[Billie]

'Morning! Please join us today for another excellent essay by ladtx. Sure to warm your heart as he talks about 'courage'. Billie

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Billie.

[JohnHuang2]

Hey, you! The images don't work with users of Windows Internet Explorer this morning! What happened?

Ha! April fool! Got'cha, didn't I? hehe

[JohnHuang2]

G'morning, btw :)

[Temple Owl]

Good morning Billie and All.

[JohnHuang2]

[Lee'sGhost]

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength while loving someone deeply gives you courage."
~ Lao Tso

Wow! Truer words were never spoken.

Good morning, friend. Each morning I wake and hit the "on" button to FOX News to find out what's REALLY going on. I am so proud of our troops, our country, and our president. God bless America.

[g'nad]

'mornin' Billie... great theme...

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength while loving someone deeply gives you courage."
~ Lao Tso

I've loved that quote for a long time...

[dansangel]

Absolutely beautiful presentation, {{{{{{{BILLIE}}}}}}} of a warm and moving essay by {{{{{{{ladtx}}}}}}}. You two are a dynamic duo, bringing us words and graphics that are so heart-warming and poignant for the times.

May God Bless you both abundantly - heartfelt prayers being offered up for our troops and their families.

[MeekOneGOP]

Mornin', everybody !! Happy April Fools Day !

I bought my first home personal computer 12 years ago today. Man, we've come a LONG way since then!

54 degrees right now, and heading for near 80 degrees today. . .

Have a cup while you FReep !

For those who prefer hot chocolate.....

[FreeTheHostages]

OK, I'm not sure this is appropriate for today, unless one views it as laughing in the face of danger.

[g'nad]

A US Marine is alone with his thoughts during a lull in fighting for Nasiriya.

These are the times when warriors steel themselves with thoughts of home and loved ones; of creature comforts and future plans...and confronts the horros and demons of the day...
This is when a warrior refits his courage and resolve to carry on the fight... to make it home victorious, and hopefully alive with his buddies...

[Diver Dave]

Mornin' y'all. Happy April Fools Day.

As per my usual, I got up, poured my first cup of coffee, read the paper, turned on the 'puter and clicked on FR's Finest... to see who is being featured today.

I scrolled down and saw "Courage." That peaked my interest and then I saw that it was another contribution by ladtx. I thought to myself, this is gonna be good. Then I get hit right in the heart with the words and graphic of the mom and baby. Memories stirred and tears began to flow with each word of praise for today's featured heroes. Thank you so very much lad for this presentation. I've shared before my deep appreciation and respect for these forgotten heroes and your words today along with Nan's prayer and the comments by others are going to make this a very special day.

If time permits, I'll be back later with comments relative to the memories you have stirred. In the meantime, I'll press on with my morning tasks with one exception - I've gotta call the florist and order a bouquet for my bride. We've been there - done that. I'm a lucky guy.

[The Thin Man]

Don't worry Billie. I've never considered you to be made of "sugar and spice." :-)

[azGOPgal]

Beautiful write up on courage, Ladtx.

I'm loving all the quotes on here today. So far, you guys are two for two this week with the Finest threads. Can't wait to see what the rest of the week brings.

[daisyscarlett]

I always look forward to ladtx's posts and essays. I enjoyed this one very much. Thank you Billie for presenting it to us.

Courage has been in my thoughts for the last couple of months since I finished the John Adams biography. And lo and behold when I clicked on the Profiles in Courage link, I was not surprised that one of them was to John Adams.

A nice tribute to military wives....I have known many of them through the years and have always have been in awe of all that they endure when their husbands are serving. And they are so young too, usually in their 20's.

Living in a military community, I read lots of local stories about military wives and families. One last week tugged my heartstring. A young military wife is moving back to the Midwest with her young children while her husband is deployed. Problem is, they have a dog, her parents have cats. So she gave the dog to the local Animal Shelter to see if he could be adopted out with the proviso that if he was not adopted in 7 days, she would reclaim him and deal with the problem another way. Well, somehow the paperwork got mixed up and the doggie had been euthanized by mistake. So, she has that to deal with in addition to everything else.