Did you enjoy your cookout today? Did you go camping today? Or did you spend your day off from work (maybe even school) with a cold drink in front of the TV?

Did you see a man or woman in uniform today?

I bet there are many people who take this three-day weekend, and others like it (Veterans' Day, anyone) for granted. Others, I'm sure, are ignorant, wondering what or who is being memorialized.

Can I urge you to reconsider? Let me inform you.

Today, we honor our fallen brothers and sisters—fellow Americans who don the uniform of our armed services and put their butts on the line so that we don't have to. Perhaps you noticed a theme in many (but not all, unfortunately) of the marathons on TV. Today we remember—and hopefully, we are thankful—those Americans who died to give us and preserve for us the freedoms we enjoy.

How much more pertinent is this Memorial Day given the activity our military is currently in. America's sons and daughters are deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq, fighting to bring liberty and justice to Afghans and Iraqis and preserve the same for us here at home. Of course, you are free to agree or disagree with that if you like (to which I ask, "Has there been any terrorist activity here since our soldiers have brought the fight to them?").

So, whether you agree or disagree with the reason our countrymen are deployed, whether you are Republican and Democrat, whether you are red, yellow, white, black, or whatever, you can be thankful that they are doing what they are doing and doing it where they are doing it because you're not. They volunteered for this service so that we could stay home and stay safe at home. More importantly, we can all be thankful that there are those who answered the call in years past and gave their lives so that we can live in peace.

Did you see someone in uniform today? Did you go up to them, shake their hand, and thank them for their service to their country?

Please, don't let an opportunity to do so pass you by, no matter the day of the year.