Happy Fourth and Happy Anniversary

Tomorrow while the country celebrates Independence Day, my wife and I will celebrate our wedding anniversary.
Covering sports for a living sounds exciting, but in reality it also has its own set of issues.
She has endured the years I spent working until the wee hours of the morning producing the next day’s newspaper pages.
She has overcome the fast-paced meals together before I rushed out the door to head to a ball game.
She has waited patiently as readers stopped me in the store to say either kind words or to bash my writings.
Thankfully, she is a sports fan and enjoys watching games from the comfort of our home as well as the road trips to watch LSU, LSUE or the University of Louisiana – Lafayette play.
She has sloshed through the snow, sleet and rain in our treks to the Independence Bowl.
I am grateful that she is understanding, supportive and both my biggest fan and toughest critic.
So today, I want to say thanks to her for all these years together.
She is quick to defend my honor and is the foundation that keeps me steady.
She is there for suggestions, constructive criticism and praise when she feels I deserve it.
I have become a better man every year of our life together.
She loves me in spite of my shortcomings.
As a sports editor, covering athletes and their accomplishments are always a part of my job.
Sports writers often use military terms in describing what they saw during a game, but courage is not facing a 90- mph fast ball or taking a hit from a 290-pound lineman.
The real heroes are not the guys who hit .370, belt 50 home runs, throw for 3,000 yards, or run for 1,500 yards, score 30 points a game or even speed around a race track.
Anyone who has ever served our country and defended our freedom, those are the real heroes.
I grew up around the Navy, Air Force and Army personnel in Northwest Florida and always admired them.
My parents took my sister and I to see the Blue Angels numerous times.
Now my wife and I have taken our daughter and grand daughter to see the shows and the Naval Museum.
On our last visit, we toured around the complex with a retired marine who told stories and talked about the old planes.
One man he mentioned was the legendary Ted Williams.
Known as the Splendid Splinter, Williams spent five years as a pilot and flight instructor during both WWII and Korea, many of those years were during the prime of his baseball career with the Red Sox. Williams went down in history as perhaps the greatest hitter in the game.
If he had not spent those years serving his country, no telling what he could have done on the baseball field.
But the world is a better place and we appreciate what he and thousands of others did to defend our freedom.
Enjoy the Fourth of July with your family and friends and always remember what makes this day special in our country’s history.
One thing about getting married on the Fourth of July, at least I will always remember my anniversary.
And the whole country celebrates.