I went to a funeral yesterday. The husband of my cousin, Carol. George Kosturbanik, U.S. Navy veteran. George was 91 when he passed away. A feisty guy, he could talk to anyone about anything…and…he made some darn good wine! Being as how he’d lived a long productive life, there were not so many tears. Not in church anyway…not until the cemetery when the Navy PO1 played Taps. She was perfect. The sound of the bugle echoing across the cemetery had quite a few of us reaching for tissues.

You may wonder what this has to do with Mother’s Day. It was the gathering after the cemetery. You know…weddings and funerals. No matter how often we say we’ll all get together, it just seems like it ends up being weddings and funerals. Beginnings and Endings. It happens that years ago my mother worked for this funeral home. She took care of the food for the gatherings after the services. They still remember her. My uncle Frank…drove the hearse…they definitely remember him!

So, while I was sitting there listening to people chat…watching the lady who now prepared the food…a song came quietly into my mind. George was much older than my cousin, he was of my parent’s generation. That generation in my family…is very nearly gone now. And the song got louder. Another cousin’s grandchildren were there. I made the anouncement that The Daughter is engaged and there were smiles around the table. And the song came clearer.

Today is Mother’s Day and The Daughter’s birthday. I’m thinking of my Mom, sweetest woman in the world. I’m thinking of The Daughter, best daughter in the world. I’m thinking of being a daughter and being a mother. And the song is very clear. My Mother taught by example. How to give with your heart and your hands. How to comfort. I hope I’ve learned some of her lessons. I know The Daughter has her generous spirit. A funeral, Mother’s Day, a birthday…time and generations move on.

But most of all
It is me that has changed
And yet I’m still the same
That’s me at the weddings
That’s me at the graves
Dressed like the people
Who once looked so grown-up and brave

MISS YOU MA

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PUNKY!
LOVE, Mom
XXXOOOXXX

This Weeks Hero Was Suggested By Mary Ann

Wednesday Hero was started to put a face to the men and women of the American Armed Forces and what they do for us. Vary rarely has there been a member of a foreign military profiled. In fact, in the two years Wednesday Hero’s been going on it’s only been done once before. Here’s the second.

Lance Corporal Matt Croucher
24 years old from Birmingham, England
40 Commando Royal Marines

L/Cpl Matt Croucher is not only one of the bravest men alive, he’s also one of the luckiest men alive. On the morning of February 9, 2008 L/Cpl. and his unit were searching a compound near Sangin in Afghanistan that was suspected of being used to make bombs to be used in attacks on British and Afghan troops. Walking in the darkness among a group of four men, Croucher stepped into a tripwire that pulled the pin from a boobytrap grenade. His patrol commander, Corporal Adam Lesley, remembered Croucher shouting “Grenade!”

As others dived for cover, Croucher did something nobody expected. He lay down on the grenade to smother the blast. Lesley got on the ground, another man got behind a wall, but the last member of the patrol was still standing in the open when the grenade went off.

“My reaction was, ‘My God this can’t be real’,” said Lesley. “Croucher had simply lain back and used his day sack to blunt the force of the explosion. You would expect nine out of 10 people to die in that situation.” L/Cpl. Croucher was that 1/10. Not only did he survive, amazingly he only suffered shock from the blast and a bloody nose. He was saved by the special plating inside his Osprey body armor. The backpack he was wearing was thrown more than 30ft by the blast.

“I felt one of the lads giving me a top to toe check. My head was ringing. Blood was streaming from my nose. It took 30 seconds before I realized I was definitely not dead,” said L/Cpl. Croucher.

For his actions that day, L/Cpl. Croucher was in line for the Victoria Cross, the highest award for a British Serviceman, but it has yet to be awarded.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here..

–
Indian Chris
http://rightwingrightminded.blogspot.com
http://hooahwife.com
Wednesday Hero - Google It

Today is ANZAC Day.  My father was an Army Amphibian in World War II. His unit worked side by side with the Diggers and he had nothing but praise for them. 62 years later, I am pleased to have an Australian friend…who has the same love and admiration for her Diggers that I have for our Soldier’s. They are our allies…they are all our own.

Click To Enlarge

Cpl. Markbradley Vincze gives students from al-Raqhaa School backpacks in the Monsouri area of Iraq. Soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1-76th FA, 4th BCT, 3rd Inf. Div., delivered backpacks, soccer balls and notebooks.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

–
Indian Chris
http://rightwingrightminded.blogspot.com
http://hooahwife.com
Wednesday Hero - Google It

If you want a quick answer…watch this from Blackfive.

It really is Spring.

Hyacinths…Daffodils…the beginnings of buds on the Lilac

Anna and I were so busy talking…we forgot to take our “souvenir” photo

Free Republic

Troop Rally tomorrow…rain or shine

This comes to me via Indian Chris at Right-Wing & Right Minded (Our Wednesday Hero, hero) who got it from Jim at Thinking Right.

Once again, I’m collecting letters of support for the men and women aboard the USS Russell - DDG-59. I’m aiming for about 250 letters, so it will be a smaller project than last time. I’ve received word back from the Marines who we sent the letters to late last year, and I can’t emphasize enough how important these letters are to them. It’s really not all that much to ask to sit down and write a short note of support to those putting it all on the line for us.

Please send the emails to letters@thinking-right.com.

Be sure to put “Letters from Home” in the subject line.

I’m reading Michael Yon’s Moment Of Truth In Iraq. Writing on troop morale…

“Mail is more important than even hot showers or hot food. When I was in Fallujah, the mail center received about eight shipping containers every two days; three were filled with letters. People at home probably have no idea how much their little cards, letters, and goodie bags boost morale. Countless walls around Iraq are wallpapered with cards and letters. Soldiers and marines especially love the cards from kids. There is nothing better over here than reading two dozen cards from kids who can barely hold a crayon. If a kid sends a card, rest assured that card will be stuck on a wall somewhere, and it will bring a smile to many a soldier and marine.”

Don’t think anything else needs to be said…but if it does…this video says it (borrowed from Thinking Right )