I went to the Titans game on Saturday night (I'm so happy that football season is starting again) and they paid tribute to the first Tennessee soldier to die in the Iraq conflict. Marine Cpl. Patrick Nixon who died in March. His parents and I assume siblings were introduced on the 50 yard line and greeted with a standing ovation which was well deserved. Whether or not you agree with the war, this young man gave his life serving his nation and he and his family deserve our gratitude and respect... Still this was a 21 year old boy and his momma was standing down there and I saw her lower her head... I know she was grateful for our applause, but she was still grieving from the loss of her son. She'll never see him marry, never know the grandchildren that he might have had, never know what the rest of his life held for him.

It's an easy thing to distance yourself from the realities of war and say we should invade here or send peacekeepers there. But the reality is that these are our the children of our friends and neighbors being put in harms way. Real people just like me and you are giving their lives there. I'm not saying to go protest or enlist, but sometimes it seems that people don't truly consider the true sacrifices necessary to fight and win a war. For one family in Tennessee, they understand, and will live with what this war has taken away from them every day for the rest of their lives.