Yesterday was an interesting day.
I took my dad to go see the travelling replica of the Vietnam Memorial wall. I prepped for it most of the day so I wouldn’t be a crying/snotting mess. It mostly worked 
I went there knowing I was going to see the names of 58,000 people that gave their lives defending someone else’s freedom. I knew it was a big number. I wasn’t completely prepared to actually see it. I wanted to cry almost as soon as I got there. I kept it together and talked with my dad about it. I asked him if he wanted to find anyone that he knew and he thought about it for a minute and in a very quiet voice simply said “Not really. I spent so much time trying to forget their names I don’t want to try and remember them again.” Time number two I had to hold back from crying. The third time I couldn’t stop it. As it turns out, we went to see the wall during POW MIA memorial weekend. We got there around 6:20 and their ceremony started at 6:30. It started with a Sergeant telling us about POW MIA and the fact that just from Vietnam there are about 1600 people still unaccounted for. Then they presented the flags and asked anyone in the military to salute and any civilian to please cover their heart. I did as asked. Once the flags were in place the Sergeant pushed play on a cassette player that had the background music for the Star-Spangled Banner on it and he sang it all by himself. To set the scene, he was about 75 and in full dress uniform and the sun was setting and reflecting off the memorial with flags for all branches of the military, POW MIA and the US flapping in the wind. I couldn’t keep the tears back at that point. Neither could my dad. It was one of the most moving things I have experienced firsthand. After that I watched the families and groups of people at the memorial. Watching guys my father’s age touch names on the wall of fallen family members and friends was heart-wrenching. Overall, I am so glad I went and got to experience that with my dad. He loved it too. I will never forget it. I will post some pictures as soon as I import them.
Now, on to slightly happier topics. I love going through my iTunes library or my CDs and finding music I haven’t listened to in forever!! Left of the Middle by Natalie Imbruglia is my current favorite! I found a bunch though and I can’t wait to import the CDs and get my 90′s on!! I wish last.fm could scrobble from my phone. That would be kind of amazeballs!