A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....02-06-03...A Pit Stop by John Huang

JohnHuang2, Billie, Dutchess | JohnHuang2

[dutchess]

A Few of FR's Finest.....
......Every Day

FR is a Treasure Trove of talented, compassionate, patriotic, wonderful people who gather every day to discuss the latest news and issues; salute and support our military and our leaders;  tell a few jokes;  learn a new word;  write poetry;  pray for those in need;  and congratulate those who are deserving. Thank you, Jim Robinson, for giving us the vehicle in which we can express ourselves.

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   I can remember lurking when there were only a few regulars who posted, and now there are over 60,000 who have registered for posting privileges. The forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest November 11, 2001

So many people have written me since my original Veteran's Day Tribute, asking how they, or a loved one, could be included in that tribute. Since I can no longer add the photos to the body of the thread, I've been including them in additional posts as I received enough to make another collage.

Still that doesn't seem to be enough. I think there's never been a better nor more appropriate time to keep the faces of our own Veterans and Active Military in front of FReepers--every day! That's why I wanted to do yet another Daily Thread .....ABOUT FReepers .....and FOR FReepers. But not only about our Military FReepers; for all FReepers! Wouldn't it be nice to get to know a few of the other FReepers as well? That's why, in addition to seeing FR's Finest Military Personnel every day, I thought it might be fun to feature a different FReeper (or FReepers) each day. If you would like to be pictured, or know someone who would, please FReepmail me and we'll turn the spotlight - on YOU - for the day!

And do let me know if you'd like your picture added to the groups of Veterans/Active Military below. I will keep this page updated, and continue to add them to the comment section of the original Veteran's Day thread as well.

TOP: Logos, SwedeGirl's hubby, Neil E Wright, FallGuy, 1John, Sneakypete
MIDDLE:  T'wit, COB1, LadyX, Dick Bachert, 68-69TonkinGulfYatchClub
BOTTOM:  YankeeinSC, Delta21, JoeSixPack1

TOP:  Bosniajmc, AFVetGal, Archy, A Navy Vet
MIDDLE:  4TheFlag, Aeronaut, 68Grunt, Xinga
BOTTOM:  Codger, AAABest, Clinton's A Liar, Duke809, dcwusmc

TOP:  mc5cents, Norb2569, LBGA's son, VanJenerette
MIDDLE:  Jim Robinson, KJenerette, davidosborne, KG9Kid
BOTTOM:  gwmoore, Equality7-2521, SAMWolf

TOP:  porgygirl, Phil V., MudPuppy, NorCoGOP
MIDDLE:  RaceBannon, OneidaM, rdb3, jwTexian
BOTTOM:  USMC Vet, TheMayor, Vineyard, rhododogma

We now have eleven groups of veterans/active military; we will post each group of three or four twice a week, with thumbnail/links of the remaining seven or eight groups on each thread. Click on any of the thumbnails below to see the group full-size.

         

GROUP 5A: TOP:  spectr17, RightOnline, SERE_Doc, Tet68. MIDDLE:  FutureSnakeEater, RightOnline's wife, CIApilot, Clamper1797. BOTTOM:  usmcobra, onedoug, DiverDave, Joe6-pack.

GROUP 6A: TOP:  g'nad, AgThorn's son Justin, SLB, AgThorn's son Brett. MIDDLE:  fish70, razorback-bert, CheneyChick, Leroy S Mort, Mark17. BOTTOM:  Terry's Take, Taxman, DinkyDau.

GROUP 7A: TOP:  ValerieUSA's son Grant, SK1Thurman, kd5cts, RangerVetNam, dansangel and .45man's son-in-law Tony.BOTTOM:  rangerX, Old China Hand, Trish, Howlin's dad, Mustang.

GROUP 8A: TOP: ohioWfan's son, MamaBear's father-in-law, MamaBear's dad, ladtx. MIDDLE:  The Mayor's niece, M.Kehoe, Beach_Babe's son-in-law. BOTTOM:  deadhead's dad, HiJinx, Severa's hubby, viligantcitizen's granddad.

      

GROUP 9A: TOP: Q6-God, Scan59, Mama Bear and JKPhoto's son, ofMagog. MIDDLE:  Big'ol_freeper, JustAmy's great uncle, Prodigal Son. BOTTOM:  JustAmy's husband, JustAmy's brother-in-law, JustAmy's brother.

GROUP 10A: TOP: dakine's wife, MeeknMing's dad, Auntbee's nephew, MilitiaMan7, AlasBabylon. BOTTOM:  Joe Brower, Temple Owl, Temple Owl's wife, dutchess' dad, Aomagrat.

GROUP 11A: TOP: ladtx #2 son; DiverDave's twin Don; petuniasevan and husband poorman; Mustard; ladtx #1 son. BOTTOM: AlamoGirl's brother Floyd; AG's dad; AG's brother Jim (inset); WVNan's husband; ladtx' Aunt Eva.

                     

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Honoring the seven astronauts who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, jets fly over the crowd in a missing man formation during a memorial service at the NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2003. White House photo by Paul Morse.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Pit Stop in Texas

by JohnHuang2

Bush spoke movingly at the memorial service in Houston's Johnson Space Center Tuesday, a ceremony in honor of the seven Columbia astronauts killed tragically Saturday minutes before their scheduled Florida landing.

In words both somber and hopeful, consoling and defiant, Bush saluted the daring heroism of the crew, 7 fearless frontiersmen of space whose high-spirited lives of quest and adventure tragically ended in the morning skies over Texas. So poignantly true-life his portrait capturing their vivacious spirit, Bush's words reached out to heaven and brought our hero seven, one by one, back down to Earth, here among us if ever so briefly -- a fleeting, yet quiet pitstop before resuming their voyage eternal.

"Each of these astronauts," said Bush, "had the daring and the discipline required of their calling. Each of them knew great endeavors are inseparable from great risk, each of them accepted those risks willingly, even joyfully, in the cause of discovery."

Bush, his stature grown to hero status in the wake of 9/11, has braved the latest jolt of tragedy seemingly unruffled, his calm and steady poise reassuring a nation girding for possible war.

Indeed, almost from the moment George W. Bush set foot in the White House, his leadership has been tested. And, on each occasion, with grace and eloquence, wisdom and style, he's more than met the challenge head on.

If ever existed a textbook case of exemplary leadership in times of crisis, the kind of guy you would want at the helm during days like these, President George W. Bush would have to be it. Against the greatest tests and challenges, he rallies the nation together, with unflinching courage, he takes command with bold and decisive steps early on, seizing the initiative, buoying hopes with fierce determination as he resolves to remain resolute, regardless how thankless, how joyless, how unrequited the task.

Bush is a shoulders-to-the-wheel President, self-possessed, unwaveringly iron-willed -- displaying a mettle and grit, valor and boldness in his discharge of duty equaled only to his unyielding sense of mission, virtues rare in an age of polls and focus groups and 'moist-finger-to-the-wind' politics.

Passionate yes, yet a master of his passion, strong and resolute, always a leader, mindful not to let events or emotions spiral out of control, his feet at all times planted firmly on the ground. At times like these, our nation demands a leader, and challenges and problems have, for this reason, more than met their match in George W. Bush.

Bush's enemies, hoping the loss of Columbia and the search for clues in the painful aftermath would derail war plans, fail to grasp an essential ingredient of Bush's character: Purposefulness. The course of action he's chosen is firm and final, undeterred by outside pressures and events, the guiding mission of his Presidency redeeming his pledge to win the War on Terror.

Our seven Columbia heroes would have it no other way.
God bless them, God bless their families,
and God bless the United States of America
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anyway, that's...

My two cents..

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 02-03-03 Homeschool Mama 02-04-03 Sauropod 02-05-03 ST.LOUIE1 Birthday

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' The guy's good, folks!

Thanks, Mixer!

1) Click on the graphic to open the Calendar.
2) Once there you can click on any month and even click to the right to go into next year. Once you are in the month that you joined FR you will need to click on the number in the calendar and then an add item screen will come up.
3) In the next box enter your name in the "Calendar Text" field and then click on submit.
4) If any of the screens fail to load simply click on refresh in your browser and that will usually fix it.
5) If all else fails or simply if you want me to do this for you send me an FReepmail and I will gladly do it for you. ~Mixer

I plege allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, One Nation Under God, With Liberty and Justice for All.

[Pippin]

Hello everybody! Sorry I wasn’t on much today, but I was resting and trying to get my back straightened out. I hope everyone had a great day. Lots has happened this week. It looks like war with Iraq is going to be a grim reality in a very short time. Let me take this time to say I support our President on any decision he makes on this and may God bless and protect him and his family. God bless our military personnel as they face a most difficult task. God bless the USA and keep her free and strong. Last but most certainly not least, today is the 92nd birthday of the greatest president of the 20th century. The oldest and longest living president or former president to date,

Happy Birthday President Reagan! Just a little bit of trivia for you, former first lady “Lady Bird” Johnson is the oldest living first lady; she turned 90 on Dec.22, 2002. And former President Ford will be 90 in July of this year. Sorry for the trivia but I do love history! LOL!

[lavaroise]

Little aeronautical Cherub

[ST.LOUIE1]

Hey, fuzzy....
...you're not gettin' away ..
.without being hugged and kissed on. : )

I'm gonna miss you, sweetiebear. : (

[lavaroise]

for some reason this one might be Nan's angle.

[Pippin]

It'd getting a little better! :^)

[Pippin]

Wait a minute!

What's this I hear?

Is MB leaving us?

I hope I'm misreading your post, Louie!

MB, I'm going to miss you!

[LadyX]

Attempting to restrain myself here, curbing my passion on the subject, I address only this part of your reply:

"As for peace protestors, they only protest for their own peace."

That sums it up nicely.
They avoid any conflict or personal discomfort, undermining those with fortitude enough to stand in the gap for us all.
Point to the heavens, thump their chests and high five one another, and then sit down, all righteous and aglow, willing to allow the evils of the 'World Out There' to inundate them.

What if the vast majority of early settlers of this land had kept that attitude?
We surely would have a Territorial King on a throne, supporting the British Empire with even greater unfair taxes.

To 'sit this one out' is to see the entire notion of Republics and having a voice in one's governance obliterated by those who vocally seek the demise of some of their neighbors, and in particular, our Infidel Nation.

These Peace Protesters have no clue the horrors should terrorists choose their little acre of turf to attack - or worse, cripple and bring the nation to a halt - no one to come to their rescue and save their sorry - selves.

[Pippin]

Hi, JW!

Thanks Mixer!

Read my post at #181.

[Mama_Bear]

On the last trip we took the ship had an internet library... (that was primary time 1999)....I sure racked up one heck of a bill LOL. If so, pop in and see us sometime!!!

LOL! I did too. The prices they charged were unbelievable! My internet net bill was higher than my casino and bar bill put together (I am not a big gambler or drinker........still, it was a LOT of money!). I found that it was much less expensive to restrain myself and wait until we got into port, internet access is dirt cheap there. But, I just found out that after this cruise (my sixth on Princess), I will get FREE internet access on ANY future Princess cruises!! They know how to keep me coming back. LOL!

You know, I'm sure you all think that I am going to be having so much fun that I won't have time to be missing my FRiends......but that is NOT true! This thread and all of you have become such a daily part of my life......no matter how much fun I am having, you all will be in my heart and very much missed. :-)

[lavaroise]

For some reason my angels don't load very well. Right clicking show picture or getting to the source site does make it though.

[Pippin]

Hi, ((MB))!

Louie had me worried for a minute there!

You going on vacation I see!

Have a great time! :^)

[LadyX]

Aquamarine, that is such a beautiful combination, as typifies every one of your presentations!

I, however, sit here and laugh, hearing Ebbtide.
You will ask why on earth? and this is my tale:

It was popular back in 1954 when I was pregnant with my first child, and I was plagued with morning-afternoon-and nighttime sickness until my 6th month.

One day, having lunch with my Navy hospital corpsman husband and a friend in the hospital snack shop, having soup, that song played; and as the notes washed over us in gentle waves, so did my nausea..:))
The song waved - the soup waved - the nausea washed over me.

I thus identify the song with that moment, despite it being an otherwise 'moving' one.

[dansangel]

Bon Voyage, MB & JK! Have a GREAT vacation!

Dittos!!

{{{{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}}}}}}

[lavaroise]

no one to come to their rescue and save their sorry - selves.

OK, I must go after this one that I will add:

Some of these their hearts are hardened worse than that of Pharoh's. They will undermine the search of truth even if it kills them, they are the insecure power hungry fanatics of evil.

On this sorry note, I must go before I transform this sanctuary into a war arena..... time to go fight on other threads....

See you,

<img src="http://www.perrierjouet.com/fre/cartes/pjfccard.cgi?CARD=7> <P> :-)

[Mama_Bear]

Hey, fuzzy.......you're not gettin' away ...without being hugged and kissed on. : )

LOL! Well, I hope you don't think I was actually going to leave without my special louie hug and kiss!!! Thank you, you make me feel special. :-)

I'm gonna miss you, sweetiebear. : (

Awwwwwwww.......chin up, I'll be back before you know it. :-)

I am going to miss you too. Love you! ((((((((((((louie)))))))))))))

[lavaroise]

no one to come to their rescue and save their sorry - selves.

OK, I must go after this one that I will add:

Some of these their hearts are hardened worse than that of Pharoh's. They will undermine the search of truth even if it kills them, they are the insecure power hungry fanatics of evil.

On this sorry note, I must go before I transform this sanctuary into a war arena..... time to go fight on other threads....

See you,

OOps... :-)

[Mama_Bear]

Louie had me worried for a minute there! You going on vacation I see!

Yep, just for a week. I will stop in as often as I can to say hello, you won't hardly even know I'm gone. ;-)

[LadyX]

It will be 'unbearable' without your daily presence, but we will try to 'bear up' anyway.

We ask God's blessings on you both, and may He assign a legion of angels to watch over you.

{{{ Bear Hugs for our Favorite Bears }}}

[Mama_Bear]

What a beautiful sunset and music! Thank you, Aqua.

[Pippin]

You and JK have a great time! :^)