Happy Father's Day!

June 15, 2014

As we go about preparations to celebrate the Dads in our lives, let us remember that:

• Some Dads will not celebrate with sons and daughters this year.
• Some sons and daughters will not celebrate with Dads this year.

For a myriad of reasons some Dads will go it alone on Sunday not necessarily by choice as will some sons and daughters.

I am a military brat.

Always on my mind on greeting card holidays are veterans and active duty military personnel. Consider active duty military Dads serving abroad who will not be with their children on Dad’s Day. Consider active duty military sons and daughters serving abroad who will not be with their Dads on Dad’s Day.

My heart goes out to the sons and daughters and Dads of Veterans who are no longer with us. My heart especially goes out to Gold Star Dads, missing a beloved son or daughter. No man signs on to be a Gold Star Dad.

For every moment of peace we enjoy, for every day of grace and greatness we owe a person in the service of our country our heartfelt thanks and none are more deserving of that consideration than those who struggle to get through this day without the significant presence of the other half of the Dad’s Day equation.

I number among the fortunate because my Dad is still living large in my life. And for that, I am enormously appreciative not only of Dad himself but grateful to those who have paid the price so the majority of us can celebrate with our Dads any darn good way we please in the USA.

That’s it for today… Happy Dad’s Day to Dads everywhere!

Some of us are lucky enough to find our heroes early in life... I call my forever hero - DAD.

Happy Father's Day Tim!

A nod to Veteran Dads

June 125, 2014

Flay Day - USA!

June 14, 2014

Say it loud... say it proud... fly it high...

Memorial Day - Traditional

May 30, 2014

Before observances gave way to sham and artifice that accompany three day holidays... this day was spent by those who cared honoring those who no longer grace our presence with their physical form. Memorial Day was not exclusive to veterans in those days. As a young girl, I spent several Memorial Days with grandparents who laid wreaths on the graves of family members. I was taught the proper behavior for a cemetery. I was taught to be still for a moment... to dip my head in respect. At that time and place, I came to the knowledge that I had a history peopled with hard working, right living men and women and military men. I am all the better for receiving that revelation at such an early age. Respect for my roots, my elders, my paternal and maternal influences and my often hard-learned upbringing is part of what defines me. I have a deep and abiding respect for those who share their life experience with me. They are and will always be remembered.

Freedom's Not Free

Memorial Day

In honor of all Veterans who have served or are serving. We salute you!

Freedom's Not Free by The Rivoli Revue

Gather around their sacred remains

Memorial Weekend
Colorado USA

Let us, then, at the time appointed, gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with choicest flowers of springtime; let us raise above them the dear old flag they saved from dishonor; let us in this solemn presence renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us as sacred charges upon the Nation's gratitude, -- the soldier's and sailor's widow and orphan. -- General John A. Logan in his General Order No. 11 of May 5th, 1868, Decoration Day

Six thousand eight hundred flags were planted on the knoll at Veterans Plaza in Fort Collins, Colorado to honor soldiers who paid the ultimate price since the terrorist attacks on 911. A cluster of sixty eight hundred flags dotting a landscape is an awesome sight to behold. A patriot's heart will swell with pride and recognize it as a humble but fitting tribute just before a sobering mood settles in with the recognition that every single one of those flags stands for some husband or wife, son or daughter, niece or nephew - somebody's beloved someone who has given their all in service of this country and all its peoples. As beautiful as a field of flags may be - I cannot help but think how much more beautiful it would be to see those flags held high in the living, breathing hands of those who no longer walk among us.

For those who have served and are serving - our humble thanks.

Ride safe people - and more importantly - with humble, appreciative hearts - ride free.

Memorial Day: A Sacred Charge

Memorial Day 2014
Colorado USA

Before we roll out this weekend - I am inclined to revisit some thoughts on Memorial Day...

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I remind you government in no way, shape or fashion funds Memorial Day events. Politicians and bureaucrats do not fund Memorial Day flyovers or color guard participation. Memorial Day events are sponsored lock, stock and barrel by the American Taxpayer. Despite what you may hear -- politicians do not own this day by rule or writ or rhetoric. Grieving hearts and respectful sentiment own this day. People of all ages and from all walks of life will gather across the land in common purpose and reverence. Flags will wave. Bands will play. Bells will toll. The Star Spangled Banner will ring out across the land. Heads will dip in remembrance and respect as the names of the fallen echo across flag studded fields of honor.

Let us, then, at the time appointed, gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with choicest flowers of springtime; let us raise above them the dear old flag they saved from dishonor; let us in this solemn presence renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us as sacred charges upon the Nation's gratitude, -- the soldier's and sailor's widow and orphan.
-- General John A. Logan in his General Order No. 11 of May 5th, 1868, Decoration Day

As freeborn children we should spend this day in celebration and do so out of respect for the sacrifices made by generations of soldiers who have paid and continue to pay the ultimate price on our behalf. We should celebrate with a proud eye on the flag and lend an attentive ear to the families and friends of those who have fallen in the service of our country. We should stand in silent support beside a friend who once again grapples with the fact that they made it home alive while others did not. Lest we forget, we should pay our respects to veterans past and present in our own families.

We cannot let ourselves be blind or deaf to the sacrifice of increasingly unsung valor. We cannot become so immured to the reality and violence of war that we fail to respect the soldier's reality - those brave souls who defend and protect and serve. We cannot harden our sensibilities so that we do not see the pain of sacrifice in a mother’s eye or the bewilderment in the expressions of widows and orphans. Let our hearts not be so jaded that we cannot feel the loss of a single one of our brave.

Let us celebrate being American. Let us raise our flags high... let us raise our hands in salute... let us raise our voices in patriotic tribute... let us raise our heads in pride of country. Let us teach our children an appreciation for the veteran elders among us and guide them on the path that preserves freedom and liberty, justice and independence for all time. Let us do these things in celebration of diversified unity. United We Stand is not merely an old catch phrase - it is a call to duty. It is our duty, one we should impart with diligence to younger generations. It is a duty we should demand of anyone standing on our free and bloodied soil.

As we celebrate Memorial Day like we do so many holidays in the good ol' USA -- with picnics and beer, car races and concerts, flags and fireworks, motorcycle rides and mountain drives, and heaven forbid an inordinate amount of commercialism, let us pause in the revelry with grateful hearts and rejoice that we live in the land of the free. Let us renew our allegiance to the ideal that is the United States of America.

Finally - let us look our living veterans in the eye, acknowledge their service – tip a hat, shake a hand, hug a neck and keep in mind what Samuel Adams once said, If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin. Every day we wake in a free and civilized country is a reason to be grateful for those who have done the hard work and we can take comfort in the fact that they would all do it again.

Here's a nod of respect: American Legion Riders, Combat Vets, Run for the Wall Riders and dozens of other organizations as well as countless individuals will roll over thousands of miles this weekend to various remembrance celebrations and memorials across this land. My 78 year old Dad is scheduled to attend several such events on Monday alone. I just want to say to all of you - Ride Safe. Ride Free. You make me proud.

Finally, Happy Memorial Day is a common expression at odds with itself. I cannot imagine felicity being an appropriate expression of regards on a day we have set aside to memorialize those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our well-being. If they could tell us what is in their hearts, I imagine those who paved the way for our enjoyment of a three day holiday would kindly indulge our flagrant abuse of it. They did not sacrifice to be memorialized with tears and pain. No, they sacrificed so we the people could continue the uninhibited pursuit of life, liberty and happiness.

With that in mind, perhaps the highest tribute we can pay is to consider it our sacred charge to properly acknowledge every day as Memorial Day in the USA.

American Legion Post 202 Rocks Honor Flight Documentary Mission

Way to Go American Legion Riders and Patriots of Wichita Falls, Texas!

Honor Flight - KAUZ-TV: Newschannel 6 Now | Wichita Falls, TX

Slide show:

Thanks to all who shared their pics.

Happy Mother's Day Nezzie!

May 11, 2014

To the light, heart and brightest blessing of our family... Happy Mother's Day!