Like A Rock- for Dave

My husband and I will be celebrating our 32nd anniversary in December.

Whenever I hear this song, I think of you Dave...

Like A Rock, by Bob Seger

I was eighteen

Didn't have a care

Working for peanuts

Not a dime to spare

But I was lean and

Solid everywhere

Like a rock

My hands were steady

My eyes were clear and bright

My walk had purpose

My steps were quick and light

And I held firmly

To what I felt was right

Like a rock

Like a rock, I was strong as I could be

Like a rock, nothin ever got to me

Like a rock, I was something to see

Like a rock

Twenty years now

Where'd they go?

Twenty years

I don't know

Sit and I wonder sometimes

Where they've gone

And sometimes late at night

When I'm bathed in the firelight

The moon comes callin' a ghostly white

And I recall

Like a rock, standin' arrow straight

Like a rock, chargin from the gate

Like a rock, carryin' the weight

Like a rock

Questions I Never Asked

In memory of my dad: 1917-1979

Recently I saw a TV show about the National World War II Memorial that opened in 2004 in Washington, D.C.

This memorial honors the 16 million members of the armed forces who served and the 400,000 of them who died during WWII. Its kinda hard to believe it took 60 years to get a memorial to honor all the people who fought and/or died in WWII.

My dad was one of the 16 million Americans who served in WWII. He was just a month away from being 24 years old the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.

My dad never talked about the war. Not WWII or the Korean War, which he was also in. The only time he mentioned the war was one time when I was a kid looking through a photo album with him, I saw a photo of a young man at the beach. I didn't recognize this man so I asked him, "Daddy, who's this?" He said, "That's Joe. He bought it at Pearl Harbor." Then he closed the photo album (even though we were only on about page 4) and walked out of the room.

With that simple act, I learned that it probably wasn't a good idea to ask my dad about the war.

Many years after he died, I completed a form to receive records of his military service from the National Archives. For $25.00 I got a HUGE stack of papers, not surprisingly, as he was in the Navy for about 20 years. I had a great time going through the chronology of my dad's service career, and learning for the first time what battles he was involved in, what medals he earned, and much more. The $25 bucks I paid for these records was worth every cent and much more!

Of course, I am kicking myself for not asking my dad more about WWII when he was alive. However, I didn't, as I wanted to respect his privacy, and because I thought we would have many, many more years to talk about such things. However, I never counted on him dying tragically before I could ask him about so many things, and before I had a chance to tell him he was the most remarkable man I have ever known.

Bush's Last Day-NOT

Well, I just checked the Bush countdown website. Talk about depressing! He still has 675 freaking more days to go! SIGH!!!!!!

Here's a link to the Bush countdown: http://www.georgewgirls.com/

Hope it doesn't depress you too much! Gee, that's almost 2 years from now! UGH! Heck, he can STILL do a lot more damage in that amount of time. Now that's depressing!

Stop Mad Cowboy Disease!!

Unlike my usual blog dither, this is a public service announcement I feel compelled to post. Click on the "Mad Cowboy" to see a close-up of Bush shooting holes in the Constitution, just in case you have been in a coma the last 6 plus years and missed the debachery!

Weather of biblical proportions!

Well, I've lived in Seattle for over 25 years, and I have to say, this winter stands out as one of the worst ever. I mean, it's bad enough it normally rains from mid-September to June (if you are lucky). But this past November it rained 15 inches, which was enough to put even the most hardened Pacific Northwesterner on their knees! Then the wind and snow hit, also of bibical proportions! Ye Gods!

I guess I could sit in my bathroom with all the lights on and my hair dryer blasting in order to get my minimum daily allowance of warmth and light. But then, think of the electric bills!

Gesh, it may just be cheaper to go to Hawaii. Oh!, to have warm sand between my toes, gently swaying palm trees over my shoulder, and a cool ocean breeze in my face!

Gee, only 6 more months till it MIGHT stop raining!