Sean,
For my fellow Americans, today is Memorial Day and this day hold
special meaning for me as it should for all Americans. Unfortunately, Memorial Day has instead come to mark the unofficial start of summer
and has become commercialized for all the wrong reasons.
Sad, but true. The Good Lord gave me a poem, that I put next to an ANSI
of an American Flag at half mast, and display it prior to Memorial Day,
and September 11. The poem is as follows:
Never to forget; but always to remember.
Whether in a war, or 11th of September.
Many fought and died, for freedoms we enjoy.
For every man and woman, every girl and boy.
Others endured injuries, in so many ways.
How quickly forgotten is, the price that was paid.
It's not a time for picnics, or just another day.
It's a time to pause; to remember, and to pray.
So many take for granted; Freedom Is Not Free.
A treasure to be cherished; but all, you and me.
To everyone who has ever served, in the US Ranks.
We pause to remember you, and to offer thanks.
**
For the last stanza, that could apply to anyone who has served in their
armed forces in any way. Whenever I see a veteran, I make it a point to
thank them for their service to their country. And, I also make it a
point to thank the first responders.
In the Bible, The Lord Jesus Christ said "Greater love has no man than
this, that a man lay down his life for his friends".
If anyone wants this ANSI for their BBS, they can send email to me at
wx4qz@arrl.net
Some see me with my American Flag design cap and my ham radio callsign,
and they think I'm a veteran. I thank them, but I admit that I'm not. I would've never passed the physical, as I had poor eyesight until about
10 years ago, and I was born with no arches in my feet...needing corrective surgery when I was 11. For that whole summer, I was in a wheelchair, and
had to learn to walk, ride a bike, etc., all over again. The way my health
is going, I alternate between a cane and a walker, and may eventually need
a wheelchair.
At 35, I was unable to drive at night, so when it was discovered I had cataracts, I decided to go for the surgery. The visual acuity went from 20/2000 to 20/20 with a little astigmatism...and now, I just need reading glasses. My problems lately have been with corneal abrasions (as noted in earlier messages), and possible early stages of glaucoma. Thse have greatly
cut down on time I'm at the computer for BBS work or for ham radio traffic nets...and degenerative disease in my back and spine, makes it worse. Basically, I'm a decrepit old fart. <G>
My late father served in the US Navy Submarine Service during World War
II, and was in the Navy and Naval Reserve until he retired as an E-9
Master Chief Quartermaster about 22 years prior to his death in 2007 from pancreatic cancer. My late Mom retired about the same time, and they spent
many years traveling around the country, and around the world. They were married just over 54 years. My Dad and my wife have been gone over 14
years (they died just over 2 1/2 months apart), and my Mom has been gone
nearly 2 years. While I miss all of them, I'm glad they're not here to
see all the suffering I've gone through in the last 3 years.
I ask that at 3 PM (your local time), you would participate in the National Moment of Rememberance and take but a minute to pause and
reflect on the sacrifices so many have made in order for us to have our freedom ... something that we as a nation tend to take for granted.
I didn't get this message until after the fact...but the above poem
should be enough proof on where I stand. :)
I had to go out to get fuel for the car, and usually do it on Monday.
I've started getting gas at Valero...on Monday, you can get mid-grade
gas (what my 2013 Chevy Cruze takes) for the price of regular...and I
think high test for the price of mid-grade. Today it was 32 cents a
gallon cheaper than a nearby Kroger. And, being a frugal cheapskate,
you know I'm going for the economical fuel. :)
Then, I went to Chick-Fil-A for two Chick-Fil-A deluxe sandwiches (no lettuce, as I can't handle the leaf lettuce, only iceberg...but I asked
for extra pickles (too bad I didn't get ice cream as well, but then folks would've wondered about me <G>). I got their large potato fries, and a
large sweet tea. This was ROTFL - Ran Out To Find Lunch <G>...because I
was hungry, and I've also learned (the hard way) "Do Not Shop Hungry".
Then, I went to one of the local Wal-Mart stores, where fully vaccinated folks didn't have to wear masks (I had both COVID-19 shots in April). But,
I had my list of what to get, and nothing more. White Bread, Buddig Chicken Lunch Meat, Mustard for the sandwiches, Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies (which don't taste anything like Girl Scouts <G>), and Diet Green Tea Citrus.
That's basically my diet now...Buddig Chicken lunch meat sandwiches with mustard, brownies for dessert, washed down with diet green tea citrus.
That means no cooking, and just to get something down my gullet when I
get the munchies. The brownies satisy my sweet tooth cravings. The tea
is also a diuretic, which since I've quit drinking carbonated beverages,
has cut down on the occurrence of kidney stones...but lately, I'd swear
I was on Lasix. Yet, in the hot weather, I can drink from 2 to 4 quarts
of tea a day. I've nearly gone into heatstroke (which can be fatal)
several times over the years. At a high school beach party over 45 years
ago, I got so sunburned, that if I hadn't had a bathing suit on (I know,
TMI <G>), I would've been in worse shape. Nowadays, I can sunburn in as
little as 10 minutes, and have to watch for possible skin cancer.
However, with the heat and humidity, I end up getting overheated, and
hacking like mad, when trying to move the stuff back and forth. So, I
put the air conditioner on once I got back home, put the groceries up,
got out of the sweaty clothes, and laid down for a nap. So, I didn't
check the BBS mail until after 5pm, when I had to update the weather
data.
Today was the last dry day we'll have for about a week...with more
storms. I've had other things to do over this past weekend, and didn't
get a chance to get the BBS into the cloud as I had hoped. But, it looks
to dry out by the middle of next week. The rain has been so proficient,
that the lawn folks are way behind schedule. We probably won't be able
to buy a drop of rain come July.
Speaking of weather, the GFS (what I call the Goofus Model) is "smoking
some strange weather weed". A few days ago, it was showing a hurricane
near the Texas/Louisiana coast in 2 weeks. On the next model run, that
cyclone was gone. Today's run now shows a hurricane to affect Florida and
the southeast US.
I know the weather wishcasters are wanting a storm, but this far out,
I just take the models with a grain of salt. Even the ECMWF model won't consider it until 10 days out. But, it is a reminder that the start of meteorological summer on June 1 in the northern hemisphere, is also the
start of the Atlantic Hurricane Season. Yet, we winter weather lovers in
the northern hemisphere take heart...meteorological fall starts in 3
months, and meteorological winter returns in 6 months. Folks are already planning groundhog hunting day next February. <G>
Daryl
... Yeah, I BBS...but I can control it.
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