PM at Back on the Homefront has written a great post about some of the things a mom and her kids “do not” need or want to hear while Dad is away serving and protecting our nation. Go tread her post, I didn’t ask your opinion. It is an excellent read.
h/t: David M at The Thunder Run
Am I the only person who has lost a family member and just can’t seem to get through the grief of that loss? Is my family the only family that finds it cannot function the same any more because we lost a loved one? Don’t any of the other families who lost a husband, wife, brother, sister, son, daughter, father, mother, nephew, niece, boyfriend, girlfriend, …, feel like the pain of loss will never end? Don’t any of the other families who have lost a loved one find they are unable to talk to one another like before that loved one died? Don’t any of the other families feel like things will never feel the same again?
As you watch your loved ones family go through the motions of adjusting to their loss, don’t any others out there find themselves left with struggling to adjust to the new people who come into their lives? Do you feel resentful your loved ones family is going on with its life without him or her even though you know they still feel the pain of loss? Are others of you afraid that this new life will no longer have room for your family? As a parent or grandparent, do you feel afraid that you will never see your loved ones kids again if you don’t walk on eggshells around your loved ones immediate family?
Do any others of you feel that you are no longer welcome in your loved ones family or feel uncomfortable because you feel you no longer have any family rights. Do you feel that your life has been left in limbo because you do not know how or what you can or can’t do with respect to helping your loved ones family? Do you feel like they too are slowly slipping away and another enormous gap will left behind and there is nothing you can say or do to prevent the gap or hole?
Don’t any of you other families feel like a whole family once existed and now all that is left behind is a family of dominoes that just continues to crumble as you struggle to survive your loss? Don’t any of you other families feel as though all you have left are your conversations and visits to the marked grave of your loved ones because conversation and visits with the family you once had no longer exists?
As you listen here at home to the daily news on the war, the national politics, and, the rantings of those on the left, do you find yourself wanting to ask, “did my loved one die for nothing?” Do you find your family also divided along the same lines as those daily voices that assault your senses through the media? Do you find yourself wondering if your lost loved one would be ashamed at this state of affairs of your own family and your own nation?
As a veteran, family member of a veteran, family member of a lost veteran, or veteran supporter, do you find the words, “Never again!” constantly on the tip of your tongue and wonder if again another generation of veterans and loved ones have died, another generation of veteran families have been shattered all for naught because a small group of people, with the money and the means, are again trying destroy all our loved ones died for on behalf of America?
As you struggle to save what is left of your family, do you find yourself overwhelmed by a deep seething anger over the fact that you are left with so much grief, pain, and loss, and that again, it all may have been for nothing? Do you other families out there who have lost a loved one feel as though your life has become filled with a deep seated “fear” every waking moment that leaves you feeling helpless to prevent this outcome? Do any of you other families out there who have lost a loved one ever wonder how can I go on? Why should I even care? Why do I feel so isolated? Can anyone out there hear me? Is anyone listening?
Well, I finally got my computer “fixed.” I was beginning to suffer from “withdrawal.” My computer was so slow and it kept hanging up. I got so frustrated I wanted to apply the “magic” hammer cure. But, good senses prevailed.
I see I haven’t missed too much. Cheating Military spouses” still continues to pull in the most viewers and comments. I have to say I find this an alarming bit of information. It leads me to conclude that my posts are becoming so mundane that no other topic garners reader interest. I simply can’t accept that with all that is happening with the war effort “cheating” is the only topic of interest for bloggers, especially milbloggers!
I apologize for this sad state of affairs. I can only say that though my posts do not reflect such, there are many things going around in my head that are worthy of blogging. I simply don’t seem to be able to write about them. Bear with me as I try to get my act together.
Ok, I have added some new polls at the forum. I can’t wait to see the results.
I want to ask you all for your support for a project that means a lot to me. If you have followed my blog from the beginning, then you know that I am an avid SciFi fan. You also know that I am a SETI supporter and participant. At the present time SETI is about to lose one of its major tools, use of the Arecibo Observatory.
Arecibo Observatory has the world’s largest radio telescope. For years, I and thousands others, maybe even millions, have joined SETI. We download software onto our computers that allows SETI to send us data collected by the Arecibo radio telescope. Our computers also use that program to analyze the data and then send it back to SETI. The data we send back to SETI has been analyzed for certain types of data. This task saves the SETI a tremendous amount of time and manpower.
Besides looking for “E.T.,” the data we download and analyze has led to the discovery of new stars, pulsars, and other Astronomical discoveries in space. If a discovery is picked up in the data my computer analyzes, I get credit for the “find,” as do all other SETI members for their finds. We even receive certificates showing our SETI participation and how much data our computer has analyzed.
But, all this work will soon come to an end. Quite possibly, SETI faces its own demise. Congress is about to pass bills cutting the budget for the Arecibo Observatory. Please read the letter below I received from SETI about this latest struggle faced by SETI in its search for “E.T..”
Dear stargazer,
Arecibo Observatory, the world’s largest radio telescope and the source for
the SETI@home data that your computer analyzes, faces massive budget cuts that
will END its ability to continue the search for life beyond Earth. The decision
to ensure full funding currently rests upon votes in Congress on Senate Bill S.
2862 and House Resolution H.R. 3737. These bills desperately need more support.Please take a moment to help us SAVE ARECIBO.
Clicking the link below will direct you to a web page that allows you to print
out letters prepared for your Senators and Congressional Representative urging
them to support Arecibo. Printing and mailing the letters is really easy, too!
You will also have the chance to add a few personal thoughts, if you wish, to
let your Senators and Representative know why this funding is important to you!
And if you’re really feeling passionate about saving Arecibo, please use these
letters as the basis for letters you write yourself, urging your congressmen
and women to vote to save Arecibo.Because our representatives in Congress rarely give much attention to all the
email they receive, printing out and MAILING these letters via standard U.S.
Postal mail remains our best option for contacting them and our best hope for
saving Arecibo (The second best option is to call your representatives). Your
42 cent stamps on these letters could help us get the millions of dollars
needed to save Arecibo.Our search cannot continue without the necessary support. Your work, as
SETI@home participants, represents an indispensable resource for conducting the
search. Now, we need your help to ensure that our other most valuable resource
– our eyes and ears to the cosmos – can continue to probe the universe as we
seek to answer the question: Is there anybody out there?Thank you for your help,
The SETI@home Team
Please, go to the above link and show your support for the Arecibo Observatory.
I have a poll over on the forum that I hope you will all do. The poll is on cheating in the military. I look forward to an interesting outcome. So go to the forum link and cast your vote. Pass the word so others will take the poll too.
I decided to do the poll because of all the posts I have written, none have taken on a life of their own except this topic. The original post I wrote nearly a year ago is still drawing about 3/4ths of my viewers and a steady flow of comments. It is unbelievable.
I read humorous article not too log ago at News Blaze. The article, “Of all the bloody cheek! Mahalo and Aloha, Jihadist Dudes!”, was by John Lillpop. It was a great article. Check it out. It is a great read if you are not a jihadists!
though I have been tempted at times. My computer was broke for a while. I am embarrassed to say the problem turned out to be my monitor! When it finally died with a puff of smoke and the nasty smell of burning rubber, I was amazed I didn’t recognize the problem sooner!
I also had the sheer pleasure of watching my daughter graduate “Cum Laud” from college. Anyone who has had a college grad knows there is a lot to take care of at the end. Of course, I also had to plan a college graduation party for her. There was just no way I wasn’t going to celebrate with a party. Seeing the look on my daughter’s face when she received her diploma made every sacrifice to that moment worth it. I cried before, during, and after for days! I was just so proud of her!
A neighbor friend of mine became ill and needed someone to drive for a while. They don’t don’t need a driver now; but, I have been awfully busy helping out in other ways. So, needless to say, I have been really tired lately and short of time. But, that’s what friends do, help each other in times of need!
Sigh! Doesn’t look like I was missed too much. Oh, well, “such is life!” Anyway, I am still helping my neighbor and his wife while he recovers his health. So for a while, my posting will be sporadic! To all those who visit, thanks for stopping by.
Sen. Mitch McConnell is providing a chance for people to send General Petreaus and our troops a “thank you” for a job well done. If you have been following Michael Yon, as I have, you know that the surge has been an amazing success. Though there is much left to do in Iraq, the increased Iraqi citizenry support has been a direct result of the successful efforts of General Petreaus and our troops.
Throughout Iraq, even in areas previously extremely violent, amazing progress has been made. In many areas, localities previously violent, have improved and local “neighborhood watch” type groups have been formed by citizens previously fighting our efforts, the Iraqi Army efforts, and the Iraqi government efforts. These groups now work with all of the above. They report vital information which has led to the capture or kill of deadly enemy leaders and fighters. They have also led to the destruction of safe houses for terrorists, weapons caches, and IED’s. This has led to fewer troops being killed and fewer Iraqi being killed.
Troops redeploying to previous Iraqi hot zones have reported back on their blogs that they see profound and marked improvement. Where our troops had previously had to watch for IEDs and snipers around every bend, at every over pass, in every piece of roadside debris, they now have to remind themselves to be ever vigilant. This is because there are now fewer incidents. Though not a usual roll for our troops, they now find themselves in the roll of rebuilding infrastructure or instructing Iraqi in this effort.
Please take the time to go to Sen. Mitch McConnell’s site at this link and thank General Petreaus “and” our troops for the great job they have done and are still doing! Let us show them we support them in their efforts. Let us show them how very proud we are for what they do!
Keep an eye on the Congress by visiting Thomas frequently
NASA Breaking News VOA News
HELLO IRAQ 
Recent Comments