In honor of Veterans Day, I am sharing one of my favorite paintings, "The Homecoming" by N.C. Wyeth. I'm certain this scene has played many times in Vienna, in Johnson County and in many other Home Towns across America.

As the lone soldier returns home to the family farm, he is met by rural stillness punctuated only by his jubilant dog racing to greet him. The returning infantryman seems almost to hesitate—happy to be home, certainly, but overwhelmed. The faint reluctance of the man’s posture hints at unforgettable experiences. The soldier has dropped his bag, releasing his wartime burden at the threshold of the farm so that he can accept with open arms the life he used to know and the dog running toward him. A man returning to a farmhouse he left as a boy. His burden is at his feet. But it is still with him.