Thanksgiving is this week?
ohgod...that means Christmas isn't far behind.
We will go to the roomies parents for turkey day dinner this year - again. I am being the good girl (stop coughing!) and taking a veggie and cheese tray, greenbean casserole, meat rollup thingies, a pumpkin pie and cranberry salad (yum).
The roomies Dad will fix the turkey and bread and I will help him with the rest when we get there. His Mother will sit in her chair (they call it her "nest") as usual and do nothing....as will the roomie and his son. I love his Dad. We get along great and he is a wonderful caring man. The roomie doesn't take after his Father...trust me on this one.
But after that we will head up to see my family. It's like night and day the differences in the families. And for me, a great one. The house will be full of people, lots of noise and laughter. There will be hugs and kisses and people trying to fill you up with all types of food and desserts. Kids will be running through the house and my Mom will sit there smiling and enjoying every minute of it.
She used to fix HUGE dinners for Thanksgiving. She would get the biggest turkey the store could order...28 to 32 lbs. And a ham. And we would have sweet potatoes, mashed ones too...veggies, cranberries, stuffing (not from a box)....and you would eat til you could eat no more...and later go back for more. The house would always be overflowing with family and friends and the night would usually end in a loud game of poker. Penny ante of course.
My son will be having dinner in Michigan with his Father and family there. His Grandpa will be in from Florida. Maybe next year we will get to be together. It's been too long. We will talk on the phone, probably a couple of times, and we will tell each other how much we miss and love the other.
And I will be thankful that I have him, and my Mom. I've come so close to losing them both in the last 3 yrs. But I have them, and I am forever grateful.
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Comments about comments received.
A quick Thank You to all who left comments on my posts, especially my last post in tribute to my Father and all Veterans.
Your comments were very kind, and greatly appreciated.
Your comments were very kind, and greatly appreciated.
Monday, November 07, 2005
In Memory...A tribute to a Veteran
There stood, in 1941, a young man. Handsome in his army uniform, standing about 5'11, 185 lbs, as he married his sweetheart of 3 months, not knowing that in 2 yrs he would be off to Europe, fighting a war unlike any known before. And he did, leaving a wife and young son to go to war. He was a Sergeant, in charge of a group of men all younger than he yet they all were prepared to fight for their lives, their country, their families. their freedom.
The horrors he saw were the same as those before him had seen, and those soldiers that would someday follow. He and his group of men rescued a woman and her daughters from the enemy, who were terrifying their lives attempting to rape them, and remove any innocence left in their souls. The woman being so grateful, gave the Sergeant her silver wedding band as a token of gratitude. He watched young men be wounded, some die. He held them as they took their last breaths. He saw young men lose their sanity, shooting at anything that moved..and cared for them until medics arrived.
The war continued for this soldier until Dec 28th of 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge...when one of the men in his troop, while marching behind him stepped onto a land mine, it exploded..killing the young private and seriously wounding the Sergeant. He awoke a few weeks later in a hospital in France. It was March of 1945 before he was able to go home.
He found upon his return that he no longer had a job, the plant would not hire him back, as they considered him disabled. He took a job with a drugstore, and worked hard and long hours to take care of his family. He also took with him memento's of the war, schrapnel still was in his body..with the threat that if it moved, it could kill him.
He worked hard, raised his family and grew older. He spent 3 days in 1972 at a veterans hospital going thru one test after another in an attempt to have his disability rating increased, so his one daughter could go to college. Nurses commented to him, questioning to find out if he was aware that he had metal in his body, he laughed. They increased his rating to 85%, not enough. He was so discouraged, but the daughter wasnt. She knew this was done with love, and it meant more to her than any medical school could have.
This man would sit and watch movies that would bring back the past, wringing his hands and smoking a million cigarettes as the memories over took him, yet this man who fought the enemy and had killed could touch a human with the softness of angels.
In 1989 he was hospitalized, at a veterans hospital. His wife and some of his children would visit every day, and listen to the stories told by the vets who were there with him. The daughter learned about life from these men, and learned of their courage, and how to find her own. The old Sergeant took a turn for the worse, and was placed in intensive care, and on Feb 24, 1989 they took him from there to a private room, so his family could spend his last few hours alone with him.
His wife of 48 years, and one daughter, spent that time with him, leaving only to fight with nurses to get him water, or storming a doctors quarters to get pain medication for a man who had given everything he had for his country, his home. Fighting to give this man his chance to die with dignity, as he had lived. She won her battle, they gave the soldier his medicine, and at 4:50 that afternoon the nurse called to his wife and daughter...saying "he needs you". His wife held him in her arms, his daughter at his side holding his hand, they said goodbye.
His widow has his flag, placed on the shelf beside his picture, and an old silver wedding band lays in the jewelry box. His purple heart is now a special possession of his daughter. He lies in a cemetary, with his son and an infant daugther, his grave marker bearing his name...
His soul is free, the war is over.
Dedicated to all Veterans past, present and future.
In Loving Memory of my Father
Sgt. Charles Joseph Horner, US Army
75th Division, 289th Infantry
Anti Tank Corps.
(Side note: I wrote this in 1998. It was published in a local newspaper for Veterans Day 1999 as the lead entry of a tribute to all veterans. I miss you Pop.)
The horrors he saw were the same as those before him had seen, and those soldiers that would someday follow. He and his group of men rescued a woman and her daughters from the enemy, who were terrifying their lives attempting to rape them, and remove any innocence left in their souls. The woman being so grateful, gave the Sergeant her silver wedding band as a token of gratitude. He watched young men be wounded, some die. He held them as they took their last breaths. He saw young men lose their sanity, shooting at anything that moved..and cared for them until medics arrived.
The war continued for this soldier until Dec 28th of 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge...when one of the men in his troop, while marching behind him stepped onto a land mine, it exploded..killing the young private and seriously wounding the Sergeant. He awoke a few weeks later in a hospital in France. It was March of 1945 before he was able to go home.
He found upon his return that he no longer had a job, the plant would not hire him back, as they considered him disabled. He took a job with a drugstore, and worked hard and long hours to take care of his family. He also took with him memento's of the war, schrapnel still was in his body..with the threat that if it moved, it could kill him.
He worked hard, raised his family and grew older. He spent 3 days in 1972 at a veterans hospital going thru one test after another in an attempt to have his disability rating increased, so his one daughter could go to college. Nurses commented to him, questioning to find out if he was aware that he had metal in his body, he laughed. They increased his rating to 85%, not enough. He was so discouraged, but the daughter wasnt. She knew this was done with love, and it meant more to her than any medical school could have.
This man would sit and watch movies that would bring back the past, wringing his hands and smoking a million cigarettes as the memories over took him, yet this man who fought the enemy and had killed could touch a human with the softness of angels.
In 1989 he was hospitalized, at a veterans hospital. His wife and some of his children would visit every day, and listen to the stories told by the vets who were there with him. The daughter learned about life from these men, and learned of their courage, and how to find her own. The old Sergeant took a turn for the worse, and was placed in intensive care, and on Feb 24, 1989 they took him from there to a private room, so his family could spend his last few hours alone with him.
His wife of 48 years, and one daughter, spent that time with him, leaving only to fight with nurses to get him water, or storming a doctors quarters to get pain medication for a man who had given everything he had for his country, his home. Fighting to give this man his chance to die with dignity, as he had lived. She won her battle, they gave the soldier his medicine, and at 4:50 that afternoon the nurse called to his wife and daughter...saying "he needs you". His wife held him in her arms, his daughter at his side holding his hand, they said goodbye.
His widow has his flag, placed on the shelf beside his picture, and an old silver wedding band lays in the jewelry box. His purple heart is now a special possession of his daughter. He lies in a cemetary, with his son and an infant daugther, his grave marker bearing his name...
His soul is free, the war is over.
Dedicated to all Veterans past, present and future.
In Loving Memory of my Father
Sgt. Charles Joseph Horner, US Army
75th Division, 289th Infantry
Anti Tank Corps.
(Side note: I wrote this in 1998. It was published in a local newspaper for Veterans Day 1999 as the lead entry of a tribute to all veterans. I miss you Pop.)
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Written Road Rage...part two
Young blonde girl checking your hair in your rearview mirror while driving a little Saturn...
I am an older blonde lady driving a Jeep. The next time you cut me off like that and then hit your brakes, I will throw it into four wheel drive and drive over your roof.
You won't like it. Trust me.
-----
Woman in the gold Chevy S10....
I know you wanted over into my lane. But hon, I was driving in the right lane, and the people on the sidewalk would not have appreciated it if I had gone up there with them. Pay attention to signs and what lane you need to be in ok? If you can't read, there are arrows. Just be glad you didn't hit me. I would have decked your ass.
-----
Young man driving the old Plymouth station wagon with the clothes hanger holding up your muffler, kinda sorta (it drags the ground hon), with the 30 day tag? You won't be passing echeck anytime soon sweetie. And the blue smoke? not good...really not good...(coughcough)...
-----
50something man in the black Escalade? You can not keep jumping lanes on the bridge to try and avoid the spray from the city fountains. It just aint gonna happen. Let the car get wet ok?
-----
Young couple in the Ford Escort...the light was red for you. Again I stress, I drive a bigger car. It will cause you major damage. If you are color blind - the red one is the light on the top.
-----
UPS truck? I know you are bigger than me. But do you really have to park in the middle of the road on a curve? Kind of hard to see around you.
-----
Ok, that's my road rage for today.
Ya just gotta love driving in Dayton....
I am an older blonde lady driving a Jeep. The next time you cut me off like that and then hit your brakes, I will throw it into four wheel drive and drive over your roof.
You won't like it. Trust me.
-----
Woman in the gold Chevy S10....
I know you wanted over into my lane. But hon, I was driving in the right lane, and the people on the sidewalk would not have appreciated it if I had gone up there with them. Pay attention to signs and what lane you need to be in ok? If you can't read, there are arrows. Just be glad you didn't hit me. I would have decked your ass.
-----
Young man driving the old Plymouth station wagon with the clothes hanger holding up your muffler, kinda sorta (it drags the ground hon), with the 30 day tag? You won't be passing echeck anytime soon sweetie. And the blue smoke? not good...really not good...(coughcough)...
-----
50something man in the black Escalade? You can not keep jumping lanes on the bridge to try and avoid the spray from the city fountains. It just aint gonna happen. Let the car get wet ok?
-----
Young couple in the Ford Escort...the light was red for you. Again I stress, I drive a bigger car. It will cause you major damage. If you are color blind - the red one is the light on the top.
-----
UPS truck? I know you are bigger than me. But do you really have to park in the middle of the road on a curve? Kind of hard to see around you.
-----
Ok, that's my road rage for today.
Ya just gotta love driving in Dayton....
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