This is without a doubt the cutest picture of my dear grandpa Hales ever! It was a spur of the moment picture after a very nice dedication of the new veteran's memorial in Redmond. Grandpa had the opportunity to present the memorial the the Auxillary and I got to catch him for a picture after the program. The dedication happened on Monday, Memorial Day. It was definitely an unforgettable day. About fifteen minutes before the program began, the sunshine had disappeared and on came the ten minute hail storm. Ok, so maybe it wasn't ten minutes long, but it sure felt like it. I was not prepared in my shorts and pretend Crocks for shoes. Nor would anybody let me under their umbrella. So I sat by myself just waiting for it to end. Actually, it really wasn't that bad. It was the kind of massage I needed on my back. Though it didn't fell quite as good on my legs. Well the program began on schedule. The speakers fought wind throughout, and in most cases, the wind came out victorious. It was, in my opinion, fairly pleasant.During this dedication, some thoughts came to mind. The first one came to me when the lady next to me got a phone call on her cell phone. She didn't ignore it, but rather she answered the call and spoke to the person on the other end at quite a loud decible. The call was not short either. It probably lasted 4 or 5 minutes. So my thought was, do people not have any respect anymore? We were there to honor war veterans of the past and present. It is very disrespectful to even have a cell phone on during such special programs. It might help if parents taught their children how to be respectful at these kinds of occasions. Another thought was how grateful I am for the service men and women who protect our rights to have those cell phones and be able to answer them however disrespectful it may be. I am especially grateful for those service men closest to me, past and present. Thank you Grandpa Hales (WWII), Grandpa Johnson, (Korea) Uncle Ed (Vietnam), Uncle Wayne (Iraq), and Jay(Iraq).
