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

[FreeTheHostages]

How's the physical therapy going?

ROFL -- apparently it consists mostly of typing here on Free Republic. ;)

[deadhead]

"there are only a few terrapins on this Freedom Street"

LOL, thanks jwfiv!

[FreeTheHostages]

In honor of your Day, more good news (*sorta*): coalition forces have found a cache of missles they can destroy. They were at that chemical factory. God bless the British, those masters of understatement: one of them said: "It is difficult to imagine an innocent explanation for missiles at a chemical factory."

[humblegunner]

Congratulations, deadhead! One of the finest indeed!
I've been looking at old war posters, I think I found something new to collect! ;-)

[Billie]

Good morning, Dave - you are right - sunshine and blue skies and Colleen - go together hand in hand. :)

[deadhead]

"Yet, you are the product of all the good things they gave you, and pass that love on, to your family, and to us here at Free Republic! "

Thank You my FRiend for the beautiful words you have written and for the Congratulations arrangement :-) There are so many wonderful folks here at Free Republic, and I am honored to know the best of the best here at Freepers Finest.

~~~Colleen~~~

[LadyX]

"How's the physical therapy going?"

The physical therapy will commence next Monday, due to scheduling conflicts before then, dutchess.
Am thrilled to this day finally see the right arm down to about the same size as the left! It before was not a 'pretty sight,' badly swollen and burned and bruised from the injury and surgery. Making slow but steady progress as the discomfort diminishes.

Still cannot feed myself with it, or get my hand to my heart for the National Anthem...:))

The good news, of corse, is there is an arm - and a body to haul it around...
I am blessed, and know it.

[Billie]

Good morning, jw. ....your casual genius.

:) Such a charmer you are. :)

[deadhead]

"God bless the British, those masters of understatement: one of them said: "It is difficult to imagine an innocent explanation for missiles at a chemical factory."

Thought this should be repeated, great post FreeTheHostages!

[Billie]

Our resident wordsmith once again paints a beautiful landscape at the Finest. Thank you, Maggie - I need to talk to you and jw privately about a future thread - will FR mail you both shortly.

[JustAmy]

Another tremendous thread! Another Fine Freeper



Thank You for all you do.

[deadhead]

Thank You humblegunner! Great posters

[Billie]

....and for the naysayers who believe this war is unjustified, I wonder what they will have to say when all these weapons Saddam doesn't have will be found.

[LadyX]

"ROFL -- apparently it consists mostly of typing here on Free Republic. ;)"

You jest, FreeTheDimmies, but now that the right hand fingers are finally sprung from confinement, using 3 or so of them is helping limber the hand and wrist and overcome the spraining and ligament tears.

The left hand was becoming an overachiever..:))

[Billie]

I love these old posters, gunner.

Being perfectly serious and complimentary (don't say it, T Man! LOL), The Thin Man used to post wonderful old-fashioned War Posters at the Canteen. Am sure he will appreciate your new collections.

[Billie]

Wow! And another beautiful graphic by JustFRiend! Thank you for the beautiful lavendar roses!

[jwfiv]

Hey, neighbor, how yew?

You sum up our thoughts and feelings this morning...thank you....)

[Billie]

"ROFL -- apparently it consists mostly of typing here on Free Republic. ;)"

LOL! I love that comment, too, LadyX! Seriously, am glad that you are beginning to be able to USE your right hand a little - otherwise, I can just imagine your left hand growing larger and larger as you built up these huge muscles in them, while ignoring that poor right hand - afraid you might begin to look like that woman in the "bounty" commercial! (I think it's Bounty Paper towels) :)

[JustAmy]

Congratulations!!!
You are indeed a Finest FReeper.
Thank you for being part of our FreeRepublic Family!

[MeekOneGOP]

Good news ! Oregon reversed their idiotic order to the Fire Department, or so Vera Katz, the Mayor there says. . .