This is a very good read and spot on.
I stole this:

I talked to a man today

I talked with a man today, an 80+ year old man. I asked him if there was anything I can get him while this Coronavirus scare was gripping America.

He simply smiled, looked away and said:

"Let me tell you what I need! I need to believe, at some point, this country my generation fought for... I need to believe this nation we handed safely to our children and their children...

I need to know this generation will quit being a bunch of sissies...that they respect what they've been given...that they've earned what others sacrificed for."

I wasn't sure where the conversation was going or if it was going anywhere at all. So, I sat there, quietly observing.

"You know, I was a little boy during WWII. Those were scary days. We didn't know if we were going to be speaking English, German or Japanese at the end of the war. There was no certainty, no guarantees like Americans enjoy today.

And no home went without sacrifice or loss. Every house, up and down every street, had someone in harm's way. Maybe their Daddy was a soldier, maybe their son was a sailor, maybe it was an uncle. Sometimes it was the whole (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) family...fathers, sons, uncles...

Having someone, you love, sent off to war...it wasn't less frightening than it is today. It was scary as (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman). If anything, it was more frightening. We didn't have battle front news. We didn't have email or cellphones. You sent them away and you hoped...you prayed. You may not hear from them for months, if ever. Sometimes a mother was getting her son's letters the same day Dad was comforting her over their child's death.

And we sacrificed. You couldn't buy things. Everything was rationed. You were only allowed so much milk per month, only so much bread, toilet paper. EVERYTHING was restricted for the war effort. And what you weren't using, what you didn't need, things you threw away, they were saved and sorted for the war effort. My generation was the original recycling movement in America.

And we had viruses back then...serious viruses. Things like polio, measles, and such. It was nothing to walk to school and pass a house or two that was quarantined. We didn't shut down our schools. We didn't shut down our cities. We carried on, without masks, without hand sanitizer. And do you know what? We persevered. We overcame. We didn't attack our President, we came together. We rallied around the flag for the war. Thick or thin, we were in it to win. And we would lose more boys in an hour of combat than we lose in entire wars today."

He slowly looked away again. Maybe I saw a small tear in the corner of his eye. Then he continued:

"Today's kids don't know sacrifice. They think a sacrifice is not having coverage on their phone while they freely drive across the country. Today's kids are selfish and spoiled. In my generation, we looked out for our elders. We helped out with single moms who's husbands were either at war or dead from war. Today's kids rush the store, buying everything they can...no concern for anyone but themselves. It's shameful the way Americans behave these days. None of them deserve the sacrifices their granddads made.

So, no I don't need anything. I appreciate your offer but, I know I've been through worse things than this virus. But maybe I should be asking you, what can I do to help you? Do you have enough pop to get through this, enough steak? Will you be able to survive with 113 channels on your tv?"

I smiled, fighting back a tear of my own...now humbled by a man in his 80's. All I could do was thank him for the history lesson, leave my number for emergency and leave with my ego firmly tucked in my rear.

I talked to a man today. A real man. An American man from an era long gone and forgotten. We will never understand the sacrifices. We will never fully earn their sacrifices. But we should work harder to learn about them..learn from them...to respect them.

No words...
Great post, thanks for sharing.

X2!

Thanks for sharing, rags.

Very good outlook! We just do not realize how many men and woman we lost in WWII. If you do nothing else in your life go to Washington D.C. and visit the war memorial's and watch the changing of the Guard at the Arlington Cemetery.
Thanks for posting.

Guys I see it all the time in the school I teach at....lots of those types of kids and at times their parents.
But occasionally you’ll see the type that are respectful, courteous and polite...it makes you smile and gives you hope. It boggles my mind just how tough those folks were and the generation before them.

X3

Great story. From the greatest generation.

So damm true

Great reminder

Thanks for sharing

Very good.

Excellent ! Words to THINK about.... People need to stop and rationalize, slow the panic.

Spot on.

That was a most humbling and very true read. We are a weak society

Thanks!! We all need to read this!

And my kids think I'm Too radical about what's going on in the world today.

Apparently when they went to school, the school didn't reinforce our freedom concept too much.

The most the teachers taught that they have RIGHTS to do anything they wish without consequence.

Well said Rags anyone who reads this should be humbled and you don't even want to think about the people in whose countries the war was fought

Very good. I’m going to make sure my boys read that. Thanks

I sent copies to all three of my kids and others.

Words to think about.

Great Stuff!

Thinking I'll steal it from you...or borrow it?