Daily Ramblings – Memorial Day – Remember

Tags

America, Freedom, Heroes, Memorial Day, Remember, Sacrifice, The Fallen

Decoration Day

Sleep, comrades, sleep and rest
  On this Field of the Grounded Arms,
Where foes no more molest,
  Nor sentry’s shot alarms! 

Ye have slept on the ground before,
  And started to your feet
At the cannon’s sudden roar,
  Or the drum’s redoubling beat. 

But in this camp of Death
  No sound your slumber breaks;
Here is no fevered breath,
  No wound that bleeds and aches. 

All is repose and peace,
  Untrampled lies the sod;
The shouts of battle cease,
  It is the Truce of God! 

Rest, comrades, rest and sleep!
  The thoughts of men shall be
As sentinels to keep
  Your rest from danger free. 

Your silent tents of green
  We deck with fragrant flowers;
Yours has the suffering been,
  The memory shall be ours. 

—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Henry said it better than I could have. Today, we remember the fallen—those that made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Take a few moments and remember the brave souls, who gave their all so we could be free.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday – The American Spirit.

Tags

American Spirit, Can do, Resilient, Sacrifice, Scared, Serve others, Suffering, Tough, Volunteer, Win, Worried

The entire globe is being impacted by the coronavirus. It’s hard to be cheerful when you imagine the loss, suffering, and overwhelm many are feeling. How do you cope?

I cope with these types of situations by keeping my head, following guidelines from trusted resources, and doing all I can to maintain a sense of normalcy in these insane times.

The American spirt is something hard to quantify, particularly if you are not from here. It is facing hardship and finding your way through. It is doing for others who are worse off than you. It is fighting through whatever comes our way, and learning that if we all work together, we will succeed. Since our declaration of independence from the British Empire 243 years ago, we have survived wars, depression, political strife, including Presidential assassinations, impeachments, and all the rest. Each time this country goes through something, we always come out stronger than we were before.

When times get tough, we naturally get tougher. I’m thankful to be an American and proud of all the people who are putting themselves at risk for the sick, the people and companies who are contributing to the effort to curtail the effects of this virus, and just going out of their way to help and contribute to the well-being of others.

Do we have our share of knuckleheads? Sure. Hoarding, ignoring guidance, and all the rest. The majority of us are, however, doing all we can to help our neighbor and do our part. This is the American spirit that wins over diversity, strife, and disaster, over and over and over. I am grateful for that.

Today, I send good thoughts to all who are suffering, afraid, and feeling helpless and stressed. We will overcome this thing, like we have everything else.

Stay safe. Stay informed. Follow credible guidance from trusted channels.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Bonus Content – A Soldier’s Christmas

Tags

Christmas, Gratitude, Holidays, Sacrifice, Separation, Service, Serving Abroad, Soldiers, Thanks

Too all my brothers and sisters serving during the holidays:

A Soldier’s Christmas

Submitted By: Happytoscrapitall

The Night Before Christmas

T’was the night before Christmas, he lived all alone in a one bedroom house, made of plaster and stone.

I had come down the chimney with presents to give, and to see just who in this home did live.

I looked all about, a strange sight I did see: no tinsel, no presents, not even a tree.

No stocking by the mantle, just boots filled with sand; on the wall hung pictures of far distant lands.

With medals and badges, awards of all kinds, a sober thought came through my mind.

For this house was different, it was dark and dreary. I found the home of a soldier, at once I could see clearly.

The soldier lay sleeping; silent, alone, curled up on the floor, in this one bedroom home. Not how I pictured a US soldier.

Was this the hero of whom I’d just read, curled up on a poncho, the floor for a bed?

I realized the families that I saw this night, owed their lives to these soldiers who were willing to fight.

Soon ’round the world, the children would play and grownups would celebrate a bright Christmas Day.

They all enjoyed freedom, each month of the year, because of the soldiers like the one lying here.

I couldn’t help wonder how many lay alone on a cold Christmas Eve in a land far from home.

The very thought brought a tear to my eye; I dropped to my knees and started to cry.

The soldier awakened and I heard a rough voice, “Santa, don’t cry. This life is my choice.

I fight for freedom, I don’t ask for more; my life is my God, my country, my corps.”

The soldier rolled over and drifted to sleep; I couldn’t control it, I continued to weep.

I kept watch for hours, so silent and still, and we both shivered from the cold night’s chill.

I didn’t want to leave on that cold, dark night, this guardian of honor, so willing to fight.

Then the soldier rolled over, with a voice soft and pure, whispered, “Carry on Santa, it’s Christmas Day, all is secure.”

One look at my watch and I knew he was right, “Merry Christmas my friend, and to all a good night.”

Author: A peace keeping soldier stationed overseas

Scrapbook.com I do not know who the original author of this is, but wanted to cite the website I found it on. If you, or someone knows who the original author is, please reply in the comments, I will edit this and replace it with the original copyright owner. I had to share this. It warms my heart every time I read it.

Daily Ramblings – Happy Veteran’s Day!

Tags

Air Force, Army, Coastguard, Freedom, Grateful, Marines, Navy, Sacrifice, Thankful, Veteran's Day

I’m posting Monday’s posting early because I’m going to be enjoying my day tomorrow and will be doing another “Do Nothing Day” to celebrate. There are quite a few restaurants serving free meals and other goodies and I always try to take advantage of that. Subsequently, this posting will be my Monday Motivation post instead.

I wanted to express my thanks to all veterans, past and present, for their service. As a veteran, it’s great to see all the messages posted to social media. It makes you feel good about what you did for your country and I wanted to pass those good feelings along.

Our servicemen and women are everywhere providing security and support to the nations they are assigned to. They are enduring separation from their families, fear, stress, and in some situations, performing the impossible. Thank you for all you do. Your sacrifices will not be forgotten.

I’d also like to say Happy Birthday to all the Marines out there. Your 244 years of service has spanned every major war this country has seen. Your service has been exemplary. When the job is impossible, the Marines are called. I salute you.

I would also like to thank the families of our veterans. You share their burden. You worry. You miss our husband, wife, son, daughter, brother, or sister. The one thing that got me through my deployments were the letters you sent. We also enjoyed the care packages sent by random K-12 schools. We also enjoyed the USO shows when they came.

I will never forget my 20 years in the U.S. Army. I know those of you who are still serving will also never forget your experiences while you serve. I hope each of you a safe return.

For those that have lost a loved one, I thank you and your loved one’s for their sacrifice. Without the veterans of our armed services, none of us would be able to enjoy the freedoms, many of us take for granted from time-to-time.

Happy Veteran’s Day!

Until next time…

Dave

 

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Do One Thing

Tags

Ego, Expectations, Giving, Lifting, Love, One Thing, Rising, Sacrifice, Slight

Image by andreas160578 from Pixabay

Before you can improve your life and find a measure of happiness, you must learn to do one thing every day out of pure love. That means, don’t expect anything in return—neither thanks nor happiness. Pick that occasion carefully. Then, whatever that one act of giving of yourself to someone else is, do it with all your heart.

—Harold Klemp

The Language of Soul

What does this quote mean? I pondered this quote for years before I really understood its meaning. It means to literally do something for God. I like to focus on yard work for this one daily gift. I do it as a means of pitching in around the house, but anyone can go through the motions. When you do something out of pure love, it means you put all you have into that one thing. You take one more step to do the job better than you would normally do it.

When you do something of this nature every day, you get something back, even though you don’t expect it. The ego depletes when you do something of this nature. That is a good thing. The ego tends to get us in trouble, particularly when we feel like we’ve been slighted or disrespected. When the ego is eliminated or ignored, you cannot be slighted or disrespected. The ego is the only thing that can define slight or disrespect.

It is hard to explain the feeling that comes when you’ve done a good job for a good job’s sake. It is there, even if it is slight. You feel a rising inside. You feel something that is deeply fulfilling. Try this out for a day if you’d like. Then, pay attention to how you feel as you do the job and afterwards.

It’s these little things we can do each day that make a huge difference in our lives. I have found that the little things we do have the largest impact.

I wish all of you a great Wednesday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Memorial Day – Thank God You Lived

Tags

Always Remembered, Good life, Grateful, Memorial Day, Reverance, Sacrifice, Service, Thankful

Image by Jackie Williamson from Pixabay 

“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather, we should thank God that such men lived.” – George S. Patton

Today is Memorial Day. It is a day that honors those who have fallen to preserve and defend our way of life in the United States. Many confuse Memorial Day with Veteran’s day. Memorial day is for the fallen. Veteran’s Day is about those who have fallen or served during conflict.

Like the quote above states, I do not mourn the loss of men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for God and country. I celebrate them. I honor their memory. I am grateful for all the men and women who served because they volunteered. Yeah, some were drafted, some had no choice, but they came nonetheless. They served. They left their families; they left their children, wives and husbands, sisters and brothers. They left their lives, their pets, and their friends. They did it all out of a sense of duty.

Today’s posting will be short because there is really nothing else to say, other than “Thank you” for the service you provided–a service that many do not want to provide.

Until next time…

Dave