good night, all...

I am taking my sleeping bag and toothbrush to spend the night at church.
I will get my reward in heaven, and also at the gathering that will include food when we all get Tshirts that are printed with the VIP slogan: God Blesses Me When I Sleep in Church. VIP is a local ministry that is part of a nationwide program designed to keep families together. There are apparently no other local resources for people that will allow families to stay intact. We are carefully  instructed to not call these people 'homeless', but they are in pretty dire straights.
Just wanted to give you an opportunity to count your blessings.

Here's another: aren't you thankful that you do not have to go out in the fields and pick baby spinach leaves every day for your livlihood?
I have to be at Publix at 7:00 a.m.,on Monday, where I will be making salads and thankful that I am not the one who is out there in the hotness, bugginess, dirtyness picking the greens.

quick little road trip to SC

Went to South Carolina last week to visit my pen pal in Greenville. I met him when he called in 2004, looking for my dad. He spoke to my mom, who thought he was looking for my brother, so I got on the telephone and came to understand he was actually trying to locate his former commanding officer. Homer Bryant is part of a group of veterans from the Greenvile area planning to attend the dedication of the World War II Memorial in Washington in the spring of 2004. He called to invite his former CO to go on the trip. Mr. Homer was in the Army with Capt. Fluker when they were training at Camp Blanding FL, and Camp Robinson, AK. Cpl. Bryant continued to serve with him as a clerk in Co K, 263 Rgt,. when they were shipped to Europe. They were part of the 66th Division, shipped out of NY in Dec. 1944 and stationed in France during the closing months of the war.

I will always regret that I did not ask my dad to tell me about his military service, and get more information about the time he was on active duty. Most of what I know has come from the memory of Mr. Homer, who has been very helpful in providing information about their shared experiences. It has been such joy to have the opportunity to visit and spend time talking with him to learn more about personal experiences he had with my dad during those years. In the process of writing a biography, I have documented several memorable ancedotes the these two men shared those many years ago.

I cherish the second hand memories, and the precious friendship I have developed with this man in recent years.

Mr. Homer has recently admitted his wife of over sixty years into a nursing facility. She had begun forgetting, frequently loosing her balance, had a number of falls in their home, and was ultimately diagnosed with dementia. It is so sad to think about how lonesome he must be, trying to do everything she did all those years when they shared a home and life together. I know it must be heart-wrenching to be alone, and miss her - even when he is with her (he goes to visit every day) she is not really there.