Happy 4th of July and in memory of Huntmode, Peggie Duggan

Last year, my beloved friend Huntmode, on her Chasing Rabbit Holes blog, posted this video of the Star Spangled Banner. A lot has happened since last year. My friend and a friend to many, Huntie died May 15 of this year. She was a true patriot and loved this country and all the people in it.

In memory of this good friend and because we have such a wonderful country that we love, let’s crank this up and sing it, shout it with our hearts. Let’s come together as Americans – not special Americans, but Americans who truly love this country. And Huntie, I know you will be singing this with us.

Happy 4th of July. God bless America. God bless us all. And let us sing as one and pray for healing for our country.  And thank a veteran!!!!!!

Memorial Day: Remember and Give Thanks

copyright kanzensakura

My father was in the onslaught at Omaha beach. He only spoke of it once – how the bodies where so thick in the ocean where many had drowned, you could almost walk on them. How the sand of the beach was drenched with blood. My father lied about his age so he could join early.

He loved his country and his family and came back from the war forever changed. He was a tender, smiling man, gentle. There wasn’t a baby or animal who didn’t trust him or hesitated to be held in those loving arms.

If you live where you can believe as you want to believe, speak your mind, vote, spend your money as you wish, raise a family, worship as you choose, then don’t forget to thank a Veteran or someone currently serving in the Armed Forces. If you are in McDonald’s or Starbucks and the person in line in front of you is a current service member or law enforcement officer, fire fighter, emergency worker – thank them and buy them a cup of coffee. They do so much for us, the least we can do is say “Thank You”.

Here is a link to a post I did when I was given the Inner Peace Award.  I accepted it in memory of my father.  http://kanzensakura.com/2013/06/15/inner-peace-award     Have a safe and happy day and remember…

copyright Kanzensakura – my father, far left, Paris, 21st birthday

 

June 6, 1944 and My Papa

Many words will be spoken and written about this day. Mine will be brief and personal. My papa was part of the Normandy Invasion. Years later, he barely spoke of all that transpired and that happened to a soft spoken country boy who lied about his age and volunteered for duty. He was 16 but claimed to be 18. Papa’s band of brothers all had names for each other. His was “Country” but not “Country” in a down-putting way. It was a tribute to his slow, Southern speech, his generous heart, and his stubbornness and will to survive. I wrote about some of this in my post when I accepted the Inner Peace award in his memory (http://kanzensakura.com/2013/06/15/inner-peace-award).

He was a sharpshooter. A mild title for a brutal job. The few of his buddies who were able to come to his funeral spoke of him and how his ability often saved their lives, how his sweet smile and prankish behavior saved their souls by making them laugh and forget the hell around them, if only for a moment.

The picture of him (handsome guy on the left) was taken on his 21st birthday in Paris. His two best buddies in the picture with him, died within the next two weeks. We are rapidly losing this Greatest Generation as age and time takes its toll. We have much to thank them for. When we honor our vets, don’t forget to include these men and women in those ceremonies. I have much to be thankful for, but on a personal level. I always think of my papa and am thankful I am his daughter. I have been told I look like him. I’d like to hope I am also share some of the traits that made him such a loving and loveable person. To the Greatest Generation – thank you and God bless you.

Wounded Warriors – Thank you – Faith of the Heart

I volunteer at our local Veteran’s Hospital.  It has been my privilege and honor to be of service to our service personnel who have been wounded in the line of duty.  It has been heartbreaking and heart lifting.   I can do so little and really, it is they who have helped me.

We all have our journeys and wounds – some wounds take longer to heal than other.  But I have learned from these courageous warriors, it is your attitude that is what is important – how you define your pain and suffering and healing rather than letting the wounds define you.  They encourage each other and when necessary, tell one another to get off their pity pot and start going forward.  Wow.

Several years ago, a new saga in the Star Trek mythology came on TV – Enterprise – the pre-history of the original Star Trek most of us know.  I was immediately captivated by it and not just because the luscious Scott Bakula (a long time favorite) was the star of the show.  The theme music, when first I heard it in the opening credits, brought tears flowing down my cheeks.  Faith of the Heart….the words said it all to me about my journey, pain, hard times, renewal, faith, healing.  A few Sundays ago, it was my time to do the special music for church service.  After much thought of so many other songs, I chose this.  I chose it because it is a true song. It says much about my journey of faith as well as my journey of life.

One day on one of the wards, one of the guys was having a hard time with his physical and emotional healing.  He had lost both legs below the knee and one arm at the shoulder.  He had been working so hard and today, he was so tired of it all.  I was sitting, helping a young man with his lunch when one of the other men, began singing this song.  In just a moment, it was taken up by the others.  Obviously, this song rang true to them all.  I sat there awed and humbled by these men – they were wounded for us and now, they were at their most vulnerable and yet, also at their strongest.  The young man was encouraged and began to sing along.  Afterwards, they all applauded and cheered and continued on with their healing process.  No whining, no blame, no holding back –

The video with the words is below.  As you continue your journey in life, remember these words, remember these heroes, remember: it is your choice how you heal or don’t. It is your choice how you move forward or stay stuck.  They were wounded for us, but they were healed for themselves and those they love.

Thank you again to all our service members, wounded, healed, whole, deployed, at home, retired…God bless and keep you every one.

Inner Peace Award

Bronze Star Medal; Decoration of the U.S. Military (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

AjayTao and Clowie nominated me for this award and it is with great joy that I accept this award on behalf of my beloved Papa.  My papa was 16 when he lied about his age and joined and became part of the Third Army during WWII.  He was a sniper and earned high honors for marksmanship and a bronze star for valor.It is not however, his actions of battle, but rather his action of compassion that merits this award.  It was bitter cold in France.  Many of the soldiers had inadequate food, clothing, boots……because Papa, “Country” as his buddies called him, was one of those gentle, kind, funny, deceptively slow moving youngsters, he became a great favorite with all.

One day, he was in the mess tent grabbing a quick bite.  In front of him was a thin, shivering young man in a wet uniform, limping his way through the line.  Papa looked down and saw he was wearing wet, ragged socks.  During war and especially in winter, your feet are all important to guard and care for.  Papa asked the young man where his boots were and was shocked when he was told, “I haven’t had boots for several weeks, just socks.”  Then and there, Papa left the tent and went to the quartermaster and begged boots, dry socks, dry pieces of uniform.  He returned to the tent and gave to the young man who began to cry at the gift.  He asked Papa’s name and thanked him.

A few days later, Papa was going through a field of wounded soldiers for “clean up duty”.  He looked down into the dead face of the young man.  At the body recovery tent, Papa was called in and given a small bundle.  It consisted of a handkerchief, a bar of soap in army issue soap box, a stub of a pencil, and a New Testament stained with blood.  Inside, the young man had written that his belongings were to be given to my father.  “I have no family and he was more than a brother to me.”  I still have these items today, just as Papa handed them down to me.

Years later, Papa finally told some of the war stories.  He only told this one once and he wept the whole time.  He shook with sobs as he said, “At least his feet were warm.”

My Papa survived hell but with a tear in his soul that never fully healed.  In spite of this, he was a loving man.  Serene, gentle, funny….at peace with the world his God had created.  Birds were not afraid of him, all animals fell under his spell, babies reached out their trusting arms to him.  He spent his life loving and taking care of those who could not care for themselves.  His sapphire blue eyes reflected heaven and in spite of everything, you could look in his eyes and see peace and gratitude.

So this award is really for my Papa.  It was given to me by Ajay and Clowie – two other gentle sousl. T thank them for this award. I thank God’s grace for giving me the peace of knowing His love is constant, just like my earthly Papa.

May you all find peace within.

My Other Car is a Klingon Battlecruiser

Or … welcome to LaLa Land.  I am a realist, believe it or not.  But tucked away in my brain is my own world.  My blog is part of that world.  I invite people to sit on the porch, to visit the nishikigoi pond, to come by for fried chicken and lemonade or when the magnolias are in bloom, to help themselves to the blooms.  In turn, I’ve had visitors to the blog talk about camping out and being sure to leave it spic and span behind themselves.  Zooey the cat visits, Walter the black lab is also a regular and courteous visitor.

Sometimes though, the real world is just too much.  I have to leave and go into a world where thee is no one shooting children, torturing animals, starving the elderly.  In my world, there is no domestic violence, women are not circumcised so they can feel no sexual pressure nor are they tortured for learning to read or daring to have an opinion.  No one goes hungry, all have a place to sleep, eat, and be safe.  The past few days I HAVE JUST FREAKING HAD ENOUGH.  ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

But I also realize, if I stay in that perfect world, I won’t be out in the real world trying to make a difference.  I can’t count on everyone else to do my part.  So I made a resolve today – I would light a candle against the darkness, I would spread kindness instead of hurt.  I would do good instead of evil.

There is a movement on Facebook to do random acts of kindness.  Yes, I know….blahbah,  warm fuzzy, silly stupid stuff to a lot of people.  Personally, I think we are better than that.   I paid the toll this morning for the guy behind me and asked the toll taker to tell him Merry Christmas.  At McDonald’s I bought the breakfast of a man in the Army, on his way to his day’s duties at Ft. Lee. My husband, even when he was unemployed and money was so very tight, would buy the lunch of a service person.  I always found money in the budget to make up for it.  Say thank you to a service person, or EMT, or firefighter, or a cop.

Smile back at the child in the seat of the grocery basket in front of you.  Hold the door for someone.  Let the car in front of you in line from the on ramp.  Buy a cheap bouquet of flowers and hand them out to people you ride one the elevator with everyday.  Tell someone how much you appreciate them.  Say I love you twice to your spouse as you go out the door.  Buy some $5 gas cards and hand out randomly to cars parked around you.  Volunteer at the local Veteran or Children’s Hospital.  Help out at the local food bank.

DO SOME GOOD.  Make someone smile.  Slow down and smell the rain in the air.  Watch the sunset.  Savor life.  It is all too short.  Kindness is in short supply.  Let’s make it more available to everyone.

In the meantime, I’m going to cruise around in my Klingon battle cruiser and see if I can keep that skinny dog on the side of the road from starving – help him get to a shelter and be warm.  Stop to offer help to that woman with a flat tire.  I’m going to load up my battle cruiser with some toys and drop off at the closest Toys for Tots drop off station.

I think LaLa Land might just be achievable after all.  I need your help though.  Who’s with me?