Month: May 2016

A Day To Remember

On By rvpatlivingyoungIn nonfiction1 Comment

I just read an article that started out saying “President Obama, you remembered Hiroshima, do not forget Pearl Harbor.”  I stood one day at Pearl Harbor looking out at the place where the horror of that day took place 75 years ago, and wept for all the young men and women, we as a nation, lost forever. We have a duty to honor those who died and those who went on to fight another day, and those citizens who bravely responded. May we always remember what took place on that day.

On the 50th anniversary of that infamous day, President George H. W. Bush honored those who were there. He spoke of the Arizona:

“Every 15 seconds a drop of oil still rises from the Arizona and drifts to the surface. As it spreads across the water, we recall the ancient poet: “In our sleep, pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God”. With each drop, it is as if God Himself were crying.”

Bush concluded his remarks 25 years ago with the following:

“The heroes of the Harbor…fought for a world of peace, not war, where children’s dreams speak more loudly than the brashest tyrant’s guns. Because of them, this memorial lives, to pass it’s lessons, from one generation to the next, lessons as clear as this Pacific sky.”

May we always remember, and pass on to our children and grandchildren, what took place this day…and during every war that has ever taken place….

 

 

Getting Closer..

On By rvpatlivingyoungIn nonfiction8 Comments

In preparing for my journey, I have gone through a lot of “things”. The other day it was pictures, and then I found a box of my varied writings from years gone by. I found one I had written about my brother in 1995. I would like to share that with you in honor of him. He died that year.  He would have loved my adventure…he and I had talked about packing by horseback into Wyoming, but it never happened.

It’s simply titled “My Brother”

He’s my big brother. No, we aren’t kids anymore. We grew up long ago. As a matter of fact, we both have children of our own, and grandchildren. But you know, he’ll always be my “big brother”.

I wish we could be kids again..just for a while

When we were kids, he teased me a lot. He had a special way about him that allowed him to con me into doing things for him, mostly things he just didn’t want to do himself. Of course I usually did them just because I loved him a whole lot, but I never would have told him that. He was my hero. He believed in me, and stood up for me when no one else would. I thought he was the most handsome, “neatest” guy in the world..next to Dad. As kids, he never told me he loved me either, but I knew.

I wish we could be kids again..just for a while

He has cancer now, and he is suffering a lot. I feel like I should be his big sister now, like I should be the strong one. But it’s hard, I’d still like to be the “little sister”. I wish he could put his arms around me, hug me real tight, and tell me again that everything will be alright. I wish it could be alright again..

I wish we could be kids again..just for a while

But then, maybe being kids again wouldn’t be so great. As adults, we learned to say “I love you” to each other. I hope and pray that he really knows how much I love him..and knows that given the choice, I would not have chosen anyone else to be my “big brother”