By Ralphine Major

“Thank you for your service,” I said to the older gentleman sitting behind us at the restaurant. He was wearing a veterans’ cap. It was Monday, November 11, 2019, Veterans’ Day. The veteran was visiting from a neighboring county. He engaged in conversation about the geographic region, the Tennessee VOLS, and Veterans’ Day. He shared his plans for the day which were to go to the middle school where his granddaughter attended and share his story as well as answer questions about being a United States Veteran. As he stood to leave, I could not keep from noticing his Big Orange “T” wrist watch.

What a brilliant move for our educational system to invite “living history” into the classroom. It makes the history curriculum so much more effective than textbooks alone. It also bridges generations.

At day’s end, as if to punctuate the special Veterans’ Day festivities, Mother Nature delivered an early November snowfall! Our region awoke to the quiet beauty blanketing the ground and clinging to trees and bushes. A message to all veterans every day—”Thank you for your service!” A message for all Americans to remember on Veterans’ Day and every day—”Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord . . . (Psalm 33:12 KJV).