FOUNTAIN HILL ARIZONA

I arrived in Maricopa County Arizona on Sunday Night, I have been the guests to Chuck and Sharon Shinall at the Camelback Scottsdale Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. They have a two bedroom suite right across the walk way from the Pool.

I have been spending my days relaxing at the pool and then last night we rode up to the Indian Casino at Fort McDowell. At the the casino I had Indian Flat Bread with beans and Cheese. I had never had Indian Flat bread but the whole concoction was really quite tasty.

After losing my limit of $20 in the casino we made our way down to the Fountain Hills Community to see the fountain that gives the community its name. The Fountain at Fountain Hill goes off every hour on the hour and sends water mover than 560 feet into the air. It is one of the largest fountains in North America. It was quite an impressive sight.

The community also has a very impressive Veterans Memorial adjacent to the fountain.  The most impressive feature is the statue of an aging veteran standing facing the flag, a cane in one hand and saluting with the other. Quiet simple but very powerful. 

This statue reminds me of a site that I saw in 1990 when I stopped at the Eisenhower Center in Abilene, Kansas. It was just a couple of days after Ike's 100th birthday celebration and there were 100's of  World War II Veteran visiting the Eisenhower Center.

I was sitting in the Place of Meditation, the small chapel where President and Mrs. Eisenhower are resting. As I sat there many of these aging World War II would walk  up to the rail overlooking the Presidents Crypt. Many of these veterans were dressed in their uniforms and many carried canes but as they stood at the rail, all of them stood as straight as their aging bodies would allow and render a crisp salute.

But there was this one veteran tat sticks in my mind to this day. As he entered the chapel he was accompanied by his family who were ready to aid him. He was hunched over a walker and slowly made his way to the rail. As he stood at the rail, he pushed the walker aside and with all the strength he could muster, he stood at attention. And as he renders his crisp salute, a tear trickled down his cheek.

As the day progressed I was honored to talk with a few of these members of the Greatest Generation. To the man all of them spoke with admiration and respect of the man they called The General. This statue at the Fountain Hills Veterans Memorial reminds me of those aging veterans who found a way to honor their General and who served this county so bravely.

From Fountain Hills it was back to the Camelback Resort and we called it a night.