HOLIDAY WORDS: Neil Hoffmier writes us from Summerfield, Pa.,
sending along holiday wishes to “the ‘guys and gals’ of our
National Guard soldiers getting ready to deploy to Iraq.”
“Believe me, troops, I join most of our citizens in thanking
you for your services to our country. I, like a lot more citizens,
come from the ‘old school’ who love our country, respect and salute
our flag, sing along with our National Anthem and daily thank our
God we live where we do.
“You will be joining my grandson who is on his third tour and
hopefully we at home can support our ‘newly’ elected President for
‘change’ that will be good for our country and help block that
which clearly violates our civil liberties guaranteed by our
Constitution, and take the time to keep abreast of what is being
proposed. God bless, troops, and we pray for your safe return.”
In that same vein, we heard from “proud mom” Toni Lewis of
Bradford. “I just wanted to express how I feel about all the
support for the Charlie Co. troops leaving for Iraq on Jan. 2. It
is very heart-warming to see everyone involved. I am so proud of my
son and all the men and women who serve our country. God bless all
of them and their families.”
An ex-soldier, Pat Franco, Rew, writes: “Fifty years ago, 1958,
I spent Christmas in Bamberg, Germany, in the 3rd Infantry
Division.
“After a below-zero January and February in Fort Benning, Ga.,
we shipped over in May. They said we were the last division to go
overseas as a whole unit. After that, they used partial
replacements.
“We used the German barracks, and the war never hit there. I
believe because they didn’t have any industry.
“It had 28 churches, including two cathedrals. One was the Dom,
very famous.
“As I write this at 6:30 p.m., in the southwestern sky is, I
believe, a planet, but it’s very bright and looks exactly like a
Christmas star, almost cross-shaped.”
TODAY’S QUOTE: For Jan. 1, “Free speech not only lives, it
rocks!” said TV talkshow host Oprah Winfrey, 1998.
For Dec. 31: “Never joke with the press. Irony does not
translate into newsprint,” said Erica Jong, novelist, 1987.
Two great thoughts for 2009.
