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Some room to breathe …

Ever have one of those really good productive days at work? One where when you get done accomplishing things you just feel like you can breathe again? I’ve had one today. I spent a good bit of the afternoon clearing out my major email accounts and am pleased to say that I got quite a lot done. Jess is over at her mother’s tonight. Jim came home from work early and has been in bed most of the afternoon (most likely he’s finally coming down with that awful crud that Jess and I have both already had), so the house is nice and quiet.

Tonight I treated myself to a very fantabulous meal from Hamburger Heaven and am currently downloading 6 months’ worth of photos from my Helio Ocean to my laptop. I’ve finally had time to sit down and go through a new cookbook I had bought on Black Friday. I’ve made a laundry list of items I’d need for various recipes that caught my eye — from Chicken Tortilla Soup, to Easy Cajun Stew, to 30-minute Paella, to Spanish Skillet Supper, to Catalonian Stew, …

Yum, yum!

I’ve also started clearing out my desk. I found myself tossing out old notes, papers, and various promotional brochures — everything from Victorinox Swiss Army watches to vacation places …

Gah, I collect a lot of crap!

I’m toying around with the thought of upgrading this blog to WordPress 2.7 RC1, but I think I’ll hold off as I have not yet updated this theme to handle all the new features. I’ve also started on and have almost finished my Christmas card mailing list, and am scanning the Soldiers’ Angels forums to see if there are any new card or letter requests.

Something I had meant to post a couple weeks back — my soldiers’ Christmas packages. Jess, Jim, and I had a lot of fun playing “Santa” and filling up a stocking for each soldier. Each stocking was filled with all kinds of Christmas cookies and candies, different types of trail mixes, a CD of Christmas songs, a wool scarf, various little toys, a novelty tie, and a handful of other things …

I so wish I could see their faces when their packages arrive over there!

I hope everyone’s having a good week. I think I’m going to take off for now and curl up next to the snoring snuffle monster (Jim, LOL!) to catch up on some DVDs.

Ja, mata ne!

Anything for metal

Heavy metal is what I consider my “first love” when it comes to music. Although I have branched out into other genres over the years and have lots of favorites from 20s and 30s jazz and blues, to bluegrass and cajun banjo-picking, to opera and classical, I still always come back to heavy metal. When I’m in good mood and want something to match, or feeling nostalgic and craving a particular sound, or simply need a “pick me up”, I pop some heavy metal in my CD player or MP3 queue, and am instantly in love all over again.

Hell, I “earned” my online moniker because of heavy metal. I was dubbed ‘Nitallica’ by a friend in high school because at the time bands like Metallica were, for years, the staple of my proverbial musical diet. I happily credit heavy metal as a constant source of inspiration for many of my digital and other artrial emissions over the years, as well as a positive focal point from which I drew strength during darker periods in my life. While I appreciate many different forms of music, what really quickens my pulse are the primal sounds of lightning quick guitar riffs, thundering percussions, screaming/thrashing vocals — simply put: metal makes my heart smile.

One of my co-workers just sent me the link to an article posted yesterday on USA Today‘s website:

Nothing else matters: Iraqi heavy metal returns

BAGHDAD — At a private dinner club on the banks of the Tigris River in Baghdad, Muthana Mani screamed threats at a wild-eyed crowd of young Iraqis.

“I’ll see you die at my feet! Eternally I smash your face! Facial bones collapse as I crack your skull in half!” he roared.

Two years ago, these kinds of threats in Iraq typically came from members of al-Qaeda, or violent sectarian militias. Saturday night, they were directed at 250 Iraqi fans of heavy metal music who fearlessly donned eye shadow, anarchist pendants and black T-shirts and came out of hiding to attend Iraq’s first metal concert in five years. Throughout the two-hour show, the crowd thrashed about, a sea of sweating bodies and banging heads. They screamed obscenities and broke tables. It was a scene that would have made any American metal fan proud.

It was also another indication of just how much security has improved here. When religious extremists controlled Baghdad’s neighborhoods, being a member of heavy metal’s unique subculture could amount to a death sentence, says Mani, 21, the lead singer of Brutal Impact, one of the two bands that played the concert.

“If I wore a T-shirt like this one,” Mani said in an interview after the show, pointing to a logo of a bleeding skull, “they’d have killed me.”

Read the whole article and watch the video here!

That is just freakin’ awesome. Freedom … and Metal. Two of my favorite things — and those Iraqi youths now have both.

Just one more reason to thank our troops!

Why I love NASCAR

My husband loves NASCAR. I mean he REALLY loves it. I’m sure if it were possible, he’d watch it 24-7-365. He follows NASCAR like I follow WordPress, Firefox, and Alabama football.

I mean, as a sport, it’s “OK”. (Hey, it’s not football! *g*) It’s fun to go to NASCAR events, but I can’t sit and watch it every week like he does. That said, I do tell people that I love NASCAR — and I do, but not for the reasons that most people think.

Courtesy of the Fox 6 News feed:

Iraq Veterans Humble NASCAR Drivers

Kyle Busch, Greg Biffle and other NASCAR drivers and team owners visited soldiers Thursday at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. They walked through the hospital wards and talked with the wounded, signed autographs, posed for pictures, and for Biffle, gained perspective.

“Everytime I come here, it’s a pretty overwhelming experience,” said Biffle … “This is my fifth year in a row coming. To see the dedication that these men and women have that have served our country and continue to serve our country, it makes you feel pretty small.

“Compared to what they have done and what they do for us … its a pretty grounding experience I think for all of us.”.

Read the whole article here.

If for no other reason, I love NASCAR because NASCAR loves our men and women in uniform.

We will not forget

Today my coworkers and I are throwing a surprise “bridal” lunch for a lady in our department who is getting married Saturday. All festivities and funnery aside, the general mood here is somber. Life may go on, but we still remember.

I remember where I was, and what I was doing. I remember thinking of those dear to me who were in and around the twin towers in New York. I remember hearing a coworker whose nephew worked at the Pentagon, calling, frantically trying to reach him.

With the nation, I watched helplessly as the North Tower belched black smoke and fire, burning what little remained of American Airlines Flight 11. I wept as images of United Airlines Flight 175 hitting the South Tower, then American Airlines Flight 77 hitting the Pentagon, emerged on the national news. I watched in horror as the South Tower collapsed, followed by the North Tower just a half an hour later.

Now, seven years later, my memory is just as clear as it was the day it happened. I pray that America never forgets, as I have not forgotten. I am proud to see that I am not the only one:

• Zoey says that she is not afraid
• Fausta remembers Joseph Angelini, Jr. on her blog and podcast, as well as here and here
• Michelle Malkin remembers
• Alexander City Outlook remembers Jimmie Ira Holley, an Alabamian killed in the 9/11 attacks
• The Birmingham News reports of memorial services held here in the city today
• 7.62mm Justice says the heartache still lingers
• BlackFive asks “Have you forgotten?”
• Villainous Company writes about the War of Words
• Hooah Wife and Friends remembers
• RightwingSparkle says Never Forget
• Soldiers’ Angels Germany remembers her visit to Ground Zero
• Blue Star Chronicles remembers Jason Thomas and Lt. Michael Warchola
• Darleen’s Place remembers
• And Rightly So can’t cry enough (I’m with you there, dear!) and posted this lovely poem
• Yeah, Right, Whatever will never forget
• CatHouse Chat remembers with “In Memoriam”
• Reasoned Audacity wonders “How Would Liberals Have Protected Us?”
• Theodore’s World remembers
• Nice Deb says Never Again
• See Jane Mom asks “Please observe a moment of silent rage.”

And last but not least, Chris Muir remembers in today’s edition of Day by Day:

We must always remember, and persevere.

Happy 4th

I hope everyone is having a happy Independence Day so far. Already I’ve seen a flurry of patriotic posts across so many of my favorite blogs this morning, but the best I’ve seen thus far would be my Cotillion sister Cassandra at Villainous Company who shares with us “Why I Am Patriotic: A Love Letter to America” — it’s a wonderful and beautifully written piece that, in my opinion, conveys so elegantly what so many of us truly believe.

Benjamin Franklin said, “Where Liberty dwells, there is my country.” Indeed this is my country, my home, my sweet land of Liberty. Enjoy today, sing the praises of those who have fought and remember those who are still fighting for the freedoms we enjoy.

May God bless us. May God bless those who defend us. And may God bless the United States of America, the land that I love.

Have a happy 4th!

Recommended Reading:

• How did you spend Independence Day?
• Why I Am Patriotic: A Love Letter to America
• Liberty Matters
• I am proud of my country because…
• Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death
• The Eternal Meaning of Independence Day
• The Eternal Meaning of Independence Day, part 2
• Independence Day!
• America, America, God Shed His Grace On Thee ….
• Fourth of July Tribute 2008
• The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America
• Happy Independence Day 08
• INDEPENDENCE DAY 2008 – The Necessary Holiday
• The Daily Dog: Independence Day.
• Happy Birthday, America
• Citizenship Test

Local Events

• Everything Fourth: Best spots to watch fireworks and more

Hearing it straight from the soldier’s mouth

Over on the Bama Angels site, I had posted information about the 1203rd guard unit from Dothan which arrived home today. The following is an article published this afternoon in the Dothan Eagle about their arrival, and includes an interview with US Army National Guard Spec. Cassie Benefield and a couple others in her unit, citing the importance of their serving in Iraq over the past year:

U.S. Army National Guard Spec. Cassie Benefield looked steadily away as she recalled the story of an Iraqi national she said told her how four car bombings a day had declined to just one a week in the same areas where Iraqi parents and their children could have clinched for the freedom likely known only to the American people.

It was the type of freedom Benefield had signed up with the U.S. military eight years ago to serve for, and from her first tour in Iraq, it was the type of freedom she believed she had shown the Iraqis was possible.

Benefield was one of around 170 national guardsmen of the 1203rd who returned from a year’s deployment to Iraq after completing more than 180 missions, 1st Sgt. Kenneth Moore said.

The tour was the first for soldiers like Benefield and Moore and at least the second for some other soldiers, including Sgt. Ronald Crooks 1st and Sgt. Todd Gibson.

Soldiers said the missions on every tour included the satisfaction of knowing they helped others, but the apprehension of how to go about proving to the Iraqis the U.S. soldiers were not their enemies was a task.

“The war wasn’t near as bad (as the first time). It wasn’t as hostile, but it was still bad enough,” Gibson said as talked of his second tour. “I’m glad to be back.”

Benefield said she believed one of the greatest accomplishments of the unit was the “better” repertoire it gained with the nationals.

“At first they were scared then they realized we weren’t there to take over, we were there to help. It’s an awesome feeling,” she said.

CW4 Mark Mackey said he believed the unit was able to make a difference with the Iraqi children.

“You give them a lot of school supplies, soccer balls, just to show the kids we’re not bad,” he said.

Many of the soldiers said they took from the tour the knowledge of how important America’s success in developments and programs has have been to the entire world.

“Here you can go get water and don’t have to sit around and purify it. I’ve learned you don’t take anything for granted,” said Spec. Jessica Wells, whose two young children lived with her father while she was deployed.

“I appreciate all the freedom we have and the choices we make.”

(Emphasis is mine.)

There you have it, straight from those who see it and live it on a daily basis — we ARE doing good over there! It’s not the first time I’ve heard or read that from a soldier … but I’m glad to that I’m seeing more and more of it in print and reported by the media!

Never underestimate those Seabees

My pal Cookie recently informed me of a project he’s been involved with. Working with the TSA, he noticed that “many active Military personnel who had been dropped off at the Airport to catch their flights to whatever duty station they were bound for, sitting in the terminal for many long hours, sometimes overnight.” It became obvious pretty quickly that during these long waits or delays, our fine troops could not even get a bottle of water, soda, or a hot cup of coffee. And certainly there was also NO entertainment (TVs, etc.) with which they could occupy their time. The USO was soon contacted to see about getting a “Military Hospitality Center/Lounge” for military personnel to use in the airport. Unfortunately the USO was unable to help.

Well, never tell a Seabee that something CAN’T be done!

With the Seabee motto, “Can Do” in mind, Loren (Commandant Marine Corps League, Emerald City Detachment), Leroy (US Army Retired) and Cookie (Navy Seabee Veterans of America, Island X-19) set out to change this!

Cookie details so much in his post, so please continue to read about this amazing project there!

Thanks to material donations and assistance rendered from many organizations, the Military Hospitality Room is slated to open July 3rd. I’ve no doubt the Grand Opening will be well-received and GREATLY appreciated by those in the military who have to pass through the Syracuse, Hancock International Airport in Syracuse, NY!

Great job, Cookie! Keep us updated!!

In remembrance, and an Alabama D-Day connection

Sixty-four years ago today, the initial landings of the Invasion of Normandy began. The invasion and establishment of Allied forces in Normandy, France during Operation Overlord in World War II sought to liberate mainland Europe from Nazi occupation.

There are countless stories from brave soldiers who took part in this historic event, but I would like to highlight two from my fair state: Elbert Adcock and Ambrose Underwood.

The Department of Veterans Affairs states that World War II veterans are dying at rate of more than 1,000/day, with their numbers quickly dwindling. According to Martin Morgan, historian for the World War II Museum in New Orleans, “…judging by the passing of the World War I veterans, we’re predicting they will all be gone by 2020.”

They are called the Greatest Generation, and they are fading fast. There are so many stories by these fine men and women who were there and together made history. My grandfather was one of them. Had I known then what I know now, I would have listened more to his stories and asked more questions — at least try to record his piece of history to share with the next generation.

Because soon, all we’ll have left are a few stories …

Another soldier goes unloved

I talk about Soldiers’ Angels all the time. Anyone who has spent any time around me knows how much my volunteer efforts for this great organization means to me. I’ll happily talk the ear off of anyone willing to endure my pestering. Most everyone listens politely. I figure even if they aren’t interested in joining, I want to at least reach them and convey that no matter what side of the fence they are on, they must realize that our soldiers need our support — whether or not they agree with the reason those soldiers are over there in the first place!

There was one particularly group of ladies I spoke with, one told me that she wished she had my energy. I wished she had my conviction. She wanted to help out, but said she didn’t have the time. I used to think that too. If you truly WANT to help, you find a way, you make time. Helping out in SA doesn’t have to mean you spend a lot of money. Sometimes it’s as simple as sending a postcard or a letter to someone thousands of miles away that is desperately waiting to hear from someone, anyone, back home!

Not everyone can do this, I get that … but there are so many OTHER ways to help out!

Anyways, what prompted this little rant was the following image posted to PostSecret this morning:

Click to enlarge

It absolutely breaks my heart to think of anyone over there feeling unloved, forgotten, neglected. You don’t have to agree with why the troops are over there, but appreciate them and their efforts!

Memorial Day

I hadn’t intended to post today, but there was too much great content in my feeds this morning to ignore. As I do every other morning, I started first with the cartoons. I have always loved Chris Muir’s Day by Day strip. Today’s was both sweet (if you’ve been following the storyline) and appropriate:

Next, a short ‘n sweet message from my favorite outspoken goth. Cookie’s place had a nice shot and a short background blurb about watchfires and introduced us to a hero that everyone needs to know about.

Rachel Lucas introduced us to her grandfather, a WWII hero. 7.62mm Justice has a great post detailing several heroes and has some great stories to share. BlackFive’s post today is short ‘n sweet, but suggests something I’ve been encouraging others to do: If you see someone in uniform, or know they serve, thank them. If you see someone you know has served, thank them.

The Soldiers’ Angels blogs had several very excellent pieces today, but I wanted to highlight a couple of them: “Are we worthy of these warriors?” by Vickie Mauldin, Grand Forks Herald and “10 Things to Remember about Memorial Day” by David Holzel. They also shared some news about an upcoming event partnering with Michelle Malkin, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Move America Forward, Gathering of Eagles, and many others as well as a request to give some support to soldiers who are patients in Germany.

Last but certainly not least, Merri Musings reminds us of a great quote by Dwight D. Eisenhower: “History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.”

I’m sure there’s tons more out there, but these are the ones that I thought needed some exposure (link love!). Feel free to add your own via the comments form below!

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