redelk
Moderator
Please... speak to the hand.
Posts: 3212
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posted December 14, 2005 12:21 PM
Some thoughts for Christmas
I first posted this in '02. I think it is worth reposting today.
'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF PLASTER AND STONE.
I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.
I LOOKED ALL ABOUT, A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS, NOT EVEN A TREE.
NO STOCKING BY MANTLE, JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
AND ON THE WALL, PICTURES OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.
WITH MEDALS AND BADGES, AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
A SOBERING THOUGHT CAME TO MY MIND.
FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT, SO DARK AND SO DREARY,
THE HOME OF A SOLDIER, NOW I COULD SEE CLEARLY.
THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING, SILENT, ALONE,
CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.
THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE, THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
NOT HOW I PICTURED A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.
WAS THIS THE HERO OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?
CURLED UP ON A PONCHO, THE FLOOR FOR A BED?
I REALIZED THE FAMILIES THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.
SOON ROUND THE WORLD, THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.
THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS, LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.
I COULDN'T HELP WONDER HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.
THE VERY THOUGHT BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES AND STARTED TO CRY.
THE SOLDIER AWAKENED AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
"SANTA DON'T CRY, THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE."
"I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM, I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,
MY LIFE IS MY GOD, MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS."
THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER AND SOON DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
I COULDN'T CONTROL IT, I CONTINUED TO WEEP.
I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS, SO SILENT AND STILL,
AND WE BOTH SHIVERED FROM THE COLD EVENING'S CHILL.
I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE ON THAT COLD, DARK NIGHT,
THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR SO WILLING TO FIGHT.
THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,
WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE, WHISPERED,
"CARRY ON SANTA, IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE."
ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH, AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT."
I was too young for Viet Nam and too old for the Gulf.
Yet, when I awoke this morning, I remembered those that have in the past and are currently spending their Christmas far away from their loved ones and sacrificing it all... just so I can hear they joyful screams of my grand daughter, as she opened her presents.
While I will always keep the men and women who are serving our great nation in my prayers, I also wish to thank each and every one of them for giving me the opportunity to enjoy one of life's greatest pleasures... FREEDOM.
May God bless and look over each and every one of you.
Thank you.
............................................................................................................
I first posted this in '03 and also feel it is worth reposting.
The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
my daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree, I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep
in perfect contentment, or so it would seem.
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eye when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
and I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old
Perhaps a Marine Man, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
"What are you doing?" I asked without fear
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts,
to the window that danced with a warm fire's light
then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
"I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night"
"Its my duty to stand at the front of the line,
that separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me."
"My Gramps died at Pearl, on a day in December,"
then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers.
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam
And now it is my turn and so, here I am."
"I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile."
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red white and blue... an American flag.
"I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home,
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat,
I can carry the weight of killing another
or lay down my life with my sisters and brothers
who stand at the front against any and all,
to insure for all time that this flag will not fall."
"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone.
To stand your own watch, no matter how long."
"For when we come home, either standing or dead,
to know you remember we fought and we bled
is payment enough, and with that we will trust.
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."
To the fine men and women who serve this great nation in both times of peace and of war...
I salute you... I thank you... I pray for your safe return... and I will never forget you.
God Bless.
____________
There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.
-Ernest Hemingway
   
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FP 10R
Expert Class
Fast Learner
Posts: 212
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posted December 14, 2005 01:00 PM
 Edited By: FP 10R on 14 Dec 2005 15:38
I have never met you Red but I have read your posts over the years on this site and even though I am on the other side of the World I echo many of your thoughts and points of view.
Once again you have touched on a subject that "deserves more than a passing thought" on a matter most of us just take for granted. It's often been said that if politicians had to fight the wars they started it would be over real Quick!
I think every site needs a conscience and in this place you fit the bill perfectly, I wish you and your family a safe and happy Christmas.
____________
"Life is not a rehearsal so make the most of it" Carefully
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ozzy
Needs a job
need guberment cheese
Posts: 3172
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posted December 14, 2005 02:43 PM
Edited By: ozzy on 14 Dec 2005 14:44
wipe tear from my eye,
big thumbs up!
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mattie_k
Zone Head
hill-billy!
Posts: 545
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posted December 14, 2005 03:29 PM
That second one .....holy, I had to take a breather.
Never forget.
____________
God is an imaginary friend for grown-ups.
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redelk
Moderator
Please... speak to the hand.
Posts: 3212
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posted December 14, 2005 03:41 PM
Edited By: redelk on 14 Dec 2005 15:43
Thank you for the well wishes and the same to you and yours, this Holiday season and for many to come.
It is not too hard for me to realize how good I have it.
Not when my Art Director, who sits a mere 4' to my right, is dealing with a wife getting chemotherapy for cancer, a dying mother who is being moved from the CCU to a hospice this week AND who's only child is currently serving our country in the Navy.
His holidays will be filled with determining what to do with his mother's home, tending to the needs of his frail wife and wondering when he will hear from his son again.
......................................................................................................................................
I recently received this in an e-mail as a little reminder about the importance of our veterans...
It is the VETERAN, not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion.
It is the VETERAN, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the VETERAN, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to assemble.
It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the VETERAN, not the politician, who has given us the right to vote.
It is the VETERAN, who serves under the Flag,
It is the VETERAN, who salutes the Flag.
ETERNAL REST, GRANT THEM O LORD AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM.
Along with the e-mail was a "story" concerning the guards at the Tomb of the Unknowns and Hurricane Isabel that hit in Sept. '03. The story implied that the guards refused a direct order to seek shelter and remained at their posts.
From snopes.com:
Sentries charged with guarding the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia did indeed spend the entire night out in the weather rather than leave their posts. It is untrue, however, that they disobeyed a direct order to do so, as some e-mail versions of this story maintain.
A contingency plan had been established that if winds reached 120 mph the guards could retreat from their usual exposed-to-the-elements posts in the tomb plaza to take up positions in trophy room, which is above the tomb plaza and has a clear view of the sepulcher. (The Tomb of the Unknowns is a small box-like white building situated in an open area close to the middle of the cemetery.) This plan was not put into effect.
The tomb is guarded 24 hours a day and 365 days a year by specially chosen soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Regiment (Old Guard) stationed at nearby Fort Myer.
The actual newspaper article read as follows:
Texarkana Gazette, 2003
Here Rests In Honored Glory An American Soldier Known But To God.
So reads the inscription etched into the white granite tomb that marks the resting place of America's official unknown soldiers. The Tomb of the Unknowns remains one of the United States' most revered sites, a permanent reminder of this country's commitment to honor those who died fighting for its freedom. Last week, that commitment was upheld in a way some people might not have even noticed or even thought about.
When practically every government employee in Washington was beating a hasty retreat to avoid the aftereffects of Hurricane Isabel, a small group of men decided their commitment to duty, honor and country was more important than personal safety or comfort.
Tomb Guard Sentinels, the elite soldiers of the 3rd U.S. Infantry regiment chosen to act as guards at the Tomb, opted to sustain their constant vigil at the Tomb of the Unknowns rather than flee the oncoming bad weather. To them it was a matter of honoring their personal and professional obligations to the men and women who served before them and who serve now - and obviously do not have the luxury of serving their country only when skies are blue and the sun shines down upon them.
Although the Tomb of the Unknowns is watched over by Tomb Guards 24 hours a day, 365 days a year regardless of weather conditions, to have soldiers so duty-bound as to ignore their own personal well-being is an example of real patriotism and a real reminder of the sacrifices made to secure the principles of liberty.
____________
There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.
-Ernest Hemingway
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osti33
Needs a job
Posts: 2973
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posted December 14, 2005 04:02 PM
Good stuff Red thanks for sharing it with us. Definitely worth posting it again.
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fish_antlers
Administrator
The Truth is Out There
Posts: 21894
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posted December 14, 2005 09:26 PM
Thanks Sherman.
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What business is it of yours where I'm from, Friendo?
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Hells Dark Lord
Needs a life
living life, and loving it.
Posts: 7981
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posted December 15, 2005 06:22 AM
Sherm those poems bring tears to my eyes, as I remember the times and holidays I have spent away from my family....It makes me remember my friends that are there now, and will be through these holidays......And it makes me realize that my going back, is to give them the break they gave me to be with my family. Its now their time to come home!
thank you for helping me put this back into the perspective that is should have been all along.
My friends, have a safe and happy holiday season....and keep our police, fireman, teachers, and soldiers all in your prayers....As I will keep all of you in my prayers....
God Bless you all......Jim
____________
When in doubt, lean farther and go faster....
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scooter trash
Expert Class
Posts: 407
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posted December 15, 2005 11:28 AM
Great post Red.
My oldest son will not be with us again this Christmas, he'll be spending it with his Marine combat unit in Afghanistan where they have been deployed the last six months.
A great idea anytime of the year is to send a care package to deployed U.S. military personnel. Its easy to do, doesn't cost much and makes a huge difference to our men and women deployed around the world.
This site will give you everything you need to know:
http://www.operationusocarepackage.org
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slug
Pro
Out in search of my mind...
Posts: 1433
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posted December 15, 2005 06:57 PM
Thanks for the good stuff (as usual) red.
Everyone have a merry Christmas. If you see someone in uniform take aminute to say hi and thanks.
I think i surprised a young marine at thanksgiving. Walked up, shook his hand and thanked him for his service, and wished him a happy thanksgiving. Kinda looked like deer in headlights.
Better than what my parents' generation got...
 
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