Veterans Day 2009

In Memory this Veterans Day 2009


I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
And then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.


I heard the sound of taps one night,
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That taps had meant "Amen,"
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn't free.


-Kelly Strong

People/Things I Am Thankful For Part III

As I add to this list of the people and things I am thankful for..I add my wonderful daughter Ann..she was a late delivery to wrap up our core family but a MUCH wanted and needed addition. Savanna Anna for sure...lol...Tim was 6..was in school..and she arrived..."What had we done???"..let me answer that question with a most simple answer...The RIGHT Thing!
We were complete (or so we thought..until these kids grew up and added their own to our family) Yeah! More on that later.
We were a (we thought?) regular family..the house, the pets, the many trips to the mountains and beach...and then we became gypsies and started to roam. Ann had not finished school..Tim had already graduated..she did not have a choice...she went along with us willingly (at times) as we lived in Fl. Ga. Calif. Va...what an exciting life...she went to all those different high schools and somewhere along the way became (sometimes in spite of us).. the kind, wonderful daughter,sister,mother, and friend that she is today.
I believe she could be the poster child for adaptability,energy and always having her girls best interests at heart. Some days just listening to what she accomplishes and does for her family tires this old Bear out. She moved here to the farm...loves the life...works so unselfishly for her church and community...enjoys her work, and is my best friend in so many ways. I hope she knows I appreciate her. Her Dad and I love having her and her girls here. Continue to grow and thrive my little girl..you make me proud.
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