Ever wanted to say "Thank You"

[Rick Anges]

But Didn't.
Then wished you had?
>>>Click Here<<<
Don't Forget Them this Holiday Season.

[carolwicks]

Many thank yous are due to our MILITARY!!!!!

Thank you Rick. I have been so consumed by my own sadness that I actually forgot about our soldiers this week. I did send cards to soldiers who are in hospitals. But that isnt enough. All the petty things we complain about can't even hold a candle to what these people go thru day after day, week after week and even years after years. Their lives will NEVER be the same. Their families lives have been turned upside down.
They did this because of their love for us. Their committment assures that we will be safe and free. What each of them did will help change a world filled with hate to a world where everyone can live together in PEACE....
How can a hand sign make a difference? It can...It reminds them that they did not serve this country in vain. They will know that some of us are filled with love and gratitude for them. What greater CHRISTmas gift?
As for myself... well THANK YOU! Maybe my little ones will never have to carry a gun, never see thousands die, never have to succumb to a dictator. For this I am so greatful.
Every time I see anyone in a military uniform i go to them and i shake their hand and thank them. Sometimes i even have the courage to give a stranger "THE HUG".. ;-) thanks Rick for making me realize I am not alone with sorrow. Many are.
carolwicks

[Jim Fenton]

Thanks for sharing that Rick.

Here's "A Different Christmas Poem" I thought would fall into the same theme of this thread:

A Different Christmas Poem

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the Sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
but I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, then the
Sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."

"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.

My Gramps died at Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... An American flag.

I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.

I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."

"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.

For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
that we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

Author Unknown

Christmas will be here soon and some credit is due to our U.S. service men
and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities.

Let's all try in some small way to repay a tiny bit of what we owe.

Please stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.

[flvideo]

Thanks Rick Jim and Carol for the memories. I was in the Airforce so I never stood gaurd in the cold or slept in a fox hole, but man I have a healthy respect for those that did. I some cases we flew them to where they were going. In my case it was Vietnam, but there has been many a young man go into harms way and never see home agin. I can remember looking around the plane and thinking, which ones won't come home. They all were laughing and playing grab butt. Even now after 40 or so years, its a sobering thought to realize some didn't make it. May God bless all the families that have lost loved ones in wars and conflicts, and may he put a hedge of protection around those that are in harms way now. Thank you Bob........

[ocalasp76]

Thanks Flvideo

I may have been one of your passengers to Viet-Nam.
Just to let you know...I made it. Nam 69/70.
------JIM-----

[flvideo]

Probably not!

I was there early in the conflict Jim. 64/65, I'm an old codger, what can I say. I'm sure some crew looked at your group in the same way. Welcome home brother! Bob..........