A Soldier's Goodbye

We are on Spring Break in this house.  Well.  Sort of.  Today we are.  Today we joined what seemed like our whole town to say good bye to a young soldier.  The service was standing room only.  The procession wound around the streets in order to pass by his childhood schools on his way to the cemetery.

I stood alongside strangers.  All of us strangers lined the miles he had to go as he toured his hometown.  We lined the whole procession.  Thousands and thousands of us.  There for no reason other than to thank this man for his service to this country and to try to offer our humble condolences to his family and friends.

We all stood there shoulder to shoulder as the police escort drove by.  As the young soldier was driven by.  As his family drove by, some taking videos with their phones of our silent vigile.  Car after car after truck after motorcycle of current soldiers in their dress blues.  Ripping my heart out with their baby faces and sometimes tears.  Policemen, firemen, patriots all escorting this young soldier as we, the strangers, stood silently with our hands over our hearts.

Again.  Thousands of us there because we cared.  That is what is right with this world.