difficult proposition. Small town America isn't known for economic opportunities. In 1971 joining the service was a popular alternative. You could get paid, learn a trade perhaps, and most importantly be on your own. And so that was the choice I made. Dad drove me to the train station and off I went. After four years I returned home only to find things hadn't changed all that much, except that home wasn't there anymore. I returned to the Navy for another sixteen years. That is how I wound up being retired, and getting those, Thank You for your service greetings. I was only doing what was necessary for myself, that I was helping out the country was a fortunate byproduct. It was a job I enjoyed, for the most part, and came with benefits.
It appears to me that the American Dream has changed somewhat since those days. Kids stay at home well into their twenties whether they have a job or not. Many attend community colleges part time and work part time. That is different as I don't recall any community college options when I was graduating high school. Maybe they existed but I didn't hear about it. The dream now is to get a college degree and a high paying job. A wife and children are optional. Your wife may not even be a female anymore ! Marriages really are " contracts " now to be entered into and dissolved as desired. The pre-nuptial agreement clarifying your commitment to sharing. Wouldn't want to over commit now would we ? We have all volunteer armed forces so that " motivator " has been removed. There are online courses we can take to achieve that coveted degree to success. No need to actually leave home at all. Oh, it is a different world than the one I grew up in.
I do believe the American Dream lives on. The principles that founded this country have not changed all that much over the years. It is only in the manner in which we hope to achieve those goals that we have changed. This is true of every generation. I do see some fundamental changes happening now that concern me deeply. These fundamentals or foundations if your prefer, concern our morality and ethics. Both are closely tied to religious beliefs, although I will admit they do not have to be. I am not saying those that profess no religious belief are always immoral and unethical. It is my thought that they are just unaware. They are perhaps allowing their intelligence to block their emotions. Religion and the praising of God is an emotional response. It is a response to the universe, something man cannot comprehend. First one must become aware of the presence of God in that universe. But all that is theology. It concerns me deeply when I hear of the proposed removal of God from our society. To remove that awareness is to invite disaster. You can call it spiritualty if you like, but it is an integral part of our universe, it should not be ignored.
In my view of things I was shown the path. I may have been nudged down that path a bit. Was I unwilling ? No, I was not, although I admit to having a bit of trepidation in starting the journey. Are we showing our children the path ? Are we nudging them along that path or just holding their hands ? That is the question for the current generation to answer. The dream is out there but you must discover that dream for yourself. You may find that your dream isn't so unlike others as you believe it to be. There are fundamentals that do not change, there are truths in the world. Discover them and you discover the dream. From dreams reality emerges.
What has all this to do with a ball cap that says retired Navy ? When I was in school I had dreams. I'm not sure I remember what those dreams where, but they weren't anything like the reality of my life so far. Forty some years on from that nudge out of the nest and I'm working in a grocery store wearing a ball cap that says, retired Navy. You say thank you, and I say you're welcome. Doesn't seem like much to me. I am left questioning my response. It is a strange road we travel. I like it though so guess I'll continue on.
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