Posted on 11/11/2001 11:23:15 AM PST by Billie
Damned proud to have you as a FReeper. There are many of us who'd do the same thing; we're considered "over the hill". Go kick some a** for us, and God bless.
My plate is not only full, but overflowing!
Friday at the high school, my grandson's ROTC Unit staged a full blown 'We Appreciete Our Veterans' Day - school band, choral presentations, silent drill with arms team performance, guest speaker.
Very well done.
Saturday was The Marine Corps Birthday celebrated on FR, of course,
and Sunday my church had a really beautiful service for us.
Afterward we were given a lovely dinner.
Today? Here's where I get mushy - Tonkin, here are all kinds of ((hugs)) and smooches for you telling us about the free buffet for Veterans and Active Military at Golden Corrals across the country!
We had to travel 35 miles to the nearest one, but it was top notch.
The line was long and continued that way, but moved rapidly.
They did NOT stint nor restrict anything, having sirloin steaks grilled right there over a fire, and every other kind of meat - pork chops, chicken-fried steak, meat loaf, fried chicken, pot roast, spaghetti, fish, barbecue, etc.
Numerous vegetables, including real mashed potatoes and my favorite - fried okra! - soup and salad bar, fruits and desserts, and fresh from the oven yeast rolls were there, too.
The wait staff was great, everyone expressing appreciation and saying it was their privilege to wait on us.
MAJOR points are acorded the chain for this blockbuster effort.
It truly was fantastic.
Thank you again, Tonkin, for guiding me to the meal and the great company!
YEAH.....RIGHT!!!
SO.....this is a new way to hit on women, huh?
You offer 'em a free meal that even you don't have to pay for!
Gonna have to watch you a little closer, Tonkin!
You know some tricks that even I don't know!
I thought he was there to ask questions??? Why must he restate the obvious? I swear, if his brain were twice as big as it is, we'd have a new definition of the word "flyspeck" ... but I digress ...
First of all, what's the total number of troops from 10th Mountain there with you? My Taliban friend told me ask ... And secondly -- or a ballpark figure if you can't give us specifics. 'Cause, you know, a ballpark figure is not as harmful ... it's actually useless ... that's why I requested one ... Also, there's a lot of talk about winter weather in Afghanistan and the difficulty of fighting in mountains. I live in Baltimore, and I fear the almighty snowflake ...! How many of you have had the Army's cold weather training and mountain warfare training? See how I blithely ignore the press kit that says "10th MOUNTAIN?"
Now, at this point, I literally got up from my computer and walked the length of the house, screaming at my husband, the Bear in RoseBear, "They're the 10th Mountain Division! Fighting in cold and snow and mountains is what they DO!!!"
The Bear, placidly reading a book, said, "Yes, dear, they have to study to be boneheads, darling, they're trying to live up to the SNL skit, m'love, they're the media, sweetie." He kept repeating that until I calmed down and could come back to the computer.
They were laughing at Tom Bowman, the man striving to qualify for moronic. I'll bet those nice Army kids were biting their lips trying to hold in the giggles.
Pvt. Rachel: This is Private Rachel again. On the first question, I can't discuss operational matters as far as the number of troops. The weather, it's not as cold as [Fort] Drum. (Laughter) But the Army is well trained and all of the soldiers have had cold weather training.
I've been assuming all along that the media were malicious. They're not ... they're just incredibly lazy and stupid!
ROTFL
Also, I want those of you who ARE military (vets or active) that the picture below is on all USO Canteen threads, and it will be a LINK to this thread. One other thing, is that I will save the photos and info you post here (if your photo wasn't in the main thread) and at a later time, I can make another group photo. Again, I thank you all for your tremendous support.
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