I Will Remember................

Both my folks served their country,

my Dad in the Korean War and my Mom in WWll as a Navy Wave.

I miss them both........

Not Just Today, But Everyday....

I Will Rembember,

So They Will Not Forget...

• The number of U.S. armed forces personnel who served in World War II between Dec. 1, 1941, nd Dec. 31, 1946 was 16.1 million.
• The average length of active-duty by U.S. military personnel during WWII was 33 months.
• The proportion of U.S. military personnel who served abroad during WWII was 73 percent. - - The average time U.S. personnel served overseas during WWII was 16 months.
• A total of 292,000 U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines were killed in battle in WWII.
• The number of other deaths sustained by U.S. forces during WWII was 114,000.
• 671,000 U.S. troops were wounded during WWII.
• 5.7 million World War II veterans were counted in the 2000 Census. The census identified the period of service for World War II veterans as September 1940 to July 1947.
• The estimated number of WWII veterans living in California in 2002 was 475,000, the most in any state. Other states with high numbers of WWII vets included Florida (439,000), New York (284,000), Pennsylvania (280,000), Texas (267,000) and Ohio (208,000).
• The estimated number of women in 2002 who were WWII veterans was 210,000. These women comprised 4.4 percent of WWII vets.
• The proportion of all veterans in April 2000 who were WWII veterans, was 22 percent.
• The median age of WWII veterans when the last census was conducted was 76.7 years old.
• The proportion of WWII veterans who were still employed in 2000 was 11.6 percent.
• The number of WWII veterans in 2002 who received compensation for service-connected disabilities was 440,000, about half the number in 1990 (876,000) and nearly two-thirds less than the nearly 1.2 million disabled WWII vets in 1980.

Data courtesy of the U.S. Census Bureau and The History Channel Website

The Star Spangled Banner.................

There seems to be a lot of confusion lately just what our national anthem is. This song was written 194 years ago. I'm not really sure what copyright rules were in effect back then but you know, I'm thinking they should pretty much be the same as they are now. This song was written in regard to 'The War of 1812' and the British invasion during the birth of our country. In today's world there seems to be a lot of confusion towards its meaning. This song portrays a part of our history. Any revision or alteration serves an injustice to who we are as a country and where we came from.

This is a new millennium. Times are different now, our country faces different challenges. I respect the need for every voice, nationality, culture to be heard. But let this be a new day. Let a new song be written to express those needs and desires. Why must we alter/amend/steal a song from our past?

The Star Spangled Banner

Written by: Francis Scott Key - 1814

O, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming?

Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,

O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?

And the rocket's red glare, The bomb bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O, say does that star spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?

Now it catches the gleam Of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner - O long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion, sweepingly
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.

No refuge could save, The hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

O, thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.

Then conquer we must, When our cause it is just,
And this be our motto - "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Ode To A Fish Named 'Fish'..................

Alas, after three long years, my son's fish lost his battle to live and made his way into that land far beyond the bend in the toilet bowl. Last night as we fed him, I noticed he had lost much of his color and his breathing seemed labored. I pre-warned my son, Ben, that I thought the end was near.

Three years ago after a trip to Wally World I fell in love with a plant that had a Beta fish in a vase. My son fell in love with the fish. After many thought provoking hours thinking of the perfect name, my son came up with the ever original name "Fish" and on occasion "Fishy". After a month or so the fish lived long enough to warrant a tank of his own. While we have had a few other Beta's since his arrival he seemed to be the only one to survive the over feeding, the dirty tank, the toys accidentally or not so accidentally finding their way into his private abode.

As we went into my son's room to check on Fish's status we found him floating at the bottom of his tank. I was preparing the conversation in my head as to how to explain to my son that his fish was in fact dead and stiff as a board. Before I could even utter words of sympathy, my son said, "Mom, Fish is dead! Can I get a snake now?" (followed by his attempt at diabolical laughter). Needless to say it pretty much went downhill from there. My two sons got in a heated discussion as to who would get to push the handle on the toilet to send Fish to the Great Beyond.

Alas, sometimes some of life' lessons don't quite have the impact on our children as we often think they might. And sometimes when a small child loses the fish he had grown to love, he
is also forced to lose or let go of any dream he may have ever had of owning a snake.............. So for now, I am the Dream Crusher, the Evil Mommy who just doesn't understand how cool it would be to be the only kid in class to have a snake. Yes, perhaps those can be heavy words to some, but I know, by this time next week we will be back on the subject of Hermit Crabs and Frogs..............

Just a Simple Easter Greeting............

A New Song From an Old Favorite.........

O.K. I'll admit it, I'm a nerd. Growing up I always seemed to be a decade behind my time when it came to my musicical favorties. Or perhaps, I just had on old soul in a young body, who knows........

Whatever the case, I was a sucker for the lounge singers, Anne Murray, Helen Reddy, Mac Davis, John Denver, Barry Manilow and yes, the never say die, Kenny Rogers!

But that was decades ago and yes, with age comes growth and broadening of ones horizons. I no longer wear out the needle on my record player nor burn up my eight tracks. I have since converted to music from this decade. But every now and then, behind closed doors and in my solitude. I listen to some of my old favorites, and once in awhile one of them releases something new.

This time it was Kenny Rogers. While his voice has grown a little raspier over the years, it's always been his lyrics that caught my attention. A song from his new album is no exception. It made we catch my breath and smile. The perfect song for a person whose past haunts her.....

"I Can't Unlove You"
Sung by: Kenny Rogers

Postcards and letters
Pictures made to last forever
To Be boxed upand tossed away

Nick-Nacs, Souverners

In an afternoon
Their out of here
They dissapear without a trace
What they mean to me can never be replaced

[chorus]

I cant unthink about you
I cant unfeel your touch
I cant unhear all the words
Unsay all the things that used to mean so much
I wish i could unremember everything
My hearts been through
Im finding out its impossible to do
Oh, its no use, I cant unlove you
In this dance of old songs
Like time they go on and on
I guess i could learn to do the same
I could wake up without you

* The New Living Will..........

*I am sure you all know the importance of a living Will. Today most hospitals will not admit you without one. So then, here is a new and improved form forwarded to me by my friend. I for one have mine on file signed and notarized.........

THE NEW LIVING WILL....

• I, "Me, Myself and I", being of sound mind and body (well lets go with this, ok?), do not wish to be kept alive indefinitely by artificial means.

• Under no circumstances should my fate be put in the hands of pinhead politicians who couldn't pass ninth-grade biology if their lives depended on it, or any lawyers/doctors interested in simply running up the bills and using what little savings I have left, that might be passed on to my beloved children, spouse or significant other (and oh yeah, if my spouse/significant other is currently living with a female other then myself, ignore him as well!)

• Therefore, if a reasonable amount of time passes and I fail to ask for, or inquire about at least one of the following:

• ______ Where's my boys?
• ______ A glass of red wine
• ______ A shot of Tuaca, straight up, with a beer chaser
• ______ A Margarita
• ______ A Pizza
• ______ Chinese Food
• ______ Steak, Lobster or Crab Legs
• ______ Got any Sunflower Seeds?
• ______ Wait, is this my Destiny?
• ______ Sex?
• ______ Any comments on my Blog today?

It should be presumed that I won't ever get better. When such a determination is reached, I hereby instruct my appointed person or next of kin and attending physicians to pull the plug, reel in the tubes, and call it a day!

Signed _________________ Dated ___________________

*I received this via e-mail and tweaked it to meet my own personnel needs and desires relevant upon my own life. If any of the above occurs, my spouse, children or significant other, friends will know the end is near.........."

Thank You 2005!
(yes, I received this via e-mail!)

As another year will shortly be a memory, my heartfelt appreciation goes out to all of you who have taken the time and trouble to send me "forwards" over the past 12 months. Thank you for making me feel safe, secure, blessed and wealthy!

• Extra thanks for the ones that I have to open 15 times to get to the message.
• Special thanks to whoever sent me the one about rat crap in the glue on envelopes 'cause I now have to go get a wet towel every time I need to seal an envelope.
• Also, I scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason.
• Because of your concern, I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.
• I no longer drink Pepsi, or Dr Pepper, since the people who make these products are atheists who won't put "Under God" on their cans.
• I no longer use Saran wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer.
• I no longer check the coin return on pay phones, because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS.
• I no longer use cancer-causing anti-perspirants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day!
• I no longer go to shopping malls because someone might drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.
• I no longer receive packages from, nor send packages by UPS, or FedEx, since they are actually Al Queda in disguise.
• I no longer answer the phone, because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica, Uganda, Singapore, and Uzbekistan.
• I no longer eat KFC, because their "chickens" are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers.
• I no longer have any sneakers- but that will change once I receive my free replacement pair from Nike.
• I no longer have to buy expensive cookies from Neiman Marcus, since I now have their recipe.
• I no longer worry about my soul, because at last count I have 363,214 angels looking out for me.
• Thanks to you, I have learned that God only answers my prayers if I forward an e-mail to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.
• I no longer have any savings, because I gave it to a sick girl who is about to die in the hospital (for the 1,387,258th time).
• I no longer have any money at all - but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special e-mail programs!
• Yes, I want to thank you so much for looking out for me that I will now return the favor!

If you don't send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 7 minutes, a large pigeon with a wicked case of diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 PM (EDT) this afternoon. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of mine's next door neighbor's ex-mother-in-law's second husband's cousin's beautician.

Have a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Merry Christmas!!

CHRISTMAS JOY...........

(Winifred F. Walters)

Christmas may be many things
or it may be a few.
For you, the joy is each new toy;
for me; it's watching you...........