Sunday, December 24, 2006

Jebus Loves Us

The holiday season is proceeding at warp speed. Both kids are home for Christmas and we're all set for our 35th annual trek to my MILs house. When we first married it was her familys house on Christmas Eve and my parents house on Christmas Day. The whole clan gathers and has a gift exchange for the (mostly) adults - kids get presents from everybody. One year one of my BIL bought all the kids (about 8 of them IIRC) a battery-powered police car each WITH A SIREN. Absolute bedlam. It was more than 20 years ago and we still laugh about it...

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to both of my occasional readers. Be safe and treasure your fambly and friends.....

2 comments:

Greybeard said...

I spent Christmas 1968 at Pleiku-
Camp Enari, in the shadow of "Titty Mountain".
The U.S. Army did everything they could possibly do to make Christmas bright.... great food and plenty of it, and Bob Hope had Ann Margret in tow somewhere in the area, although I was on gunship cover standby and didn't get a chance to see the show.

There's something about being at risk and away from home that puts things in focus beneath a magnifying glass. It was easy then to know what was important, and what was crap. Family was important. Friends, particularly those that your life depended on, became family pretty quickly.

When I hear our troops in Iraq interviewed, I know that feeling of dedication to others still exists. Those guys also know what is important and what is not. Now our media folks are abandoning them just as we Viet Nam Vets were abandoned. I can't believe we're making the same mistake again.

Old Man, my brother, I wish we could find the words to keep history from repeating itself, but I think the words, even if we could find them, would fall on unhearing ears.

So, this Christmas I find myself frustrated. My "Red State Secession" post was written in jest. Now, if I could surround myself with Veterans and Active duty soldiers and form a new Union, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

That's a roundabout way of saying "Thank You" for stepping up when it was necessary.
I hope you and your family had a wonderful Christ's Birthday, and I hope your health continues to improve.
Be safe and well, my friend.

The Old Man said...

I was at Camp Holloway for Christmas 1969 and 1970. Seems almost like a simpler time then - even though the Army-in-its-infinite-wisdom wouldn't let us use the media for sighting in our weapons.
I talk to some of our troops that are back after their tour(s) in Iraq and sometimes I wonder if we're qualified to be a pimple on their asses. Then find out that they regard us as we do the WW2 and Korea troops - i.e.; THOSE guys must have been freakin' NUTS to put up with what they did...
We can't let the Kerrys, Murthas, and Clintons do what the Fondas and Berrigans did to us. Keep your weapons serviceable and your ammo ready - and pray we don't need 'em.. But I've got our troops sixes if need be and I know you do too. Us sheepdogs gots to stick together....

Take care and keep the faith, for by our actions shall they know us. And if they have an active synapse they had best fear us, for we are the once-betrayed. As the Israelis say - Never Again!