Some body has started to straighten some of these thoughtless and ungrateful people out. And I am even more grateful that it was someone serving in one of the branches of military.
Military paid too much ? You be the judge !
This is an Airman's response to Cindy Williams' editorial piece in the Washington Times about MILITARY PAY, it should be printed in all newspapers across America.
On Nov. 12, Ms Cindy Williams (from Laverne and Shirley TV show) wrote a piece for the Washington Times, denouncing the pay raise coming service members' way this year -- citing that the stated 13% wage was more than they deserve.
A young airman from Hill AFB responds to her article below. He ought to get a bonus for this.
"Ms Williams:
I just had the pleasure of reading your column, "Our GIs earn enough" and I am a bit confused. Frankly, I'm wondering where this vaunted overpayment is going, because as far as I can tell, it disappears every month between DFAS (The Defense Finance and Accounting Service) and my bank account.
Checking my latest earnings statement I see that I make $1,117.80 before taxes. After taxes, I take home $874.20. When I run that through the calculator, I come up with an annual salary of $13,413.60 before taxes, and $10,490.40, after.
I work in the Air Force Network Control Center where I am part of the team responsible for a 5,000 host computer network. I am involved with infrastructure segments, specifically with Cisco Systems equipment. A quick check under jobs for Network Technicians in the Washington, D.C. area reveals a position in my career field, requiring three years experience with my job. Amazingly, this job does NOT pay $13,413.60 a year. No, this job is being offered at $70,000 to $80,000 per annum... I'm sure you can draw the obvious conclusions.
Given the tenor of your column, I would assume that you NEVER had the pleasure of serving your country in our armed forces. Before you take it upon yourself to once more castigate congressional and DOD leadership for attempting to get the families in the military's lowest pay brackets off of WIC and food stamps, I suggest that you join a group of deploying soldiers headed for AFGHANISTAN; I leave the choice of service branch up to you.
Whatever choice you make, though, opt for the SIX month rotation: it will guarantee you the longest possible time away from your family and friends, thus giving you full "deployment experience." As your group prepares to board the plane, make sure to note the spouses and children who are saying good-bye to their loved ones. Also take care to note that several families are still unsure of how they'll be able to make ends meet while the primary breadwinner is gone -- obviously they've been squandering the "vast" piles of cash the government has been giving them.
Try to deploy over a major holiday; Christmas and Thanksgiving are perennial favorites. And when you're actually over there, sitting in a foxhole, shivering against the cold desert night; and the flight sergeant tells you that there aren't enough people on shift to relieve you for chow, remember this: trade whatever MRE (meal-ready-to-eat) you manage to get for the tuna noodle casserole or cheese tortellini, and add Tabasco to everything. This gives some flavor. Talk to your loved ones as often as you are permitted; it won't nearly be long enough or often enough, but take what you can get and be thankful for it.
You may have picked up on the fact that I disagree with most of the points you present in your opined piece.
But, tomorrow from KABUL, I will defend to the death your right to say it.
You see, I am an American fighting man, a guarantor of your First Amendment rights and every other right you cherish. On a daily basis, my brother and sister soldiers worldwide ensure that you and people like you can thumb your collective nose at us, all on a salary that is nothing short of pitiful and under conditions that would make most people cringe. We hemorrhage our best and brightest into the private sector because we can't offer the stability and pay of civilian companies.
And you, Ms. Williams, have the gall to say that we make more than we deserve? Rubbish!
A1C Michael Bragg Hill AFB AFNCC
IF YOU AGREE, PLEASE SIGN AND PASS THIS ALONG TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE AND SHOW OUR SUPPORT OF THE AMERICAN FIGHTING MEN AND WOMEN. THANK YOU.
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1. AB Shanahan, Kelly M. USAF
2. SrA Macdonnell, M USAF @ Travis AFB
3. A1C Jessica Brewer USAF
4.Ashley O'Kelley
5. D Rogers
6.A1C Clara J. Brucker USAF
7. Amn April L. Severson USAF
8. Amn David "Smitty" Smith USAF
9. A1C AnneMarie Anello USAF
10. A1C Bush, MIchael R. II USAF @ Charleston AFB
11. A1C Lewis, Michael J USAF @ CAFB
12. A1C Bilodeau, Stephanie USAF @ Dover AFB-> my add on...not to mention the hours we work. i hear rumors of us going back to 5 and 2-12's. 60 hours a freaking week. way insane
13. SrA Brower, McGuire AFB USAF
14. SrA Caufield, Andrews AFB, MD USAF
15. Angela Cushing
16.Amy Pickett PAFW to SrA Pickett Andrews AFB
17.Cindy Mitchell..Wife to SrA Mitchell..deployed
18. Nicole Smith, USAF veteran
19. SPC. Todd M. Dicken, USAR (Its about time someone said it!)
20. Ssgt. Jason M. Fox, U.S. Air Force
21. SrA Graham, U.S. Air Force
22. SrA Saludares, U.S. Air Force
23.Carlos Labra
24. SrA Alice Labra, USAF @ Lackland AFB
25. SPC Joanna Estrada, US Army, Fort Riley, KS
26.SPC.Vereen,Jarrett, Us Army Ft.Bliss,TX
26. SGT Brandyburg, Felicia , U.S. ARMY
27. SPC Postell, David, U.S. ARMY
28. SSG Williams, Virgil C., U.S. Army
29. SGT RUDD, Gordon R, U.S. ARMY
30. PFC Morris, Sterfanie, U.S. Army, Camp Hovey, South Korea
31. PFC Perry, US Army, S. Korea
32. SPC Owen, US Army, S. Korea
33. SPC Blake, John, U.S. Army, Camp Castle, South Korea
34. SPC Sinclair, Joseph D, U.S. Army, Camp Castle, South Korea
35. SPC Loforte, Michelle, U.S. Army, Fort Bliss, TX
36. SSG Offerman, Ft. Bliss, TX
37. GSE3 Bollmann, USN
38. DC2 Pettit, USN
39. MN3 Roewe, USN @ Sasebo, Japan
40. MN3 Harvey, USN Sasebo, Japan
41. MN3 ESPOSITO, US NAVY, SASEBO JAPAN
42. MNSN FRANTZ,MICHAEL C., USN< SASEBO JAPAN
43. MN3 Tassey, USN Sasebo, Japan
44. HM3 Peoples, U.S. Navy, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines
45. HM3 Schlunsen, US Navy, Naval Medical Center San DIego
46. HN (FMF) McGraw, US Navy, 3RD MED BN, 3RD MLG
47. CPL McGraw, US ARMY, 187th INF REGT(RAKKASAN) 101st ABN
48. Stacy W. Family Readiness Instuctor Army Reserves
49. Erin L. Navy GF, Marine sister, Army and Navy granddaughter
50. Andrea A. C., AF wife
51. Connie ~ Granddaughter of a retired Navy man, cousin to a few Army men.
52. A1C Muffley Casey S. USAF Minot AFB
53. A1C Beusch, James J. USAF Minot AFB
54. A1C Beusch, Dawn R. USAF Minot AFB
55. A1C Harris, Christopher A. USAF Dobbins ARB, Grandson of a great man who served his country in the USAF.
56. A1C McClain, Keith F USAF Minot AFB
57. PFC Trahan, Lucas E USMC, Okinawa
58. LCpl Johnson Jr., Darrel A USMC, Kansas
59. PFC baker charles H USMC, okinawa japan
60. Euchner,Yvonne
61. McKay, Michael (former USAFR and MOANG)
62.PFC honeysuckle dustin 82nd airbourne
63. nikki gibson- army wife
64. Daisy Shingleton-army wife
65. Spc william sego 82nd airborne fort bragg NC
66. Kylie Spence
67. SSG Mojica,Cesar (USAJFKSWC, Special Forces trainee)
68. SPC Harris, David - 82 ABN DIV
69. SPC Adamo, Paul - 82d ABN DIV
70. Nikki Johnson-Grandaughter of a Marine and a Fighter Pilot-North Carolina
71. Aaron Gagneur- 101 Airborne Division Air Assault
72. Jacob Sellers - 101st ABN Division Air Assault
73. Stacy Cozine - 101st ABN DIV (AASLT)
74. J. Busch - Panama City Beach Fire Recue (USN grand dad)
75. Kristin Parnell - Army wife and Air Force daughter
76. Angela Sammons
77.AOAN Applewhite- USN, NAB CORONADO
78. ISSN Lapham - USN, Norfolk
79. A1C Thielman- USAF, Ramstein Germany AB
80. SrA Wentworth-USAF, RAB GE
81. SrA Jones-USAF, Ramstein AB Germany
82. SrA Clark - USAF, Whiteman AFB MO
83. A1C Korf- USAF, whiteman AFB Mo
84. A1C Warren- USAF, Whiteman AFB, MO
85. A1C Pierce-USAF, Kliene Brogel, Belgium
86. K Brantley, USAF dependent Whiteman AFB MO
87. C. Johnson USAF
88. J. Dutcher USAF dependent, Whiteman AFB
89. S. Brown USAF, Whiteman AFB, MO AirForce Wife
90. SGT Daniels, Keisha-101st ABN DIV (AASLT)
91. SGT Rice, Ashly-101st ABN DIV
92. SPC Boucher, Samantha- 164th MP Co. Ft Richardson AK
93. Barbara Schultz- Army Mother
94. PFC Van Horn- 1102nd GSU Ft Richardson Ak
95. PFC Donnelly, Bobbie
96.PV2 Tavel, Gwynnne 212th MP CO Weisbaden Germany
97.PFC Miles, Darian 190th MP Co. Kennesaw, Georgia
98.PFC Howell, Jeffrey HHC STB Ft. Riley Kansas
99.PFC Scronce, Jacob HHC STB Ft. Riley Kansas
100. Wife of PV2-Parker, Latishia...Ft. Riley Kansas
101. PV2 Parker, Joshua... Ft.Riley Kansas
102. PV2 Crew Bechel...Ft Hood Texas
103. PV2 Roberts, Jay Ft. Hood Texas
104. PFC Workman,Eric Ft. Hood , Tx
105. Brandi~...........wife of Sgt Parker Fort Hood, Texas
106. Michelle.....ex-wife of SPC Neighbours and daughter of SGT Sahli- Ft. Hood, Texas
107. Kassi.....soon to be army wife of SPC Howie and daughter of retired Air Force TSGT BREWER Fort Hood, TX
108. KEVIN FREEMAN
109. Heather Brown...ex wife to a solider and mother of his daughter, father retired marines
110. Jamie Kouba... Proud wife of an Army PFC, Neice and cousin to many Army, Navy and Airmen... Ft. Hood, Texas
111. PFC Phil Kouba... Ft. Hood, Texas
112.Blair Tarbutton.... proud army fiance....Ft. Hood, Texas
113. Joshua Sanders...FT. Hood. TX
114. Amanda Winchester...proud finace
115. James Harang...USA Ft. Hood, Tx
116 Corinne Harang... wife to soldier FT. Hood, TX
117. Lisa Haussner..... Proud Mother of Airman Cory Haussner and Airwoman Aimee Haussner in the United States Air Force
118. Kat Wissinger... Proud Army Wife, Ft Campbell KY
119. SrA Aimee Jewell Haussner
120. A1C Cory Dale Haussner
121. A1C Holly Tijerina USAF - Nellis AFB, Nevada
122. SSGT Robert Ensley USAF- Nellis AFB Nevada
123.A1C Jacob Peterson USAF-Nellis AFB,Nevada
124. A1C Greg Stethem, USAF- Luke AFB, AZ.
125. A1C James Burgos, USAF- LUKE AFB, AZ
126. A1C Luke Blackwell, USAF- LUKE AFB, AZ
...noise when it was you who decided to live near an Air Force base
Luke AFB is west of Phoenix and is rapidly being surrounded by civilization that complains about the noise from the base and its planes, forgetting that it was there long before they were. A certain lieutenant colonel at Luke AFB deserves a big pat on the back. Apparently, an individual who lives somewhere near Luke AFB wrote the local paper complaining about a group of F-16s that disturbed his/her day at the mall. When that individual read the response from a Luke AFB officer, it must have stung quite a bit. The complaint: "Question of the day for Luke Air Force Base: Whom do we thank for the morning air show? Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11 a.m., a tight formation of four F-16 jets made a low pass over Arrowhead Mall, continuing west over Bell Road at approximately 500 feet. Imagine our good fortune! Do the Tom Cruise-wannabes feel we need this wake-up call, or were they trying to impress the cashiers at Mervyns early bird special? Any response would be appreciated." The response: Regarding "A wake-up call from Luke's jets" (Letters, Thursday): On June 15, at precisely 9:12 a.m., a perfectly timed four-ship flyby of F-16s from the 63rd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base flew over the grave of Capt. Jeremy Fresques. Capt. Fresques was an Air Force officer who was previously stationed at Luke Air Force Base and was killed in Iraq on May 30, Memorial Day. At 9 a.m. on June 15, his family and friends gathered at Sunland Memorial Park in Sun City to mourn the loss of a husband, son and friend. Based on the letter writer's recount of the flyby, and because of the jet noise, I'm sure you didn't hear the 21-gun salute, the playing of taps, or my words to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques as I gave them their son's flag on behalf of the President of the United States and all those veterans and servicemen and women who understand the sacrifices they have endured. A four-ship flyby is a display of respect the Air Force pays to those who give their lives in defense of freedom. We are professional aviators and take our jobs seriously, and on June 15 what the letter writer witnessed was four officers lining up to pay their ultimate respects. The letter writer asks, "Whom do we thank for the morning air show?" The 56th Fighter Wing will make the call for you, and forward your thanks to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques, and thank them for you, for it was in their honor that my pilots flew the most honorable formation of their lives.
Bill Gates - Love him or hate him, he sure hits the nail on the head with this! To anyone with kids of any age, here's some advice.
Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.
Rule 1 : Life is not fair - get used to it!
Rule 2 : The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.
Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.
Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your
Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.
Rule 6 : If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
Rule 7 : Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.
Rule 8 : Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
Rule 9 : Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.
Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually
have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.
If you agree, pass it on.
If you can read this - Thank a teacher!
If you are reading it in English -Thank a soldier!
THIS IS A TRUE STORY THAT CAME OFF OF SPORTS ILLUSTRATED AND THERES MORE VIDEOS ON HIM ON UTUBE BUT THE LINK AT THE END DIRECTS YOU TO ONE OF THEM... THIS IS THE STORY FROM THE MAGAZINE....
I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay for their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots. But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck.
Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in
marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day.
Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike. Makes taking your son bowling look a little lame, right? And what has Rick done for his father? Not much--except save his life.
This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago, when Rick was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs. ``He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life;'' Dick says doctors told him and his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. ``Put him in an institution.'' But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was anything to help the boy communicate. ``No way,'' Dick says he was told. ``There's nothing going on in his brain.'' "Tell him a joke,'' Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a lot was going on in his brain. Rigged up with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? ``Go Bruins!'' And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the school organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, ``Dad, I want to do that.'' Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described ``porker'' who never ran more than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried. ``Then it was me who was handicapped,'' Dick says. ``I was sore for two weeks.''
That day changed Rick's life. ``Dad,'' he typed, ``when we were running, it felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!'' And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon. ``No way,'' Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then they found a way to get into the race officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the qualifying time for Boston the following year.
Then somebody said, ``Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?'' How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick tried. Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii. It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you think?
Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? "No way,'' he says. Dick does it purely for ``the awesome feeling'' he gets seeing Rick with a cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.
This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time'? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992--only 35 minutes off the world record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the time.
``No question about it,'' Rick types. ``My dad is the Father of the Century.'' And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries was 95% clogged. ``If you hadn't been in such great shape,'' one doctor told him, ``you probably would've died 15 years ago.'' So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.
Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass., always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day. That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy. ``The thing I'd most like,'' Rick types, ``is that my dad would sit in the chair and I would push him once.''
Here's the video....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryCTIigaloQ
and here are some other videos about this story:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D52rJd9GX10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eloleZUkCdY
PLEASE share this with as many people as possible, its such a beautiful story that it brought tears to my eyes, please spread the joy, happiness, and INSPIRATION that this brings to people
this isn't chain mail, its just a sharing of a truly touching story that i believe everyone should know about so please when u repost this add ur name to the list if it touched you
i hope to someday maybe show Dick and Rick how many people were moved by their story
and may god bless all of you
well i guess i'll start it off:
1. Luke Blackwell
never give up on any helpful action no matter how small it may seem, u never know how big it may actually become
One day, when I was a freshman in high school,
I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.
His name was Kyle.
It looked like he was carrying all of his books.
I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?
He must really be a nerd."
I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends
tomorrow afternoon),so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.
As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.
They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so
he landed in the dirt.
His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet
from him.
He looked up and I awe this terrible sadness in his eyes
My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him and as he crawled around
looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye.
As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks. "
They really should get lives.
" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"
There was a big smile on his face.
It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.
I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.
As it turned out, he lived near me, So I asked him why I had never seen him
before.
He said he had gone to private school before now.
I would have never hung out with a private school kid before.
We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.
He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.
I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends
He said yes.
We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked
him, and my friends though the same of him.
Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.
I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious
muscles with this pile of books everyday!
"He just laughed and handed me half the books.
Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.
When we were seniors, we began to think about college.
Kyle decided on Georgetown , and I was going to Duke.
I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a
problem.
He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football
scholarship.
Kyle was valedictorian of our class.
I teased him all the time about being a nerd.
He had to prepare a speech for graduation.
I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up the re and speak
Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that
really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked
good in glasses. He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.
Boy, sometimes I was jealous.
Today was one of those days.
I could see that he was nervous about his speech.
So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"
He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled
"Thanks," he said.
As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began "Graduation is a
time to thank those who ! Helped you make it through those tough years. Your
parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your
friends... I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is
the best gift you can give them.
I am going to tell you a story."
I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first
day we met.
He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.
He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to
do it later and was carrying his stuff home.
He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile
"Thankfully, I was saved.
My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."
I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us
all about his weakest moment.
I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.
Not until that moment did I realize its depth.
Never underestimate the power of your actions.
With one small gesture you can change a person's life.
For better or for worse.
God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way.
U.-you really like to chill
K.-You're wild and crazy
E.-Damn good kisser
A : You like to drink.
B : You like people.
C : You are realy silly.
D : You like to drink.
E : Damn good kisser.
F : you are dead sexy.
G : You never let people tell you what to do.
H : You have a very good personality and looks.
I : You have a fine ass J : people adore you.
K : You're wild and crazy.
L : Everyone loves you.
M: Best kisser ever
N : You live life for fun.
O: you are one of the best in bed
P : You are popular with all types of people.
Q : You are a hypocrite.
R : Fuckin crazy
S : Easy to fall in love with.
T : You're loyal to those you love.
U : You really like to chill.
V : You are not judgemental.
W : You are very broad minded.
X : You never let people tell you what to do.
Y : one of the best damn bf/gf ne one could ask for.
Z : Always ready.
The universe speaks in many languages, but only one voice. The language is not Narn, or Human, or Centauri, or Gaim or Minbari It speaks in the language of hope It speaks in the language of trust It speaks in the language of strength and the language of compassion In the language of the heart and the language of the soul. But always it is the same voice It is the voice of our ancestors, speaking through us, And the voice of our inheritors, waiting to be born It is the small, still voice that says "We are one No matter the blood, no matter the skin, No matter the world, no matter the star: We are one No matter the pain, no matter the darkness No matter the loss, no matter the fear We are one." Here, gathered together in common cause, we agree to recognize this singular truth: That we are one and this singular rule: That we must be kind to one another Because each voice enriches us and ennobles us and each voice lost diminishes us. We are the voice of the Universe, the soul of creation, the fire that will light the way to a better future. We are one. We are one.
details his experiences when given the opportunity to fly in a F-14 Tomcat. If
you aren't laughing out loud by the time you get to "Milk Duds," your sense of
humor is broken.
"Now this message is for America's most famous athletes:
Someday you may be invited to fly in the back-seat of one of your
country's most powerful fighter jets. Many of you already have .. John Elway,
John Stockton, Tiger Woods to name a few. If you get this opportunity, let me
urge you, with the greatest sincerity...
Move to Guam. Change your name. Fake your own death!
Whatever you do Do Not Go!!! I know.
The U.S. Navy invited me to try it. I was thrilled. I was pumped. I
was toast! I should've known when they told me my pilot would be Chip (Biff)
King of Fighter Squadron 213 at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach.
Whatever you're thinking a Top Gun named Chip (Biff) King looks like,
triple it. He's about six-foot, tan, ice-blue eyes, wavy surfer hair,
finger-crippling handshake -- the kind of man who wrestles dyspeptic alligators
in his leisure time. If you see this man, run the other way. Fast.
Biff King was born to fly. His father, Jack King, was for years the
voice of NASA missions. ("T-minus 15 seconds and counting ." Remember?) Chip
would charge neighborhood kids a quarter each to hear his dad. Jack would wake
up from naps surrounded by nine-year-olds waiting for him to say, "We have a
liftoff"
Biff was to fly me in an F-14D Tomcat, a ridiculously powerful $60
million weapon with nearly as much thrust as weight, not unlike Colin
Montgomerie. I was worried about getting airsick, so the night before the flight
I asked Biff if there was something I should eat the next morning.
"Bananas," he said.
"For the potassium?" I asked.
"No," Biff said, "because they taste about the same coming up as they do
going down."
The next morning, out on the tarmac, I had on my flight suit with my
name sewn over the left breast. (No call sign -- like Crash or Sticky or
Leadfoot .. but, still, very cool.) I carried my helmet in the crook of my arm,
as Biff had instructed. If ever in my life I had a chance to nail Nicole
Kidman, this was it.
A fighter pilot named Psycho gave me a safety briefing and then fastened
me into my ejection seat, which, when employed, would "egress" me out of the
plane at such a velocity that I would be immediately knocked unconscious.
Just as I was thinking about aborting the flight, the canopy closed over
me, and Biff gave the ground crew a thumbs-up. In minutes we were firing nose
up at 600 mph. We leveled out and then canopy-rolled over another F-14.
Those 20 minutes were the rush of my life. Unfortunately, the ride
lasted
80. It was like being on the roller coaster at Six Flags Over Hell.
Only without rails. We did barrel rolls, snap rolls, loops, yanks and banks.
We dived, rose and dived again, sometimes with a vertical velocity of 10,000
feet per minute. We chased another F-14, and it chased us.
We broke the speed of sound. Sea was sky and sky was sea. Flying at 200
feet we did 90-degree turns at 550 mph, creating a G force of 6.5, which is to
say I felt as if 6.5 times my body weight was smashing against me, thereby
approximating life as Mrs. Colin Montgomerie.
And I egressed the bananas.
And I egressed the pizza from the night before.
And the lunch before that.
I egressed a box of Milk Duds from the sixth grade.
I made Linda Blair look polite. Because of the G's, I was egressing
stuff that never thought would be egressed.
I went through not one airsick bag, but two.
Biff said I passed out. Twice. I was coated in sweat. At one point, as
we were coming in upside down in a banked curve on a mock bombing target and the
G's were flattening me like a tortilla and I was in and out of consciousness, I
realized I was the first person in history to throw down.
I used to know 'cool'. Cool was Elway throwing a touchdown pass, or
Norman making a five-iron bite. But now I really know 'cool'. Cool is guys
like Biff, men with cast-iron stomachs and freon nerves. I wouldn't go up there
again for Derek Jeter's black book, but I'm glad Biff does every day, and for
less a year than a rookie reliever makes in a home stand.
A week later, when the spins finally stopped, Biff called. He said he
and the fighters had the perfect call sign for me. Said he'd send it on a patch
for my flight suit.
What is it? I asked.
"Two Bags."
Three wishes
Engineer -- are working together one day. They come across a lantern
and a Genie pops out of it. "I will give each of you one wish, which is
three Wishes total," says the Genie.
The Canadian says, "I am a farmer, my dad was a farmer, and my son
Will also farm. I want the land to be forever fertile in
Canada."Pooooof!
With the blink of the Genie's eye, the land in Canada was forever made
Fertile for farming.
Osama bin Laden was amazed, so he said, "I want a wall around
Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran so that no infidels, Jews or Americans can
Come into our precious state." Pooooof! Again, with the blink of
the Genie's Eye, there was a huge wall around those countries.
The American engineer says, "I am very curious. Please tell me more
About this wall." The Genie explains, "Well, it's 5000 feet high, 500
Feet thick and completely surrounds the countries. Nothing can get in
or Out -- it's virtually impenetrable."
The American engineer says, "Fill it with water."
This is by a friend I went to highschool with, she's a beautiful girl inside and out, but she's painfully shy. When I read this and saw she wrote it I just stopped for a sec and realized how powerful this poem is, even if someone else had written it, but it also gave me a lot more insight to who she was than what she showed to me, which what she showed me was a lot more then she showed most other people, she's an amazing person. But this poem just brings feelings of pride and love for our nation. It's Kristen's poem,
but i feel it should be shared with all of America, so i'm gonna start it's unveiling(hope i spelled that right) and let you all read it and feel those feelings.
Freedom Song
Rise up! Stand all! Proclaim aloud!
We are Americans. The brave. The proud.
We've thought hard and fought hard;
Therefore freedom still remains.
Our lives stand as beacons
To the liberty countless have died to gain
Hated are we by many the unkind,
Yet we welcome strangers to find harbour, safety, and peace of mind.
Still all around us we never cease to find
Our enemies clearly stretched before us
And hidden in clandestine lines
Rise up. Will we?
Of course! No doubt!
We will bind together
And run the enemy out!
Against our nations who will stand?
No one, not even Satan. And certainly no man.
Some will try but not succeed.
For by God's hand, we have been bought and freed.
By Kristen Dalton
too easily i fall in love,
desiring it,
wondering if i'll ever obtain it,
wondering if i'll ever find the true kind,
so alone i feel sometimes,
no one so close to me i can tell them anything,
tell them anything and know they wont change their feelings about me at all in a negative way,
someone i can bare my soul,
and know they will hold it and nurture it as if it was their own,
that it is as important to them as a peice of their own self is,
and they also feel safe because i nurture the part of them they have bared to me,
to me that is true love,
when two people hold a peice of the other so close to their own soul that the two become linked souls,
almost becoming a single soul with two identities,
i feel i need this in my life therefore i try and find it before its actually there,
i try to make myself feel love for this girl, this woman,
and worse for me is the part that i understand myself so completely,
so unusually well and more than most people know themselves,
that i actually do start to love this person,
to easily i fall in love,
and too easily i let it go,
for i am fooled into trying to make my love happy by letting them free,
when i shud be holding them tight, for love in any form is hard to come by,
i feel love is needed in my life,
otherwise i have no purpose,
a hopeless romantic i am,
my life revolves around my love,
hopefully my love can be found to be true,
and that true love will never be out of my care, my sight,
or my heart,
for my heart is my soul and my soul is love
and may fate have blessed me with a true love,
with which to give my life a beautiful, and all fullfilling purpose
lemme know what yall think about the advice:
"he shud only thinkin about the fact that he's sharin the most intimate moment that any human soul can share with another and he shud be happy that he's doing this with the girl he loves, otherwise if he's jut in this for the booty, which i really hope he's not(for ur sake cuz u seem really nice) then u need to leave him, but it sounds like u both feel really good abut each other so i think and hope yall have no problems and that yall shar that beautiful moment with each other and and are happy with the outcome."
hey yall I saw everyone else putting some poetry up so I think I should to
I'm kind of a romantic so it's about love
here goes:
i love her,
its hard to explain,
in her words,
there's music,
she's so far away,
yet already here,
i almost feel her in my arms,
and it feels so sweet,
i think about her,
when i dont hear her words,
and when i do,
to stare into her eyes,
would be to see breathtaking beauty,
i cant wait till the time when she will fully be with me
