Musings of the Chronologically Challenged™ Fourth Generation

 
Only those who dare to fail greatly can achieve greatly. - Robert F. Kennedy




MEMORIAL DAY REFLECTIONS

Thanks to all the wonderful bloggers who shared their beautiful, inspiring Memorial Day posts. Hours of reading your posts, suppressing tears, and searching my heart became a catharsis for some doubts I've had concerning the Iraq debacle. We are all Americans and we are in this trial together, for better or worse. It becomes clearer and clearer to me that United We Stand or Divided We Fall. It really isn't going to matter who is Democrat or who is Republican if our nation comes under total terrorist attack. Do we really care how many Marines on Iwo Jima were Dems and how many were Repubs? How many of Patton's soldiers were Dems and how many were Repubs? Are you thankful that we can type our blogs in English? I am. Over the Memorial Day weekend, The History Channel televised programs that all Americans should have seen. For many of us, it was memories. For too many others, who probably didn't have time to watch due to picnics, etc., it could have been enlightenment and a wake-up call. History truly does repeat itself, if people let it. I pray that political pettiness will be by-passed in the upcoming election and voters will decide for whom they vote based on whether they think it's in the country's best interests to facilitate or to fight Terrorism. Republican and Democrat warts can be examined and dissected later.

So here I am, pondering it all with my menagerie, comfortable in a safe environment, while our military in the Middle East continues to suffer danger and discomfort. Just in case any military web-surfers come across this, I say again from the depths of my being, "I am mindful of your sacrifices. Thank you for your service."



LIGHTENING UP
And thanks to our military, I can.

Should there be any GI rednecks reading this, here's the 2004 Edition of
YOU MIGHT BE A REDNECK IF...

Your standard of living improves when you go camping.

Your prenuptial agreement mentions chickens.

You have jacked up your home to look for a dog.

You have a relative living in your garage.

Your neighbor has ever asked to borrow a quart of beer.

There is a belch on your answering machine greeting.

You have rebuilt a carburetor while sitting on the commode.

None of the tires on your van are the same size.

You hold the hood of your car with your head while you work on it.

Your idea of getting lucky is passing the emissions test.

Your town put the new garbage truck in the Christmas parade.

Your local beauty salon also fixes cars.

Your doghouse and your living room have the same shag carpet.

You've ever slow danced in the Waffle House.

Starting your car involves popping the hood.

Your garbage man is confused about what goes and what stays.

You whistle at women in church.

You actually wear shoes your dog brought home.

You've been in a fistfight at a yard sale.

You carry a fly swatter in the front seat of the car so you can reach the kids in the backseat.



AND FOR OLD VETS: A SENIOR MOMENT™

HOW TO STAY YOUNG

Remember, there is no way you can look as bad as that person on your drivers license.

Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. " An idle mind is the devil's workshop."

Enjoy the simple things.

Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it's unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, to the next county, to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.

Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Humpty Dumpty was pushed!




posted by HCL at 4:13 PM