27 Years Ago Today

Did you forget this anniversary? Many people maintain that this is when the war against Islamofascism began. Only, we didn't know or recognize it.



If only we had struck back then. Maybe, just maybe, 9/11 would not have happened.

But we'll never know, will we?

Just know this, all who were killed in that barracks 27 years ago are not forgotten here at PYY.

Another Blast From The Past

Hopefully. I will get finally get a small measure of closure from my best friend's recent death tomorrow, when we will attend his memorial service. There was no funeral, so there hasn't been an opportunity for his family and friends to comfort one another. We have had to continue with our daily lives and somehow manage to cope with the thoughts, the memories, and most of all the pain.

For some reason, I have always been one who people seek out when they are troubled, the one they speak to when they are grieving. I always seem to know what to say because I became acquainted with grief as a young man. It's nothing I do, the words just seem to come naturally. And if only for a little while, they usually seem to feel a little better.

It's not going to be easy this time around, for I am not sure I will know what to say. Maybe it will be my time to seek comfort by just being in the presence of the many who will miss him.



The love will fill the room. The people will mourn and they will comfort each other. But at some point, the time will pass and they will all go back home to start the process of picking up the pieces and resuming their lives. The service will be over, but the grief will linger.

But it will get better with time. If we are patient and steadfast, it always does.

Remembering D-Day

Sixty-six years ago today, this prayer was heard over the radios across this nation:



Imagine how unhinged the Left would become, if a President were to speak these words today. Obama would not do it. And if George Bush would have done anything remotely like this, he would have been maligned even more then he already was.

Today.....it is MY prayer that these brave men did not fight this battle (and the subsequent ones) in vain.

Eight Years Ago

I was at work. At first, it was a day not unlike any other. I remember it being a sunny day, with nothing unusual happening on the way in. But by lunchtime, the events of that fateful day forever changed the way I think, the way I look at things.

I remember the shock on the faces of the people I came in contact with, the disbelief and the pain. Then, I remember the jubilant celebrations in Mideastern countries and China. It was at that time, I got mad.

I am still angry....and sad.

I will never forget. Will you?

Holocaust Remembrance Day

Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day. I heard and read in some places that it was yesterday and by some accounts, it's a week-long commemoration. But in the grander scheme of things, it really doesn't matter as long as we pause and give some thought to it.

Yesterday, some people listening to the Jew-hating Iranian President let him know what they thought of him, by causing a minor distraction for a moment. Two people even threw something at him, with only one getting close. It didn't look to be a very dangerous object from where I was sitting, but the great thing for me was the look on his face. He didn't seem to care for it. He had a slight smile but it didn't appear to be from amusement.

Many have yet to forget that dark period in the history of mankind. Some, like this bozo, think it never happened and are determined to rewrite history. Others who were there may not be with us today. So, remembering is something we try to do, so that we may never again see the kind of evil that generation was forced to endure. It's a sad commentary that we must have this day, as it picks the scabs of the wounds of those who suffered through it. But as long as jerks like Ahmadinejad are given a platform to speak hatreds, it is badly needed.

But we don't need a day or a week to call it into our minds. We can remember, educate, and teach this anytime. For some vacation ideas for families with school age children (or adults alone), here are a couple:

The National Holocaust Museum is located in Washington DC. It always makes a good stop while visiting the nation's capital.

But for those who cannot get there and may be traveling through Indiana in the near future, there is a good Holocaust museum in Terre Haute. If you are on I-70 going in either direction sometime, you may want to take an afternoon and see CANDLES, founded by a survivor of Mengele's experiments in Auschwitz. It's not far from the interstate and would make a good educational stop on a Midwest vacation.

Some onerous bastard tried to burn it down a few years back, but it survived the fiery inferno (as did its founder in the real inferno created by the Nazis). It just goes to show that whatever evil men and women may do, the truth can and will be preserved and will prevail.

My hope is that this will never happen in my lifetime, but who knows whether or not I will get that wish. One thing is more certain. If the world is not careful, some of us who read these words today will see this kind of onslaught again. When this generation dies off, so will the freshness of this history. And I so think the tendency will be to forget or play the entire thing down, so that it becomes minimized as a real event.

Like I said, I pray I never see it.

Some Perspective

Here and in other forums, we talk about some things that we all deem to be pretty important. And the truth be known, they are. But in the grand scheme of things, there are times when these things shrink exponentially in size. It is at that time, they become unimportant.

If you really want to read something important and want to put some real perspective into this thing we call life, take a moment and read this essay by Mike Gallagher.

Dan Fogelberg Dies At 56

Here is the story.

He had been battling cancer for quite awhile. But down the stretch, the "leader of the band" was not able to fight it anymore. He was one of the defining artists of the soft-rock genre and he will be sorely missed by everyone that knew him, as well as those that loved his music.







May he rest in peace.

Remembering :The Twenty Year Anniversary Of A Monumental Speech

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the now famous Ronald Reagan speech, where he encouraged Secretary Gorbachev to "tear down this wall". That wall fell later after he was out of office, but the close proximity of the words and the deeds lead many to believe that this one speech was very instrumental in the dream becoming a reality.

Growing up during the Cold War, no one really gave much thought that they'd ever see a reunited Germany, much less the fall of the Iron Curtain. But, Reagan had a vision and wanted to see that vision become reality, to facilitate a brighter hope and future for those that lived under the oppressive Soviet empire and create a more peaceful world.

How much of that came because of him will no doubt be the subject of many debates well into the future. Where a person stands on that issue will depend entirely on the politics of that particular person. But to deny that Reagan played any part in that event, simply denies the reality of the situation.

Here is an interesting article on that speech and how it compares and contrasts with some others.

Also here is a list of 10 interesting facts about some other famous presidential speeches.