Giving honor where honor is due - fo' shizzle

Outside the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose where the PalmSource Developer Conference was held, rapper Snoop Dogg and his entourage of roadies, personal Bishop, friends, groupies, hangerons and wannabes were cruising through the lobby doing their "it's all about me - you can look, but don't touch" thang preparing to board the four buses from last's night whatever How The West Was One Tour.

Bishop Don Magic Juan.....fo shizzle! 

Off to my left, I saw a Marine waiting for his friend standing in the shadows. What a stark contrast. I went over, saluted him, shook his hand and said thank you for serving. Visibly moved, it was what he needed at such a time as this. It was nothing but a simple affirmation of giving honor where honor is due.
How appropriate to get an email later in the day (reproduced below).


1 

He's a recent High School graduate; he was probably an average student, pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old jalopy, and has a steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to be waiting when he returns from half a world away. He listens to rock and roll or hip-hop or rap or jazz or swing and 155mm howizzitor. He is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now than when he was at home because he is working or fighting from before dawn to well after dusk.

He has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but he can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less time in the dark. He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either one effectively if he must. He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional. He can march until he is told to stop or stop until he is told to march.


2 

He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not without spirit or individual dignity. He is self-sufficient. He has two sets of fatigues: he washes one and wears the other. He keeps his canteens full and his feet dry. He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his rifle. He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own hurts. If you're thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food. He'll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle when you run low.

He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like they were his hands. He can save your life - or take it, because that is his job. He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay and still find ironic humor in it all. He has seen more suffering and death then he should have in his short lifetime.


3 

He has stood atop mountains of dead bodies, and helped to create them. He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and is unashamed. He feels every note of the National Anthem vibrate through his body while at rigid attention, while tempering the burning desire to 'square-away' those around him who haven't bothered to stand, remove their hat, or even stop talking. In an odd twist, day in and day out, far from home, he defends their right to be disrespectful.


4 

Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather, he is paying the price for our freedom. Beardless or not, he is not a boy. He is the American Fighting Man that has kept this country free for over 200 years

He has asked nothing in return, except our friendship and understanding. Remember him, always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood. And now we even have woman over there in danger, doing their part in this tradition of going to War when our nation calls us to do so. As you go to bed tonight, remember this shot. A short lull, a little shade and a picture of loved ones in their helmets...


5 

"Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen."

When you receive this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our ground troops in Afghanistan, sailors on ships, and airmen in the air, and for those in Iraq. Of all the gifts you could give a US Soldier, Sailor, Coast Guardsman, Marine or Airman, prayer is the very best one. (fo' shizzle!)

fo' shizzle - which means:
1) Fo Sho
2) For Sure
3) Affirmative
4) Correct
5) Alright

fa sho; for sure, that is correct; you are correct my good sir or a common utterance that represents the acceptance or agreement of an action taken by said persons.
thats shizzle be off tha hizzle fo' rizzle