Thank you to those who have lost their lives, and to those who risk their lives to protect us.

When I am watching a particular TV program, they will inevitably at the end flash pictures of the men and women in the armed forces. What I find particularly poignant is how young they are. Some of these brave men and women are right out of high school or even some newlyweds. One particular funeral that left me with tears was the sight of a mother draped over her son’s coffin, not wanting to let him go. He was just 19.

I can’t imagine the pain she must have felt. If that had happened to you, and your only child died, could you go on? If it had happened to me, I guess I would just want to be buried at the same time. Life would just be too difficult.

Dr. Martin Luther King once said “Death is not a blind alley that leads the human race into a state of nothingness, but an open door which leads man into eternal life.”

When I see police cars racing up the street, sirens blaring, I often wonder if they are going after the bad guys or just going to help someone. I also remember seeing a firefighter rescuing a woman whose house was on fire. To my amazement, these brave men and women rushed into a burning home to save the occupants. I heard a woman screaming, begging for help, and I thought, “This is just like the movies.” I stood there while they performed acts of heroism that go unnoticed in the newspaper. I soon left there thinking about what I had just witnessed. Acts of bravery, whether they are by firefighters, police, EMTs, etc. — these people go about their jobs flying right below the radar. We couldn’t do without them.

We sometimes criticize these people, especially the police. Sometimes it’s justified, other times it’s not. What I do know is if my house is broken into by a bad guy, I am not going to call the Roto-Rooter man. I’m calling the cops, hoping to God they get there in time.

Moreover, if the cops do catch the bad guy, I want some type of revenge — immediately. I guess that’s why I’m not a police officer. Some people accuse me of having a bad attitude. I just call it passion.

I wonder what life would be without these people who put themselves in harm’s way. I guess I probably wouldn’t get a speeding ticket, and the bad guys would get away, and that woman whose house was on fire would not have been saved. Often, it seems like we have more sinners than saints, especially if you watch the news. If it bleeds, it leads, so you never hear about people like us — people who play by the rules, do the right thing and live life.

2009 is here. As we turn over a new year, and some of us turn over a new leaf, I just want to thank not only the brave soldiers, but the police, firefighters and other heroes for putting themselves in harm’s way. May God bless you and keep you safe.

No excuses.