I know it's an awful strain on all of you just knowing me, but here's high-maintenance-me again to bring a special date to everyone's attention and a small way everyone can help. Not asking for much, but I'm still asking none the less.

The one and only one charity close to my heart is the Paralyzed Veterans of America. They work primarily with wheelchair bound vets to help rehabilitate them into valuable members of society. Yes, they solicit funds but along with that, every few months when a holiday like Memorial Day or Veterans' Day approaches, they send me a small card to sign that will be given to a disabled vet that has a short simple message of thanks.

Well, all of you who know me know that simply isn't enough for me. Attached (and pasted at the end of this message for those with weird email programs) is a short letter I wrote describing how I feel and if you share in the spirit contained in the message, all I ask is that you print a copy, sign it and send it to the PVA. Any monetary contributions, though appreciated, are not necessary. All I ask is a stamp. The address to send to is:

Paralyzed Veterans of America
P.O. Box 96010
Washington, DC 20077-7514

Thanks for humoring me. Bill me for the 38 cents if it doesn't come from the heart. Also, if you know anyone else who might appreciate getting in on this, please feel free to forward to them. More info on the PVA is available at http://www.supportveterans.org

Thanks again,
Cadillac Frank

(pasted message begins below. Microsoft Word format is attached here.)
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November 11, 2005

Veterans of America:

Every year the Paralyzed Veterans of America sends a card enclosed with the September/October mailer. This year, I feel it important not just to write a few lines and sign my name, but to take the time to actually compose something more for you, sons and daughters of America, who have made a compelling sacrifice in the name of liberty and so that all of us can proudly call ourselves Americans.

We hear it so often, that it is becoming a cliché – that we, as Americans, don’t appreciate our veterans. But the fact remains that it is true. The long and short of the matter is that people don’t want to be classified as “war-mongers” by respecting and appreciating the men and women of the armed-services who have answered their nation’s call to duty. It doesn’t make you a crazed, right wing “fascist” to thank a veteran for preserving the way of life you like to live and it doesn’t make you a sissy, “tree-hugging” hippy to be appreciative and take our vets’ feelings into consideration. It makes you a grateful American.

And the American way-of-life isn’t necessarily baseball games, BBQ’s and Nascar. The American way of life includes sushi and reggae music. The American way of life is lighting the candles on the menorah during Hanukkah and going trick-or-treating on Halloween. The American way of life includes salsa dancing and movies with subtitles. The American way of life is watching CNBC and BET. The American way of life includes getting in a car with your friends and driving for hours to see a town that you may never see again. It’s buying a paper cup of lemonade from the neighborhood kids who set up a card-table and some chairs. It’s a hanging up an evergreen wreath on your door at Christmas time and sipping a fresh-brewed cup of tea
from a samovar during the summer. That’s right, we’re talking about fried rice, chitlins, hot dogs, gumbo, gazpacho, hip-hop, chamber music, swing jazz, merengue, classic rock, rap, collecting stamps, coins, and credit card receipts. In other words, the American way of life is the best part of us all, whether we were born here, emigrated here, or can’t wait to get back.

In a perfect world, it’s all of us coming together and sharing what we cherish about our own “cultural identities” with our neighbors, best friends, and co-workers, as well as adopting some of their own. On top of all this is our freedom to do so. That same freedom is either wrongly abhorred in other nations and cultures, or viciously coveted.

In our fast-paced society, we often see lots of things taken for granted like an unanswered wave “hello” to celebrities who chose not to appear to accept their Academy Awards. The one thing that warms my heart is the knowing smile and heartfelt “You’re welcome” every single time I have shaken the hand of a veteran and offered nothing more than a sincere “Thank you.” No longer are we perfect strangers, we have both identified ourselves as Americans.

Our freedom is ours because you, my brother or sister, cared. With this message, I want you to know that when this Veterans’ Day comes, as I lift “Old Glory” to her place on the flagpole, as I place my hand over my heart and sing along with “The Star Spangled Banner” I, too, care. And I thank you.

Sincerely,