"America’s veterans have served their country with the belief that democracy and freedom are ideals to be upheld around the world."

– John Doolittle

No management meeting today so just the one quote from me for you.

Veterans’ Day is Sunday.

As I get a little older and hopefully a little wiser, I realize more and more what our Veterans have done for us.

Having never been in the Armed Forces, I can only imagine what it is really like to participate in anything close to war.

I have come to one conclusion about it though. War forever changes a person. War forever leaves an impression so deep that it cannot be forgotten.

And everyone who has fought in a war has had to give something up in the process.

Some gave up a couple of years of their younger days in service to their country.

Some gave up their life.

Some gave up their grip on life and will never be the same.

And that brings us back to the quote above.

They gave something up so that we (and others) can have those precious gifts of democracy and freedom.

And how should we respond to their gifts?

Be thankful. Some gifts are so large that the only thing we can do is to be thankful. We have no way of repaying, we must humbly accept the gift with all the thankfulness we can muster.

Make the most of it. We must be careful not to squander something so valuable. Remember that Veterans didn’t give up their lives so that we could waste our life away watching reruns on TV and checking our FaceBox page every 5 minutes.

They gave up their life so we could accomplish great things. So that we could continue to be that beacon of democracy and freedom that is worth fighting for.

So, to the Veterans on the Mavidea crew (and the others that receive this email), I say "Thank You".

Thank you for your service.

Thank you for your inspiration.

Thank you for the gift you have given that I can never repay.

Make it a great weekend and thank a Veteran.

Jake