For Veterans Day this year, a friend who is a Marine veteran of the Korean War sent me a YouTube video of the moments before the season opener of the Toledo Walleye hockey team.

It features Joe Everson, an artist who can do remarkable things with a brush in the time it takes to sing a song, which is what he does in the video. During the short clip, which builds to a surprise ending, Everson synchronizes his artistic talents of singing and painting.His rendition of the national anthem alone was one of the finest I have ever heard, and his final brush strokes on the canvas are gripping and emotional.Inspired by the video clip, I researched the man behind the strong voice and the inspiring message he delivered with his brush strokes.From a child, Everson had a love and passion for art so he pursued that dream by developing his skills at Northland International University in Dunbar, Wisconsin, where he met his wife, Bethany.Because the eyes give much insight into a person, he was attracted to Bethany right away. An artist, he said, can observe a whole life wrapped up in a face, adding that his inspiration comes from the eyes.Early in his marriage, Everson worked 60 hours a week driving a fuel truck, working construction jobs and singing in a quartet on the weekends, but his dream pursuit was "to live by the brush."Today, Everson's art balances realism with a modern, abstract approach, but he admits it is constantly moving and changing with how he sees the world.He said his early struggles taught him to be who he was supposed to be. Today, he realizes that if he was meant to be a janitor, he would have found a way to love what he was doing, and be the best janitor that he could be.That kind of approach should serve as inspiration to any young person seeking to achieve the American dream by choosing the right path for their life.With all the abuse recently being heaped on the American flag, the Everson video and his personal story were like a breath of fresh air, especially after seeing the social divide stoked by racial unrest and a contentious presidential election.Our national anthem has also been the subject of protest, especially by some professional football and basketball players, who were inspired by Colin Kaepernick to kneel during its singing or playing.Last week, it was inspiring to see members of the Kent State University men's basketball counter the wave of Kaepernick-inspired scorn for anthem.Just before the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" before their game against the Mississippi Valley State, each member of the team went into the stands and invited a member of the crowd to join them on the court to sing it.The players came up with this idea themselves, and chose people of all ages and races. The university said that the team did it "as a show of unity during a divided time in America."Keep in mind that this same university in Kent, Ohio, was the site of one of the most violent and deadly anti-war protests in American history. On May 4, 1970, the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of unarmed students protesting the expansion of the Vietnam War, killing four students and wounding nine others.In response to the campus shootings, up to 4 million students staged strikes in universities, colleges and high schools throughout the nation. It was a very contentious time in America.As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, be mindful that social eruptions in a free society are never far off, and given the toxic presidential election we just endured, the emotions are even more frayed.This year I'm thankful for individuals like artist Joe Everson and elite student-athletes like the Kent State basketball players who choose to put their political differences aside in order to deliver a message of healing and hope for this land.By Jim Zbick |

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