Today I bought a poppy from an aging (probably my age) veteran, selling them outside a grocery store. I did so because, first of all, I remember what the poppy means to those vets whose comrades died in Flanders Fields, but also because my wife, as a little girl, sold them with her grandfather who was in fact in France during the war to end all wars, and then went on to place flags on the graves of veterans.

Say a prayer for all the brave men who sacrificed for the cause of liberty, and remember what they had done for us. War, it seems, is part of the human condition, but those who fight the good fight for right and freedom are especially to be honored, for they did what they had to do for those of us who benefit and live in freedom. May God bless them all.