We celebrate Veterans Day, remembering those who served in the armed forces. Flags will fly, tributes will be made. It will be good and right.
But, I promise you, there will be a weight on everyone’s mind, from Boulder City to Elko. The U.S. exit from the Afghanistan war last summer could not have gone worse. We left people behind and that shame will stick to us for generations.
You can re-litigate the exit and try to spin it in a direction that serves your purposes, if that somehow makes you feel better. But, in the long tradition of American military history, the way left Afghanistan will remain an abiding discomfort whenever veterans are gathered.
That’s the way it is.
Somebody’s gotta tell the truth.
BIDEN EMISSIONS
Jeeze-o, get a load of the latest Joe Biden news out of Europe last week. At the climate summit in Glasglow, British reporters write that “informed sources” say the Duchess of Cornwall “was taken aback to hear President Joe Biden break wind as they made polite small talk.”
“It was long and loud and impossible to ignore,” the source said. “Camilla hasn’t stopped talking about it.”
I guess it’s not just the brain farts of Joe Biden that we have to worry about now.
CARDS & LETTERS
I received a beautiful note from Charley Vogt of a Rotary Club in one of our Battle Born Media towns thanking us for our annual Rotary edition.
“We can’t thank you enough,” he wrote.
The truth is that we can’t thank Rotary enough. The things this civic group does — whether there’s a worldwide pandemic or no — is remarkable. We are glad to share that news.
ONE MORE THING
— Man at local bookstore: “Do you have the book ‘Man The Master of Women?’” Bookstore lady: “The fiction section is in another aisle, sir.”
— “One ‘Ting’ Leads To Another” — the story of a professional triangle player.
— I have a step ladder because my real ladder left when I was just a kid.
— Accusers in the Salem Witch Trials were middle school girls. To those of you who endured middle school, this should make sense.
— To the clothes with a tag that reads “Hand Wash Only” I throw them in the washer and say “Go with God.”
— Finally, I found my spirit animal.
As always, thank you for reading. Until next week, please be kind to all you meet, laugh a little and always question authority.
(Sherman Frederick is a Nevada Hall of Fame journalist and co-founder of Battle Born Media, a news organization dedicated to the preservation of community newspapers. You can reach him by email at shermfrederick@gmail.com.)
