USO Canteen FReeper Style Monday Mail Call .... August 12,2002

FRiends of the USO Canteen FReeper Style Our Troops 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...............................................................................................................................................................................

Our troops need our support and encouragement. They are away from home, some for the first time, and usually lonely or discouraged. It is important for us to reach out and help them in the same way we would want someone to reach out to our loved ones if and when they are in the same position.

They answered their call and we are answering theirs offering them the USO Canteen FReeper Style each day and thanking them for serving.

This is IN Coming Mail from some of those serving now.

We at the USO Canteen FReeper Style, a running thread at Free Republic, are proud to support our Military. The mail comes in from contacting some of our Military Bases, Marine Corps Leagues , and friends and family of those serving now. Also from responses at the wonderful P.O.Box that 68-69TonkinGulfYatchClub has made so easily available to each of us here at Free Republic.

They are writing to those that frequent the FReeper USO Canteen to thank you for your support.

ALL the mail posted on Monday Mail Call is Recent Mail from the prior week.

Snow Bunny
Hi babe! Thanks for your fast response, it sure meant a lot .
Since my grandparents are from Scotland it was really
Something to see the bag pipes with the great Colorado
Patriots supporting us.

I had a lump in my throat to see the work they did to get
together for us, to support us like that!

God bless the Canteen and all of you for doing your part
back home. It is felt and appreciated.
Steven
USAF

Snow Bunny ,
Hi Canteen !
I had a great day with you on Tues.August 6th.
LindaSOG had presented Why I love America
and I wish I could have shared why I love
America too. So I am doing it in this email.

I love my country because in all the places I
have traveled it is not just my homeland, but
a symbol of freedom to me and to the entire
world. And to keep America free it comes at
a cost as it always has. For some higher then
others but always at a cost. And you better
believe it is worth any cost to keep it FREE!

You all know that at the USO Canteen Freeper
Style and it shows every time I get to visit.
I want to thank you for your faithful patriotism
to our land that will stay free .

Thank you LindaSOG and the Canteen.

Your friend
Adam
USARMY

Hey Snow Bunny
What a group you have there and what a place
The Canteen is and FR too.
I say it is MOM, Apple Pie and the Canteen!

Keep it up and I will pass the word along.Thank
You for all of your support of us.

Sandy
USAF

Snow Bunny and all the Canteen,
I vote for all the Canteen Girlz as you spell it!
Victoria I wish I was a leopard or tiger you
could tame me anytime.

MEOW

Love and kisses to all the Girlz
Johnny
USMC

Hello Snow Bunny,
The Canteen knocks my socks off!
Souris I want to put you in my pocket, you
would fit just right ! LOL What a doll you
are! I am in love here or should I say a fan
of yours.
I would like to thank you Snow Bunny
and every one at the Canteen for the best
support of what we are doing I have ever>br> seen. You must be the most special people
that I will ever meet in my life even in cyber
space.

Love you all and kisses
Marc
USMC

Dear Snow Bunny
Right now I am on the move so I am not sure if I
I will be able to see the Canteen for a week or two.
The last few months I have been able to catch it
almost everyday and it means an awful lot when I
can.

My Dad heard about Free Republic from a friend
at the gym he goes to. So he wrote to me about the
Canteen that it was about what we are doing .
Thanks Dad for all you do and for being my Dad.

When you count those addicted to the Canteen –Hey
count me in on that.( raising my hand)

I would like to give one of the special Bunny hugs to
Kathy in Alaska, Radu, Souris,Bluesagewoman,MoJo2001
and welcome you to the Canteen.
Thank you for the trip to New York and the beautiful
music Victoria ( I could be home by Christmas heh heh)
honest I’m not sure when I will be home.

God Bless the USA and God Bless the Canteen!
Kyle
USMC

SpookBrat and Snow Bunny
I want to get this off to you both right now.
SpookBrat your sharing about your father, well,it
touched my heart deeply. For awhile now I thank
God every time I get to come to the Canteen. And
today I thanked him for your father and his service.
Men like your Father SpookBrat are heros and should
be thanked.
Snow Bunny, you have the best friends at the Canteen
I can feel the care each one of you have for each other.
Then add in the best support system for all of us I have
ever seen or felt. Thank you Canteeners.

God be with you all and your loved ones.
Tandy
USAF

Dear Snow Bunny,
WOW! What a place, what a group you all are!
Everyone adding their own special touches every
single day of the week.Holy Cow! ( cleaned that one up
for the ladies.LOL)

Aomagrat thank you for the history of war ships.
I sure do love reading about these ships and how it
effected our county with the wars.

Mr_Magoo my Dad loves what I send him about
the planes, he is a WW11 vet .

Samwolf, my mom wrote me she saw me in one of
the pictures you had posted. She said she cried and
I just want to thank you for what you do everyday.

Tomkow6, you are a natural! I swear you have me
laughing so hard every time I get to visit the Canteen.
Tell those voices in your head they are brilliant! ROTFLMO

I want to thank everyone of you, because you all have
made me laugh and feel at home. I know I will not be
able to remember everyone and it concerns me. Because
you all make my day a better one.

Victoria Delsoul what beautiful graphics you choose
for the topics of each day, beautiful like you are. I can
tell the care you take with them.
] Then the music , thanks so much!!!

Souris I would say you are as cute as a bug in a rug, but
that is an insult for the sexiest, cutest mouse in the world.
Thank you for the smiles on my face seeing what you
come up with everyday. LOL

AntiJen , a Vet and a beautiful girl in one package with a
personality that is such fun. I can have one of your hugs,
see I am a guy so don’t worry about the NHH stuff with me.
LOL Oh God help me all you girls are hilarious!

Coteblanche how do I tell you what it means, to have one of our>br> Canadian friends live and in person everyday supporting us and
our Canadian friends, serving with us in this war. You have the
gift of graciousness and giving that makes meeting you a gift
to all of us.

MistyCA bet you didn’t know I knew you were gone. LOL
Sure did and counted the days along with everyone else . But
I hope you took a better vehicle then the one with the Beverly
Hillbillies. LOL I am a big fan of your 666 situations you get
yourself into. HUG

SpookBrat you have me laughing with your humor and
how you say the things going on with you. You’re a doll
SpookBrat.

SassyMom and your Bad Boy. I think of the two of you as
the Canteen sweethearts. Hey SassyMom, I think your guy
Kneezles must laugh to himself when he gets you to blush.
The two of you show me there is hope for me finding the
right girl for me someday.

Kathy in Alaska what a girl you are. I saw you tell everyone
how you had watched the Canteen like we do here. I sure
am glad you joined in and I can tell everyone else is too.
You’re a living doll and your enthusiasm is contagious.

Radu, your name is intriguing to me. You are sweet and I
hope to see more of you.

MoJo2001 thank you for the music and your support of us.
Thank your husband for serving and tell him he is a lucky
guy.

Hi Jinx I found the Canteen the day you were the Freeper Friday
Veteran. I salute you my brother.

Johnny Gage my cousin is a firefighter in New York. So I
noticed your trucks right away. Thanks!

LindaSOG the remarkable history lessons each time I am there.
I think I would like to ask for tutoring if it is ok with you.
Something we could do over a nice dinner and a bottle of
wine. You could tell me all the history you want and I would
love every minute of it.

I apologize to those I did not mention. That concerned me
when I wanted to write this email to Snow Bunny. God sent
you all and the Canteen into my life. Enlisting after Sept.11th,
was one of those things I had to do or how could I enjoy my
freedom that others were going to fight for.

Thanks again everybody !
Joe
USARMY

Jim Robinson and Snow Bunny and the Canteeners,br> Free Republic is the best place on the net. I have watched
it grow over the years. As a lurker I can tell you that with
the USO Canteen Freeper Style joining in , it is the finest
addition to FR that I have seen . Jim Robinson is my own
personal hero for many reasons. Thank you sir for FR and
the Freeper USO Canteen.

Lurkers may stay lurkers for a long time but we love FR
no matter if we post or not. So I wanted you to know that
all your work and that of the Canteeners to take a running
thread and turn it into a place as you have is remarkable.

Kathy in Alaska your stepping forward like you did has
brought yet an added light to the shining lights of others
at the Canteen and FR.

Bless you all for what you mean in my life. The Canteen is
a place of comfort and support to an old veteran like me.

Jake
Conservative & Vietnam Veteran
USMC

Hi Crew!
Just a quickie note here ( I know ok BAD Boys let’s keep it
it clean my MOM is watching ROTFL)
Lots going on here right now so not a lot of time
to dig in and write as much as we want to. But since
the Canteen is our second home we miss all of you.

SpookBrat we did catch your Pirate post to us. LOL
Thanks for thinking of all of us.

Hey Tonk,are you driving the girls wild in your uniform?
Lookin good Tonk our brother!

Misty we need to talk about your traveling like that with
those hillbillies. LOL
Thanks guys for the jokes , besides gut laughs from us,
they even got us out of a little trouble the other day.
Long story, we were asked to scrounge a bit and then
got in a little misunderstanding about who asked us and
why. LOL It goes with the calling, Sam you know what
that means. That higher calling of being a scrounger and
a Bad Boy. Magoo, Tomkow and Kneezles you saved the
day !

Hey Starman sir, are we taking a test too? Here are our
answers ahead of time. Moonlight and Stars
guide a sailor in his dreams. ( pretty romantic huh)
as long as they stay up where they belong we will
make us of them down here.LOL
Not bad for a scrounger.
Canteen Bad Boys Kiss the girls for us !

Joe, Marty, Al, and myself Scully the Scrounger
Scully and the Pirates
USNavy

Dear Snow Bunny and Canteen supporters
I wanted to write and thank you for your
belief in us and your support.

Yesterday was my 4th time at your Canteen.
You did the theme about the Purple Heart and
the story behind it. Thank you, my Dad loved
it when I sent it to him. He is going to register
at FR now because of the Canteen. He will get
into FR big time as he loves politics.
Dad is a Korean War Veteran and will love the
Canteen too.

The Canteen and the Poetry Branch are where I
like to spend my online time when I get it. Dad
sent me a journal to jot down things I write so I
can one day send you something for the Poetry
area for submission to Coteblanche.

The thing you call Infinite Freep Rally’s for the
Troops is awesome to me. Your work in Colorado,
Fresno and all the other places like Bluesagewoman’s
report I read at the Canteen. KNOW this , it is
with great pride that I thank all of you.

Thank you for having the Canteen to come to . Thank
you for FR for my Dad and for me one day.

Bobby
Special Forces

Monday Mail Call
~by Victoria Delsoul~

Mail call means our troops are near, 
When they are happy, down or blue
They know how to write us here 
At the USO Canteen we're waiting for you.

It doesn't matter where you are 
It doesn't matter when 
Anytime you need someone to talk to, 
We are here to be your friend.

If you need someone to play a song, 
To post a graphic or to say I care 
If you need a shoulder to cry on, 
Know that the Canteen is always there.

Mail call is a window to your soul 
but if the weight gets to be too much 
Take a look at the Canteeners heart 
You'll find good friends with the right touch.

United we stand to our country defend, 
Through the good times and the bad 
You're never alone; the Canteen is your friend 
So until next mail call… oh, what a time we had.

[bluesagewoman]

Tell me tomorrow how worth it corn is. Tonight, it is hot and way over-whelming. But, you are right...at Thanksgiving time there is nothing like a fresh turkey and quarts of home frozen corn. My bathtub runneth over right now! Darn, I love indoor plumbing! Sorry, SAMWolf, it is true.

[4TheFlag]

Hey, how does Burgers and Brats on the grill sound tonight, Firing up the old girl!

I know, I know, it's not shrimp, but us landlocked northern Goobers have to eat SOMETHING!

[SassyMom]

Tell me tomorrow how worth it corn is. Tonight, it is hot and way over-whelming.

I understand. LOL

[Reborn]

Yes, our service men and woman send thanks because they are the best! But I am so grateful for every last one of them. I usually lurk on these canteen threads because I get too tongue-tied, and tearful many times, and I don't feel like I can really say what is in my heart. These great souls KNOW what it is to take a Stand for FReedom, like Patrick Henry, and so many other awesome men and women before them. How very proud I am of them! Dear God, how very very proud of them I am. God bless our troops. God bless you every one!!!!!!!!!

[SassyMom]

Burgers and Brats sound great. We'll be right over. LOL

[SassyMom]

You are so right. We all are very proud of our troops.

I'm so glad that you decided to post. You are amongst friends here and we would love to hear what you have to say. We have lots of kleenex to help with the tears. Trust me we share those tears. Welcome, friend.

[redhead]

Hi, 4! Just dropping in to say "HEY" to all. I won't get to geek much for a while. We have hubby's daughter here for a few days (her apartment was flooded out in the last storms), and we share a common love for movies, so we will probably spend as much time as possible watching flicks and making comments from the peanut gallery. But don't think I'm gone, because I will be dropping in every once in a while to check on all you guys and make sure you are behaving yourselves. Have fun! Carry on...

[MoJo2001]

First of all, GOOD EVENING!! Wow!! I have to catch up!!

Second, thank you so much for the Mail Call today. It was absolutely wonderful. God Bless the men and women that wrote in today. It was a pleasure reading your feedback. Also, God Bless the men and women that lurk or those that don't know about the Canteen yet!!!

Thank You!!Thank You!! Thank You!!! To the persons responsible for Sam ditching the test for the rest of us. We are sooooo not worthy!!LOL!

Also, I just want to add my sympathies to the brave men and women who lost their lives this past weekend. May God comfort their families and friends during this unbelievably horrible time. It is a sad reality that many of us take for granted. It really makes me want to cry when I know I can kiss my hubby and someone else will never get the opportunity. We are a blessed country. Why some people don't understand that is beyond me!!

Well, anyone want to catch me up?? Anything new happening?? Um, I didn't get fired today from my job. So? I will have to go back tomorrow. LOL! I'm just messing. It's like any job afterwhile..boring, boring, but you get paid. So? No complaining!!

[Mr_Magoo]

Well I passed the first interview, and the first series of tests. Next battery of tests (4 hours) is Friday . If I pass that and the next interview, I should be "in".

I hope so, because the pay is very good.

[kneezles]

Hiya MoJo!!!! Good to see ya! Do you think that this is Snow Bunnys big brother?

[4TheFlag]

We'll be right over. LOL

Well, get on over here, sides of Corn on the Cob and Potato Salad and green onions, WOOO HOOO!

[MoJo2001]

Tonkin: Thank you so much for the beautiful flowers that are delivered every morning. It is such a wonderful treat to receive it and not do anything to really deserve it. So?? I'm wondering Mr. Tonkin...what can I do for you that will make me feel like I'm worthy of receiving the flowers?? God Bless You, Mr. Tonkin!!!

[MoJo2001]

Kneezles, um..is it me or am I supposed to be looking at something?? LOL! Or was the funny pop supposed to be something that I'm not even keenly aware of. You will have to spell it out for the Mocha..LOL!! Lots a love to you and Sassy. Speaking of which, where is Sassy. I missed her today. I missed telling her about my solution to my stuff situation!!LOL!

[kneezles]

Hey Flagman!!! How the heck are ya? Things are just fine here. Here's a test for everyone.

[kneezles]

Awwww crud, they won't come up.

[kneezles]

Awwww heck, the site that I used to use is gone all goofy on me. Sassy is in the other room watching Wheel of Fortune, and possibly the backs of her eyelids. She'll come back soon and bump me off!

[COB1]

READ WHEN YOU'RE HAVING A BAD DAY

Next time you have a bad day at work . . . think of this guy.

Rob is a commercial saturation diver for Global Divers in Louisiana. He performs underwater repairs on offshore drilling rigs.
Below is an E-mail he sent to his sister.
She then sent it to Laughline, who was sponsoring a worst job experience contest. Needless to say, she won.

"Hi Sue,
Just another note from your bottom-dwelling brother. Last week I had a bad day at the office.
I know you've been feeling down lately at work, so I thought I would share my dilemma with you to make you realize it's not so bad after all.

Before I can tell you what happened to me, I first must bore you with a few technicalities of my job. As you know, my office lies at the bottom of the sea.
I wear a suit to the office. It's a wetsuit.
This time year the water is quite cool.
So what we do to keep warm is this: We have a diesel powered industrial water heater. This $20,000 piece of shit sucks the water out of the sea.
It heats it to a delightful temperature. It then pumps it down to the diver through a garden hose, which is taped to the air hose.

Now this sounds like a damn good plan, and I've used it several times with no complaints.
What I do, when I get to the bottom and start working, is I take the hose and stuff it down the back of my wetsuit.
This floods my whole suit with warm water. It's like working in a Jacuzzi.
Everything was going well until all of a sudden, my ass started to itch.
So, of course, I scratched it.
This only made things worse. Within a few seconds my ass started to burn.

I pulled the hose out from my back, but the damage was done. In agony I realized what had happened.
The hot water machine had sucked up a jellyfish and pumped it into my suit. Now since I don't have any hair on my back, the jellyfish couldn't stick to it.
However, the crack of my ass was not as fortunate.
When I scratched what I thought was an itch, I was actually grinding the jellyfish into my ass.
I informed the dive supervisor of my dilemma over the communicator.
His instructions were unclear due to the fact that he, along with 5 other divers, was all laughing hysterically.
Needless to say I aborted the dive.

I was instructed to make 3 agonizing in-water decompression stops totaling 35 minutes before I could reach the surface to begin my chamber dry decompression.
When I arrived at he surface, I was wearing nothing but my brass helmet.
As I climbed out of the water, the medic, with tears of laughter running down his face, handed me a tube of cream and told me to rub it on my ass as soon as I get in the chamber.
The cream put the fire out, but I couldn't crap for 2 days because my butthole was swollen shut.

So, next time your having a bad day at work; think about how much worse it would be if you had a jellyfish shoved up your ass."

Thanks, Marsha!

[kneezles]

A young man was walking through a supermarket to pick a few
things when he noticed an old lady following him around.
Thinking nothing of it, he ignored her and continued on.
Finally he went to the checkout line, but she got in front of him.

"Pardon me," she said, "I'm sorry if my staring at you has
made you feel uncomfortable.  It's just that you look just
like my son, who just died recently."

"I'm very sorry," replied the young man, "Is there anything
I can do for you?"

"Yes," she said, "As I'm leaving, can you say
'Good bye mother!' it would make me feel much better."

"Sure," answered the young man.  As the old woman was
leaving, he called out, "Good bye mother!" and felt
quite good about himself that he did a good deed and
made someone feel happy.

As he stepped up to the checkout counter, he saw that
his total was $127.50.  "How can that be?" he asked,
"I only purchased a few things!"

"Your mother said that you would pay for her,"
said the clerk.

[kneezles]

Two cannibals meet one day. The first cannibal says, "You know, I just
can't seem to get a tender Missionary. I've baked them, I've roasted
them, I've  stewed them, I've barbecued them, I've tried every sort of
marinade. I just cannot seem to get them tender."
The second cannibal asks, "What kind of Missionary do you use?"
The other replied, "You know, the ones that hang out at that place at
the bend of the river. They have those brown cloaks with a rope around
the waist  and they're sort of bald on top with a funny ring of hair on
their heads."
"Ah, ha!" the second cannibal replies. "No wonder ... those are friars!"

[4TheFlag]

Hey there rh, so sorry to hear about the floods, I hope every one is OK??? You pop in when you can Lady, we'll MISS you......

Good to see ya:)