Mornin' Cuzzies, Great big beautiful day here.....not a cloud in the sky! For some reason I was never in the habit of doing anything special on Memorial Day......it was always just one of those lazy days where everyone caught up w/ themselves and had a little sigh of relief from the daily stuff. In December, 1941, when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, everyone and their dawg joined the military immediately. The cut off age as I remember was 40 yrs. old, so Daddy who was in his late 30's trotted downtown to sign up, and came back w/ the longest face. "They wouldn't take me"....w/ his lower lip out. They found out he was a geologist, a guy who goes out and tells folks where to drill for oil, and he was immediately "designated as too important to the war effort to fight." We shoulda all been very impressed w/ that, and very grateful, but that wasn't the case. We did get extra gasoline rationing stamps because he had to travel to and fro from the fields in South Texas. By the end of the war Texas was producing 90% of the world's oil. Can you imagine! We had our own little Saudi Arabia right here in the USA! Momma had brothers.....one right next to her in age, whom she claimed in her 90's was her best friend in all the world. He was a cat! Tall, good looking, funny, Peck's baaaad boy! When the war broke out, he'd been a private plane pilot and owner so the draft board snapped him up immediately, put him in the Army Air Corps which was our air force, and shipped him to Riverside, CA, where he taught pilots to fly the big bombers....the B-22's, 25's, 29's. On a training mission in '43 as he was the instructor, he and his crew were sabotaged and blown to bits.....a more often occurrence than anyone knew because we had people living among us who were blowing up these planes and not being announced to the public. So, hardly from 1943 on, did anyone in our family ever lift an eyebrow over Memorial Day.....that was just way too painful. Momma had another younger brother.....cute as a button! And, a horseman what was, what am! He and his string of polo ponies graduated from Princeton in '41 where he was Capt. of the Polo Team, and he was shipped off to Ft. Sill, OK, as a ROTC officer to train the mules who packed the supplies over the mountains in Italy. And, he, too was gone right before the war's end. So, Memorial Day was never anything in our family.....as you can imagine. But, Momma, every day that lived went to the hospitals at Ft. Sam which were several blocks away until 1949 to take fudge, flowers <we had huge gardenia bushes in the yard> and to chat w/ these poor boys lying in the hospitals w/ horrible maladies. She was so cheerful, and soooo beautiful.....had a great personality.....and she gathered in a whole bunch of little brothers she tended to, greeting them every morning, hugging them, kissing them, writing letters home for them, just being someone who was constant to them. I was very little at the time, but I look back on the experience as being simply amazing! So, I'm not very receptive to the memorials of Memorial Day.....my family gave their heart and soul to Memorial Day, and we don't pause much when it comes around. However, I do know there are many me's in the world and I say a little prayer for all of us. Now the rest of you have a nice, pleasant day out there! ( : And, I really mean that.....be oh so grateful for our veterans! Susan

Very well put Cus Susan! A big AMEN! Bill McMahon At 09:11 AM 5/31/2010, you wrote: >Mornin' Cuzzies, > >Great big beautiful day here.....not a cloud in the sky! > >For some reason I was never in the habit of doing anything special >on Memorial Day......it was always just one of those lazy days where >everyone caught up w/ themselves and had a little sigh of relief >from the daily stuff. > >In December, 1941, when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, everyone and >their dawg joined the military immediately. The cut off age as I >remember was 40 yrs. old, so Daddy who was in his late 30's trotted >downtown to sign up, and came back w/ the longest face. "They >wouldn't take me"....w/ his lower lip out. They found out he was a >geologist, a guy who goes out and tells folks where to drill for >oil, and he was immediately "designated as too important to the war >effort to fight." We shoulda all been very impressed w/ that, >and very grateful, but that wasn't the case. We did get extra >gasoline rationing stamps because he had to travel to and fro from >the fields in South Texas. By the end of the war Texas was >producing 90% of the world's oil. Can you imagine! We had our >own little Saudi Arabia right here in the USA! > >Momma had brothers.....one right next to her in age, whom she >claimed in her 90's was her best friend in all the world. He was >a cat! Tall, good looking, funny, Peck's baaaad boy! When the >war broke out, he'd been a private plane pilot and owner so the >draft board snapped him up immediately, put him in the Army Air >Corps which was our air force, and shipped him to Riverside, CA, >where he taught pilots to fly the big bombers....the B-22's, 25's, >29's. On a training mission in '43 as he was the instructor, he >and his crew were sabotaged and blown to bits.....a more often >occurrence than anyone knew because we had people living among us >who were blowing up these planes and not being announced to the >public. So, hardly from 1943 on, did anyone in our family ever >lift an eyebrow over Memorial Day.....that was just way too painful. > >Momma had another younger brother.....cute as a button! And, a >horseman what was, what am! He and his string of polo ponies >graduated from Princeton in '41 where he was Capt. of the Polo Team, >and he was shipped off to Ft. Sill, OK, as a ROTC officer to train >the mules who packed the supplies over the mountains in Italy. And, >he, too was gone right before the war's end. So, Memorial Day >was never anything in our family.....as you can imagine. But, >Momma, every day that lived went to the hospitals at Ft. Sam which >were several blocks away until 1949 to take fudge, flowers <we had >huge gardenia bushes in the yard> and to chat w/ these poor boys >lying in the hospitals w/ horrible maladies. She was so cheerful, >and soooo beautiful.....had a great personality.....and she gathered >in a whole bunch of little brothers she tended to, greeting them >every morning, hugging them, kissing them, writing letters home for >them, just being someone who was constant to them. I was ! > very little at the time, but I look back on the experience as > being simply amazing! > >So, I'm not very receptive to the memorials of Memorial Day.....my >family gave their heart and soul to Memorial Day, and we don't pause >much when it comes around. However, I do know there are many me's >in the world and I say a little prayer for all of us. > >Now the rest of you have a nice, pleasant day out there! ( >: And, I really mean that.....be oh so grateful for our veterans! > >Susan > > >------------------------------- >To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >LOVELACE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without >the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Ditto! Wendy Loveless Waldron And, I really mean that.....be oh so grateful for our veterans! Susan