Sunday Song, You Raise Me Up

If you would like to comment on the song, please wait for the Sunday post, which will be up shortly. I would love to read your comments or email about the music selection and I am certainly willing to take requests.

Letters Home

Partly Cloudy - Hi 111 Lo 85 for Baghdad, Iraq
Isolated Thunderstorms - Hi 85 Lo 65 for Northern KY, USA

Song of the week: You Raise Me Up, Josh Groban

Ramble:

In preparing for my Sunday post I read through various speeches- from our forefathers to President Bush. I kept finding my way back to President Reagan. His words are just as moving today as when he first spoke them. However, I wanted this Memorial Day post to be a little more personal so I went up to our loft and spent a good portion of the afternoon pouring over old letters that were saved by my Great Great Aunt Ethel.

My Aunt Ethel was the record keeper in the family. I received a birthday card and two dollars in the mail every single year up to her death. I was special as were all her nieces and nephews. It is my understanding that she had fallen in love once, but he broke her heart, so she never married. My grandmother has given me most of the photos from Aunt Ethel's collection and being the record keeper that she was, all the photos have first and last names, dates and the relationship of the person in the photo to the individual she gave the photo to.

This is a photo of my Great Great Great Grandfather. (click on images for a larger view)
I know this because---
Anyway, you get the point. She kept everything that was important- letters, photos, newspaper clippings, birth certificates and death notices- she was incredibly organized, fastidious, detail driven woman. She took an old roll of wall paper and mapped out our family tree... pretty ingenious if you ask me. I have her to thank for the letters below. The black marks are the last names of my family that I have blacked out on the photo copies I made to do this post- the originals are in tact with all her notes. Aunt Ethel even put last names on letters-- knowing (or at least hopeful) that someone in the family would want to know.

My Uncle Charlie passed away this past November and I posted about it him here. He did two tours of duty in Vietnam. He loved this country and never stopped fighting for her. Never. He loved the Corp. just as much as this country. He was a Marine his entire life- even when they made him retire. (click on images to enlarge and read)


My Uncle Steve (19 years old) and "Janis"





This letter cracks me up because Uncle Steve hates winter... he lives in Las Vegas now... Uncle Steve also retired from the Marines. As my memory serves me he left the Marines back in the early 80's and went to work for the railroad... found that he didn't like it and went back to the Corp. He retired as a Master Gunnery Sergeant.

A few thoughts...

I think we miss out on a lot because we don't write letters- email is great, but there is something to be said about receiving a handwritten letter- to recognize the handwriting of the envelope and anticipate what will be found inside. A letter takes more thought and are to be cherished. Most email ends up being deleted. Having spent the afternoon reading through family letters of those now no longer with us... it was as if they came back to life. I could hear their voices again.

A special thank you this Memorial Day to all the military bloggers I have gotten to know. You are so important. Keep writing. Keep telling your story. It is important and a way to document for your family and generations to come.

Friends of ours have a son that on May 19 graduated from high school. On the 24th he was headed to Fort Benning. Patrick's goal is to be an Airborne Ranger attached to the 101st. I can not tell you how proud I am. No... he isn't joining the Marines ;-), No... he isn't my son... No... I don't even know him that well... However, I do know that to volunteer to serve our country during a time of war is quite courageous and quite humbling for me. I thank God every single day for men like him. I pray that God keeps him safe.

We live in such an amazing country. I am so grateful to the men and women we will remember tomorrow. I am so grateful to those that serve presently. I am so thankful to the families of those that serve. I think a powerful way to remember those that served our nation is to thank those presently serving. Maybe you know a mom or dad of someone presently serving- write a letter and give it to mom or dad to be delivered in their next care package. Maybe you have to pick up a loved one at the airport... our servicemen are easy to pick out in a crowd... the high and tight haircut on a young man or the tightly coiffed ponytail on a young woman is an easy giveaway- a simple gesture of a handshake and two simple words- Thank you will make the difference...

Thank you.

Thank you.

You do raise me up.


You Raise Me Up, Music and Lyrics by Rolf Lovland & Brendan Graham

When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;
When troubles come and my heart burdened be;
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,
Until you come and sit awhile with me.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

There is no life - no life without its hunger;
Each restless heart beats so imperfectly;
But when you come and I am filled with wonder,
Sometimes, I think I glimpse eternity.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

Have a great week everyone!

Narcissist Extraordinaire

As Michael and I were channel surfing the other night-- we stopped and watched a few minutes of Ann Curry's interview with Angelina Jolie. Aside from Ann Curry gushing about how great Angelina is and interjecting how great she is, they talk about Angelina's new movie, A Mighty Heart. It is supposed to be the story about Daniel Pearl. You may remember him. He was the journalist that was kidnapped and murdered executed beheaded by Muslim extremists. Angelina portrays Marianne, Daniel's wife. During the interview you see how strikingly beautiful Angelina is... so one can't help but stop and watch for a minute...

Here are some excerpts from the transcript:

For Angelina, playing the role of Mariane was complicated.

Jolie: How do you play [it]? It’s like somebody said to you, “You know, your great girlfriend has gone through the most horrible thing in her life. Why don’t you stand up and show us what she went through and how it felt?” You can’t. You know? And it was hard. It was really hard. But she was great and she did just kind of disappear and say, “Just do it it how you feel.”

Curry: Did she kind of know that, “Hey, if I hang around, it’s gonna be hard”—

Jolie: I think she did...but I also think she genuinely doesn’t care about film.

Curry: No, she trusted you.

Jolie: I think she did trust me.

(Director Michael) Winterbottom put the actors together in a house in India for hours at a time, and started the cameras.

Winterbottom: We kind of hope that by filming in that house over five weeks, that gradually the actors would fall into relationships that were similar in a sense to the relationships the real characters had fallen into.

Angelina found herself improvising like she had never done before.

Jolie: Yeah. When I was emotional towards the end, he’d say, “If you don’t want me to follow you in, close the door. But if it’s okay, just leave the door [open].”

Curry: Because it got too heavy.

Jolie: It got real heavy. Or it just—something would happen where it would just be like, “Yeah, I”—yeah, something. You just couldn’t handle certain elements of it. But it was the only way we could close doors on Michael, but we couldn’t get out of the house.

Actor Dan Futterman played Daniel Pearl and was working with Angelina for the first time.

Dan Futterman, co-actor: She has that touch that some actors have that. You know how much preparation has gone into it. But in the work, it seems absolutely like the easiest thing in the world. She’s doing this accent that’s not her own. She was dressed in a way that’s not her, and a prosthetic belly. And she’s improvising. And it is the easiest—it seems, in working with her, it’s the easiest thing in the world.

And some people have that, and many actors, like myself, don’t. But I admire it enormously. There’s this feeling of being in the scene with her and also a slight bit of me being out of it, thinking, “You are so very good.”

The movie is a love story.

Ann Curry, NBC News: One of your co-stars says so many mean things were being written about you while you were filming the scenes in India that he stopped reading the paper because it was going to affect his ability to deal with your character on screen. How do you handle this?

Angelina Jolie: I’ve managed to just focus on other things. I mean, if anything, I get most upset because I wanna read a good paper first thing in the morning. And if I see a lie about myself flash across the front of the cover, I don’t think much of the rest of the newspaper.

My question... what legitimate newspaper would have an article about a celebrity on the front page? Weekly World News?

Ann Curry: I think most people have a hard time understanding how you can possibly deal with this spotlight you’re under. I mean, just to do this interview I’m told somebody was trying to climb the fence just to be involved in doing this interview, people wanted to interview me.

I don’t understand this crazy world you’re in. I only dip into it for a few moments and dip out. And so how do you even handle this? It’s crazy, Angelina. This is—this is—

Jolie: You’re really making me feel uncomfortable...cause I really felt it was fine.

For the complete transcript go here. And if you are so inclined... do a search of "Daniel Pearl video" and you can be reminded how awful these extremists are and how much they hate us... Make no mistake... they hate us... they hate the Jews... but unfortunately Angelina and her boyfriend, Brad don't get that.

So... the decapitation of a Jewish man is a love story.... I've gone to bizarro world... haven't I?...


On a lighter note... Heckler Spray reports Angelina plans to take a year off from filmmaking.

So make the most time of Angelina Jolie while you can, everyone, because soon she'll be vanishing for a long long time. And when Angelina Jolie is gone, she's gone - and judging by the last time she did something similar, she'll only pop up intermittently to get pregnant, rush off to live in Africa in a blaze of publicity, try to get as many photographers arrested as possible, call in the secret service over a memory stick, sell her baby photos to whoever's richest and generally be in the news ten times more than if she was actually making films anyway.

Heckler Spray - go read the rest... pretty stinkin' funny

Cross posted at Proud To Be Out Of Touch

Sunday Song, Let's Live for Today

That's What She Said

Sunny - Hi 99 Lo 76 for Baghdad, Iraq
Isolated Thunderstorms - Hi 79 Lo 58 for Northern KY, USA

Song of the week: Let's Live for Today, The Grass Roots

I had no idea how many songs I knew and enjoyed that were written and performed by The Grass Roots--- Midnight Confessions, Temptation Eyes, Sooner or Later, I'd Wait A Million Years. Why Grass Roots now? A deleted scene from the episode Booze Cruise in season 2 of the Office--- Creed Bratton (character name and real name in real life) does a talking head segment where he mentioned he was a member of The Grass Roots... This same scene shows him playing the blues... I understand why the scene was deleted... the line became a little blurry between fiction and reality. Then this season during the Benihana Christmas, Creed sang karaoke to his own song... Spinnin' N Reelin'... Too funny... By the way... on the album cover, Creed is on the bottom right and in the video he is paying lead guitar and standing on the left.

Ramble:

I have posted here before that I love The Office. This television show (along with Heroes) is my escape from reality during the work week. I adore the the characters--- I would be so lucky to work with folks like this...

First and foremost, of course I adore Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer)--- I want them to get together, but fear this will kill the show... you know... In watching the British version, we know they get together, but British television can be so much smarter... The Brits only keep a series for a couple of seasons... it always stays crisp and you keep yearning for more... better to do that than to have a Joanie Loves Chachi spinoff.... I was surprised that I also liked Jim's new love interest, Karen... she is a cutie patootie too. Rashida Jones plays Karen... Here is a fun little fact which I didn't know until this morning... she is the the daughter of Peggy Lipton (Mod Squad-- one of my favorite shows from the 60's--- I only saw this in reruns...never first run) and Quincy Jones. She apparently is getting her own show on Fox... so she'll be gone... John Krasinski is a cutie pie and I do have a crush on him... but that is a tad on the creepy side since he is not even 30....

Second, I love Dwight (Rainn Wilson)... I wanted a Dwight bobble head for Christmas... did I get one? No. My birthday has come and gone... Did I receive a Dwight bobble head? No. I love his talking head interviews:

How would I describe myself? Three words: hard working, alpha male, jackhammer…merciless…insatiable…

I did not become a Lackawanna County volunteer sheriff's deputy to make friends. And by the way, I haven't.

The Japanese camp guards of World War Two always chose one man to kill whenever a batch of new prisoners arrived. I always wondered how they chose the man who was to die. I think I would have been good at choosing the person.

I am greatly concerned about having a convict in the office. And I do not care if that convict is white, black, Asian, German, or some kind of halfsy. I do not like criminals.

Through concentration, I can raise and lower my cholesterol at will.

When my mother was pregnant with me, they did an ultrasound and found she was having twins. When they did another ultrasound a few weeks later, they discovered, that I had resorbed the other fetus. Do I regret this? No, I believe his tissue has made me stronger. I now have the strength of a grown man and a little baby.

Third, I love the entire ensemble---Steve Carell is magnificent as the bumbling idiot of a manager... They are all wonderful... However, my favorite character has got to be Creed... He is a nightmare... likes to steal, had to have been a hippy in the 60's, can apparently catch fish with his bare hands, he has a side business where he makes fake id's... Truly funny character...

The season finale was simply wonderful... Jan's boob job... and Jim asking Pam out... The fourth season can't get here soon enough... Ryan as Jan's replacement.... oh let the games begin... how will the date with Jim and Pam go? How will the relationship between Michael and Jan become even more dysfunctional? Will Dwight and Angela reveal their love for each other to the rest of the Office? Will Phyllis and Bob Vance of Vance Refrigeration get pregnant? Will Kevin's band Scrantonicity ever get a real gig? Will Oscar go straight? Will Toby divulge his crush on Pam? What about poor Kelly-- will she ever shut up? Will Stanley ever get that crossword puzzle finished and will he ever receive a raise? I guess I'll be watching season 1 & 2 for now and patiently waiting for Season 3 to come out on DVD. By the way... did I loan any of you Season 1? I can't find it.

Monday is Heroes season finale... I'll probably post about that next Sunday.... I love that show too, but I'm getting a little weary of the liberal lean and hint of conspiracy theory to the plot line....

Blogs and Links to Check Out This Week:

The Office - @ NBC

Creed Bratton - A great little website... He also has photos of all his beloved guitars

Creed Bratton Interview - on You Tube

Midnight Confessions by The Grass Roots

Have a great week everyone!

Sunday Song, Mama Told Me Not to Come

Listen to Your Mother

Mostly Sunny - Hi 103 Lo 77 for Baghdad, Iraq
Sunny - Hi 74 Lo 50 for Northern KY, USA

Song of the week: Mama Told Me Not to Come, Three Dog Night

I will always love Three Dog Night for reasons that have nothing to do with the band or their music. The song selection is a reminder of all the things Mom tells us... and we never listened... until... well until we learned the hard way... The video is for Michael...

Ramble:

A quick post to say Happy Mother's Day. I am pleased to report Mom and I had a good visit... It was nice and I will be forever grateful. So, because I want to enjoy this beautiful Sunday... I'd like you to read my favorite post about my mother--- I wrote this in July 2005 and it is called Reflection.

My Mother and I have a strained relationship. I believe a great deal of the stress on our relationship is cultural. However, we can thankfully discuss gardening, politics (she is a serious conservative), my niece and nephews, and everything Okinawan. My brother and I have joked that when we are in her presence, we automatically feel like we are 10 years old. I don't know how she does it. Michael can probably tell you better than I what she does to me. I suppose it is the classic mother/daughter relationship. If you have ever read Amy Tan's novel, Joy Luck Club or seen the movie of the same title, that's us... There is not a woman on this planet that makes me crazier. There is not a woman on this planet that I hold in higher esteem. Of all the women in my life, she is the one that I wish I could make proud.

God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers. ~Jewish Proverb

My mom is a never ending song in my heart of comfort, happiness, and being. I may sometimes forget the words but I always remember the tune. ~Graycie Harmon

If I had a single flower for every time I think about you, I could walk forever in my garden. ~Attributed to Claudia Ghandi

For the hand that rocks the cradle - Is the hand that rules the world.
~William Ross Wallace

My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.
~George Washington

Blogs and Links to Check Out This Week:

Anyone that knows me knows that my favorite plane is the C-130 Hercules... OK... OK... the one with guns really makes me smile... AC-130!! So, when I was perusing my Sitemeter report... I saw this guy... My heart skipped a beat... So, go visit Herk's View from the Sixty and Two. I think you'll like him, I know I do.

Mama Told Me (Not to Come), Three Dog Night

Want some whiskey in your water?
Sugar in your tea?
What's all these crazy questions they're askin' me?
This is the craziest party that could ever be
Don't turn on the lights 'cause I don't wanna see

Mama told me not to come
Mama told me not to come
She said "That ain't the way to have fun, no" uh uh

Open up the window, let some air into this room
I think I'm almost chokin' from the smell of stale perfume
And that cigarette you're smokin' 'bout scare me half to death
Open up the window sucker, let me catch my breath

Mama told me not to come
Mama told me not to come
"That ain't the way to have fun, son"
"That ain't the way to have fun, son"

The radio is blastin', some one's knockin' at the door
I'm lookin' at my girlfriend - she just passed out on the floor
I've seen so many things I ain't never seen before
Don't know what it is - I don't wanna see no more

Mama told me not to come
Mama told me not to come
She said "That ain't the way to have fun, son"
"That ain't the way to have fun, son"

Mama told me, mama told me
Mama told me, mama told me
Mama told me not to come (Mama told me not to come)
"That ain't the way to have fun, no"
"That ain't the way to have fun, son"
"That ain't the way to have fun, no"
"That ain't the way to have fun, son" (listen to me)

Mama told me, mama told me
Mama told me, mama told me
Mama told me not to come (Mama told me not to come)
"That ain't the way to have fun, no"
"That ain't the way to have fun, son"
"That ain't the way to have fun, no"
"That ain't the way to have fun, son"

Have a great week everyone!

Sunday Song, Driver 8

Here's another song from REM that I love--- It's probably my favorite. I remember seeing this performance when it originally aired on Letterman. Michael was so shy he wasn't even part of the brief interview. You know this is an older song by REM when you can't understand the words... Go watch and listen to South Central Rain.

If you would like to comment on the song, please wait for the Sunday post, which will be up shortly. I would love to read your comments or email about the music selection and I am certainly willing to take requests.

A Sailor's Prayer, Chief Petty Officer, Greg Billiter

Sunny - Hi 104 Lo 75 for Baghdad, Iraq
Sunny - Hi 71 Lo 46 for Northern KY, USA

Song of the week: Driver 8, R.E.M.

I always seem to find myself listening to R.E.M. on rainy days-- usually when I'm feeling a little blue. Older R.E.M. always seems to have a feel of yearning... a sadness that can not quite be identified... but it's there...just below the surface. Well, it wasn't raining when I selected this song, but I realized I neglected to post about one of our hometown heroes...

Ramble:

This past month we lost another local hero. He was a career sailor (or so it seemed spending 15 years with the United States Navy). I did not attend but thankfully, my friend Kyle went. And I didn't know this until recently but my Mother In Law also attended the service. This 36 year old man, husband, father, son, grandson... was part of the life of a dear friend of my mother in law. Both of Kyle and Patricia paid their respect and said a prayer for this hero that gave the ultimate sacrifice.

"During his first two tours of duty, Billiter dived for mines off the coast of Iraq. This (third) time he was the tactical commander in a convoy conducting patrols in Iraq when the vehicle he was in was struck by a rocket, Beck said. Billiter was severely injured and evacuated by a medical helicopter. He was later pronounced killed in action."

The rest of the article can be found here.

The thing is, Greg was doing what he wanted to do," Barry Billiter said. It was his life's work. He believed he was making a difference doing what he was doing.

How can you argue with that?

The rest of the article can be found here.

Greg, who his father said, saw himself as a peacemaker, would often talk about the positive things our troops are doing for the Iraqi people.

"There were roads being built," said Barry Billiter. "Schools built or refurbished, things of that nature."

Pat Billiter says Greg recently told her," I'm not making war. I'm making peace. By neutralizing bombs, I'm giving some people peace that might not know it otherwise."

The rest can be read here.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God."

Washington Post.

"On behalf of the President of the United States and the Chief of Naval Operations, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for your loved one's service to this Country and a grateful Navy."

Here is a link to photos from the Patriot Guard Riders in attendance at Chief Petty Officer Billiter's funeral service.

Blogs and Links to Check Out This Week:

If you visit one link... visit this one. It is Beliefnet. There you will find prayer circles for our men and women in uniform--- those in harms way. Say a prayer... put faces with those names. Click on each name--- take a good close look at that young man or woman that is keeping watch for us. Go... please... go now.

You Tube ~ R.E.M. Channel



Driver 8, R.E.M.

The walls are built up, stone by stone,
the fields divided one by one.
And the train conductor says
"Take a break Driver 8, Driver 8 take a break
We've been on this shift too long"

And the train conductor says
"Take a break Driver 8, Driver 8 take a break
We can reach our destination, but we're still a ways away"

I saw a tree house on the outskirts of the farm.
The power lines have floaters so the airplanes won't get snagged.
Bells are ringing through the town again,
Children look up, all they hear is sky-blue, bells ringing

And the train conductor says
"Take a break Driver 8, Driver 8 take a break
We can reach our destination, but we're still a ways away"

Way to shield the hated heat.
Way to put myself to sleep.
Way to shield the hated heat.
Way to put myself, my children to sleep.

He piloted this song in a plane like that one.
She is selling faith on the Go Tell crusade.
Locomotive 8, Southern Crescent, hear the bells ring again.
Field to weed is lookin' thin

And the train conductor says
"Take a break Driver 8, Driver 8 take a break
We've been on this shift too long."
And the train conductor says
"Take a break Driver 8, Driver 8 take a break
We can reach our destination, but we're still a ways away"


Have a great week everyone!