THE THIRTEEN DAYS OF HALLOWEEN

On the first day of Halloween
My postman brought to me,
A Gho-o-o-ul in a dead tree.

On the second day of Halloween,
My postman brought to me,
Two walking mummies,
And a Gho-o-o-ul in a dead tree.

On the third day of Halloween,
My postman brought to me,
Three black cats,
Two walking mummies,
And a Gho-o-o-ul in a dead tree.

On the fourth day of Halloween,
My postman brought to me,
Four spooky ghosts,
Three black cats,
Two walking mummies,
And a Gho-o-o-ul in a dead tree.

On the fifth day of Halloween,
My postman brought to me,
Five witches riding brooms,
Four spooky ghosts,
Three black cats,
Two walking mummies,
And a Gho-o-o-ul in a dead tree.

On the sixth day of Halloween,
My postman brought to me,
Six hooting owls,
Five witches riding brooms,
Four spooky ghosts,
Three black cats,
Two walking mummies,
And a Gho-o-o-ul in a dead tree.

On the seventh day of Halloween,
My postman brought to me,
Seven scary pumpkins,
Six hooting owls,
Five witches riding brooms,
Four spooky ghosts,
Three black cats,
Two walking mummies,
And a Gho-o-o-ul in a dead tree.

On the eighth day of Halloween,
My postman brought to me,
Eight freaky franks,
Seven scary pumpkins,
Six hooting owls,
Five witches riding brooms,
Four spooky ghosts,
Three black cats
Two walking mummies,
And a Gho-o-o-ul in a dead tree.

On the ninth day of Halloween,
My postman brought to me,
Nine reapers reaping,
Eight freaky franks,
Seven scary pumpkins,
Six hooting owls,
Five witches riding brooms,
Four spooky ghosts,
Three black cats,
Two walking mummies,
And a Gho-o-o-ul in a dead tree.

On the tenth day of Halloween,
My postman brought to me,
Ten skulls a-smoking,
Nine reapers reaping,
Eight freaky franks,
Seven scary pumpkins,
Six hooting owls,
Five witches riding brooms,
Four spooky ghosts,
Three black cats,
Two walking mummies,
And a Gho-o-o-ul in a dead tree.

On the eleventh day of Halloween,
My postman brought to me,
Eleven coffins creaking,
Ten skulls a-smoking,
Nine reapers reaping,
Eight freaky franks,
Seven scary pumpkins,
Six hooting owls,
Five witches riding brooms,
Four spooky ghosts,
Three black cats,
Two walking mummies,
And a Gho-o-o-ul in a dead tree.

The prayer entitled "I Asked" was written by a Confederate soldier.
It was recovered from his body in Devil's Den after the battle of Gettysburg,and is a provocative prayer that many of our Veterans can relate to:

"I Asked"

I asked for strength that I might achieve,
God made me weak that I might obey.

I asked for health that I might do great things,
I was given grace that I might do better things.

I asked for riches that I might be happy,
I was given poverty that I might be wise.

I asked for power that I might have the praise of men,
I was given weakness that I might feel the need for God.

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life,
I was given life that I might enjoy all things.

I received nothing that I asked for,
My prayer was answered.

~A prayer by a Confederate Soldier~

Veterans Day honors men and women who have served in the U.S. armed services. Veterans Day, November 11th, is a legal federal holiday in the U.S. Great Britain celebrates November 11th as Armistice Day; it is not a legal holiday but special observances celebrate the armistice that ended World War I on November 11, 1918. France also calls it Armistice Day.

Canada has a legal holiday called Remembrance Day that is celebrated on November 11th. Veterans Day celebrations in the United States include parades and speeches. Special services are held at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia;
they begin with 2 minutes of silence, then after the playing of taps, a wreath is placed at the tomb which houses the graves of 3 unknown Americans who fought in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. In a ceremony in Washington, D.C., a wreath is placed at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to honor those who died in the Vietnam War.

In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11th as Armistice Day to remind Americans of the tragedies of war. A law
adopted in 1938 made the day a federal holiday. In 1954, Congress
changed the name of the holiday to Veterans Day to honor all U.S. veterans. From 1971 through 1977, Veterans Day was celebrated on the 4th Monday in October.

It Is The Soldier...

It is the soldier,
not the reporter,
Who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the soldier,
not the poet,
Who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the soldier,
not the campus organizer,
Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.

It is the soldier,
Who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag.

JUST A COMMON SOLDIER
(A Soldier Died Today)
by A. Lawrence Vaincourt

He was getting old and paunchy and his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past
Of a war that he had fought in and the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies; they were heroes, every one.

And tho' sometimes, to his neighbors, his tales became a joke,
All his Legion buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke.
But we'll hear his tales no longer for old Bill has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer, for a soldier died today.

He will not be mourned by many, just his children and his wife,
For he lived an ordinary and quite uneventful life.
Held a job and raised a family, quietly going his own way,
And the world won't note his passing, though a soldier died today.

When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing and proclaim that they were great.
Papers tell their whole life stories, from the time that they were young,But the passing of a soldier goes unnoticed and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution to the welfare of our land
A guy who breaks his promises and cons his fellow man?
Or the ordinary fellow who, in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his Country and offers up his life?

A politician's stipend and the style in which he lives
Are sometimes disproportionate to the service that he gives.
While the ordinary soldier, who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal and perhaps, a pension small.

It's so easy to forget them for it was so long ago,
That the old Bills of our Country went to battle, but we know
It was not the politicians, with their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom that our Country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger, with your enemies at hand,
Would you want a politician with his ever-shifting stand?
Or would you prefer a soldier, who has sworn to defend
His home, his kin and Country and would fight until the end?

He was just a common soldier and his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us we may need his like again.
For when countries are in conflict, then we find the soldier's part
Is to clean up all the troubles that the politicians start.

Lorraine

WHAT DOES 'VETERAN' STAND FOR?

V Victory Is Our Cry
E Excellence Is Our Motto
T Teamwork Is What We Do Best
E Efficiency Is Our Product
R Reliability Is Our History
A America Is What We Stand For
N Now And Forever,
Now,We Are Ready

By Keith L. Bennett

Baby Blues

Part of Great Speech by Brian Shul, Veteran

"... we are a country awakened now. We have been attacked in our
homeland. We have now felt the reality of what an unstable and
dangerous world it truly is...

...some College students of ignorance and naïve notions, like
mindless sheep, march with painted faces and trite sayings on
signs, blissfully ignorant of the world they live in, and the
system that protects them, hoping maybe to make the evening news.
Perhaps if they had spent more time in class they would have
learned that those who forget the past are condemned to repeat
it. They might have learned that all it takes for evil to succeed
in the world, is for good people to stand by and do nothing. If
they had simply gone back in history as recently as the Viet Nam
War, they would have learned that an enemy that knows it can never
defeat us militarily, will persist as long as there is dissention
and disruption in our land...

I think this is a wonderful country,that gives everyone their
voice of dissention. I am all for people expressing their views
publicly because it makes it much easier for us to identify the
truly foolish, and to know who cannot be counted on in times of
crisis. These are the weak and cowardly who, when the enemy is
crashing through the front door, will cower in the back room,
counting on better men than themselves to make and keep them
free. Well, the enemy is at our front door, and isn't it
interesting those who cry loudest and most often for their rights,
are usually those least willing to defend it.....

I wonder what plans the young men at the beaches of Normandy had
that they never got to live. I wonder if it was in the plans of
19-year-old boys in Viet Nam to lie dying in a jungle far from
home. I guess the men and women at Pearl Harbor one morning had
their plans slightly rearranged too... Those people in the
World Trade Center have no more plans. It is up to us to have a
plan now. And it isn't going to be easy. Who ever said it
would? Just what part of our history spoke of how easy it was to
form a free nation? It has never been easy and has always
required vigilance and sacrifice, and sometimes war, to preserve
this union. If it were easy, everyone would have done it. But no
one else has, and we stand alone as the most unique country on
earth.

And isn't it amazing that we have spent a generation stamping God
out of our schools and government, and now as a nation, have
collectively turned to God in memorial services, prayer vigils and
churches around this country.

...This flag of ours is the symbol of all that is good about this
country. America is an idea. It is an idea lived, and fought for,
by a people. We are America, and this is our symbol. We are
imperfect in many ways, but we continue to strive toward the ideal
our forefathers laid down for us over 225 years ago. I could
never imagine desecrating that symbol. Perhaps there are many
people in this nation who have never been abroad, or in harms way,
and seen the flag upon their return. Those poor souls can never
know the deep pride and honor one feels to see it wave, to know
that there is still a good ol' USA. With all our warts we are
still the greatest nation on earth, and the flag is the most
powerful symbol of that greatness.....

This flag is our history, our dreams, our accomplishments,
indelibly expressed in bright red, white, and blue. This flag was
carried in our Revolutionary War, although it had many less
stars. But it persevered and evolved throughout a war we had no
right to believe we could win. But we did, and built a country
around it. This flag, tattered and battle worn, waved proudly
from the mast, as John Paul Jones showed the enemy what true
resolve was. This banner was raised by the hands of brave men on
a godforsaken island called Iwo Jima, and became a part of the
most famous photo of the 20th Century. Those men are all dead
now, but their legacy lives on in the Marine Memorial in
Washington, DC. Those of you who have seen it will recall that
inscribed within the stone monument are the words-When Uncommon
Valor, Was A Common Virtue- I don't believe you'll see the
words, "it was easy", anywhere on it. This flag has even been to
the moon, planted there for all time by men with a vision, and the
courage to see it through.

I personally know what it is to see the flag, and feel something
deep inside that makes you feel you are a part of something much
bigger than yourself. Laying in a hospital bed, I can vividly
recall looking out the only window in the room and on Sundays,
seeing that big garrison flag flying proudly in the breeze. It
filled the entire window, and filled my heart with a motivation
that helped me leave that bed, and enabled me to be standing here
today. And many years later, while fighting another terrorist
over Libya, my backseater and I outraced Khaddafi's missiles in
our SR-71 as we headed for the Mediterranean, and I can still
clearly see that American flag patch on the shoulder of my space
suit, staring at me in the rear view mirror as we headed west, and
it was a good feeling. Now don't ask me why we had rear view
mirrors in the world's fastest jet, I can assure you, no one was
gaining on us that day.....

History will judge us. How we confront this chapter of American
history will be important for the future of this great nation.
This will be a war like none other we have endured. The
combatants will not just be the soldier on the battlefront, but
will be fought by us the citizens. We are on the battlefield now;
the war has been brought to us. We will determine the outcome of
this war by how well we remain vigilant, how patient we are with
tightened security, how well we support the economy, and most
importantly, in the resolve we show the enemy. There are some
things worth fighting for, and this country is one of them.

I pray for our leaders... In the Pacific, during WW II, Admiral
Bull Halsey said, "There are no great men, just great
circumstances, and how they handle those circumstances will
determine the outcome of history". Our future and the future of
coming generations are in our hands. Wars are not won just on
military fronts, but by the resolve of the people. We must remain
tenaciously strong in the pursuit of this enemy that threatens
free people everywhere.

I am encouraged that we will win this war. Even before the first
shot was finished being fired, there were brave Americans on
Flight 93, fighting back. These people were the first true heroes
of this conflict, and gave their lives to save their fellow
countrymen.

This nation, this melting pot of humanity, this free republic,
must be preserved. This idea that is America is important enough
to be defended. Fought for. Even die for. The enemy fears what
you have, for if their people ever become liberated into a free
society, tyrannical dictatorships will cease and he will lose
power.

How can they ever understand this country of ours, so self-
indulgent and diverse, yet when attacked, so united in the defense
of its principals. This is the greatest country in the world
because brave people sacrificed to make it that way. We are a
collective mix of greatness and greed, hi-tech and heartland. We
are the country of Mickey Mouse and Mickey Mantle; from John Smith
and Pocahontas to John Glen and an Atlas booster; from Charles
Lindbergh to Charley Brown; from Moby Dick to Microsoft; we are a
nation that went from Kitty Hawk to Tranquillity Base in less than
70 years; we are rock and roll, and the Bill of Rights; we are
where everyone else wants to be, the greatest nation in the world.

The enemy does not understand the dichotomy of our society, but
they should understand this; we will bandage our wounds, we will
bury our dead; and then we will come for you.......and we will
destroy you and all you stand for...
I read this quote recently and would like to share it with you:

We are pressed on every side, but not crushed,

Perplexed, but not in despair,

Persecuted, but not abandoned,

Struck down, but not destroyed.

That is from II Corinthians. Not too long ago it would have been
politically incorrect to quote from the Bible. I am so happy to
be politically INCORRECT. And I am so proud to be an American. "

Thank you all for showing your support for your government, and
your nation. You are the true patriots, you are the soldiers of
this war, you are the strength of America.

Brian Shul... A Vietnam era USAF fighter pilot, 212 combat
missions, shot down near the end of the war and was so badly
burned that he was given next to no chance to live. Did live,
went on to fly SR-71s and completed a 20 year career in the Air
Force.

To our men and women in uniform...

past, present, and future...

Thanks, We salute you!

May God bless you!

As a Nation

Feeling the fan blowing my hair,
I realize that someone, somewhere,
Tonight has lain down their head,
On a pile of sand they call a bed.

I have an abundance of what they have not,
Surrounded by corpses lest there to rot.
Away from familiar, family and friends,
In a strange and foreign land with no ends.

The sounds and the sights of dying men,
Each of them wondering where and when,
It will be there turn to perish from the earth,
And everyone hoping for a spiritual rebirth.

Pain and sorrow gather around like rain,
Vengeful thinking keeps the mind sane.
They chose this life to find the man,
That scared us more than anyone can.

He failed in what he set out to do,
Trying to kill what is just and true.
Instead he united a cripled nation,
And all of us showed strong elation.

Now we live on stronger than before,
And will find him by the art of war.
If by some small chance we shall fall,
We shall do so as a nation one and all.

Rated G Thanksgiving Day Jokes

What did General Patton do on Thanksgiving?
He gave tanks.

"You know an ancestor of mine came over on the Mayflower."
"Really? Which rat was he?"

What's black and white and red all over?
A Pilgrim with a rash!

How did Albert Einstein celebrate Thanksgiving?
He was very thinkful.

What kind of music did Pilgrim bands play?
Plymouth Rock 'n' roll!

What would you get if you crossed a pickle with an early New England settler?
A Dillgrim!

Teacher: "What did the Indians bring to the first Thanksgiving?"
Student: "Baseballs."
Teacher: "Baseballs?"
Student: "Yeah, they were Cleveland Indians!"

Why didn't the boy get a second helping of turkey?
Because he ate it all the first time!

Why did the Pilgrim shoot the turkey?
Because he was in a fowl mood!

Teacher: "Why do we have a Thanksgiving holiday?"
Student: "So we know when to start Christmas shopping!"

How many cooks does it take to stuff a turkey?
One, but you really have to squeeze him in!

What November holiday do crabby people celebrate?
Cranksgiving!

What does a Pilgrim call his best friend?
A palgrim.

Teacher: "Why did the Pilgrims sail to America?"
Student: "Maybe they missed their plane."

What would you get if you crossed a turkey with an evil spirit?
A poultrygeist!

What's brown and white and flies all over?
Thanksgiving turkey, when you carve it with a chain saw!

Why did the monster get a ticket at Thanksgiving dinner?
He was exceeding the feed limit!

What would you get if you crossed a famous Giant with Indian corn?
Willie Maize!

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