Veteran’s Day

Thursday the 11th of November, was Veteran’s Day here in the States. All across the Nation, Memorial Ceremonies were held to honor those who gave their lives for our country, as well as those who served, continue to serve and all the families.

Our State Veteran’s Cemetery is about 22 miles from our home. It is beautifully laid out, and quite comforting to walk through. A few thousand people came from across our state to remember, and honor the Military.

I took pictures and so did Hubby. We wanted to share with you these pictures, to allow you a chance to see, some of the wonderful men and women who served our Nation in the Military. The cemetery serves both the Military and their Spouses for burial.

I was glad I had on my big sunglasses, because I get quite choked up seeing the love around me. The love for Country, Family and Friends.

Hubby’s Veteran’s Day from Dackel Princess Maribeth on Vimeo.

A Flash From The Past

This morning I decided I would learn how to scan a slide with my super scanning machine. After all, when we bought the scanner a year ago, it was with the plan to scan in some of our old slides. Hubby has a ton and so do I. In fact, when my parents gave up their home years ago, I became the keeper of the slides.

I went to pick up the slides and in the box was a zip lock bag with a couple of slides in it. I guess that Dad must have had them out for some reason. Anyway, I kept them in the drawer of my desk hoping one day to scan them in.

Today was that day!

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The smallest child in the group is me. I was 8 years old, and I was playing Gretel in the Sound of Music. I remember that this was a lot of fun for me. I sang and danced and luckily, all of the adults were very nice and made the project a great experience.

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It’s funny looking back and seeing myself so confident and calm. I wasn’t at all nervous, and I performed like I’d been doing it all my life. It was only later in my life that I started to feel shy.

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This is probably one of my favorite pictures of my sister and me. I was joking with her that this was the last time that she was taller than me! I loved Melodie in that dress and my own dress, the chocolate brown one, was one of my all time favorites!

How exciting it is to be able to scan in these old slides. They’re like old friends.

The Reunion: Part Two

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Friday found us heading to Warm Springs, Georgia, for a tour of The Little White House. This was where Franklin Roosevelt went to enjoy the warm mineral springs, as a treatment for his polio damaged legs. In his last days, he was there vacationing and having his picture painted when he succumbed to a massive stroke. In some ways I can’t think of a nicer place to be when I leave this world.

Franklin Roosevelt unfinished portait

After the museum tour, we were escorted to The Bulloch House in the town of Warm Springs for a buffet luncheon. I am here to tell you all that The Bulloch House knows how to put on a real southern cooking smorgasbord! We ate until were thought we would explode! There was fried chicken, fried green tomatoes, lima beans (a favorite of mine!), corn bread, salad, cream corn, and a gingerbread cake with vanilla ice cream and caramel for desert.

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Okay, so I know I have just lost the Weight Watcher of the year award!

Because we drove our own car to Warm Springs, rather than ride on the charter bus, we were able to drive back to Columbus and spend a couple of hours at the Civil War Naval Museum there.  Why is there a Naval Museum so far inland? Columbus has a river, the Chattahoochee, and several ironclad ships were built there for the Confederacy. One of them sank just down river and was raised recently (what was left of it) and added to the museum. They have an excellent history of all the ironclads (Monitor, Merrimack, Etc.,) used in the Civil War, with many pictures and models.

ironcald ship

Friday night there was a dinner and speaker at the main hotel. He was an officer serving in Afghanistan. The men enjoyed his speech, but I think that many of us, who had not served in the military found it hard to listen to. Still, I admired his bravery and his service to our country.

Saturday morning we had our general meeting, and this is where we decide on future reunion locations. Next year we will meet in Corning, NY and the following year it will be in Pittsburgh, PA.

After lunch we changed into our evening wear and returned to the main hotel for pictures. I wore my little black dress, with bling, and I had done my hair and make up, so I wasn’t looking too bad.

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Hubby and I posed for pictures and then we headed back to the Infantry Museum with our friends, Jim and his wife, Gerry.

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We arrived before the others in our group, which proved advantageous, as we got a full table to fill up with Hubby’s friends from the old days.

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The food and service were spectacular at the Museum, and the program for the night was splendid indeed! Most of us enjoyed the steak, served with mashed potatoes and green beans, and molten lava chocolate cake for dessert!

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dessert

As we sat in the Infantry Museum, having our banquet and listening to the speaker I glanced around at all those wonderful people that I have known for so many years! It has been a blessing to me to have known these fine soldiers and their spouses.

Our evening ended with our glasses raised and a toast to the good health of all.

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The Reunion, Part One

I suppose there is no other way to put this, but going on vacation often is more tiring than if you stayed home and didn’t go! Of course, we saw many places and visited people that we only see once every year or two, so that makes all the hassle worthwhile.

Now that it is over I will explain the event a bit more. Hubby served in the early 1960’s in the Army. He was a fixed wing pilot on the Otter and the Caribou Aircraft. Twenty-five years ago a few of the men who flew with Hubby in Vietnam started an organization of fellowship for these men and their wives. We joined 22 years ago, and have attended as many reunions as we could.

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This year the Reunion was in Columbus, Georgia. Many of the men and their families were based here at one time or another. Hubby and his former wife even owned a home here. So there was a lot of reminiscing and a lot of touring around and visiting Fort Benning.

There is also the most fabulous museum dedicated to the men and women of the Infantry, right from the Revolutionary War to the present day. On Thursday we had tickets to tour The National Infantry Museum .

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Quite honestly I thought it would be totally boring and I had Hubby and our friends drive out so that we could leave early if it was as boring as I thought.

How wrong I was! What a totally wonderful museum. I felt full of pride for our country, and the men and women who have served it. The displays were authentic and tasteful and so well done.

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The time flew by as we received a docent-led tour of the museum and the World War II Buildings that have been moved to a site nearby. They had housed the Army forces at Fort Benning, and included a barracks, mess hall, orderly room and supply room. There was even a church which had been lovingly restored, and is still being used for weddings and funerals.

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Hubby and Jim in Mess Hall.

When our tour was finished, we hopped in our rental car with our friends, and went on base. Both Hubby and Jim had served there and we drove around, as they looked for familiar places. Sadly, the base is not what they recalled and I think we all left feeling a bit disheartened that such a fine base is being wasted.

That night we went out for “Real Bavarian Food”. About the only thing that was authentically German in the place was the beer! We all ordered a cold tall one, and enjoyed every gulp!

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I found that by the end of each day, all I wanted to do was collapse into bed and go to sleep. So forgive me for not writing everything out day by day. Trust me; I was on the go from early morning until late at night.

I will try to get it all written down before I forget. This was such a special Reunion and full of so many great times.

Stay tuned for Part two, tomorrow!

Part 2: Boston to Washington DC to Atlanta

We knew that we would not make the flights leaving directly from Boston to Atlanta, so we threw caution to the winds and went over to the regional carrier for Delta and got seats to Washington, DC! Delta had the same thought for a few other passengers and so we saw 8 passengers from our canceled flight at the gate.

We were boarded on a CRJ-50 and once the door closed I heaved a sigh of relief, thinking that we were finally on our way.

We took off in the rain and wind and after a short time we hit some really  bad turbulence! In fact, the woman seated in front of us said quietly, “Oh, sweet Mother of God, we’re going to die!”

I sat there thinking that she might possibly be right, and I grabbed Hubby’s arm to calm my nerves! The turbulence went on for some time and I must admit that my life passed briefly in front of my eyes, before I heard Hubby mumble, “pull back on the power”, to the pilots in the cockpit, who I know could not hear him.

Then, just as if they had heard everything that he said, the power came back a bit and the plane stopped lurching around!

The flight was uneventful after that and we came in and landed at Reagan National Airport right on time.

We hopped onto the next flight to Atlanta, and I was excited by the prospect of flying up the Potomac  River as we took off! I had never done that before. We got down to Atlanta after our connecting flight to Columbus had departed, so we rented a car in Atlanta and drove the rest of the way. We actually made great time on the highway, and the weather here was beautiful, warm and bright!

When we got to our motel we discovered that we not only got breakfast each day, but dinner as well, and since we both were hungry and exhausted, and arrived just before they stopped serving, we sat down and ate supper before settling into our room.

We’re having a great time and just to show you one picture from our day today, here are Hubby and I at the National Infantry Museum. What a great place!

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Happy Friday Everyone!

22 Years & Counting…

Today Hubby and I are celebrating our 22nd Wedding Anniversary! We have been so lucky. Although we’ve shared the ups and downs that life throws at you, we’ve always managed to get through it because we had each other.

We were friends for a long time before we fell in love. Perhaps that is the key to a long relationship. Being friends first.

Whatever it is, we are blessed and thankful to have shared this time.

Our 22nd Anniversary from Dackel Princess Maribeth on Vimeo.

Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart!

Thursday In New Hampshire

Today Hubby and I visited an exhibition of two WW II aircraft. The B-17 and the B-24. We were allowed to walk through the planes and take tons of pictures. So many, in fact that I actually put together a slide show.

What really hit me was how small the insides of the planes were. How these men were able to get around is totally amazing to me. Especially the area underneath the B-17, the Ball Turret, where the Belly Gunner sat. I looked and I just knew I could not have gotten in there. Or if I had gotten in, I never would have gotten out.

I spoke for a long time to the Belly Gunner of that plane, Smitty. He told us the story of when the plane had been shot down, and how he had lost his arm. He spoke kindly of the German Nun Nurse who cared for him. He told us about the struggles that the men went through.

I shook his hand with thanks, and by the end of the talk, I hugged both him and his wife.

I thought of all the young lives lost and also of all the lives saved by these heroic men. What a terrible time  in world history, and yet these machines that flew through the sky, primitive as they were, flown by these fearless men, conquered overwhelming evil and restored freedom to many parts of the world.

I was so pleased that I was able to hear about Smitty’s survival. He is a real American Hero.

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The pups and Greta got to go for a ride to the Vets office today so that Greta could get her stitches out. Everyone went wild for the puppies, and Greta’s stitches are now finally out. We returned home and I prepared a clean whelping box, set them inside of it, and noticed the little faces looking out over at me.

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Yes, we’ll be setting up that new box soon!


Great Day

My day was a full one on Saturday. I felt loved. You see I had my wonderful Hubby, all 8 of the dackels around me, plus several of my friends came to visit.

First my dear friend Alice came over from the great state of Vermont to visit me and the puppies. We had a great lunch, lots of puppy snuggles and enjoyed a lovely day. Here is a short montage from our time together.

Then just as Alice left another friend, who teaches in India, arrived with her pal and two of her kids. They were amazed at the dackels. Makenna and her sister came by, another neighborhood child, Jacqui and then my friend Dori and her boyfriend Bob came for dinner.

I was so busy, that I didn’t dwell on the fact that 24 years ago my life changed forever. Twenty four years ago, I had the worst day of my life, but lived to tell about it. You can read about it here.

No, today I lived. Happily and healthfully. Life was good.

Leaving On A Jet Plane…

By the time most of you check in and read this, Anneliese and I will be on our way back to the States. We’ve had an incredible time, seen some old and some new places, and met some great people!

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Uschi and I have talked until our jaws ached, watched movies, played with dogs and hopefully helped Anneliese become a Mommy.

But now I return home to Hubby and my other three babies. I sure have missed them. When I look back and remember how Hubby brought me here, as a new bride and showed me a city which will always remain special in his heart, I couldn’t help but wander around with my head full of the memories that we made here together.

But now I hug Uschi and Volker and say good-bye, thanking them both for all that they did. And I think how lucky we are to have each other!

All my bags are packed
Im ready to go
Im standin here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye
But the dawn is breakin
Its early morn
The taxis waitin
He’s blowin his horn
Already Im so lonesome
I could dieSo kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that youll wait for me
Hold me like youll never let me go
cause Im leavin on a jet plane
Dont know when Ill be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go

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