July Reflections & Independence Day

Hello and welcome back for another posting to The Albatross! Stay tuned for another posting in the next week or two to make up for some lost time. Stick with us faithful readers as we work hard on building this community up! 

We’ve had a slower month recently but that’s ok! We’re hopeful for many more wonderful months with lots of great writing and art to showcase. 

Remember: If you or someone you know have something they would like to have published on this blog, you can send it to info@djdfoundation.org. 

And as always, thank you to everyone who reads and helps in anyway they can. 

Every effort helps create this space for our veterans and we couldn’t do what we do without you all! 

I wanted to reflect a little on Independence Day. 

Every year, our nation celebrates the day with firework shows, parades, family gatherings and BBQ’s and moments for looking backwards. 

Generations and generations of military members and veterans have sacrificed so much so that we could live the way we do. 

Love it or hate it, it’s a fact that our country was built upon many great people who sacrificed many things for all of us to have the freedoms we have. 

When I think about the all of the freedoms we have been afforded as Americans, the first one that comes to mind is always the freedom of speech. 

The freedom to express ourselves. 

What a wonderful gift it is to be able to say what’s on our mind. To unburden yourself with the simple act of talking it out, or writing it out or putting brush to canvas. 

Whatever your medium may be, we all have been afforded the freedom to express ourselves. 

The David J. Drakulich Foundation believes that creative expression is more than a simple passing hobby. To all of us, it is a way of life but also a way to preserve our history. It’s a way to process the things that are too difficult to hold. Art helps us build community, as we’ve seen at the Foundation countless times. But most importantly, art is a way to ensure that the voices speaking up get to be heard.

We recognize that freedom is not only something we inherit—it is something we continue to exercise. Every poem, painting, journal entry, conversation, and personal story contributes to that freedom by reminding us that every voice has value.

The Albatross was created to honor veteran’s wishes to preserve their right to free speech and to share their authentic stories through art with the world. In the spirit of all of that, I wanted to share some pieces from an older edition of The Albatross from a couple of summers ago. I hope that you enjoy it! 

If you have a story to tell, a poem you've written, artwork you've created, or simply a reflection you've been carrying with you, we hope you'll consider sharing it with our community. Your experiences may resonate with someone who needs to know they are not alone.

Stay tuned for more blog posts!  Submit your work to info@djdfoundation.org.