Father: Memorial For A Veteran

I wrote the following post as a tribute to Father around the time of Father's Day and Memorial Day because both are so linked in my heart to him but it is now, the day he was buried, that he really comes to mind. I am reposting it here. 


I can't imagine he planned to be buried on Veterans' Day but it gave great comfort to my Mother and me. First things being first, we both marched in the Veterans' Day Parade, me as a flutist in the marching band and Mother in the Ladies VFW Auxiliary. Only after that duty did we continue to the grave site to bid farewell to Pop. With that preface, here it is: 


When I think of Veterans the first person I think of is my Pop. Growing up, I often saw him in the uniforms of the Veterans Of Foreign Wars or the American Legion. He was always in parades or going to conferences. My earliest dancing was conducted on the toes of his shoes, to a live band, after a conference or parade ended. My Father's service to the United States was his proudest achievement.

He died when I was still young so my memories of him are faint but a part of him lives on through his poetry. My Mother hand typed these poems and passed them on to me, knowing my love of language.

Father left high school early to join the Navy for World War II. That is how he met my mother, a USO accordionist, on the opposite side of the country. He wore his Naval uniform for their wedding.

Few of his poems were about war but the following is. 

The Zero Hour

The whistle of the bombshell
The shot screamed high above
As I burrowed like a groundhog
I thought of home and love

We hadn't long to linger
The word came for the charge
We were welcomed to their trenches
By a blistering barrage

We took full half a mile
Of that cursed No Man's Land
Then reached the German trenches
And were fighting hand in hand.

I passed from the world of the living
And entered the world of the dead
Another American soldier 
To that war machine been fed

He was not fed to the war machine during World War II so he again served his country in the "Korean Conflict." (It took years for the United States Government to admit the action in Korea was a war so I remember it being referred to in this manner, in our household.) When Father retired from military service it was as a Senior Master Sergeant for the United States Air Force.

This was all before I was born but so much a part of my Father's identity that history class was alive for me. My oldest brother was a Vietnam era veteran and I remember the fear in our family of wondering when the war would end. When my sister joined the Air Force I was unnerved to see her in uniform. I was told she would be okay but as a little girl, growing up with hushed stories of war, how could I be certain?

Father always seemed haunted but at the same time, in wonder of life. When he finally was defeated, it was not war which took him but cancer. He raced to button up his life for his wife and remaining small child. He was not given enough time but Mum was a military wife and knew how to get through. By the time he left us, we both did. It helped he left us with this, which was read at his funeral:

Just See That You're Happy Today

Don't worry yourself with tomorrow
Tomorrow's a long way away
Forget all your troubles and sorrows
Just see that you're happy today

Try living your life for the minute
Who knows what tomorrow will hold
Try getting the best that is in it
Tomorrow itself will unfold

A lifetime you think lies before you
Can't you get wise to what's true?
A million and one things can floor you
Then where is tomorrow for you?

So live as I say for the present
Tomorrow will come as it may
Though you be a king or a peasant
Just see that you're happy today

He wrote the second poem while still in the Navy during World War II (February 10th, 1942). The world was going to hell in a hand basket and he was writing about embracing life. This is the legacy he left.

War. Service. Cancer. Duty. These are the words I think of when I think of my soldier father. On this day where we memorialize those who served and those who died for our country I give to you his words. For those who have suffered and died and those who have suffered and lived through the illness that was his final act in life, I give you his inspiration. Frederick A. Devlin III never missed an opportunity to serve his country or its citizens. 

Godspeed to all soldiers past, present and future whether fighting for this country or fighting for your life. Thank you for your service to country, community and family.

Marketers Eat Their Young

Twitter is a haven for marketers. One could almost say Twitter is their intranet. Since I am the curious type, I have sat through many web conferences on every manner of marketing, sales and public relations. This free education has been quite eye opening and has led me to hours more of independent study. Since I have had no intention of going into marketing, my interest is that of a consumer seeking to understand how I am being targeted and moulded. Admittedly, the former Consumer Advocate in me likely colours the way I absorb this material I am learning.

One big buzz word in marketing, for over a year, has been “branding.” The concept has been around for much longer but the drive to make companies, large and small, understand they need to brand themselves carefully and correctly (and therefore hire someone to do it) has recently been hyped relentlessly. Hundreds of thousands of gurus on the web can show you precisely how to do so, for a fee. Some of these gurus have advanced education, some have “certification” from a conference and some gurus have nothing more than a series of affiliate links and some snake oil. I pity the small to mid sized business owner who does not know enough to tell the difference between them.

Branding IS important but much is changing quickly.  The addition of real time communication via the internet raises exposure and concerns that have never existed before. Consumers love real time, open communication because it gets results from businesses. Businesses should like it because, if they have a good product or service, they get free buzz from happy customers. A good company that learns to stay on top of real time consumer feedback almost doesn’t need help with marketing, does it?  That is not to say they may not need training in how to best handle real time consumer feedback without getting burned but traditional marketing?

Who is driving the demand for branding campaigns? Most customers could not give a hoot if someone changes their image as long as they can still find the product, the product is still worthy of buying and they don’t look stupid using it. One company recently tried to rebrand itself and quickly reverted back to their old image because of hoopla on the internet. The consumers I know were unaware or saw it and did not care. The hoopla I saw was from marketers. They tweeted and blogged for two weeks about this incredible affront to an icon. Silly.

On Twitter I recently asked,

“Is it really "the customer" influencing brand (i.e. XXX) when the uproar comes from a bunch of marketers on Twitter & blogs?”

I follow many top marketers but received no response. I really wanted to know. Since I received no answer I started wondering why marketers would attempt to influence a brand if it weren’t their brand and that, of course, led me to the playground because the human race has never left there. And then I felt very naïve. Of course! It was not those other marketers’ toy so they hated it. I certainly don’t envy that advertising firm for having that lesson play out.

So where does it go from here? It is a much larger playground now with real time feedback. I wonder who the brands will listen to. Their customers, who are the life blood of their business? Or the marketers who know better than the petty customer what the customer really wants? And if the brand listens to the later, how much embarrassment can they take for not choosing the Mercedes of advertising? If they can’t afford to pay for someone who is unassailable, will they perish or just give up with traditional marketing all together?

(The author did not study marketing in college. She has never pretended to be a marketer.  She still doesn't.)

Photograph used under creative commons license from Chuck “The Caveman” Coker of Flickr