Catching Idle Butterflies

Dirty Jobs

One of my favorite shows is “Dirty Jobs” on TLC. While most of it can be so disgusting I can’t eat at the same time the show is on, it does give me a new appreciation for those who willingly step in and clean up piles of poo and other icky things so we don’t have to.

But there are even dirtier jobs out there, some so dangerous and frightening, the people who step up and do those jobs never walk away unchanged.

And these people are but children; children old enough to fight, to die, to lose limb, yet are not considered old or mature enough to drink.

Looking at old photos of WWII soldiers, I was struck by their youth, many of them barely over half my age. Add to that the comment my mom made the other day, “These kids won World War II.”

Puts war into a different perspective, doesn’t it? While so called adults send youth into war, call the big shots as to where they will go and when, these young men and women having not yet experienced much of life win the battles.

They are the ones to get dirty, to stand at the gates of hell, sometimes step inside to never return, or come out so changed, the rest of their lives will never be the same.

Young adults, in many ways still kids, win our wars and make certain the rest of us remain free and safe.

I thank God every day for all of them, willing to do those dirty jobs most of us can’t fathom.