Thank a veteran--and run!

Today being Veterans Day I thought I would try thanking the veterans I know. At work I had a chance to thank the new guy who I overheard was in the military recently. He seemed genuinely surprised and pleased, and said I was the first person to remember today.

After work my wife told me she had made a cake to take to someone. She had gone to our kids' school for their Veterans Day program, and the principal had given her the idea to find a veteran to show thanks to. Our older son has a friend whose dad served recently in Iraq and has now retired into the National Guard and local law enforcement. We decided to take the cake to him as a family.

He wasn't home when we showed up at his house, but his wife was very grateful. She called him at work and told him about it, and he called our house and left a message on our answering machine before we could even get home. He seemed very astonished and grateful that someone would do that for him and his family.

So I've come to the conclusion that it's hard to thank a vet and not come away feeling like you got more gratitude back than you gave. Next year I may have to try random, drive-by thankings. Take that!

A Thank You Is Warranted

We take a break from our (seemingly) regularly scheduled politics for something of a more personal matter.

As I've mentioned before, I will be out of work soon, and so I'm actively hunting. Job hunting is not easy work. It's a soul- and esteem- crushing business. Applying for job after job and most of the time receiving no response back of any kind really starts to grind you down.

I know there are better ways, mind you. And I'm gearing up for that kind of a life-changing career search as we speak. But anyone who is serious about job hunting must try as many different approaches as possible. And that means endless applications which seem the paper or electronic equivalent of hollering down a well.

What keeps me going are the people who express concern, confidence, or give me contacts. Just today out of the blue someone at work sent me a contact for a company I've been banging my head against a wall trying to figure out how to approach. Even though times are tough and everyone has to watch out for themselves more than ever, the number of people who gladly lend a hand is encouraging.

Thank you, everyone!