Late Veteran's Day entry

It's late, and I should have done a Veteran's Day post YESTERDAY, but leave it to me to be late. It's OK though, I forgive myself ;-)

Becky went crazy today and posted her basic training picture. YIKES! It got me to wondering if I could find mine. HA! Silly me. I am so unorganized there was no chance of that. Honestly I seem to have very few pictures of me in uniform at all. More than 8 years in uniform and nothing to show for it. Being the smart girl that I am...I called mommy. And you know what? SHE couldn't find my basic training picture either. That makes me feel so much better, because SHE is the organized one in the family.

There was a time in my life when I had time to scrapbook and I was THIS close to having my pictures organized. That dream is long since gone and I don't see it being a reality for a good 5 years at least. Of course, now that everything is digital my problem is they are all still on my computer and not printed. Oh wait, but at least they're almost organized on my computer, right?

So...Veteran's Day. Today our young men and women are joining the services knowing that it is quite likely they will find themselves in the midst of a war. But they sign up nonetheless. When I took the oath back in 1987 I had no idea that our country would shortly find itself in the midst of Desert Storm. Much like I had no idea that 2001 the future of our country's path would be irreversibly changed by the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

We are blessed in this country to have an Army (and Navy and Marines and Air Force and Coast Guard) of volunteers. Isn't that amazing? Isn't it amazing that what we have here in the United States is so precious....that people feel so strongly about how great our democracy is that they volunteer to protect us against whatever will come next. It touches my heart like few things in this world can.

And speaking of touching your heart. Here's a story that got a lot of coverage (at least in our little corner of the world) today. Socks for Soldiers. An enterprising young lady found out that soldiers in Afghanastan have cold feet so she is gathering wool socks from now until mid December and then sending a shipment over. You've seen the movies. Soldiers are often in those boots for more hours than we care to think about. And lets not forget that most of them are young men (and you KNOW young men, their hygiene is marginal in normal conditions let alone deployed in a strange country!). I think it's a fabulous idea! If you can't get through to the article, here's how it ends: Donated wool socks for troops serving in Afghanistan can be mailed to: D. Mansfield, 7136 Pine Lake Road, Fort Wayne, IN 46814, where they will be packaged for shipment. Cash donations to defray shipping costs are appreciated.

Now, for your amusement. The pictures that I did find. Let it never be said that I always looked good in uniform ;-)

And because I don't want you thinking that I always look like a total geek, I give you me (with my 1st ex husband...ya, I have NO luck with men, what can I say? But weren't we adorable?)