Posts Tagged “Holiday Stuff”

Arlington

A Soldier’s Christmas

‘Twas 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 little house lived.

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

No Stockings by mantle, just boots filled with sand,
On the wall hung pictures of far distant lands.

With medals and badges, awards of all kinds,
A sobering thought came through my mind.

For this house was different, it was dark and dreary,
The home of a soldier, I could now see clearly.

The soldier lay sleeping, silent, alone,
Curled up on the floor in this one bedroom home.

The face was so gentle, the room in such disorder,
Not how I picture a United States 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 wondering 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 one knee and started to cry.

The soldier awakened and I heard a rough voice,
“Santa don’t cry, for 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,
as 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 Unknown *~

Posted by Lucy

I say Bah! to all of that politically correct stuff. So from me and mine to you and yours, have a very Merry Christmas!!!

Posted by Lucy.

The house pictured here sits on a hill directly across from the Tippy Dance Hall on beautiful Tippecanoe Lake. If you look closely, you should be able to see the Halloween decorations! I took this picture this morning and the decorations have been up for almost a week now. If you look at the front windows and the front side window you can see this house is complete with black Halloween lights!

This is a picture of the view they have of Tippecanoe Lake. The houses to the right that are not pictured are all valued at $500,000 or more! This just kind of illustrates the diversity you can find living at the lake.

But folks, this story gets even better. Tonight, Sunday, coming home from dinner I drove by with my kids and they have all of their Halloween lights on and are having a huge party complete with a bonfire! Sure, there are parties going on all around the lake tonight, last night I witnessed a wedding on the lake, but I am pretty sure this is the only Halloween party going on!

Posted by Lucy.

We have our own local heroes that we take for granted on a daily basis, heroes that we hope and pray we won’t have to rely upon, but they are there for us, day or night, ready to assist in our time of need. Our local firefighters, EMT personnel, state, county and city officers and doctors and nurses on call in our emergency rooms. True heroes. True angels of mercy.

My grandfather was a county deputy and later a state trooper when I was young. Some of the stories he told me of things he had seen and situations that people got themselves into, just shocked me. The people who answer this call in life are people who are made of something pretty special. My son wants to be a firefighter when he grows up. He has that special stuff within him, I see it already. His best friend wants to be a police officer. He too has that special stuff within.

I grew up in a small community in Huntington County. This article in yesterday’s Journal Gazette struck a nerve…I went to school with these people. This is the very community my grandfather was a county deputy in. The newspaper article is very correct in stating it is a small community and it is a close-knit community. Its a good thing.

This post? It’s the holiday season, many of us are reflecting on our many blessings and expressing appreciation and gratitude to those in our lives who matter most to us. I think we sometimes overlook our own heroes right in our own backyard, whether it be a neighbor, a relative, a friend, an acquaintance or a small child who is aspiring to become a firefighter, a police officer, a doctor, a soldier, an angel of mercy… Take some time to say thank you to these men who women who are there for us 24/7 whenever our time of need may be. Not all of us are made up of the special stuff that these people exhibit day after day as they help each of us to live a better life.

Posted by Lucy

This is a follow up to Dan’s earlier post about the four children left alone for two days. Folks, these kids are 7,5,4, and 2 years old. Think of what they must have been thinking. A 7 yr old taking on so much responsibility. The fear, the hunger, the lack of love these children have experienced. Can you just imagine. Trying to literally breaks my heart.

This is the day and the time for us bloggers to put down all of the grudges we bear against each other, join together as a united front and show these precious souls that there are people in this world who care about them, give them a good Christmas, none of us are hurting for anything and we can spare a little of what we have and make a huge impact on these children. We can show them the love of Christ. Dan will obtain information tomorrow and he will post right here how each and every one of us can help. No matter how little your budget will allow, give it in love and good faith and you will never miss a dime of it.

Personally, its not just Christmas that I want to help with, its my intent to follow through and do what I can whenever I can. These souls need to know there are people in this world who do care.

It’s Christmas. Let your heart show it!

Posted by Lucy

This is it folks, the final mad dash to the big day! According to the U.S. Postal Service Web site, Americans will mail more than 900 million pieces of mail today. About 280 million pieces will be cards or letters. This is an increase of about 230 million pieces over the average mailing day.

The FedEx Web site projects its busiest night in history will be tonight, with almost 9.8 million packages moving through the networks. This is up from last year’s 8.9 million packages.

UPS’ peak shipping day is expected to be Wednesday, according to its Web site, with 240 packages being delivered every second through the ground network. Friday is the highest air shipping day with 5.6 million packages circulating.

Deadlines

Today is the busiest mailing day of the year for both the U.S. Postal Service and FedEx. Wednesday is the busiest day for UPS. To make sure your package arrives by Christmas Day, the following are dates you must ship by:

U.S. Postal Service

Today: First-Class Mail

Wednesday: Priority Mail

Saturday: Express Mail

FedEx

Today: Home delivery

Tuesday: Express saver

Wednesday: Two-day

Thursday: Overnight or Two-day with Saturday delivery

Friday: Priority overnight with Saturday delivery

Christmas: Same-day delivery

Posted by Lucy taken from Today’s Journal Gazette