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Had no Christmas spirit when I
breathed a weary sigh, and looked across the table where the bills were
piled too high. The laundry wasn't finished and the car I had to fix, My
stocks were down another point, the Dolphins lost by six.
And so with only minutes till my son got home from school, I gave up on
the drudgery and grabbed a wooden stool. The burdens that I carried were
about all I could take, and so I flipped the TV on to catch a little
break.
I came upon a desert scene in shades of tan and rust, No snowflakes hung
upon the wind, just clouds of swirling dust. And where the reindeer should
have stood before a laden sleigh, eight hummers ran a column right behind
an M 1 A.
 
A group of boys walked past the
tank, not one was past his teens, Their eyes were hard as polished flint,
their faces drawn and lean. They walked the street in armor with their
rifles shouldered tight, their dearest wish for Christmas, just to have a
silent night.
Other soldiers gathered, hunkered down against the wind, To share a scrap
of mail and dreams of going home again. There wasn't much at all to put
their lonely hearts at ease, They had no Christmas turkey, just a pack of
M M R Es.
They didn't have a garland or a stocking I could see, They didn't need an
ornament-- they lacked a Christmas Tree. They didn’t have a present even
though it was tradition, the only boxes I could see were labeled
"Ammunition."
I felt a little tug and found my son now by my side, He asked me what it
was I feared, and why it was I cried. I swept him up into my arms and held
him oh so near and kissed him on the forehead as I whispered in his ear.
There’s nothing wrong my little son, for safe we sleep tonight, our heroes
stand on foreign land to give us all the right to worry on the things in
life that mean nothing at all, instead of wondering if we will be the next
to fall.
He looked at me as children do and said its always right, to thank the
ones who help us and perhaps that we should write. And so we pushed aside
the bills and sat to draft a note, to thank the many far from home, and
this is what we wrote:
God Bless You all and keep you safe, and speed your way back home.
Remember that we love you so, and that you’re not alone. The gift you give
you share with all, a present every day, You give the gift of liberty and
that we can’t repay.
"...this is an open and grateful tribute to the men and women who serve
every day to keep our nation safe."
Author Unknown
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