By Jade Stone
If you have a Facebook account, you know how easy it is to be sucked into reading the news feeds of your friends and family members, as well as the random individual you barely know now but vaguely remember sitting next to in 3rd grade and felt obligated to accept the friend request any way.
Well, I am no different.
Once in a while I catch myself reading the random facts about other people’s lives. However, something caught me off guard this past week. I realized I was reading a negative post about our military and then after a second look, I realized that it came from a fellow educator.
His comment was: “I think that applauding the military passengers on a civilian flight is a little silly”. And worse yet, this individual’s friends agreed and went on to discuss the negative “crimes” that select members of our military have committed against others and therefore applauding simply condones that sort of behavior. Stunned… I suppose that there are a few members who do not deserve to wear the uniform, certainly the 4 star general that was recently dismissed for conduct unbecoming of a soldier is one of them. However, I don’t think that is the point or the message conveyed by civilians when they applaud service members on a plane.
I believe that applause is the simplest, easiest way to convey the message of “thanks” to the soldiers who represent the idea of sacrifice and commitment to something greater than themselves.
When the soldiers came home from Vietnam, they were treated horribly, spat upon and called baby killers by civilians. Ironically, those soldiers were fighting so that the very individuals who hurled insults at them had the freedom to do so. In light of that fact, many people may be trying to make up for not thanking the Vietnam veterans in the first place and are committed to not allowing our Iraq veterans to endure feeling as though they had sacrificed everything for a country who hated them.
Furthermore, Civilians are not necessarily applauding those specific soldiers for things they have done, but rather all soldiers for the vigilance and unwavering bravery in an ever changing time of conflict. They don’t know if those soldiers are returning from a deployment, coming home for R&R, or are serving as escorts for a fallen soldier and are guiding that soul home with the honor and dignity only a true soldier can understand, never leaving his or her side until they reach their final destination.
That’s what I think, but I passed the comment on to another friend who is serving in Afghanistan now. The following are his remarks:
“It really shows how small his world is. I would imagine that he has never been to a third world country, has never been thirsty without a water fountain, faucet or refrigerator with bottled water nearby. We are not over here for him. We are over here for our children and our families’ children. We are here for each other so we can all come home together. We are here to make sure there is never a suicide vest at your school, and that car bombs are not a daily threat at the mall.
“I personally get embarrassed when I have to walk through the airport and have people applaud me. I prefer to be the quiet professional. I think he is embarrassed that he has nothing to show for his life and that to show support to the military lets him see how little he has sacrificed for his country. We appreciate the gratitude when it’s expressed. In short, I think he is silly. It just goes to show how simple his world view is, which is sad, considering he is educating our children”.
He makes a great point. While we may or may not agree with war, our soldiers carry out the orders given without question because it’s the way it has to be. While no one wants to lose a single life to war, these brave individuals who make up only 1% of our nation’s population signed up freely, willing to sacrifice everything for the greater good. And quite frankly, without people willing to do just that, we wouldn’t have a military, and worse yet, we would no longer be the America that so many of us love and call home, and our first language would certainly not be English but rather the language of the first country to come along and decide to take over.
There would be no one to stop them. So the next time you are in a place where you find those around you applauding and you are faced with the decision on whether or not to follow suit, think about the family that soldier left behind to do a job you would not, so that you may fly freely about the country, eat and drink anything you choose as you see fit, and go wherever you wish without fear of suicide or car bombers. Then decide: do they deserve a simple thank you?
Jade welcomes your comments here as well as any suggestions you may have for her future posts. You may also e-mail her at akajadestone [AT] yahoo [DOT] com. To read previous Military Mama posts, CLICK HERE.
Katie Holmes, 31, is involved with a new charitable foundation called Dizzy Feet, which has partnered with Angelina Ballerina, to spread dance education to kids across the country. When asked if she and husband Tom Cruise dance at home, she said “Oh, all the time. We’re constantly showing each other moves, and we break out into a dance on occasion if a good song comes on, sure!” She also said that daughter Suri loves singing and dancing and performing, too. (Source: People magazine, June 28, 2010 edition)
Paramount is releasing Grease: Sing-A-Long, which is an audience participation screening of the film. It premiered at the Hollywood Bowl on June 25th and was hosted by Didi Conn, who played Frenchy in the film. When interviewed about meeting John Travolta the first time, Olivia Newton-John said “The first thing I noticed about John were his eyes. They were a beautiful color. And there’s a sweetness about him. When he played Danny, you could see it.” 
Victoria’s Secret model Miranda Kerr shared some tips for looking more confident in a bikini. Tip No. 1 is “Tilt your hip to one side.” She says kicking our a hip and tilting the top of the torso forward a little gives the illusion of a smaller waist. Tip No. 2 is “Put a hand on your hip.” It creates a stronger pose, she says. Tip No. 3 is “Accessorize!” She says a more relaxed wedge shoe gives you extra height and also suggests wearing a sarong so part of your leg is showing but not all of it, to retain a sense of mystery. (Source: People magazine, June 28, 2010 edition)
Toy Story 3 is getting rave reviews! A review published in Entertainment Weekly gave it a grade of “A” and called it “a salute to the magic of making believe.” According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, the movie had a strong opening weekend, making about $109 million in one weekend, and some experts say it could make more than $200 million in just 10 days. Way to go, Woody!
Denzel Washington recently won a Tony award for his lead role in the drama revival “Fences.” When accepting his award, he said “My mother always says, ‘Man gives the award, God gives the reward.’” Sounds like he’s got a smart mama! (Source: Entertainment Weekly, June 25, 2010 edition)
Have a question for Andi, beauty blogger and fellow mama (that’s her in the picture at right)? E-mail it to mamas@nwaMotherlode.com. 
Cara is a working single mom of a very energetic 10-year-old daughter, Ibby. Cara says, “At the end of my day, I often have just enough strength left to operate the remote control. Thankfully, my personal life is fairly calm. So in order to up the drama quotient, I keep up with my favorite TV shows. I may feel differently in a few years when my daughter hits puberty. But for now, I’m glad to have some ‘Drama for Mama’.” 
and the teacher is 
there have been some changes in wedding customs since I was a little boy. When I was a kid, people always threw rice at the bride and groom as they ran out of the church. Sometimes now we blow bubbles as the newlyweds run by. But the most common custom today is to throw birdseed. We threw a lot of birdseed last Saturday. The groom’s older brother poured about fifty pounds of it down his little brother’s pants.
sense—we really shouldn’t throw rice because it kills the birds. It sounded scientific. But then one day it dawned on me that it probably wasn’t true at all. After all, I grew up in 
everyone little jars of bubbles because they prefer running through bubbles versus being ambushed with pellets of cereal grain. And people switched to birdseed because you don’t have to sweep it up. The birds do the cleanup for you.
When temperatures hit 90 degrees last week, I told Tom we’d have to make an appointment to get our dogs, Holly and E.J., shaved for the summer, as we do every year around this time. He agreed, hesitantly, because he knew the trip to the doggie salon for two large dogs usually runs around $150.
dollars in our pocket. Brilliant plan, right?
Water for Elephants
Remember when I said that my husband was on board with the “high fructose corn syrup is the Devil” concept?
Look for Laurie’s fitness tips and updates on her personal health-focused journey every other Friday on nwaMotherlode in Mom Blogs. Send questions or input to her at mamas@nwaMotherlode.com. Or click on the comment button below and share your thoughts right now! 
HOW: 
Dairy Makes Sense recipe cards with new tasty recipes to try out with your family
It goes beyond just calcium for strong bones – each serving of dairy provides 8 other essential nutrients, including:
Stay in touch!