"America's Holiday Opine".......MAY THE TRUE MEANING OF
CHRISTMAS......FRIENDS....AND FAMILY.....LIGHT YOUR HOLIDAYS WITH JOY EVERY DAY
OF THE YEAR... ~ WELCOME to the Day after Christmas "Field of Dreams
Today"...The Email that keeps the tree up until Jan 2...... ~ I want to thank my
dear friend Pastor G.C. Branton for the Christmas EVE and Christmas "Field"..I
think you can see what a thoughtful and insightful man he is...He and his wife
Linda have touched my family's life in so many ways that have been a blessing. I
am honored to call both dear friends... ~ Lots of Welcomes today...I talked to
my good buddy RON SCHEER last night..Ron a former Chicago White Sox was with me
in Peninsula in 1986 and 1987....We have a great Winston-Salem Hyatt Hotel road
trip story that will be in "Big League Dreams"....I still get mad that the maids
cart would not fit in the bus!!..WELCOME my good friend!!!....Also my good buddy
GYLE CLEMENTS joins our family today...Gyle manages upscale restaurants
and his "Ground Round" in Auburn, New York was our biggest supporter for the
AUBURN ASTROS "Cayuga County's ONLY Professional Sports Team"...We have a couple
of baseball stories as well...WELCOME...And I spoke with Assoc Editor DAN
TAUKEN last night and he sends his best...I was made an adopted Uncle to little
Dan and am honored... Dan and wife Jody expect their 2nd child in
Feb....CONGRATS!! ~ My Grandfather took a bunch of the family to lunch
today..And yes you guessed it Cousin Dan was there.....We talked politics for
THREE hours and yes I am still right.....But Dan did admit that "Howard Dean is
probably "unelectable"...I am not sure the rest of the family enjoyed our opine
but he and I have not really talked politics for 3 years so we caught up....So
from the RIGHT it was me ...And from the FARRRRRR FARRR FAR left was Cousin
Dan....It was good to see evryone..Yes.. even you Dan.....He and I are Virginia
Cavalier fans..So we agree on something.... ~ From te book "How to Be a
Christmas Angel"......"Make time during the holidays to strengthen family
ties"...Speaking of "Family Ties" I really liked that "Alex P Keaton"
caracter..... ~ THINGS that bother me...Radio stations that stop playing
Christmas music at midnight the 26th...The holidays go until Jan 2 guys and
people still want to hear it..... ~ TIME Magazine named the US Soilder "The
Person of the Year" ...BRAVO!!....... ~ Other than size on clothes I never
take gifts back...I think if someone took the time to pick it out that I should
treasure the gift..That's just me..... ~ TERROR ALERT HIGH - ORANGE..But folks
we must live our lives..Be alert yes..But we should and will not let the
terriost win...Winning for them is making us change our way of life and live in
fear,,,The United States WILL NEVER let them win..Good will win over evil..It
will be a long struggle but so was the Cold War.... ~ I hope all of you had a
wonderful...warm..blessed Christmas....Pastor Branton adds to the "Field" again
tonight..He forwarded me the message below which is so very
thoughful.....`Rounding Third......."Let him that would move the world, first
move himself....That's the Friday December 26, 2003 "Field of Dreams Today"...Be
Safe...Be Happy..Be Alert....Be Americans..."Gloedeig Jui"....Let's Roll!!








The Passenger


by Staff Sgt. Jeramie Brown
Detachment 4, Air Force News Agency

11/14/2003 - RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AFPN) -- Like most Americans, I find
that I am pretty selfish sometimes. I learned just how selfish on a recent trip
to Iraq. I was sitting on a C-130 Hercules waiting to leave a location I can't
spell or pronounce, when we got delayed. I was annoyed. I'd been traveling for
hours trying to get to my destination and here we were, stuck in some
out-of-the-way place and I was hot, tired and ready to get there already. Then
it happened. I found out we were waiting on another passenger.

I didn't know his name. I say 'his' but I didn't know if he was actually a he or
a she. I didn't know what branch of service he was in or what rank he was. All
I knew was that this passenger cost me another hour and a half on that plane.

Little did I know how profound an impact "The Passenger" would have on me. You
see, this passenger that we had to wait on, who delayed our trip and annoyed me
and the other passengers, was a casualty of war.

The ground crew brought him on board in a body bag. They laid him down between
the jump seats and the cargo pallet, and covered him with Old Glory. At that
moment, I felt the heat of shame in my face. Who was I to worry about a little
lost sleep or a few extra hours on a plane when he had given his life in this
war?

By this time, everyone on board had stood up out of respect and, when they had
"The Passenger" secure, the sergeant leading the crew called the plane to
attention and barked a quick command. Every man and woman on that plane, from
private to colonel immediately snapped a crisp salute in honor of the ultimate
sacrifice made by "The Passenger". It was a moment of perfect unity. Every eye
on that flag, every arm raised in respect, every breath caught in every throat
for just one second.

With our respects paid, everyone took his or her seat and prepared for take-off.
I don't know about anyone else on that plane but I found myself contemplating
what this passenger's sacrifice meant: to me, to our country, but mostly to his
family. I found myself wondering what he gave up for the war on terror. Did he
leave a wife behind when he deployed? Did he have children out there somewhere
who would never see their father again? What about his parents, brothers and
sisters? How would his family cope with his death?

Was the sacrifice he made for his country worth it? To his family, perhaps not.
To the Iraqi families, maybe.

You see, I learned something else on this trip. I learned how the Iraqi people
are living. Ramshackle houses... no cars... no central air, or any air
conditioning for that matter, none of the so called 'modern conveniences'. I
also learned that, thanks to our efforts, some of the kids are now able to go to
school for the first time in years. Teachers are allowed to teach in multiple
languages and cover subjects that were banned during the old regime.

Clinics are opening all over the country, doctors are no longer afraid that if
they misdiagnose someone it will cost them their lives. That's right, there is
no malpractice insurance in Iraq. A doctor at one of the clinics told me that,
under the old regime, if a doctor made a mistake, he paid for it with his life.
So was "The Passenger's" sacrifice worth it? I guess it depends on your point of
view.

Then I started thinking about my own family. How would my wife deal with my
death if it came on this trip? Would my children be ok? How horrible would it
be for my parents to outlive me? I thought of my brother and his family in
California. How many times have I meant to call them only to get distracted and
forget? I haven't seen them in almost four years. My sister in Illinois hasn't
seen me in a couple of years either. When was the last time I called her? Why
haven't I e-mailed her or my niece lately? I use to send her e-mails every week
or so, but I seem to have let my oh-so-busy life get in the way of communicating
with the ones I love. Do I write enough? Call enough? Definitely not. I
think that's what it all comes down to.

We get so wrapped up in our lives that we forget about the other people in this
world. We forget that not everyone lives in a free society. We forget that
sometimes you have to stand up for people who can't stand up for themselves. We
forget that we have a responsibility to the people of this world, and not
because we are a super power or have the best military in the world, but simply
because we all share this planet. We forget that, for good or bad, what one
person does affects everyone.

What we can't forget is that we never know when the moment of our death will
come. Don't forget to tell the people who are most important to you how much you
love them and how much you miss them. Don't forget to take time out of your
'busy' schedule and call your family and friends. Don't forget to do something
today that will make a difference tomorrow, so that when your time comes someone
can say 'Thank you for the sacrifices you made, you had a profound impact on my
life.'

So to "The Passenger," I say thank you. Thank you for serving your country.
Thank you for standing up for people who can't stand up for themselves. Thank
you for making the ultimate sacrifice. Most importantly, thank you for making
me realize that our time on this earth is never certain and we'd better do our
best to make it worthwhile. May you find peace and happiness wherever you may
be.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go call my kids, my parents, my brother,
my sister...





~ "God Bless America" ~ HAPPY HOLIDAYS ~ That's my Field of Dreams ~ Voice Mail
~ 800-699-2466 Box number Baseball1 (2273225501) ~ Email Fax 775-640-8525 ~
John@... -http://OKLetsRoll.US ~ Chief Officer of Election ~
Commonwealth of Virginia ~ Notary Public ~ "Sic Semper Tyrannis" ~ "Ne Oublie" ~
Let's Roll!! ~





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