Friday Funday: A Reason To Say "Merci"

For nearly a century now, since the end of the first "war to end all wars", World War I, Americans and Europeans have celebrated Veterans Day - previously called "Armistice Day" - on the eleventh day of the eleventh month each year, pausing for a moment of remembrance at the eleventh hour.

Every year since we began publishing The Daily Felltoon, we try to remind you of this occasion. We try to reflect on the fact that this isn't a day to mourn over those who were lost, but to celebrate and thank those veterans who've done so much for us.

From soldiers and sailors, to simple housewives who helped colonize the new world, too often, those of us living in the U.S. and Europe forget the sacrifices those who came before have made for us to get where we are today.

That's at least part of the reason that on this Veteran's Day, we're also celebrating the accomplishment of our editor Amy, and her husband, Eric, on the completion of their latest cartoon vignette, "Daughters of The King", part of the ongoing graphic novel, "Snow By Night" (free, and available for viewing at snowbynight.com).

The story behind their vignette is a true one, about the real-life "Filles du Roi" - a French-Candaian organization similar to the to the Daughters of the American Revolution. The story is well-told, and we highly recommend you read it for yourself.

It's also a story that never could have been told if it wasn't for all the cartoonists that have come before, like our own Paul Fell - someone we don't thank enough for all the incredible things he's done for us - or Hal Foster who created the serial comic Prince Valiant, or the creator of the often enduring Family Circus cartoons, Bil Keane, who died this past week at the age of 89.

Keane was a veteran himself, having served in World War II, and he knew the value of a simple "thank you" to those who've long deserved it, but rarely receive it and never ask for it.

In that light, and in light of the fact that many veterans simply go about their daily lives like anyone else, and don't make a big deal of their service - including our own webmaster - we ask that today, and this weekend, you simply say thanks to someone that you're fairly sure doesn't always receive it.

Thank your favorite cashier at the grocery store, the one who always seems to be there when you are, and who remembers details about your life - and cares enough to ask you about your life. Thank the janitor at your workplace who keeps things nice - far nicer than they probably should be, considering the animals you work with. Thank your neighbor too, for simply not being the kind of person who paints their house bright Pepto-Bismol pink.

Yes, we absolutely want you to thank anyone you see who quite obviously served their country and helped keep the peace or win the war.

Millions of others, however, who we may never really notice, also deserve our thanks for all the wonderful gifts those of us in the United States and the European countries enjoy today.

To them, we say, "Merci", "Danke", "Grazie" - or simply, "Thank you."