Wish You Were Here

“The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation.”

--General George Washington,
November 10, 1781.

Baghdad Bulletin
11 November 2009
Veterans Day
Issue 14

Dear Family of Friends and Family,

It's already November with only four full moons to go before I come home! (The graphic that show how many days are left – Circle of Freedom – is something fun.) While this issue is dated Veterans Day, I've pulled some thoughts together for you between lots of competing tasks and a conference over the past couple of weeks since our vacation. I'm just now getting back to the personal computer after a fabulous trip to Central Europe for R&R from 7-25 Oct. We've gotten some of the pictures downloaded and are working on sorting them when we can. I'll focus the next couple of issues on our Danube River Cruise and the European train adventure with lots of photos in the coming weeks.

This issue, I would like to share a couple of articles with you that you may enjoy. The first is "Do What Comes Up" from our friends' devotional book The One Year Yellow Ribbon Devotional found linked on this website. We are featured on Sep 8th (which happens to be General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain's birthday – 1828) and we are honored to be included in this wonderful collection of prayers and stories. Thank you Brenda and Carol!

The second article is one that I was asked to write for the Willowbrook Baptist Church's Fall/Winter Edition of "Faith and Family Matters Magazine." It's a beautiful publication and we appreciate the chance to share our short story. Each issue, a military member of the Huntsville, Alabama Community is featured. Thank you Carol and Ann! Please visit the websites from Willowbrook: www.willowbrook.org and www.faithandfamilymatters.org.

As for our trip, it was wonderful of course, traveling with John. He got a vacation too. We happened to be in the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, and Hungary during the 20th year anniversary of the Wall coming down. To experience the open borders and to see the freedom there was very gratifying. I'll do a piece dedicated to a "30 year reflection" because I visited Austria and Hungary in 1979. To visit Vienna this time, not as a graduate music student, but as a spouse and soldier, was almost overwhelming. More to come!

Here's the Poetry docked in Budapest.
It was cold enough for hot chocolate!

I was in a vehicle yesterday, driving to get my vehicle from the monthly maintenance appointment. The driver turned on a blinker. That right turn signal was such a nice, familiar sound. Funny how that is.

Deployment Update