USO Canteen FReeper Style....Childrens Art to our Troops....July 23,2002

FRiends of the USO Canteen FReeper Style and Snow Bunny

[Snow Bunny]

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If you know a Veteran, someone in your family,
friend of the family, neighbor, who served their
country, take a brief moment of your day to thank them.
Thank them for the sacrifice they made
for the better good of their country.

We at Free Republic, and the USO Canteen FReeper Style,
are thankful for every service member
in our military, who has served our great nation.

So, to the men and women who answered the call,
in both times of war and peace, thank you.

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Message from Snow Bunny to all those who visit the Canteen.

This is how I think of the USO Canteen Freeper Style.
It is like a cottage down a road,
a place where a weary veteran can spend the night.

Since it opened, it is magical how so many
Freepers who post here, feel it too.
It has been so dear how the Freepers
kept making it a cottage - a home-type of place
that had a huge living room
for them to visit in and a dance floor, a library, etc.

Many Veterans have written to me,
saying that the Canteen is like home
to them for the first time since they served.

This is your Canteen -
a respite from our busy
and sometimes troubling world.
Make yourself at home.

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Children's Art at the Canteen

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SPRINGFIELD, Va. (AFPN) -- With a pencil, pen and marker, Daniela McCain, third-grade daughter of Tech. Sgt. Christopher and Pamela McCain, from Andrews Air Force Base, Md., drew herself a first-place entry in the Air Force category of the Armed Services YMCA Art Contest 2002

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[HiJinx]

Hmmmmm.....right!
Is it ready for this?

[WVNan]

How's this?

[MistyCA]

Yes, one night she took a big old fishing trip that she was describing to my sister over the phone! She said she wasn't allowed to actually fish cause she was too young, but maybe my sister would come and join us next time and enjoy it! Gosh, it was all very, very weird! She had spent the day in her head I guess! :) I try to be very patient. It's pretty weird cause my mom was never much of a mom to us growing up. She was a person everyone enjoyed, but she made it pretty tough on us kids. She said she wanted to make sure we weren't spoiled so she made a very bad habit of putting us down most of the time. And then, out of no where, she would say something nice and it made for a very confusing childhood. I always say that the very best part of her being a bit mixed up now days is she has forgotten how much she doesn't like me! :)))) Weird, huh? But I have to tell you, many of my friends have said they would never ever do what I am doing. That's unfortunate, imo. I have learned long ago to make peace and accept my mom for who she is, not who I would kept expecting her to be. If she makes a nasty cruel remark anymore (rarely) it just doesn't bother me. I can remember back at the hurtful things she always said while I was growing up and I wish I had known then what I know now. Life is good, and it is ok.:)

[Snow Bunny]

Heh heh ha ha ho ho

Luv ya

[Greybird]

And may the Good Lord bless your coming in and your going out.

About on a par with most such religiosity. (Not to be confused with religion.) I should have known better than to think otherwise.

You wanna know something? I was perplexed, as I said originally, about the structure and content of this cyber-place. I wasn't attacking, I was genuinely puzzled. I also was concerned about a security risk to users. (This last seems to have been discarded in anyone's appraisal. If you don't care, that's your lookout.)

I have the utmost respect for veterans. I had a father in the Navy and two uncles in the Army who died from the eventual aftereffects (magnified by age, certainly) of their Second World War injuries. One uncle, after identifying over a dozen other American Eagle Squadron pilots who served with him in the Battle of Britain, those bodies that weren't cut into ribbons. This stress, and the alcohol he took to forget, eventually crippled this USAAF Colonel with multiple sclerosis -- years after he patented six rocket propellants that helped get us toward walking on the Moon.

They put their lives on the line in a host of ways. I have also had cousins serve honorably in Vietnam. I was not physically able to serve, there or since, nor personally inclined if I were, but I have never once disparaged or done anything other than wholeheartedly support my many friends who have done so, some of more than 25 years since high school.

I have one of my dearest friends on Earth serving right now in the 82nd Airborne over in Afghanistan. He has two baby daughters and is scared at times -- this is a Captain, who certainly doesn't show it to his men -- that he won't come home in one piece. I don't blame him for anyone else's decisions about this current war, I applaud his dedication.

If you decided to see past some personal confusion, and offered instead to knit someone else into your circle, you might have found someone else to share more thoughts and good wishes with in this Canteen.

Even with it not -- or so it seems -- being reciprocated, I wish you all well.

P.S. To whoever was channeling Alan Jay Lerner and 'Liza Doolittle up above: You'd have been more on target with your wit if you'd used "I'm On My Way" ("Where am I goin', I don't know") from "Paint Your Wagon." Try some more under-used musicals next time. ~grin~

[MistyCA]

Gosh Jen.....slow down so I can catch up! :)

[WVNan]

How's this?

[Snow Bunny]

I agree with you Misty soooo much.You said it so much better then I could.

[MistyCA]

LOL!

[Victoria Delsoul]

LOL!!! Getting there. :-D

[WVNan]

That is so weird Misty. That could be me describing my relationship with my Mom.

[HiJinx]

What stories you have...they sound so familiar.

We just went through this with Mrs. HJ's mom, who passed on to our Lord's care last October. It was so frustrating...her husband died in '98, and her spirit died with him. All that was left was a bitter shell. Our youngest (16 now) kept reminding his mom that "Nana isn't the same woman who raised you, mom."

[Victoria Delsoul]

Love ya, too!

[Mr_Magoo]

Yeowza!

:-)

[Snow Bunny]

OK....Goodbye!!!

[MistyCA]

Isn't that just the pits when you are standing outside waiting to be let in?????? I hate that!

[WVNan]

Judging from my double post, I may be going down that road myself. Short term memory is first to go. I only do that when the page rolls over and I don't realize that it's on the next page. Ha.

[WVNan]

Sic em Attila. Some people don't know when to let it drop.

[MistyCA]

Wow, Mr. Magoo! Thanks! :)

[MistyCA]

Well, bully for you! LOL! Kidding, of course! I am really slow catching up when I try to read most of the posts! I will be glad when I can spend more time here! :)