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Posted on 07/23/2002 12:15:45 AM PDT by Snow Bunny
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I led with the worse side, with my being irritated, and that was a mistake. I suppose it was the FEMA security issue that spooked me, as similar matters have elsewhere. In letting that (and my cynical, shall we say, returning fire) get out of hand, I am truly sorry.
In any case, though, as it happens, and as you'll see if you read my post 565 in this thread, your perceptions aren't quite accurate. I'm glad that anything giving succor to veterans, passed on or present, serving or not, families and friends, exists in a forum such as FR, and especially in time of war. With some of my own friends now at hazard in the service of my country, I could hardly do otherwise.
I raised only three items that perplexed me: the seemingly (I didn't visit often enough) repetitive graphics, the security issue, and where this was classified. I now realize that these matters should have been sent in private mail, as well. In any event, nothing malign was intended.
I'm a bit disappointed that mentioning my own resonances about veterans, in my own family and circle, elicited a "yawn" on the part of some, but I'll move beyond that.
[...] What they don't deserve is to looked down upon by a keyboard cowboy who gains self-worth by spouting off at the water cooler known as FreeRepublic about a thread that's for them! Not you!
Again, I misunderstood. Having read many posts that were about friends and family, I didn't grasp that what Snow Bunny wrote was being literal: that this was "a place where a weary veteran can spend the night." And only veterans. You're entitled, certainly. Anyone who's put themselves through such hells and heavens for this country is entitled.
I hope you will forgive me for any misunderstandings, including that of wanting to share what I only know about second-hand, when it comes down to essentials. I can't pretend to know. I can sympathize, I can feel loss, but as you're suggesting, it seems impossible that I can truly empathize. I should have understood that I don't belong here.
Thank you, Snow Bunny and others, for caring about all such people. Once again, I wish you well.
(I can't say I won't respond to anything further in this Canteen thread -- since it will come up in My Comments -- but I will respect your evident wishes, and not visit or post in any others in the future.)
My husband's step dad was very sick after my husband's mom died. He came to stay with us for a while until he was doing things like getting up in the middle of the night and rolling leaves in napkins trying to smoke them. It was dangerous because he almost caught things on fire a couple of times. And he tinkled everywhere! One day he told me, "It rained in my room!" Of course, me....I laughed! I said, "Well, we better get things dry before it rains again!" It still cracks me up to think of him telling me that! LOL! I also had small runners in the hallways that he would walk around because he thought they were graves. He did things repetitively so I went to the craft store and bought a little wooden rocking horse for him to sand on for one of his grandkids. We would sit on the back deck and sand on that horse for hours. But he had diabetes which could not be controlled and as carefully as we watched him we could not keep his blood sugar level so he had to go into a skilled nursing facility. They could not stabilize him either but at least they were able to watch him 24 hrs and deal with the extreme high and extreme low blood sugars. He and my mom are the only ones who had long term difficulties with memory and thinking. The others all had fairly short term devastating illnesses and we would go to their homes or the hospital to sit with them or take care of whatever they needed done. It's not easy no matter.
Thank you for your heart-felt apology. Please accept mine.
I will be in the doghouse for sure now - as well I should be - because this canteen is for you. I certainly have no right to deprive you of it! I just wanted you to understand the context of the canteen. There are many others with far more claim to status than I could ever have - Snow Bunny being one of them.
Let me, humbly, extend a hand of friendship and ask you to stick around. I've learned a great deal about the military and those who support the military right here on this thread! I would hope you would stay on to continue that tradition!
Humble Regards!
TS
eeEEEEEEKKKKKKKKkkkkkkkkkkk! Dang! I did it again! :)
Thank you, Shrew, for all of your comments. You have warmed the heart of the girl next door! :) 
Why is the girl next door always married?
;-)
Thanks,
TS
Greybird, I was alarmed as well when I read your first post.I had no clue at all that something I so innocently found and posted in the intro could be a bad thing.
I work very hard to do threads, the one on Veterans Not Forgotten took over 7 hours to find just the right graphics and then for me to write and also find things for it.I take what I do very seriously.So to see that something I posted was causing a problem as you said, well it was scary to me.Especially since it did not show up as a problem on either of my computers.
First I accpet your apology. Thank you.
One good thing is that I do not repeat threads, so the childrens letters I posted were from one main site and there is no reason to go there again.It is odd, because it said.... USO from some city back east. It must have had some code in it that was not in the actuall wording of the thread or something.I have no idea as I am not that experienced with computers like that. As I still do not understand what you were talking about even now, and sure do not want to learn about it either, it is scary to me that it happened.
As far as your question about where we are on the FR forum. That is simple as I said before.I follow Jim Rob's advice to the letter always. I think his reasoning is that we are at war and our troops ARE news.Maybe not to the liberal media but to FReepers like myself, they certainly are BIG news.
I try very hard to do threads each time on various aspects of our military , to try over the months to cover every part of what our military does.That way as time goes along we will never leave anyone out.
This is going to be a very long war and each day the threads will cover as they have, a different part of our military, or various bases here or even our friend Canada.
As an example.......we have several active duty Aviation Ordnancemen that are FReepers. I received a request to do a thread on Ordies. It was wonderful that they asked and I loved learning about it and sharing about it in a thread.
I take requests from FReepers as well as the troops that write to me of what they are doing and cover them as well.Such as the 82nd Airborne etc.
The Canteen is in no way about me, or any civilian. It is all for our troops and Veterans. A place, more then a thread and the most unique thread at FR. There is nothing else that does what we do here. There are some similar, but nothing that does the outreach we do for FReeper's that are Veterans and our troops and their families serving now.
We have had military wives come here that post of their husbands serving now, we wait with them counting the days as we did waiting for the USS Theodore Roosevelt to return for one of our Freeper military wives.
I could write all night to you of the up close and personal times that have happened right here at the FReeper USO Canteen, of Marines serving now, or our Coast Guard, Air Force, Navy, Army that have come to the Canteen and posted of where they are serving and share with us.Of a pilot that passed a test he had asked for prayer about and how we prayed then celebrated his success.Men fighting in this war and appreciating the USO Canteen Freeper Style as a home away from home. Much like the real USO.
Monday Mail Call with letters from those serving now as well, heart warming letters of passion for serving and how they love being able to peek in here and be a part of it even as a lurker. Veterans that have been FReepers back as far as 1998, that have never once posted. They write to me how they love the Canteen and FR and what it means to them. And little by little they have started to post at the Canteen and also in other threads of news items.
Is the Canteen news? It depends if one is a liberal or a person that loves our military . To me, our military should always be news.There is far too little of news of our troops in the media. The 101st Airborne is leaving Afghanistan and being replaced by the 10th Mountain Division.That is News, and we cover it here at the Canteen.
You know people serving now as you posted about. That IS important and it matters a great deal. I owe my freedom to our Veterans and those serving now.A debt I can never pay, but I spend every waking moment trying to thank them and to do my own kind of fight ,trying to take back our liberty and rights that our Veterans paid the highest price of all to give me.
It should be news that you have a friend serving or a relative in this war.That is not gossip or idle chatter.That person's serving effects ALL of our lives and our freedom and safety. And at the Canteen just as any USO we have fun along the way. This is important too, as a morale booster for our troops that continuously write how they love to come here and have a break in their duties, and laugh as well. Is that part news? No, that part is what the USO is about as well.Liberty ,R&R and fun.
In some magical way we do it all.I cannot even explain how it happens it just does.The real MAGIC is in the hearts of those that come here and make it happen.Their love of our troops, their gratitude to our Veterans, their care and prayers for those serving and their families.Each one sharing right from their hearts.This Canteen belongs to each of them.
The MAGIC is their passion in all forms.And the Heroes are our Veterans and our troops.
I hope you come again to the USO Canteen FReeper Style and let that Magic touch your heart in a real way.
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