Scraping the Bottom of the Barrel & other assorted sayings!

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Mark my words, I do love a good turn of a phrase and tend to use clichés and sayings a lot - it makes me happy as a clam when I can find an expression that hits the nail on the head. I figure if somebody before me has said it better than I can then why not borrow their words rather than stumble over my own? I would think the original utterer of the phrase would think it was the cat's pajamas or the bee's knees to have someone else use their words. I wouldn't bat an eye if someone were to quote me; as a matter of fact, I would be pleased as punch!

Lo and behold, I had occasion to use the phrase scraping the bottom of the barrel yesterday as I was caught between a rock and a hard place when it came to our financial and grocery situation here at the House of Mouseski. Not to cry crocodile tears, but Mother Hubbard's cupboard was bare while at the same time I barely had one red cent and payday is not until this coming Thursday. I had $15.00 to my name in ye olde checking account and as I'm sure you all know, $15.00 is not going to feed two teenagers and an adult for very long at all - at least not on anything other than Ramen noodles and to do that would really be pushing the envelope - to say the least!

If I didn't get my ducks in a row and come up with some sort of cash for food to last until payday there would be the devil to pay with my two hungry teens and considering there had been virtually no food in the house since Thursday I was really under the gun. No doubt about it, desperate times call for desperate measures however there was light at the end of the tunnel as I remembered the only resource of cash I had left in the house ... my piggy bank!

Thankfully I have gotten into the habit of tossing any change I might have left over into this little piggy to save for a rainy day and at this point, as far as my finances were concerned, there was no room to swing a cat so that rainy day had arrived in spades. In addition to this little fella there is another larger piggy bank downstairs but that one held mostly pennies so I had to wing it with just the one. After shaking all the change out (because of course the key is lost!) ...

... it was time to fish or cut bait so Jamie and I hightailed it down to the local Stop & Shop grocery store where they had a Coinstar machine. As a rule, I hate these machines and would rather roll the coins and take them to the bank myself but it was a Saturday afternoon and my bank definitely observes banker's hours on the weekend. It really got my goat that I had to pay 8.9 cents on the dollar to use the machine but they had me over a barrel and I didn't see where I had much choice. In order to give the girls three squares a day I needed to pay the piper his due otherwise I was poor as a church mouse and didn't have a pot to piss in.

With our small slush fund in hand, Jamie and I perused the aisles making sure that we could get the most bang for our buck. For the love of Pete, though, it was certainly frustrating! The bottom line was we had less than $70.00 (counting the money in my checking account) to buy groceries for three people for six days and it seemed a bit of a sticky wicket! We certainly weren't going to be eating high on the hog or from soup to nuts but it was time to roll with the punches as beggars can't be choosers and it didn't seem that there was going to be any manna from heaven falling at our feet!

It was with a wing and a prayer that we approached the check-out registers, hoping against hope that we hadn't broke the bank with our meager purchases. I waited with bated breath as the cashier rung up the items in our cart and for awhile there it seemed to be touch and go but when all was said and done we were close but no cigar as the total was 72 cents over what we had after Coinstar had taken its pound of flesh. I forked out the remainder via debit card (along with getting $10 back for gas) and then we loaded up the whole kit and caboodle, hit the dusty trail, and made our way home.

So for the next few days at least I can keep the wolves from the door and everything is hunky dory. I must say, though, that it would be nice to someday be in high cotton and have more than two nickels to rub together but alas, I can tell you straight from the horse's mouth that the writing is on the wall and 911 isn't a job you go into for the money so bringing home the bacon is always going to be a dicey situation and that's no cock and bull story!

Oh, and just for the record, writing this post was a hoot and you can bet your bottom dollar I'd do it again in a New York minute!

Five Things You Probably Didn't Need to Know But I Got Tagged So You Get to Read About Them Anyway!

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One would think that with all the house painting that has been going on in her part of Canada, The Buzz Queen wouldn't have had time to zip by and sting me with another meme but that's exactly what she did - dang the woman! Of course, the reason she tagged me was "because this will keep her busy and she might not notice I haven't done the 8 Things meme she tagged me with! hehe". Hey Kai - guess what? Didn't work, I noticed! Hehe!

Being the good little do-bee that I am, though, I will complete my assigned meme and then go back over and harass Kai unmercilessly until she gets around to doing the Eight Random Things meme that I tagged her with ... quite some time ago! Painting - shmainting - I shall brook no excuses!

Meanwhile back at the meme ...

• List five things in your refrigerator (good thing I just went grocery shopping or this would be even more pathetic!):


1. Approximately 1-1/2 pounds of seedless green grapes.
2. A practically empty gallon of 1% milk that needs to be replaced soon (I forgot to buy milk on said grocery jaunt!)
   
3. Two packages of hot dogs.
4. One package of cream cheese for bagels.
5. Half of a Monster energy drink that Amanda has yet to finish as she seemed to get nervous when I told her that they really weren't good for you and drinking two of them in one day was way bad!
   


• List five things in your closet (this doesn't seem fair as I only have one closet in the whole house, darned old Victorians!):
  


1. Way too many clothes that no longer are in fashion or fit so really need to be weeded through and gotten rid of.
   
2. About six pair of shoes that I never wear as the ones that I do wear are under the bed.
3. Several boxes of assorted things like pictures, collectibles, and other memorabilia.
   
4. Replacement light bulbs for my ceiling fan light.
5. Flavored massage creams (don't even ask!)


• List five things in your purse or backpack (I don't carry a purse or backpack so how is this fair? I only carry a small ID holder as I'm usually in uniform!):
  


1. My driver's license.
2. My health insurance card.
3. A frequent shopper card for Hot Topic, Amanda's favorite store that gives me a headache!
   
4. My check debit card.
   
5. The fortune from the cookie I got on my last trip to the Eastern Sake Buffet which reads "Don't be surprised by the emergence of undiscovered talents!" - whatever the heck that was supposed to mean! I also learned how to say 'telephone' in Chinese ... Dian-hua; and my lucky numbers are 1, 22, 47, 25, 5, and 39!


• List five things in your car (hey, I can do this as I do have a car!):


1. An umbrella that I got from my friend Rhonda for Christmas.
2. My checkbook.
   
3. A bunch of "windshield notes" that I have received from my friend Bucky at work (you can read more about that in a previous post by clicking here).
4. All of Amanda's My Chemical Romance CDs as well as another one she made for me with music from The Used, 30 Seconds to Mars, and Good Charlotte (and yes, I listen to all of them!).
   
5. A key chain that holds all of my "shopper cards" from local stores that I go to - i.e., grocery stores, CVS, Jiffy Lube, etc.

• List five things in the world you want to see before you die (which hopefully won't be anytime soon!):
  

1. Most, if not all, of the Civil War battlefields.
2. My children and grandchildren happy.
3. Our military being properly compensated for the job that they do for our country.
4. The Tower of London.
5. The view from a window of the Captain Lord Mansion, a romantic bed and breakfast inn located in Kennebunkport, Maine. This view, of course, would have to be shared with someone special (should I ever find someone special).
   

Now I get to tag five other poor SOBs lucky bloggers to do this meme so I shall tag ...

• Jenifer of Everybody Loves Raymond (well some maybe) (who just recently reentered the Blogosphere after a lengthy absence due to the lame excuse of not having a computer or Internet!)
• Lyn of Last Minute Lyn as I owe her for the last meme she tagged me with!
• Dixie of Dixie's Heart & Soul as maybe it will take her mind off of her son, Matt, leaving for Marine Corps Boot Camp in less than nine days.
• Mrs. Dub because even though Sgt Dub is home from Afghanistan doesn't mean she needs to spend all her time with him!
• And lastly, Lori of Life, To Make a Long Story Short, sister-in-law of Gale of Gem-osophy fame because I love the comments she leaves on Gale's blog and if Gale loves her then she's got to be one heck of a woman!
  

Now if you'll excuse me I have to go over and unmercifully harass Kai to put down the paintbrush and do that meme I gave her! If she doesn't do it soon I shall have to report the blatant disregard of Meme Etiquette to Mimi, Queen of Memes and I'm sure that some form of harsh punishment shall be meted out in the dungeons of Bloggingham Palace!

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt - Shadows

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For this week, TNChick, gave us the Photo Hunter theme of "Shadows". Even though I used this picture recently in one of my slideshows for my post on The Battle of Gettysburg, I thought it might be nice to use it again.

This pictures shows shadows across the fields where Pickett's Charge took place on July 3rd, 1863 - land that stretched three-quarters of a mile from Seminary Ridge near Spangler's Woods where the Confederates were staged to Cemetery Ridge where the Army of the Potomac waited.

Commander of the Confederate Army General Robert E. Lee ordered a full frontal attack on the Union troops and 12,000 to 15,000 Southerners led by Major General George E. Pickett charged across this very field towards the Union center . The plan proved disastrous, however as only 5,000 Southerners survived the charge and shortly afterwards Lee retreated to Virginia ending the Battle of Gettysburg, the bloodiest battle of the Civil War.

As one of the darkest days in the history of our country, shadows across this field seem only fitting.

Something to think about

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I don't normally like to get into politics as most people generally tend to have very strong feelings on what they believe and sometimes find it very hard, if not impossible, to agree to disagree. However, this post isn't so much about politics as it is about our military and what is being denied them. I should warn you right up front, though, that I am going to be quoting Rush Limbaugh towards the end of this post as even though I don't always agree with what comes out of his mouth, in this case I do.

This topic is one that hits close to home for me as not only a veteran myself but as the daughter of a veteran. My father served proudly for over 20 years in the United States Air Force and retired in 1974 after seeing action in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars. He had a very distinguished career and was promoted regularly but it sure wasn't a career path that was going to make him rich by any stretch of the imagination.

How on earth my parents managed to raise four kids on what my Dad brought home (or didn't) is beyond me. In January of 1967 when he was shipped out to Danang, Vietnam he was making $328.50 a month and getting an additional $105.00 a month as a Basic Allowance for Quarters. After taxes that was maybe $100.00 a week. He probably received combat pay but I'm sure it wasn't much and certainly nowhere near what he should have been making.

In 1974, just prior to retiring with a little over 20 years cumulative service, Dad was bringing home $892.80. We lived in base housing so he didn't get the $181.80 for Basic Allowance for Quarters at that time. When he retired in July of 1974 my father received a monthly pension of $453.55 after taxes. Less than $500 a month after serving his country for over 20 years ... pretty pathetic. Good thing my Mom is a financial whiz - a trait that I unfortunately did not inherit!

Obviously a second career was necessary at that point as there was no way my parents were going to raise a family of six on a little over $100.00 a week so Dad started career number two at Day Kimball Hospital where he worked for another 23 years until he retired after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma - which he contracted from his exposure to Agent Orange while in Vietnam and which eventually led to his death in February of 2003.

At that time of my father's death, his pension had increased to $1,500.21 however the cost of living had increased so much that in order to buy the same amount of goods or services that my parents could have bought for $453.55 in 1974 they would have needed $1,737.14. That left his retirement pay $212.93 short of the cost of living increase ... pretty pathetic.

To put it in another perspective - in 1976 I joined the Air Force and was paid $374.40 a month before taxes. The current pay for an E-1 with less than 4 months service is $1,178.10 with a jump to $1,273.50 after four months. However, in order to purchase the same amount of goods or services that I paid $374.40 for in 1976, you would now need $1,352.18. That's still $78.68 less than what an E-1 in the military makes ... still pretty pathetic.

If you're going to say that you support our military and the troops that are fighting over in Iraq and Afghanistan then you might want to let your Congress people know that paying them just above or at the poverty level is unacceptable. Obviously this is nothing new as noted by my Dad's career and what I made while I was serving, too. You would think that the men and women who are serving our country - defending our freedom - deserve better than this. You would think that the families of our men and women who are serving our country - defending our freedom - deserve better than this.

Now I'm going to let Rush Limbaugh finish out the rest of this post for me as, love him or loathe him, he nailed this one right on the head ...

"I think the vast differences in compensation between victims of the September 11 casualty and those who die serving our country in Uniform are profound. No one is really talking about it either, because you just don't criticize anything having to do with September 11. Well, I can't let the numbers pass by because it says something really disturbing about the entitlement mentality of this country. If you lost a family member in the September 11 attack, you're going to get an average of $1,185,000. The range is a minimum guarantee of $250,000, all the way up to $4.7 million.

If you are a surviving family member of an American soldier killed in action, the first check you get is a $6,000 direct death benefit, half of which is taxable. Next, you get $1,750 for burial costs. If you are the surviving spouse, you get $833 a month until you remarry. And there's a payment of $211 per month for each child under 18 When the child hits 18, those payments come to a screeching halt.

Keep in mind that some of the people who are getting an average of $1.185 million up to $4.7 million are complaining that it's not enough. Their deaths were tragic, but for most, they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Soldiers put themselves in harm's way FOR ALL OF US and they and their families know the dangers.

We also learned over the weekend that some of the victims from the Oklahoma City bombing have started an organization asking for the same deal that the September 11 families are getting. In addition to that, some of the families of those bombed in the embassies are now asking for compensation as well.

You see where this is going, don't you? Folks, this is part and parcel of over 50 years of entitlement politics in this country. It's just really sad. Every time a pay raise comes up for the military, they usually receive next to nothing of a raise. Now the green machine is in combat in the Middle East while their families have to survive on food stamps and live in low-rent housing. Make sense?

However, our own US Congress voted themselves a raise. Many of you don't know that they only have to be in Congress one time to receive a pension that is more than $15,000 per month. And most are now equal to being millionaires plus. They do not receive Social Security on retirement because they didn't have to pay into the system. If some of the military people stay in for 20 years and get out as an E-7, they may receive a pension of $1,000 per month, and the very people who placed them in harm's way receives a pension of $15,000 per month.

I would like to see our elected officials pick up a weapon and join ranks before they start cutting out benefits and lowering pay for our sons and daughters who are now fighting."

I don't know about the rest of you but this really made me think and somehow, it just doesn't seem fair. At all.

Thanks to Boukie for the email that I based this post on.

By second-hand royal proclamation ...

Last Minute Lyn tagged me for the Birthday Meme after she herself got tagged by Mimi, Queen of Memes. To my mind this would make this a Royal Meme and if one has been tagged by a Royal Meme then one should do the Royal Meme even if one has done a similar meme before it became a Royal Meme. Are you royally confused yet?

Here are the rules: You go to Wikipedia and type in your birthday (month and day). Then you write down 3 events, 2 births, 1 holiday, and tag 5 friends. There are five slots in the meme list.... as you are tagged, you have to remove the name in the first slot and bump everyone up so that your name can be added to the bottom.

Very well then - we start with my birthday which is September the 9th (hence one of the reasons I like the number 9!) ...

Three historical events:

1. 1850 - California is admitted as the thirty-first U.S. State.
2. 1947 - "First actual case of a computer bug being found": a "Moth" lodges in a relay of a Harvard Mark II computer at Harvard University.
3. 1971 - Attica Prison riots.

Two births:

1. 1711 - Thomas Hutchinson, American colonial governor of Massachusetts
2. 1975 - Michael Bublé, Canadian singer and actor

One holiday:

1. California - Admission Day (to commemorate the State's admission to the USA). You'll notice how this one ties in nicely with one of the great events that occurred on my date of birth!
   

Now I get to tag five other bloggers and I have chosen:

Asara's Mental Meanderings
Sarge Charlie
Whitterer on Autism
Us Danes & Our Family
Gran's Memory Keeping Corner

And the list:

Starrlight
Big Leather Couch
Mimi Writes
Last Minute Lyn
Are We There Yet??

Wow - that was actually quick and fairly painless as all I had to do was make use of my "copy and paste" skills! Ah, if only all posts were this ea

I've Got a Question, You've Got an Answer

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Whilst making my rounds through the Blogosphere I came across a post on The Boomer Chronicles, a blog described as "A 40-something baby boomer examines midlife crisis, ennui in America, and other compelling ideas", that gave me an idea for this week's question.

I love reading Rhea's posts as, like it or not, I am also a 40-something baby boomer and I can relate to a lot of the things she writes about. Plus she's from Boston which makes her a fellow New Englander and she lives in a city not to far from me that screams HISTORY!! -and how could I, as a history fan, not like Boston?? "The Cradle of Liberty", "The Hub of the Universe", "The Athens of America" ... "Beantown"!! With nicknames like that, you've just got to love the place (though I never want to drive in it!).

Well, anyway, getting back on topic - the post which inspired me to write this post was entitled The Lobster Dinner Is On Me and spoke of Rhea's upcoming outing to a Boston seafood restaurant at which she will order lobster, apparently a summer tradition for her. As summer traditions go it certainly sounds like a fine one though I would have no idea as despite (or is that in spite?) of the fact that I am a New Englander, I have never had a lobster dinner - ever.

As the comment I left on Rhea's blog stated, I know I should hang my head in shame for that oversight and I also should remedy it at some point but I don't think it will be anytime soon. As silly as this sounds, about five years back I was told that I would be taken out for a lobster dinner by a friend of mine from California who had planned to visit me in Connecticut. It was going to be one of those "I've never done this before so let's make it special occasions" that never came to fruition - sadly. I guess I am still waiting for that to happen which means there's a very good chance that I will never have a lobster dinner. I can be stubborn.

Anyhow, that brings me to this week's question - in a very round-about sort of manner! ...

Have you ever had a lobster dinner and, if so, was it worth all the work it entails?

Oh, and if the above-mentioned friend ever reads this blog perhaps he'll get the hint!

Curses! Tagged Again!

Scroll down for Wordless Wednesday!

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Last week I heartily congratulated myself on managing to sidestep the "Eight Random Things" meme not just once but twice - first by writing eight things about the girls and then by writing eight things about Norwich, the town I live in. There was a lot of patting myself on the back along with a couple of high-fives but I stopped short of buying myself a bottle of champagne and sending flowers.

Good thing, too, as I just got tagged for a third time by McEwen from Whitterer on Autism - d'oh! Well, as they like to say "third time is charm" so I guess that means I need to finally write eight random things about myself as I have run out of excuses and/or ideas on more creative ways to do this meme.

So without further ado and dragging of the feet here are eight random things about me that you might - or might not - have known about me:

1. Despite the fact that my Dad was career Air Force and we moved around a lot I was actually born in Connecticut and not in some exotic locale. As a matter of fact, only one out of my parents' four children was born outside of Connecticut - and that was in Maryland!
   
2. I shipped off to boot camp for the United States Air Force only three days after I graduated from high school. I had done a delayed enlistment in January of my Senior year and gave myself only enough time to say good-bye and not get cold feet! I was 17 years old.
   
3. Two of my three children were born in Southern California - Mike was born in Riverside shortly after I got out of the Air Force, Amanda was born in Long Beach where her Dad was stationed in the Navy, and Jamie was born right here in Norwich.
   
4. I love vanilla - vanilla ice cream, vanilla musk, vanilla-scented candles, vanilla wafers ... if it's vanilla then I'm going to like it! Chocolate I can take or leave (sorry, Bee!)
   
5. Despite two failed marriages, I still insist on believing in the fairy tale ending though obviously Prince Charming has had some trouble locating my castle!
   
6. I have lived in ten States - Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Maryland, Florida, Mississippi, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California (though it should count as two States as I've lived in both Southern and Central California which are further apart than Connecticut, New Jersey, and Maryland combined!)
   
7. I can't sleep with my closet door open - or any closet door open for that matter. When I was in first-grade we lived in a house in Tucson, Arizona that I swear to God was haunted and the things that used to come out of my closet at night are still etched in my memory. It soured me on open closet doors for the rest of my life!
   
8. I never went to my Junior or Senior Prom as that was back in the day when girls didn't go with other girls and you didn't go solo either. Somehow I still feel cheated about the whole thing over 30 years later!
   

According to the rules, I am now supposed to tag eight other people to do this meme therefore I tag the following folks to either post eight random things about themselves or sidestep this meme in some creative form or other!

• A Little Piece of Me
• Scrappin' With This Life ...
• CrAzY Working Mom
• Echoes of Grace
• Empress Bee of the High Sea
• It's A Blog Eat Blog World
• Ms Maggie Moo Talks 2 U
• The Buzz Queen
• and because I like the number 9 better than 8 I also tag Comedy Plus

Have fun folks, I shall look forward to your posts!!

Wordless Wednesday

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"Toy Surprise Inside"?!?

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During the course of my 16-hour shift at work yesterday I had occasion to decide that a small smackerel of some sort of snack might be nice so I wandered from Dispatch down to the ambulance bay where the vending machines reside. After perusing the choices available to me I noticed that there were Cracker Jacks on the bottom row that looked quite appetizing. It had been years since I'd had a box of Cracker Jack, though to be honest what I got yesterday wasn't a box but a bag - a 1-1/4 ounce bag which doesn't exactly equal a whole heck of a lot of product but hopefully it would be enough to stop the rumbling that was emitting from my stomach.

I went back up to Dispatch with my bag of candy-coated popcorn, peanuts, and a prize along with a Diet Pepsi (yeah, I know that combination just sounds wrong!), sat down, opened the bag to look for my "toy surprise inside", and got to wondering about the snack that I remembered fondly from my childhood.

After work today I did a little research and found out the following: the confection was first concocted in 1896 and became known by its name when a sampler declared "That's crackerjack!" (a euphemism back then that meant great or terrific); the snack became immortalized in the 1908 song "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"; in 1912 "A Prize in Every Box!" was introduced; and 1918 saw Sailor Jack and his dog Bingo appear on the package. In 1964 the Borden Company bought out the Cracker Jack Company and in 1975 automated, high-speed, continuous cooking machinery replaced the metal tubs in which Cracker Jack was batch-coated.

I've got to think that it was sometime after that when the toy prizes in the box became rather - shall we say - lame. It used to be that half the fun of getting a box of Cracker Jack was to see what kind of prize you got. I can remember getting some fairly cool things when I was a kid and obviously there had to be quite a few as there are people who are serious collectors of Cracker Jack prizes. As a matter of fact, a complete set of 176 Cracker Jack prize baseball cards was sold for $800,000. Not too shabby I would say.

However, all of that has changed like so many things of my youth and now Cracker Jack prizes are flat little paper things that are pretty disappointing compared to some of the things you used to get when you'd open the little red and white striped package you found in amongst the popcorn and peanuts. As I held my "toy surprise" in my hand yesterday I got the feeling that this prize was going to be a bit of a let-down, too. Obviously my psychic abilities were in full-swing as what I got was this:


For those who are having some trouble with the print, that would be a "pencil topper" that can be used by detaching the prize and inserting a pencil through the slits. Oh goodie. I wasn't sure how I was going to be able to contain my excitement long enough to take the picture for this post so Jamie helped me out however she declined the prize when I offered it to her as thanks for her assistance. I wonder why?

I guess maybe Meatloaf was right when he sang the prophetic lyrics from his hit 1977 song "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" "... but there ain't no Coupe Deville hiding at the bottom of a Cracker Jack box ..."

I think the best prize I ever got was a small plastic blue horse that I carted around in my jewelry box for ages until it got lost in one of the many moves made during the course of my life. Anyone else remember any cool prizes they ever got out of a Cracker Jack box?

Sunday Stuff ...

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Mathew & his Spidey hat from Grandma (me!)

Amanda, Jamie, and I made the short jaunt over to Rhode Island yesterday for a combination birthday party for my grandson Mathew, who turned two on June 12th, and my step-grandson Christopher, who will turn 4 on July 28th. As is common with families who have children that have birthdays close together, it made sense to have one big party rather than two individual ones and the boys, who are quite close, didn't mind at all.

Christopher takes a break from the presents!

Mike had told me that the boys were into Spiderman and that was evident by all the Spidey gifts that they received as well as lots of trucks and cars. LOTS of trucks and cars! No doubt about it, this was a party for two boys - two boys who like Spiderman, trucks, and cars - LOTS of trucks and cars! Good thing Mike and Laura had cleaned out the playroom the other day so there was room for all the new goodies.

The highlight of the party for Aunt Amanda was the chance to play "Dead!" by My Chemical Romance on Mike's new XBOX-360 version of Guitar Hero II. The song isn't available on the PS2 version of the game and she had been chomping at the bit to get over to Mike's house to play it as soon she heard he had it. Not to be outdone by her sister, Aunt Jamie then played "Billion Dollar Babies" by Alice Cooper and was quite pleased with her own performance. I sat this one out as I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of my son who plays most songs at the expert level while I can barely play three on medium before getting boo'd off the stage. A grandmother has to know her limitations, right?

On the way home we stopped in at Buttonwood Farms Ice Cream Stand in Griswold where I took out a loan to buy three cones. Well, it wasn't quite that bad but it almost seemed like it as the prices seemed to have gone up considerably since I had been there last summer. However, at least you're paying for really good ice cream in large servings in fresh-made waffle cones but over $15 for three cones? Ouch! No wonder we only go once a year when Jamie is out!

When I returned home I checked my email to find that I had been granted an award by The Blog Fairy for having a "Blue Ribbon Blog" and she left me the following cute little badge that will find a place of its own over on my already-bogged down sidebar! Thanks, Blue Fairy!


Speaking of badges, what a pleasant surprise to also get an email from Sandee over at Comedy+ awarding me the Schmoozer Award. Sandee was awarded hers by Ann over at A Nice Place In The Sun and she passed it on to myself and 14 other great bloggers. What a gal!

Haven't heard of The Schmoozer Award? Actually, I hadn't either until today but come to find out it's officially called The Power of Schmooze Award and was started over at the blog Ordinary Folk. According to blog author Mike:

Schmoozing as defined by Dictonary.com is the ability “to converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection.” When it comes to blogging, schmoozing is your ticket to making new friends, getting yourself noticed and building a reputation. Some bloggers are gifted with the ability to effectively schmooze and others not so much. My new friend Danielle and I would like to recognize those bloggers who exhibit strong schmoozing skills. In order to do so we’ve created the new Power of Schmooze award!

Another cool badge for my sidebar - thanks, Sandee!! In keeping with the Power of Schmooze tradition, it's now my turn to grace some more bloggers with this lovely little award and badge - people who have schmoozed their way into my heart and my life.

• Claire @ A Little Piece of Me
• Dayngr Girl @ Dayngrous Discourse
• Jeni @Down River Drivel
• Akelmalu @ Everything and Nothing
• Gale @ Gem-ophosy
• Joan @ The Erstwhile Librarian

Now I wouldn't be at all surprised to find some of these great women being awarded more than once but if they are that just goes to show that they have the Power of Schmooze multiplied!

To wrap this up for today I'm going to post one more picture of my adorable curly-headed grandson because I can and I've been told that's what we grandmother-types are supposed to do ... right, Callie Ann?? Hope everyone had a great weekend!!

Mathew enjoys his birthday cake & ice cream
**Addendum: I am so thrilled and honored, I got double-Schmoozed when Dixie awarded by me another Power of the Schmooze Award on Monday. Thanks, Dix!!!

We had a "Capitol" time yesterday!

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When I went back to dispatching at the Norwich Police Department after I had married for the second time, moved back to California briefly, gave birth to two more kids, and decided that dispatching was in my blood (whew!) I met Paula. Paula had been a dispatcher in Houston, Texas before moving back to Connecticut and we ended up working the evening shift together for several years before I went elsewhere (i.e., across the street). Paula stayed on at NPD until she got hired on by the Connecticut State Police as a dispatcher where she stayed until she got her teaching degree and became an art teacher at Grasso Tech. Anyhow, suffice it to say that I've known Paula for about ten years now and she's a good friend to not only myself but also the girls.

Last year when Jamie was out, Paula went to New York City with us for a day to visit the Museum of Natural History as well as the trip to the beach in Rhode Island where I managed to get a nasty sunburn and ended up with cellulites on my left foot. Ouch! This year we weren't sure what sort of road -trip we might be able to take as I'm avoiding the beach (imagine that!) and neither one of us has the financial means to be able to take a real vacation but we wanted to do something with the girls. What to do for a day that might be at the least interesting and didn't cost much??

Paula suggested a trip to Hartford to check out The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, the oldest continuously operating public art museum in the United States which first opened its doors on July 31st, 1844. I had never been there so it would all be new to myself and the girls and Paula wanted to check out a current exhibit, Picasso to Pop: Aspects of Modern Art, which sounded interesting. Add on the fact that I could get a pass at my local library that gave two adults and two children free admission and it sounded like a plan to me!

Of course, you can't really spend all day in an art museum (well, some people can but I can guarantee you that an almost 14-year old and a 15-year old can't!) so in looking for something else to do I thought it might be kind of cool to check out the State Capitol Building. Being a bit of a history buff, I love to check out old buildings and even though I had been to the Capitol way back in 1972 on a 7th-grade field trip I really wanted to take another tour. Besides, I figure that the girls are old enough to start enjoying history with me - like it or not!

We arrived in Hartford a little before 10:00 and were just in time to "be" the 10:15 building tour. Apparently everyone else was at the beach working on their own sunburns as we were the only ones there for the tour at that time. Our tour guide was a young man who was on his summer break from college in Chicago where he is majoring in history to become a teacher (if I had it to do over again ...) and he was quite knowledgeable about the building and its history. In case you couldn't guess, I like to ask questions!

Just to give you a brief overview of the Capitol Building (Paula says I am way too wordy sometimes and she's probably right but whatchagonnado??) ... construction of the building began in 1871 with a design using a mixture of French Renaissance and Gothic styles. The girls said it reminded them of the castle in Beauty & the Beast and I'd have to agree with them; I kept waiting to see the Beast hanging off of one of the spires! Completed in 1878 at a cost of almost $3 million dollars, the building opened for the General Assembly in January of 1879.

Our tour began in the Legislative Office Building which opened in 1988 and contains five floors of offices and hearing rooms. The LOB is connected to the Capitol Building by a 500-foot concourse that runs below the highway as well as a terrace walk outdoors. The interior of the building is decorated with stone and marble that was imported from Italy, Mexico, and Spain with the exception of one 24-foot pillar of Connecticut granite that stands in the lobby and is topped by an 8-foot gold-plated eagle. The tiles of the lobby floor are designed to look three-dimensional when viewed from the upper levels.

Moving onto the Capitol Building we learned that the interior of the building was done in a mixture of Turkish and Moroccan styles as depicted by the arches and pillars with very ornate carvings throughout. According to our guide, the distance between the rotunda on the first floor and the top of the dome is the equivalent of 22 stories even though the Capitol itself only has five floors. The dome, which tops a 267-foot tower, is covered in 24-carat gold leaf which is only 3/1000th of an inch thick; if you were to remove it all and crumple it into a ball you could hold it in one hand! The outside of the dome is circled by 12 statues representing Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Music, Science, and Force.

We toured the first floor which holds a statute of Nathan Hale, local hero of the American Revolution; a statute of Civil War Governor William Buckingham which people rub for good luck; the original 17-foot, 10-inch tall plaster model of the Genius of Connecticut which was used to make the bronze statute that stood atop the Capitol dome from 1878 to 1938 when it was taken down due to hurricane damage (in 1942 it was melted down to help the War effort); the Hall of Flags which showcases battle flags of Connecticut regiments from the Civil War through the War on Terror; the figurehead of the USS Connecticut which was the flagship of President Teddy Roosevelt's "Great White Fleet" which was sent on a goodwill mission around the world in 1907; and other artifacts that are important to the State.

On the second floor we toured the House Chamber where the 151 elected representatives meet to discuss and vote on bills. From there we proceeded to the third floor and the Senate Chamber. Converted in 1910, the room was originally the State Library but now is where the Lieutenant Governor presides over the State's 36 Senators from the "Charter Oak Chair", one of two chairs that was carved from the famous oak tree where the Connecticut State Charter was hidden in 1662 when King Charles II attempted to take it back. Connecticut was the first State to have a self-governing charter hence the reason for the State's nickname - The Constitution State. The chair is also known as "The Wishing Chair" so we all got a chance to sit in it and make a wish.

After our tour of the Capitol Building we went across the street to the State Library, State Museum, and Supreme Court Building for a little more education before walking over to Bushnell Park, the 41-acre park that the Capitol overlooks. While there Paula and Jamie took a ride on the 93-year old Bushnell Park Carousel; going in a circle tends to make me sick so Amanda and I sat the ride out while Paula and Jamie thoroughly enjoyed their ride.

Also located in Bushnell Park - America's oldest public park by the way - is the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch which was dedicated in 1877 on the anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, September 17th, as a monument to the 4,000 citizens from Hartford who fought in the Civil War and the 400 that died for the Union. The Gothic monument is made of brownstone from Portland, Connecticut and originally cost about $60,000, which the City of Hartford paid. The monument has a terra cotta frieze which depicts scenes from the Civil War and topping the towers are the angels Gabriel and Raphael. They were replicated in bronze and replaced in 1987 as part of a $1.5 million restoration at which time a plaque which honors the 128 African American residents of Hartford who fought for the Union was added.

After touring some more of the Bushnell grounds we decided that we were quite hungry so we made our way over to Black-Eyed Sally's, a tiny BBQ and Blues Joint on Asylum Street for some lunch. If you ever find yourself in Hartford and hungry may I highly suggest the pulled pork sandwich with a side of twice-fried vinegar chips - delicious! Amanda tells me that the Crispy Cornmeal Catfish with salt & vinegar fries was excellent, too and if Mimi, Queen of Memes, can't find sweet tea anywhere else in Connecticut then Bud needs to take her to Sally's as they've got it and it's good!

Following lunch we went over to the Wadsworth Atheneum to get some culture. The museum houses almost 50,000 art objects including paintings from the Renaissance, Baroque, French, and American eras; early American clothing, furniture, and decorations; 18th century French porcelains; historical artifacts; and more. The collections span more than 5,000 years of history - which is a lot of history! Also located in the Wadsworth is the second chair made from the Charter Oak when it toppled over in 1857.

While most of the artwork was beautiful I have to be honest when it comes to the Connecticut Contemporary Collection which is currently on display. The exhibition is supposed to "reflect the vibrancy and diversity of talent in the state" with art from 24 various artists but I guess my idea of art is totally different than theirs! Paula always tells me that art is subjective and boy, I'd really have to agree with her on that one! Even as an art teacher herself Paula was having some trouble appreciating some of it, too - which made me feel a bit better! The only thing that kept running through my head while viewing it was a line from the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou spoken by George Clooney's character, Everett ... "I don't get it, Big Dan"!

All in all I would say that we had a nice trip to Hartford and the girls actually seemed to enjoy themselves in spite of it being a "learning experience". While writing this I had to ask Amanda to verify a couple things for me and she was actually able to remember a lot of what she learned on our tour of the Capitol yesterday. With any luck I'll make junior historians of those two yet!

Cool Slideshows!

Paula - thanks for being along on a great day and sorry this is so wordy but you knew it was going to be, didn't you?! Also, many thanks for some of the great pictures used in the slideshow!

Eight Random Facts - Of a Different Nature

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It would appear that I have been tagged with the "Eight Random Things" meme for a second time courtesy of Gran - (Angela) over at Gran's Memory Keeping Corner. Last time I was tagged I managed to sidestep boring everyone to tears with eight things about myself by writing eight things about Amanda and Jamie. Very sneaky, if I do say so myself!

This time around I think I am going to dodge the bullet again by writing eight random things about the place I have resided in for the last seven years - Norwich, Connecticut.

1) Norwich was founded in 1659 by settlers originally from Old Saybrook, Connecticut led by Major John Mason and Reverend James Fitch. They purchased the land from Chief Uncas, known as Le Cerf Agile ("The Bounding Elk"), Sachem of the Mohegan Tribe. At the time of the American Revolution, Norwich was the 12th largest city in the American colonies.

2) During the American Revolution Norwich supported the cause for independence by supplying soldiers, ships, and munitions. One of the most infamous figures of the Revolution, the traitorous Benedict Arnold, was born in Norwich. Another Colonial era note-worthy who was born elsewhere but made his home in Norwich was Samuel Huntington, a lawyer who served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and Signer of the Declaration of Independence as well as eventually holding the title of President of the United States in Congress Assembled. Huntington eventually went on to be Governor of Connecticut serving from 1786 until his death in 1796.

3) Norwich is located at the confluence of three rivers - the Yantic River, the Shetucket River, and the Thames River. For that reason our community college is named Three Rivers Community College!

4) In 1860 Abraham Lincoln, while promoting the reelection of Governor Buckingham as well as campaigning for President himself, stayed in the Wauregan Hotel, a grand hotel that rivaled anything between New York and Boston. Originally built in 1855 it was recently restored to much of its former splendor and now provides affordable apartments to qualified residents in the downtown area. Had Amanda not come home to live with me when she did, I might have been living there myself now but alas, a historic residence was not in the cards for me.

5) Norwich was nicknamed "The Rose of New England" in the 19th Century when James Lloyd Greene (Lord knows who he was) declared that the fives hills of Norwich, when viewed from the Thames River, looked like "the petals of a rose". Obviously the citizens of Norwich approved of Mr. Greene's description of Norwich as it has stuck and the rose is used as a symbol all over town, including on Police & Fire Department uniform patches.

6) As "The Rose of New England" it is only fitting that Norwich have a rose garden - which it does! Located in Mohegan Park, a 385+ acre park located smack in the middle of the City, the garden occupies two acres on a gentle slope near one of the entrances to the park and features 1,500 rose bushes in 120 varieties. It was dedicated on July 11th, 1948 and boasts a lovely gazebo which is the site of many weddings during the Spring and Summer months.

7) Norwich City Hall was completed in 1873 after three years of construction at a cost of $250,000 - big bucks for back then! Designed in the French Second Empire Style it has an extravagant three-dimensional style architecture. A four-sided clock tower was added in 1909 which enhanced the beauty of the building while the basement contained dungeon-like cells that were used as the city jail until construction of a separate building for the Police Department. In 1999 the entire building underwent renovations which included the construction of a European style plaza at the front entrance to enhance the building. It is definitely one of the most beautiful structures in Norwich and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

8) The Norwich Hospital for the Insane opened in October of 1904 with one building on a parcel of land on the Thames River just south of Norwich. Renamed as Norwich State Hospital in 1926, by 1959 it sprawled over 900 acres with an average daily population of over 2,700 patients and close to 1,500 employees, over 800 of them being nurses. The peak of the hospital’s use was in 1955, when 3,186 patients were living on premises. In October of 1996, the Norwich State Hospital closed its doors and the land remains unused straddled between Norwich and the neighboring town of Preston. The grounds and buildings are said to be haunted which doesn't surprise me at all considering what went on there for years and the agony that many of the patients there felt. Currently the grounds sit unused while the once architecturally impressive buildings fall into decay and ruin. Eventually people might quit squabbling about what to do with the land but for now it's a place that many a ghost-hunter wishes to explore. I live about 2-1/2 miles down the road from it but have NO desire to go exploring the place at night!

Now that I've told you a bit about Norwich, the rules of this meme state that I am supposed to tag eight more people but I'm going to sidestep that one, too, and just tell you that if you like this meme and want to write about eight random things of your own then go for it and let me know so that I can come over and read your post!

Maybe you could write about your town and we could start a "town exchange"!

I've Got a Question, You've Got an Answer

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Shortly after Jamie was born, a family friend gave her a small pink satin teddy bear made by Fisher Price. When she was old enough to speak, she named the bear Pooh despite the fact that this bear in no way, shape, or form resembles Winnie the Pooh (another bear of which she owned plenty at one point in time). Almost fourteen years later, Pooh is still a constant companion and I was not at all surprised to find her nestled in Jamie's suitcase when she came out in June.

Personally I think it's quite cute that she still has an attachment to a stuffed animal that was given to her at her birth. I think it's probably safe to say that at one time or another in our lives all of us became the owner of a stuffed toy that took on special meaning for us. Correct me if I'm wrong.

To that end - this week's question is:

Do you have a favorite stuffed animal? What is its name and what makes it special?

Happy Fourth of July! - The Air Force Version!

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In a comment to my previous post with a picture of the Navy's Blue Angels, a reader took me to task by writing the following:

Pennywise sezs:
Shame on you, an Air Force brat, for posting a picture of the Blue Angels. Surely you could of found a picture of the Thunderbirds somewhere in your wanderings.

To that all I can say is "I'm sorry and you're right"! I had thought of it, really I had, but I had received the picture I used from a friend in an email and I took the lazy way out and used it rather than take the time to look for a picture of the United States Air Force Thunderbirds. As not only an Air Force brat but a former Sergeant in that same branch of service, I hang my head in shame.


Hopefully these pictures will make up for my faux pas - sorry, John! - and Dad's ashes can stop swirling in their urn (I guess that's the cremated version of 'rolling in one's grave!).

Hope everyone had a safe and happy Fourth of July!

Pictures courtesy of the USAF Thunderbirds official website.

Happy Fourth of July!

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"Suicide is a serious thing. And if you know anyone who is suicidal, you need to get them help." ~ Gerard Way, My Chemical Romance

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While catching up on my blog reading this evening, something I had been sorely behind in due to a busy weekend and the standard 16-hour shift at work yesterday, I came across a post at Jeni's blog, Down River Drivel, that really made me stop and take notice. Jeni touched on a subject that a lot of people prefer to steer clear of.

In a post titled A Sudden Ending, Jeni writes about coming across an obituary listing for a young man who was the brother of a friend of her son. As the young man was only 27 years old and Jeni's son had never mentioned him being sick, it would appear that his sudden death could only be accidental or suicidal (surely had it been the result of a homicide there would have been something in the news).

Even though Jeni is not sure how this young man died, she took the opportunity to post about suicide and how devastating it is to those who are left behind. She wrote of several people she knew, including a cousin, who chose suicide over life and also spoke of how there was a time, once and long ago, that she, too, "thought of doing the same thing ... even tried once and failed."

Thankfully, and obviously, Jeni never followed through with any other self-destructive thoughts that she had and sought help for her feelings. As she put it "... And, although there are days when I do get down in the dumps, depressed, sometimes even yes, think things might be better if I were not here, I won't follow through with them now simply because I would not want to ever put my children and now, my grandchildren through that type of anguish."

Not everyone is able to overcome those self-destructive feelings like Jeni did as the numbers clearly indicate. According to the National Center for Health Statistics in 2004, the number of emergency department visits for self-inflicted injury totaled 535,000 with the total number of deaths by suicide 31,484. That's 10.8 deaths per every 100,000 people. That's a lot. That's too many.

It is estimated that four people commit suicide every hour in the United States; four people an hour. However no man is an island and for every person who commits suicide there is an average of six people known as "suicide survivors", generally family or friends of the person who has chosen to take his or her own life. However, that number can certainly be much larger at times extending out to entire schools or communities.

Coming to grips with suicide can be especially difficult for survivors because many of their questions as to why the victim felt the need to take his or her own life are left unanswered and may never be answered. Survivors often feel that they have failed or that they should have intervened in some way; that there should have been some way for them to prevent this tragedy. Suicide, though, is a very rare event and it is quite often hard to predict or prevent. Researchers have identified factors that place individuals at higher risk (mental illness, substance abuse, previous suicide attempts, family history of suicide, history of sexual abuse, and impulsive or aggressive tendencies) but it is difficult to predict which persons with those higher risk factors will ultimately commit suicide.

Suicide is not a selfless act but a selfish one as people who are desperate enough to end their own lives don't think of the consequences their actions will reap. All they believe is that suicide will end their pain and release them from a life they no longer feel is worth living. They aren't going to be around to worry about what happens afterwards or who it affects. That's not to say that this is an intended selfish act but an act from which the person feels they can find no means of escape; how can you think of others when you are suffering so much pain of your own? How does one stop hurting long enough to think of how those actions might affect others? For some it appears to be painfully impossible.

Even though it's not something that people like to think about, much less talk about, I think it's important that people be aware of suicide. Sticking our heads in the sand and pretending it doesn't exist doesn't make it go away. If you, or someone you know, is dealing with depression and thoughts of self-destruction then please seek help. Find someone to talk to whether it be family, friends, clergy, a teacher, a doctor, a 911 operator - someone. Help is available - hope is available - and life can get better though it may take some work and some time.

It's been said that "suicide is a permanent answer to a temporary problem"; an answer you don't want as permanent in this case really means permanent. There is no going back or going forward.

Life can be tough. Life can stink. Life can feel like a constant upward struggle. Life can make you just want to lay down and die. But it won't always be that way. It can get better if you let it. If I can believe that, I hope that everyone else can, too.

Thank you, Jeni, for an excellent post and for your forthcoming honesty.

If you are in a crisis and need help right away:

Call this toll-free number, available 24 hours a day, every day: 1-800-273-TALK (8255). You will reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, a service available to anyone. You may call for yourself or for someone you care about. All calls are confidential.

"We are met on a great battlefield of that war." ~ President Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address

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July 1st, 1863 saw the beginning of the bloodiest battle of the Civil War in a small town in southern Pennsylvania known as Gettysburg. What began as a skirmish turned into three days of fierce fighting between 160,000 Americans that in the end claimed 28,000 Confederate causalities in dead, wounded and missing as well as Union casualties totaling another 23,000.

For me to try to explain in entirety the three days of fighting that occurred in this small Pennsylvania town in the blistering heat of early July would require a virtual novel that would probably take me hours to write and you to read. It was a battle that never should have happened where it happened or when it happened but it did and it is cited as the turning point in the War Between the States.

Shortly after his success over the Army of the Potomac at Chancellorsville, Virginia General Robert E. Lee led his Army of Northern Virginia into Northern territory in the hopes of finding supplies for his troops. He also hoped to pressure Northern politicians to give up on the war in support of the growing peace movement in the North while he threatened Washington, Baltimore, and Philadelphia with his 73,000 troops.

Meanwhile, President Abraham Lincoln had replaced yet another of his incompetent commanders, Major General Joseph Hooker who resigned shortly after his defeat at Chancellorsville, with Major General George Meade who took over command of the Army of the Potomac on June 28th, 1863. Meade was ordered by Lincoln to pursue Lee and run him back out of Pennsylvania.

The battle began almost by accident as the result of a chance meeting engagement between Confederate infantry under the command of Major General Henry Heth and Union cavalry led by General John Buford just south of Gettysburg. Buford knew the importance of maintaining the high ground in battle and fought valiantly to defend the land around the Lutheran Theological Seminary. It was during the fighting on the first day that popular Union commander Major General John Reynolds died while directing troop and artillery placement when he was struck by a single bullet behind his right ear.

Though the Union was fighting a losing battle at this point, General Lee had no idea how many troops might be in reserve as his Calvary Commander, Major General J.E.B. Stuart was not to be found. Even though he did not have the "eyes" of his calvary, Lee knew that if the Union Army held the high ground they would have an advantage over the Confederate Army so he sent orders to Lt. General Richard S. Ewell, his Second Corps Commander, to take Cemetery Hill "if practicable". Not knowing what lie on the other side of the ridge, Ewell chose not to attempt the assault, a decision that resulted in a missed great opportunity for the Confederacy as had he pursued they would have not only won the day but the battle as well.

With the arrival of the remainder of the Army of the Potomac throughout the night and the early morning of July 2nd, the second day of battle saw fierce fighting between two armies at their maximum strength at Little Round Top, Cemetery Hill, and Culp's Hill. The Union lines formed what is known as a "fishhook" formation while Confederate lines stretched for nearly five miles in length.

As fighting raged in The Wheatfield and Devil's Den, the 20th Maine, under the command of Colonel Joshua L. Chamberlain, held their precarious hold of Little Round Top, an important hill at the extreme left of the Union line, with a bayonet charge that became one of the most fabled stories of the Civil War. For his gallantry, Colonel Chamberlain, a college professor from Maine who became one of the Union's most respected and well-liked officers, was awarded the Medal of Honor and given the honor of commanding the Union troops at the surrender ceremony ending the war at Appomattox Court House on April 9th, 1865.

The third day of battle saw seven hours of fierce fighting by Lee's forces in attempt to take Culp's Hill from the Union troops which ended in defeat at approximately 11:00 a.m. At that point Lee was forced to change plans and decided to launch an attack on the Federal II Corps position at the right center of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge. At approximately 3:00 p.m., 12,500 Southern soldiers in nine infantry brigades stepped from the ridgeline and advanced three-quarters of a mile across the open Pennsylvania fields towards a copse of trees that marked the Union line in an attack that became known as "Pickett's Charge". Although some Confederates were able to breach the stone wall that shielded many of the Union defenders, they could not maintain their hold and were repulsed with over 50% casualties.

Lt. General James Longstreet argued with General Lee against the attack predicting its futility, a move that made him very unpopular with the South after the war ended, but Lee insisted that it was the right move. It wasn't. "Pickett's Charge" was a bloodbath with horrendous command losses as Pickett's three brigade commanders and all thirteen of his regimental commanders were casualties of the attack; in all his division suffered 2,655 casualties . The results were an avoidable mistake from which the Southern war effort never fully recovered.

On July 4th, as weary troops faced each other across the bloody fields, Major General George Meade decided not to pursue another attack. This was an action for which he was later severely criticized and the opportunity to end the war passed as the bulk of Lee's Northern Virginia Army left Gettysburg in a driving rain on July 5th. Meade's army followed but the effort was half-hearted and Lee's troops managed to escape over the Potomac River and back into Southern territory before the Union Army was able to catch up and subdue them.

The defeat of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia electrified the North and any hopes of peace were dashed for both sides as the war continued on for almost another two years of bloody fighting with enormous losses on both sides.

Today the U.S. National Park Service maintains both Gettysburg National Cemetery, dedicated by President Abraham Lincoln's famous Gettysburg Address on November 19th, 1863, and Gettysburg National Military Park as two of the nation's most revered historical landmarks visited by thousands upon thousands each year.

There is no way to describe what it feels like to visit this hallowed ground. I have been to Gettysburg four times - the first two when I was stationed at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey in the late 70's; another time in July of 1999 with my cousin Amy and son Michael; and a fourth time with Amy in May of 2001 as the final leg of our "Battlefield Vacation". I hope to go again several times over.

I have taken the 19.5 mile auto tour route with a pre-recorded tape for a guide; I have taken the two-hour Battle of Gettysburg tour on an open air Double-Decker bus; and I have toured the battlefield on horseback which allowed me the opportunity to see the view across Seminary Ridge towards Cemetery Hill just as Lee, Longstreet, and Pickett might have seen it on the morning of July 3rd - minus, of course, the incoming artillery fire. Each and every time I have been blown away by the magnitude of what happened on those fields and in those woods and I leave with a greater sense of respect and awe for those men who died fighting to keep our country as one Nation under God.

By the same token, I also understand how desperately the Confederacy believed in what they were fighting for and just how noble their cause was, too. It boggles my mind to know that brother fought brother - neighbor fought neighbor - and each believed firmly that God was on their side. Go to Gettysburg - walk amongst the thousands of monuments left to those men who died on the fields there - close your eyes and picture the ground running red with their blood - and then come back and tell me you felt nothing. I will be happy to call you a liar.

In conclusion, I would like to leave you with the words of President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address to reflect upon as we approach our Fourth of July holiday:

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."