Video For The Children

Over at One Guardsman’s Spiel, I found that Sgt. Guardsman has been busy in a wonderful way:

(tissue warning for sure!)

Over the last few months, between recruiting, ETSing, moving, and starting a new chapter of my life, I have been working on a new video. It is finally ready and I’m ready to share it with you all.

The inspiration for this video comes from the Family Support Group for the unit I supported while I was a recruiter. I finally saw first hand how it isn’t only the soldier who sacrifices for this country. I saw how sometimes the world forgets how much the children of our Armed Service Members really sacrifice.

This video is for the kids… it’s for every concert or soccer game their parent miss. It’s for every band or choir concert their parents watch on video thousands of miles away. This video is for how much we really love our kids – and why sometimes mommy and daddy have to be away. Its because we don’t leave because we don’t love our kids – it’s because we leave BECAUSE we love our kids.

Any comments are welcome.

God bless the children ~

And thank you, Sgt. Guardsman, for such a touching reminder.

July 7, 2007. Videos, military. 1 comment.

Some Fun

One of my commenters at my “More Thoughts” post reminded me to laugh. He’s good at that ~ Thanks, Tom!

So today I thought I would lighten things up a bit before I get out my tape gun and bubble wrap. ( poor dogs – they’re a bit twitchy from us stepping on the bubble wrap by mistake.)

So this is dedicated to my dogs:

TO: GOD

FROM: THE DOG

Dear God: Why do humans smell the flowers, but seldom, if ever, smell one another?

Dear God: When we get to heaven, can we sit on your couch? Or is it still the same old story?

Dear God: Why are there cars named after the jaguar, the cougar, the mustang, the colt, the stingray, and the rabbit, but not ONE named for a dog? How often do you see a cougar riding around? We do love a nice ride! Would it be so hard to rename the “Chrysler Eagle” the Chrysler Beagle”?

Dear God: If a dog barks his head off in the forest and no human hears him, is he still a bad dog?

Dear God: We dogs can understand human verbal instructions, hand signals, whistles, horns, clickers, beeper s, scent ID’s, electromagnetic energy fields, and Frisbee flight paths What do humans understand?

Dear God: More meatballs, less spaghetti, please.

Dear God: Are there mailmen in Heaven? If there are, will I have to apologize?

Dear God: Let me give you a list of just some of the things I must remember to be a good dog.

1. I will not eat the cats’ food before they eat it or after they throw it up.

2.. I will not roll on dead seagulls, fish, crabs, etc., just because I like the way they smell.

3 I will not munch on “leftovers” in the kitty litter box, although they are tasty.

4. The diaper pail is not a cookie jar.

5. The sofa is not a ‘face towel’. Neither are Mom and Dad’s laps.

6. The garbage collector is not stealing our stuff.

7. My head does not belong in the refrigerator.

8. I will not bite the officer’s hand when he reaches in for Mom’s driver’s license and registration.

9. I will not play tug-of-war with Dad’s underwear when he’s on the toilet.

10. Sticking my nose into someone’s crotch is an unacceptable way of saying “hello”.

11. I don’t need to suddenly stand straight up when I’m under the coffee table.

12.. I must shake the rainwater out of my fur before entering the house – not after.

13. I will not throw up in the car.

14. I will not come in from outside and immediately drag my butt.

15. I will not sit in the middle of the living room and lick my crotch when we have company.

16. The cat is not a ’squeaky toy’ so when I play with him and he makes that noise, it’s usually not a good thing.

And, finally, my last question…

Dear God: When I get to Heaven may I have my testicles back?

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dedicated to all my email “friends” I didn’t even know I had:

Thanks to all the forwards ……

I must send my thanks to whoever sent me the one about rat poop in the glue on envelopes because I now have to use a wet towel with every envelope that needs sealing.

Also, now I have to scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason.

I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl (Penny Brown) 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 Bill Gates/Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special e-mail program.

I no longer worry about my soul because I have 363,214 angels looking out for me, and St. Theresa’s novena has granted my every wish.

I no longer eat KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers.

I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.

Thanks to you, I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I forward an email to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.

Because of your concern I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.

I no longer can buy gasoline without taking a man along to watch the car so a serial killer won’t crawl in my back seat when I’m pumping gas.

I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr. Pepper since the people who make these products are atheists who refuse to put “Under God” on their cans.

I no longer use Saran wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer.

And thanks for letting me know I can’t boil a cup water in the microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face…disfiguring me for life.

I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS.

I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.

I no longer receive packages from UPS or FedEx since they are actually Al Qaeda in disguise.

I no longer shop at Target since they are French and don’t support our American troops or the Salvation Army.

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 have any sneakers — but that will change once I receive my free replacement pair from Nike.

I no longer buy expensive cookies from Neiman Marcus since I now have their recipe.

Thanks to you, I can’t use anyone’s toilet but mine because a brown African spider is lurking under the seat to cause me instant death when it bites my butt.

Thank you too for all the endless advice Andy Rooney has given us. I can live a better life now because he’s told us how to fix everything.

And thanks to your great advice, I can’t ever pick up $5.00 I dropped in the parking lot because it probably was placed there by a sex molester waiting underneath my car to grab my leg.

Oh, and don’t forget this one either!

I can no longer drive my car because I can’t buy gas from certain gas companies!

If you don’t send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 70 minutes, a large dove with diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 PM this afternoon and the fleas from 12 camels will infest your back, causing you to grow a hairy hump. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbor’s ex-mother-in-law’s second husband’s cousin’s beautician…


Have a wonderful day….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dedicated to the Military :

MIL-SPEC STANDARDS AND BUREAUCRACY

The US Standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That’s an exceedingly odd number. Why was that gauge used? Because that’s the way they built them in England, and the US railroads were built by English expatriates.

Why did the English people build them like that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad tramways, and that’s the gauge they used.

Why did “they” use that gauge then? Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing.

Okay! Why did the wagons use that odd wheel spacing? Well, if they tried to use any other spacing the wagons would break on some of the old, long distance roads, because that’s the spacing of the old wheel ruts in those old roads.

So who caused these old ruts in the old rutted roads? The first long distance roads in Europe were built by Imperial Rome for the benefit of their legions. The roads have been used ever since. And the ruts? The initial ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagons, were first made by Roman war chariots. Since the chariots were made for, or by Imperial Rome, they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing.

Thus, we have the answer to the original questions. The United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches derives from the original specification (Military Spec) for an Imperial Roman army war chariot. Thus, MilSpecs and bureaucracies live forever.

So, the next time you are handed a specification and wonder what horse’s ass came up with it, you may be exactly right. Because the Imperial Roman chariots were made to be just wide enough to accommodate the butts of two war horses.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And for those of us in the second half of our century:

Eventually you will reach a point when you stop
lying about your age and start bragging about it.

Some people try to turn back their odometers.
Not me, I want people to know “why” I look this
way. I’ve traveled a long way and some of the
roads weren’t paved.


Have a great weekend with lots of laughs!

 

July 7, 2007. Chuckles. 2 comments.

From My Email

 ~ items of note:

I just got this from a Marine that I support. He sent this as his good-bye
before going to the airport at the end of his 2 week leave. At the end, he
asks that we share it.
Thanks,
Sherri

Subject: A Marines Promise

If I ever go to war Mom, Please don’t be afraid.
There are some things I must do, To keep the promise that I made.
I’m sure there will be some heartache, And I know that you’ll cry tears,
But your son is a Marine now, Mom, There is nothing you should fear.

If I ever go to war Dad, I know that you’ll be strong.
But you won’t have to worry, Cause you taught me right from wrong.
You kept me firmly on the ground, yet still taught me how to fly.
Your son is a Marine now Dad, I love you Semper Fi.

If I ever go to war Bro, There are some things I want to say.
You’ve always had my back, and I know it’s my time to repay.
You’ll always be my daybreak, through all of life’s dark clouds,
Your brother is a Marine now, Bro, I promise I’ll make you proud.

If I ever go to war Sis, don’t you worry bout me,
I always looked out for you, but I can’t do that anymore,
Cause I’m a big bro to all in America.
I love you so much and you know that, Your brother a Marine now Sis,
So wipe your eyes, I’ll be fine even if I die.

If I ever go to war my Friends, We’ll never be apart,
Though we may not meet again, I’ll hold you in my heart.
Remember all the times we had, Don’t let your memories cease,
Your friend is a Marine now, Dear Friend, And I’ll die to bring you peace.

And when I go to heaven, And see that pearly gate,
I’ll gladly decline entrance, Then stand my post and wait.
I’m sorry Sir I can’t come in, I’m sort of in a bind,
You see I’m still a Marine Sir, So I can’t leave them behind.

as a Marine i tell you that if you are a Marine or know a Marine you
better repost this or pass it on…Done, Sir!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

From CJ:

Those that have been around ASP for a long time will remember the much beloved “Beef Jerky Wars”.  For those that weren’t around, you can read this, http://www.soldiersperspective.us/2005/06/02/the-battle-of-beef-jerky/, or go to our site Beef Jerky for Dummies ( http://beefjerkyfordummies.blogspot.com/) which was created during the vaunted “war”.

Well, I’m resurrecting the battle starting with a call for Beef Jerky.  I want to send JP ( www.milblogging.com), who is now deployed, a HUGE box o’ beef jerky, word find paperbacks, and magazines from the 1980’s.  If you don’t have old magazines, send me completely useless magazines like Home & Gardens or Vogue that I can send to him and his troops.  So, I’m asking for you to send me beef jerky, word finds, and old or useless magazines, clearly violating JP’s own rules of care packages ( http://milblogging.com/index.php?entry=entry070626-093920).

Please send this to everyone you email and post it on your blogs and My Space pages.  Please don’t openly post my mailing address, but give it out to anyone wanting to send any of these things.  I want to hide this from JP as long as possible, so please don’t mention that the stuff I’m collecting is for him.  I’m sure he’ll figure it out, but he is in the infantry, so I’m counting on it taking a while!!
There ya go, CJ!

(Email me if you would like the address.)

 ~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Soldiers Angels Call to Action!:

Angels

We have a sad case here that is turning out pretty good if we can help. This Marines name is Robert.

So bear with me while I tell this story and then you all can decide if you can help or if you know of someone that can help.

We have a Marine that was in the first Desert Storm picked up a germ over there and it mutated on him but being a toughMarine he survived that and lived thru it. At one point Robert had signed a DNR when he was in the hospital with the virus because the virus

had gotten into his heart and ruined a valve. He overcame that.

He was in a park and wearing a shirt that labeled him a Marine and was out walking and a car came along and someone in the car shot Robert in the head and also in the neck and severed his spinal cord. He lay there with people passing by, finally a man came along and noticed it was not wine he was laying in but blood and called 911.

Robert was in a coma and the hospital dug up that old DNR and they had a set time they were going to take him off the life support machines Mom and Dad were there and when they took it off Robert slung his right arm and turned his head and looked at them and you have heard the phrase the lights are on but nobody’s home, well this wasn’t the case with Robert he was very much home.

Robert had been in a Nursing Home for several years and nothing was being done to help him at all, Roberts father contacted our Patti and she sent a laptop to Roberts father  had it installed for his son and Robert perked right up. This was seen and they moved him to a place where they instantly started helping Robert and Robert has done so well that he is talking now.

One time they had Robert in wheel chair and he was taken along with other patients to see a Soccer competition for the disabled and they asked him if he wanted to play, he said yes and he got out there and he was doing so good that he and someone collided and knocked him out of his wheel chair and everyone rushed over to see how he was. The wheelchair landed on top of him.

When they turned him over to see if he was hurt, he smiled and they looked at the sparkle in his eye and the guy ask his doctors if he could go to a soccer tournament in another state. Robert is doing so well and the Drs. have told the Father that he can now take Robert out for a hamburger etc just to get him out.

OK the problem is the father needs a Van to transport Robert, the VA will pay for a conversion but the Van has to have less than 50,000 miles on it and be less than 4 years old.

I asked the Father if we got a good down payment on a Van can they make the payments and he said yes he can.

If any of you can help with this please email me for directions. As always thank you very much for reading this.

saalertteam@soldiersangels.org

Bonnie Averett

Soldiers Angels. Org.

Let’s see what we can do – please share this with your readers or email buddies.

July 7, 2007. Troop Support. Leave a comment.