Memorial Day Remembered!

No, Freedom isn't Free

I watched the flag pass by one day.

It fluttered in the breeze.

A young Marine saluted it,

And then he stood at ease.

I looked at him in uniform

So young, so tall, so proud,

With hair cut square and eyes alert

He'd stand out in any crowd.

I thought how many men like him

Had fallen through the years.

How many died on foreign soil?

How many mothers' tears?

How many pilots' planes shot down?

How many died at sea?

How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?

No, freedom isn't free.

I heard the sound of taps one night,

When everything was still

I listened to the bugler play

And felt a sudden chill.

I wondered just how many times

That taps had meant "Amen,

"When a flag had draped a coffin

Of a brother or a friend.

I thought of all the children,

Of the mothers and the wives,

Of fathers, sons and husbands

With interrupted lives.

I thought about a graveyard

At the bottom of the sea

Of unmarked graves in Arlington.

No, freedom isn't free.

Thanks to all of our servicemen and women!

A Blast From the Past!

A lovely night out on the town!

Rachel and I took a nice walk down memory lane tonight by seeing "All Shook UP" on stage at the Orpheum Theater. At least memory lane for me, for Rachel it was history. She bought the tickets for me for Mother's Day and I loved it. I have always been a big Elvis fan and still love his music and that is what this show was based on. It was all about a hip swinging, motorcycle riding, stud muffin and the town that he woke up. It was very well done and had loads of talent. Thanks Rachel, what a great gift!!!!

Where Eagles Soar!

http://www.briloon.org/watching-wildlife/eagle-cam.php

Above is the link to a phenomenal website that chronicles the plight of a pair of eagles nesting off of the Massachusett's coast in an unknown location. I have personally been watching this pair for 2 years. Last year they had a successful birth of two beautiful eaglets, a male and a female. Both successfully left the nest at maturity. This year the eagles again laid their eggs in early March and I was excited to await the new arrivals. Well, we all know what a crazy spring this was. I watched this mother sit on those eggs through snow, sleet, torrential rains, extreme wind and never waiver from her nest or her quest to take care of her eggs. The eaglets were born in early April successfully, than came the Noreaster storm that devastated the nest and regretfully took the life of the babies. I was so taken by the disappointment and what that mother bird had endured and in the end lost her babies. Now the eagles are coming back and forth to the nest (we all had hopes that they may nest again but we think it just took too much of a toll on her). They are beautiful birds to watch and to get a glimpse into the nest and these birds is amazing. There were times when I would watch her looking into that camera and wonder what she was thinking. It was almost as if she sensed the camera. Please take a moment to go to this link, there is also links to other nests. Be sure to read the blog and please donate if you are able. This is a worthy organization and will bring you hours of enjoyment and much education. Watching this process will change your whole perspective on nature, suffering and the majesty of these birds.

Spring! and the big "C"

It is time to update my blog or get chastised from my daughter! It is spring, my favorite time of year! My life has been in turmoil and sometimes I feel like I am spinning out of control and then I look outside and see everything coming to life, the green lawns, the trees, flowers, the beautiful blue sky and it somewhat makes up for the chaos. I see the new life, the birds, the geese are parading around with their new babies in tow and it shows us how beautiful life can be even in difficult times. This has not been a good year for our family, I lost my dad on January 24th after a long battle with prostate cancer that turned into bladder cancer. He fought a valiant battle and loved life and never complained through years of discomfort. We laid him to rest and thought that life would normalize somewhat but then found out that my husband's PSA (the measuring of prostate cancer through a blood test) had become elevated and that he needed to have a biopsy done. We were very shocked to learn that he did indeed have cancer and thus the journey began. A few days after the surgery we got the pathology and were told that the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes and was more aggressive than 99% of prostate cancer. He has been off of work for a month and really doing very well other than the news of his disease. He will have more screening done on May 18th and we go see the oncologist on the 25th. We are trying to work through the overload of information and I will keep everyone informed as to how his treatment will go. We are now focused on trying to make life as normal as it can be under the circumstances. We plan on going about life as we always do and taking every day one step at a time. We have a great family and we will fight this disease and win! I really debated whether to bridge this subject on my blog but blogs are about life and this is my life now. This is an important issue and almost epidemic with men in their 50's and 60's so I will do what I can do to educate and bring this cancer to the forefront. Stay tuned................................