A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....03-25-03....Honor Thy Family

Billie

[Billie]

A Few of FR's Finest.....
......Every Day

FR is a Treasure Trove of talented, compassionate, patriotic, wonderful people who gather every day to discuss the latest news and issues; salute and support our military and our leaders;  tell a few jokes;  learn a new word;  write poetry;  pray for those in need;  and congratulate those who are deserving. Thank you, Jim Robinson, for giving us the vehicle in which we can express ourselves.

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   I can remember lurking when there were only a few regulars who posted, and now there are over 60,000 who have registered for posting privileges. The forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest November 11, 2001

So many people have written me since my original Veteran's Day Tribute, asking how they, or a loved one, could be included in that tribute. Since I can no longer add the photos to the body of the thread, I've been including them in additional posts as I received enough to make another collage.

Still that doesn't seem to be enough. I think there's never been a better nor more appropriate time to keep the faces of our own Veterans and Active Military in front of FReepers--every day! That's why I wanted to do yet another Daily Thread .....ABOUT FReepers .....and FOR FReepers. But not only about our Military FReepers; for all FReepers! Wouldn't it be nice to get to know a few of the other FReepers as well? That's why, in addition to seeing FR's Finest Military Personnel every day, I thought it might be fun to feature a different FReeper (or FReepers) each day. If you would like to be pictured, or know someone who would, please FReepmail me and we'll turn the spotlight - on YOU - for the day!

And do let me know if you'd like your picture added to the groups of Veterans/Active Military below. I will keep this page updated, and continue to add them to the comment section of the original Veteran's Day thread as well.

<

TOP:  g'nad, AgThorn's son Justin, SLB, AgThorn's son Brett.
MIDDLE:  fish70, razorback-bert, CheneyChick,Leroy S Mort, Mark17.
BOTTOM:  Terry's Take, Taxman, DinkyDau.

TOP:  ValerieUSA's son Grant, SK1Thurman, kd5cts, RangerVetNam,
dansangel and .45man's son-in-law Tony
BOTTOM:  rangerX, Old China Hand, Trish, Howlin's dad, Mustang

TOP: ohioWfan's son, MamaBear's father-in-law, MamaBear's dad, ladtx
MIDDLE:  The Mayor's niece, M.Kehoe, Beach_Babe's son-in-law
BOTTOM:  deadhead's dad, HiJinx, Severa's hubby, viligantcitizen's granddad.

TOP:  spectr17, RightOnline, SERE_Doc, Tet68.
MIDDLE:  FutureSnakeEater, RightOnline's wife, CIApilot, Clamper1797
BOTTOM:  usmcobra, onedoug, DiverDave, Joe6-pack

We now have eleven groups of veterans/active military; we will post each group of three or four twice a week, with thumbnail/links of the remaining seven or eight groups on each thread. Click on any of the thumbnails below to see the group full-size.

         

GROUP 1A: TOP: Logos, SwedeGirl's hubby, Neil E Wright, FallGuy, 1John, Sneakypete MIDDLE:  T'wit, COB1, LadyX, Dick Bachert, 68-69TonkinGulfYatchClub BOTTOM:  YankeeinSC, Delta21, JoeSixPack1

GROUP 2A: TOP:  Bosniajmc, AFVetGal, Archy, A Navy Vet MIDDLE:  4TheFlag, Aeronaut, 68Grunt, Xinga BOTTOM:  Codger, AAABest, Clinton's A Liar, Duke809, dcwusmc

GROUP 3A: TOP:  mc5cents, Norb2569, LBGA's son, VanJenerette MIDDLE:  Jim Robinson, KJenerette, davidosborne, KG9Kid BOTTOM:  gwmoore, Equality7-2521, SAMWolf

GROUP 4A: TOP:  porgygirl, Phil V., MudPuppy, NorCoGOP MIDDLE:  RaceBannon, OneidaM, rdb3, jwTexian BOTTOM:  USMC Vet, TheMayor, Vineyard, rhododogma

      

GROUP 9A: TOP: Q6-God, Scan59, Mama Bear and JKPhoto's son, ofMagog. MIDDLE:  Big'ol_freeper, JustAmy's great uncle, Prodigal Son. BOTTOM:  JustAmy's husband, JustAmy's brother-in-law, JustAmy's brother.

GROUP 10A: TOP: dakine's wife, MeeknMing's dad, Auntbee's nephew, MilitiaMan7, AlasBabylon. BOTTOM:  Joe Brower, Temple Owl, Temple Owl's wife, dutchess' dad, Aomagrat.

GROUP 11A: TOP: ladtx #2 son; DiverDave's twin Don; petuniasevan and husband poorman; Mustard; ladtx #1 son. BOTTOM: AlamoGirl's brother Floyd; AG's dad; AG's brother Jim (inset); WVNan's husband; ladtx' Aunt Eva.

                     

Honor Thy Family
"My motto: Family and Friends are precious gifts
from God, and should always be cherished." ~deadhead

deadhead, in blue and white dress, with some of her family.
Her brother, FReeper jwalsh07 is seated on the left with his wife Linda.
In the center is stepdad Fred, sister Moe and her husband Ed,
and on the far right is her brother Dennis.

"My screen name, deadhead, came to me easily;
I love the music of the Grateful Dead."

Family is very important to today's Finest Freeper; our thread today will more likely resemble a Family Album than a profile of FReeper deadhead (aka Colleen).  When I asked for photos from her, there were surprisingly few of her. Instead, most of them were pictures of members of her family, from her Mom and Dad's wedding, to her great nieces and nephews, to her beloved dog, Lucy. :)

It was Colleen's brother, John (jwalsh07), who introduced her to FR; she became a member on September 29, 2000, choosing the screenname of deadhead.

"I became hooked on politics; the more informed I became the further to the right I moved. Before I knew it, I was volunteering for Rick Lazio's Campaign. I attended a few rallys, always positioning myself so I could shake a politicians hand and say a word or two :-) My sister Moe came to one of the rallys with me; what a great time we had!"

"I had letters to the editors published. Freeping at LIEbermans house is an experience I will never forget. I was yelling "Count the Military Vote"! My voice was being heard and it felt so good."

"I am addicted to the Fox News Network. I enjoy talk radio ... Curtis and Kuby in the morning; Hannity in the afternoon. One day I decided to call Hannity to discuss Gore, and I got through! Even mentioned that I was a Freeper. Sean spoke of his admiration for the DC Freepers. We had a fun chat, and he gave me good air time. :-) ODDITHER heard me on the radio and wrote this thread:

Hey DeadHead, Heard You on Sean Hannity!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Colleen is from a Military family:  her father served in the U.S. Navy, and is pictured in one of our Military groups above; her stepfather was in the U.S. Army-Air Force; brother John and his wife Linda were both in the U.S.Army; brother Dennis served in the U.S. Navy; and a cousin is currently serving in the U.S. Marines. (At last report, his parents had just had their first phone call from him since his deployment, and the troops' morale was high.) At present, Colleen is working on a Care Package Project for the troops; she said it's "coming together nicely." If you would like to help, or to learn more about it, please contact deadhead by FReepmail.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Family Album

I have faith in God. I know my Dad, Mom and brother Gary are looking down from Heaven, smiling and saying, "That's our Freeper Colleen." We were fortunate to have two loving, awesome folks. My brother Gary was one of a kind. Everyone loved him. Gary passed away in 1981, and our hearts are still broken having lost him at such a young age ... I know it has been a long time but he is always in my thoughts.

My Mom and Dad

My brother Gary
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ashley is my great niece. She belongs to John's daughter Chastity. This picture is a few years old, but I love it. Her 'Grateful Dead' outfit was bought especially for her to wear on my birthday; I got such a kick out of it!

My Great-niece Ashley
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meghan is Ashley's sister. Meggie was baptized the weekend after 9/11. It was such an emotional time for all of America, tough getting through the service. Lots of tears in church that day. (This picture was taken on September 1st.) As we drove over the Throgs Neck Bridge, we saw the smoke billowing from what was once the World Trade Towers, and our hearts were broken for those lost.

My Goddaughter Meghan
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Johns daughter Bianca and her husband Dennis (Dennis was in the Marines) are the proud parents of these Bush supporters, Andrew, Alyssa and Derrick.

The triplets
My Great-nephews/niece
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We support President Bush and his administration. It was such a thrill to attend the Inaugural Ceremony and the FRee Republic Inaugural Ball. John posted this thread about it after we returned home.

The Walsh's Go to Washington

We attended the Loudcitizen.com rally at the Supreme Court to show our support for President Bush. Then we were on our way to President Bush's Inaugural Ceremony.

Chastity, John, Ashley, Colleen

At President Bush's Inaugural Ceremony. We were all so happy and proud to be there, even in the rain and cold! From the looks on our faces, the Clintons probably just made an appearance and yes, we couldn't help but BOO them!

Colleen, John, Ashley, Chastity

At the Freeper Inaugural Ball. I am pictured with the criminals from the previous administration. Met many wonderful like-minded people that night; it went all too quickly.

Colleen with HasBeens (thank goodness!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My sweet dog Lucy at my home. I always fly my flag with pride.

Lucy, Patriot Dog

I hope you have enjoyed this vignette of our Finest FReeper and FRiend, deadhead, of Long Island, New York, as much as I enjoyed putting it together. Colleen is such an upbeat happy person; I don't think I've ever read an unkind word about her, nor have I ever read where she's uttered one about anyone else.

"I am just one of those people who was fortunate to grow up in a family that instilled good values, a family that can laugh, have a good time.*    I still listen to music while I clean the house LOL.... a trait I learned from my Mom. I am the person I am today because of my family, a proud Republican who loves her country :-)..."

  *An example of that is Christmas, 1998, in Connecticut: Colleen, her sister Moe, and Moe's husband had several cutouts of President Clinton in prison stripes. After everyone went to bed, they hung them on the Christmas tree. There were tots of laughs the next morning when the rest of the family woke and saw the tree decorated with one of their least favorite people in the world!

Thank you, deadhead...
...Today's Finest FReeper!

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 03-24-03 Hall of Fame #3

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' The guy's good, folks!

Thanks, Mixer!

1) Click on the graphic to open the Calendar.
2) Once there you can click on any month and even click to the right to go into next year. Once you are in the month that you joined FR you will need to click on the number in the calendar and then an add item screen will come up.
3) In the next box enter your name in the "Calendar Text" field and then click on submit.
4) If any of the screens fail to load simply click on refresh in your browser and that will usually fix it.
5) If all else fails or simply if you want me to do this for you send me a FReepmail and I will gladly do it for you. ~Mixer

[Billie]

Well, darn it all, dutchess.....LadyX started it, and you've come along and just added to it - what a wonderful thought though. :)

[deadhead]

I am enjoying my day, thank you all so much. I have friends and family lurking here, they have not signed up for Free Republic yet, but I am working on them :-) They love it.

Yea, I was bummed when Jerry Garcia died. Something about the music that touched me. And I must fess up, I attended many shows, and traveled some distances to see them. My Mom even liked the music of the Grateful Dead, wanted to go to a show...but I knew that the atmosphere that comes with going to the shows wouldn't be something my Mom would put up with. LOL, my Mom would have given some of them a good talking to. I went to enjoy the music.

[JulieRNR21]

Louie was referring to a picture of me taken at a Rally.

I was thanking him for his kind remarks.

[deadhead]

I saw the Grateful Dead many times in Ohio, have relatives there. My cousin who is also a deadhead drove to the shows and this is the bumper sticker that was on his van :-)

[dixie sass]

Never can resist this thread!

[deadhead]

"Just before he stepped onto that bridge, he was very weak and very ill, and he licked my hand; he was telling me goodbye.

Oh Billie, so heartbreaking.

[MeekOneGOP]

Thanks ! Happy to help out anytime that I can. Just let me know.

I'll be out most of tomorrow afternoon and maybe the evening too. Ming's sister is flying in tomorrow from China and I'll have to pick her up at the airport. I might have to go by myself since Ming will be working at her store. That should be fun. She doesn't speak any English and I speak so very little Chinese. But I met her sister 17 months ago when I went to China, so I'll know her when I see her.

So if you do need me to help find a picture tomorrow, let me know as early as possible - either sometime today or in the morning, ok? :O) . . .

[deadhead]

"I hope you don't think this too sappy...the men and women we have recently lost also had beloved pets beyond rainbow bridge...I wonder if they were also greeted, are reunited and together looking down upon their loved ones"

Not sappy at all dutchess. I know in my heart that they were reunited.

God Bless our fallen

[LadyX]

"I am enjoying my day, thank you all so much. I have friends and family lurking here, they have not signed up for Free Republic yet, but I am working on them :-) They love it."

Dear Family and Friends of Colleen:

We here among her Finest Family consider it a privilege to express our glowing thoughts about her, and roast um... toast her in public, before Gumby and The Temptations and the Islanders and...you know the Others.

She adds a loving dimension to every thread on which she comments, so supportive and patriotic, and in general, caring.

Thank you for making her what she is today.

(psst, Colleen...did I copy the script right? Earn my $4 to cover the cost of posting it??
Do send that by Freep Mail, and yes - you may play darts with the UNWANTED POSTERS I placed on the walls in the Mail Room..:))
You know who they are!)

[deadhead]

I am LAUGHING OUT LOUD LadyX! You are a character. Thank You for being my friend. hahahaha

I am going to prepare some dinner now.

[Mama_Bear]

The graphic is beautiful, may I keep it?

Of course, you may......and thank you, I'm glad you like it. :-)

[Billie]

Music to our ears, and I ain't just whistlin' dixie. :)

[Billie]

Darn! I still get choked up. Our pets are special, precious gifts from God - we just don't get to keep them as long as we'd like. :)

[daisyscarlett]

Congratulations, deadhead. You are a beautiful person and you have a beautiful family and the fact that you are all Republicans is a plus, too, lol!

I have long been an admirer of your Home Page tribute to your Father and his military background and was pleased to feature it in a past Finest Profile Pages....And those babies-what can I say? They are adorable and are so lucky to have a great aunt and entire extended family that loves and adores them. Enjoy your day!!!

Billie, what can I say? Your presentation of Colleen is elegant-the colors are so coordinated, too. Love how the beige pearls match the beige font color so perfectly....

You are both special FReeper ladies...

[Dubya]

Subject: Dixie Chicks - A Soldiers Remarks


Letter from radio station website in Lubbock, home of the Dixie Chick that spewed forth about our president:

Name: LT Layne McDowell

Date: 03/15/03 Time: 01:54:49 PM

Comment: An open letter to the Dixie Chicks

Earlier this week, while performing in London, you stated that you were ashamed that our President is from your home state. I wonder if you realized how many Americans would be listening. This American was listening. This Texan is ashamed that you come from my
state. I serve my country as an officer in the United States Navy. Specifically, I fly F-14
Tomcats off carriers around the world, executing the missions that preserve the very freedom you claim to exercise. I have proudly fought for my country in the skies over Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan without regret. Though I may disagree wholeheartedly with your comments, I
will defend to the death your right to say them, in America. But for you to travel to a foreign land and publicly criticize our Commander in Chief is cowardice behavior. Would you have so willingly made those comments while performing for a patriotic, flag-waving crowd of Texans in Lubbock. I
would imagine not. How dare you pocket profits off songs about soldiers, their deaths and patriotism while criticizing their Commander in Chief abroad, even while they prepare to give their lives to ensure your own freedom of speech. Please ask yourself, what have you done to deserve that sacrifice? Do not try to justify your comments by claiming that you made them only because
you care about innocent lives. Never once in our history have we committed troops to war for the purpose of taking innocent lives. We do it to protect innocent lives, even yours. If the world leaders of the late 1930's had the vision and courage of our present Commander in Chief, perhaps the evil men who caused the death of millions in WWII would have never had the opportunity to harm a soul. The potential loss of millions of lives in the future at the hands of today's evil men
necessitate action. In a separate correspondence, I am returning to you each and every Dixie Chicks CD and cassette that I have ever purchased. Never again will I allow my funds to support your behavior. All you have done is to add your name to a growing list of American "Celebrities"
who have failed to realize that they have obtained their successes on the backs of the American blue-collar workers such as our servicemen and women. To Natalie Maines: This Texan?this American will continue to risk his life to guarantee your freedoms. What will you do to deserve
it?

PASS THIS TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU KNOW

[Dubya]

IN A LAND FAR AWAY

[jwalsh07]

Hey Lady, nice family you got there.

[deadhead]

Wow, that was awesome Dubya

[deadhead]

Hi there, didn't Billie do an awesome job!

[jwalsh07]

Very nice Colleen. Make sure you save it.