Hunting Ghosts, Finding Spirits

I have a friend who is fascinated with the ghost-hunting craze you see on TV. She has digital cameras, digital audio recorders, thermometers and all the basic ghost-hunter devices.

I am a skeptic. I have logic, and the inability to believe in things that I either can't see or explain logically. So she has taken it upon herself to make me a believer. Good luck with that.

I find myself trouncing around various "haunted" places in the area. Apparently, I live not far from the "Bridgewater Triangle", one of the most active areas in the country for paranormal activity. Our travels bring us to many old cemeteries. TOday was no different, yet it was.

We stopped at this small, out of the way burial ground in a remote part of a small town nearby. The stones were marked with dates from the 17 and 1800's. But something was different here. There were flags on the veterans' graves. Veterans of The Revolutionary War. I was taken aback.

Every Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, and Independence Day, we remember our fallen heroes. But here, in front of my eyes, I was standing in the final resting place of these brave men. And I was humbled.

It is so easy for us today to get on Facebook and rant about our leaders, the economy, the system of things, and everything else we see around us. Each one of us has our opinion about how things should be. But other than posting on Facebook, we do little else.

These men, who were struggling to build a life for their families and themselves, put their lives on the line for their beliefs. a bunch of farmers took on the greatest military force of the era...and won due to sheer determination and courage.

As I walked away contemplating these things, I turned around, staring at the little flags. And then I, a man who has never worn a military uniform, saluted these brave men. It just felt necessary.

I don't pretend to know what our forefathers meant or intended when they penned the Constitution, and greater minds than mine have argued, and still argue, its meanings. But I do know that these men were willing to give their lives for the nation that had yet to be born, and that's worth something.

I still don't believe in ghosts, but today, I encountered a spirit. I encountered the spirit of a group of people unhappy with the way things were, and the spirit of those willing to die to change things.

Think about that the next time you want to post to Facebook. Doesn't seem like all that much, does it?

Take care my friends.