This'n'That; May Thirty-First #1; The End

May Is Was 'Military Appreciation' Month
    Our two-family house in Rochester, N.Y., normally flies two American flags; one on the first-floor porch, the other on the second-floor 'balcony.'  For the various military-based holidays--and the entire month of May--I fly two more flags as well.  One is the U.S. Air Force flag, the other is the U.S. Army flag.  
    I grew up in a pro-military although my dad was never able to serve in World War Two.  Besides having a heart murmur, Dad was considered 'mission-essential,' thus  ineligible for the draft or to enlist.  Dad worked in the dairy processing/ production industry all his life, eventually becoming the Lab Manager/bacteriologist for Grandview Dairies.  During the 'Greatest Generation' era, he was one of the few buttermakers in New York State; the only buttermaker in Steuben County (the Southern Tier), N.Y.
    In the very early 1950s--when one could still lie about his age--both my older brothers went into the service; one in the Army, one in the Navy; one was 17, one was almost 16!!  [We were a 'blended' family; my brothers (and a sister) were from 13 to 16 yeaars older than I]  My younger-older brother went into the Navy for 4 years; my older-older brother went into the Army and stayed to retire after 24 years.
    I went into the Air Force two days after my high school graduation in 1964.  After a 2-1/2 year break-in-service, I went on to serve through 1979 before the 'shit got too deep' and I got out, forgoing the 6-1/2 more years to a 20-year retirement.  Several years after that active duty, I went into the Army Reserve's 98th Division, New York State.  I only lasted a little more than 4 years, having to leave the services permanently with the contraction of Type Two Diabetes.
[Whew!!  That's kind of a ways from May being 'Military Appreciation' month!!]
I have always appreciated the military every day, not just when I can fly my two flags.  I've always been appreciated when folks find out that I've served, in both war and peace.  At sundown, this evening, my two military branch flags will come down until the next military-oriented holiday comes along.
Til Nex'Time....