A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....12-18-02

Billie, Molly Pitcher, daisyscarlett

[lodwick]

Galveston Island sunrise

[Molly Pitcher]

Good morning!

lodwick, that just takes my breath away! Lovely!

[lodwick]

heheh - we've not heard many of MUD's songs 'cause he's still younger than dirt.

A great day to you guys up there.

[lodwick]

Thanks for your thoughts today - you paint pretty word pictures.

[Molly Pitcher]

Thanks, lodwick....my heart was in the effort, and that helped:-)

Do you have any favorite places?

[ladtx]

In memory of my fellow Vietnam helicopter pilots who were killed in that war the following were lost on DEC 18th. God bless them all.

1964 WO1 Robert R. Thruston III (USAR) -- 117 AVN, Age 24, Fairfax, Virginia
1965 WO1 George W. Rice (USAR) -- 15 MED 1 CAV, Age 27, Pensacola, Florida
1966 1LT Albert J. McAuliffe (USAR) -- C/1/9 CAV 1 CAV, Age 24, St Croix, Virgin Islands
1966 WO1 Joel W. McDonnell (USAR) -- C/1/9 CAV 1 CAV, Age 21, Minneapolis, Minnesota
1970 WO1 Gary L. Bartels (USAR) -- B/7/1 CAV, Age 19, Arlington, Minnesota
1970 CPT Floyd D. Solomon (USAR) -- B/7/1 CAV, Age 30, Houston, Texas

Salute to an Officer & Fine Young Man
Mr. McDonnell was flying as co-pilot with Lt. McAuliffe on a radio relay mission when they crashed in dense fog while trying to make an instrument landing at Hammond Field north of Phu Cat. He died instantly. Joel was an outstanding young man who was very proud of what he was doing. He left behind a wife that he adored. It was my pleasure to have known him even if it was for a very short time. It is fitting that the names of Mr. McDonnell and Lt. McAuliffe are side by side on the wall.
Jerry Berggren -- Crewchief

5 of todays 6 casualties were cavalrymen. From one old cavalryman to these brave men I offer a saber salute and a rendition of the Garry Owen and

FIDDLER'S GREEN

Halfway down the trail to Hell,
In a shady meadow green
Are the Souls of all dead troopers camped,
Near a good old-time canteen.
And this eternal resting place
Is known as Fiddlers' Green.

Marching past, straight through to Hell
The Infantry are seen.
Accompanied by the Engineers,
Artillery and Marines,
For none but the shades of Cavalrymen
Dismount at Fiddlers' Green.

Though some go curving down the trail
To seek a warmer scene.
No trooper ever gets to Hell
Ere he's emptied his canteen.
And so rides back to drink again
With friends at Fiddlers' Green.

And so when man and horse go down
Beneath a saber keen,
Or in a roaring charge of fierce melee
You stop a bullet clean,
And the hostiles come to get your scalp,
Just empty your canteen,
And put your pistol to your head
And go to Fiddlers' Green.

The origin and author of Fiddlers' Green is unknown. It was believed to have originated in the 1800's and was composed as a song, sung by the soldiers of the 6th and 7th Cavalry. Its first known appearance in published form was in a 1923 Cavalry Journal.

Save a place on the Green for me, guys.

IN THE SHADOW OF THE BLADE

SCOUTS OUT!

[lodwick]

At this time of the day, it's right next to the coffee pot...I'll try to do better once fully caffeinated. ;-)

[lodwick]

Salute!

RIP friends - God bless you all.

[FreeTheHostages]

My place of the heart is a place where you have a better chance of improving your lot in life by your own brains and initiative than anywhere else on earth. A place of breathtaking beauty. A place whose diversity, and diverse roots, I cherish. A place where women are allowed to have a little moxy and men are allowed to cook. I mean, of course, Vermont. LOL -- but, more broadly, I do mean the United States.

[FreeTheHostages]

And of course my place of the heart is a place where men died to make me free.

[daisyscarlett]

Good morning to you. Hope Dansy does not pass on her "crud" to you and I hope you have a great Christmas in Florida.

Merry Christmas! DaisyScarlett

[FreeTheHostages]

I went to Wyoming for the first time in my life year before last. I had no idea how *high* the elevation would be! I had a friend who was working out there and together we went to the rodeo -- Cheyenne's big annual event with the pancake breakfast for 3,000.

But the funniest thing was when we went out to a restaurant. It looked on the outside like a normal restaurant, but on the menu, you could only get beef. You could get it done 1,000 ways, but there wasn't the fish or pasta options. My friend explained that was true of many restaurants in the area; people really liked steak!

We saw Lee Ann Womack in concert. But the best part was of course the rodeo. Amazing.

I found the look and feel and big sky of Wyoming very beautiful.

[lodwick]

Denver Quiche folks

[FreeTheHostages]

"younger than dirt" Dirt is generally very very old. By some accounts, some dirt on this planet is billions of years old. It's good to know that no matter how old I get, I will always be younger than dirt.

[daisyscarlett]

Good morning. Can I interest you in some of Meek's cocoa with cookies?

[FreeTheHostages]

LOL -- thanks! Cheyenne's not far from Denver. But for the record, my friend is not a Denver quiche person. He lived in Cheyenne. A good friend of mine for over 20 years, classmate of mine from college. While I was there, he was in the process of being smitten by an actual, real-life goat-herder girl! Beautiful woman with bronze skin who really spent her time herding sheep.

You're so smart: Do you why the sky seem so "big" in Wyoming?

[lonestar]

Bring back the doggies and kittens! LOL...

Merry Christmas!!!!

[daisyscarlett]

Good morning, IG.

Always good to see one of our FRiends from the Guild here.

Glad you like the thread today. Billie, as always, "helped" with the graphics, LOL.

And if you like Perry Como, do visit us next Monday. Aquamarine is guest hostessing Christmas Music Extravaganza and a little birdie told me Perry Como is on the program....

I Believe in Santa! DaisyScarlett

[FreeTheHostages]

Mixer's Holiday Dog #8:

[lodwick]

re: big sky. An outstanding question there. I've not a clue, except I experience the same feeling when traveling north to Iowa and southern MN - someone really, really, smart will enlighten us on this phenomenon. Hopefully.

Happy hump day everyone.