I'd be with the 7yr old and I hate crying in public. I'd go anyway. No pics allowed!! I read this while checking up on this link with snopes. Check it out! It's a true story I checked! LOL! Weary Travelers Support Operation Iraqi Freedom Troops at BWI By Donna Miles American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Oct. 31, 2003 Nearly everyone has experienced it at one time or another: an airport bogged down by bad weather, delayed and cancelled flights, and cranky, overtired travelers wanting nothing more than to get to their destinations. That's exactly what Will Ross, an administrative judge for the Defense Department's Office of Hearings and Appeals in Los Angeles, encountered Oct. 27 at Baltimore/Washington International Airport. But what he witnessed that day, he said, "made me proud to be an American, and also told me why we will win this war (on terrorism)." Like many of his fellow passengers, Ross had been forced to spend the night in Baltimore. His outbound flight, scheduled for the night before, had been cancelled due to the California wildfires. They had forced the Los Angeles International Airport to close, and the ripple effect drove domestic travel nationwide into a tailspin. When Ross reported to the United Airlines counter the following morning for the next scheduled flight to Los Angeles, bad weather and aircraft mechanical problems made the prospect of a timely trip even more grim. As he waited in the terminal, Ross noticed many soldiers in their desert camouflage uniforms, newly arrived from Southwest Asia. All, like Ross and the other passengers at the airport, were awaiting connecting flights but in the soldiers' case, it was to begin two weeks of rest and recuperation leave. Flight delays continued and the airport had become, in Ross's words, "a zoo." By the afternoon, one flight to Denver had been delayed several hours. United Airlines agents kept asking for volunteers to give up their seats and take another flight, but Ross said they weren't getting many takers. Finally, Ross said a United Airlines spokeswoman got on the public address system and made a desperate plea. "Folks, as you can see, there are a lot of soldiers in the waiting area," the agent said. "They only have 14 days of leave and we're trying to get them where they need to go without spending any more time in an airport than they have to. "We sold them all tickets knowing we would oversell the flight. If we can, we want to get them all on this flight. We want all the soldiers to know we respect what you're doing, we are here for you and we love you," the agent continued. "The entire terminal of cranky, tired, travel-weary people -- a cross-section of America -- broke into sustained and heartfelt applause," Ross said. "We're talking about several hundred people applauding, a whole terminal. "The soldiers looked surprised and very modest," he continued. "Most of them just looked at their boots." Many of the travelers in the terminal wiped away tears. "And, yes," Ross said, "people lined up to take the later flight and all the soldiers went to Denver on that flight." Ross said he figured that 30 or 40 people had suddenly jumped at the chance to offer their seats to U.S. soldiers. That moment, he said, reinforced his patriotism and his heartfelt belief that the United States will prevail in the war on terror. "I think people realized that this fight is going to be long and drawn-out, and these kids are in the thick of it," he said. "It was heartwarming to see their outpouring of support."

My all time hero and perhaps the greatest love story I ever heard was my Grandfather. In 1908 my Grandmother came to America from Holland as an indentured servant. In exchange for paying her passage and providing her room and board she had to work as a cook and housekeeper for a well to do family in my hometown for a period of 7 years. Grandmother worked 6 days a week from 6am till 9pm and on Sunday if she had the family dinner servived buffet style by 11am she was free to go off for the afternoon providing she returned by 6pm. It was my Grandfathers job to hitch a team of horses every day and haul the milk from the family farm to the creamery and on his route he would stop by the house where Grandmother was working to sell them fresh milk, butter, eggs and whatever produce they had in season. Grandfather had a few minutes everyday to talk to Grandma and within a couple months Grandad started hitching a buggy and picking her up on Sunday for a short picnic in the local city park. That continued for three years until Grandfather and Grandmother decided they wanted to be married so Grandfather went to the rich family she worked for and negotiated what they felt the balance of her contract was worth. He then paid off her contract, relieving her of her last three years of servitude and they were free to go off and get married. For the first couple years after Grandma and Grandpa were married they lived at my Great Grandfathers farm until Grandfather could raise enough money to make a down payment on a farm. In 1919 my Grandfather bought a 160 acre farm where he and Grandmother raised 12 children and when Grandad died in 1965 he had the entire farm, all the livestock and all machinery completely paid for. Not a single bill in the world. In addition to being a dairy farmer Grandfather was a well renown blacksmith, wheelright, and harness maker, all of that with an 8th grade education.

I rely on rescue remedy a LOT. I have 2 dogs that are "storm-stupid". They just get insane when there is a thunderstorm. I love rescue remedy, but the EASIER way with rescue remedy is to get the spritz. instead of drops (because it is not INGESTING the product that makes it work --- its the smell), get the spritz. One spray (it's like "binnaca") or spritz and it works. Just spritz it on the nose or teeth.

ah--david has a crew coming to help him break in his new home? that sounds absolutely perfect to me and i'm sure it will be a joyous occasion! i'm sure your dinner will be fabulous chase, but you're gonna have to depend on others to help you with that baking stuff, not i! no way, no how. but a little birdie told me that woodie is baking tomorrow! do you suppose that really could possibly be true? maybe she'll help you :) or i'm sure wizard and some of the others would! congratulations to susie and annie--i'm sure you'll welcome the newest members of your families with lots of warmth and happiness! and susie--can you fill us in on major greg? i know i'm not spending tons of time here recently but i think i'm missing something that i don't want to... happy vacation, deanna! i hope it works out just as you'd like it to and you have both fun and relaxing times! as so often happens, i've procrastinated too long. the packages that needed to be mailed all have arrived at their destinations but the holidays cards aren't done nor are the linens for the holiday table and i don't believe a single gift has been wrapped. wow. lots to do! i'm just happy the tree is decorated and shining brightly! it's the busiest time of the year for us and i've been doing some overtime and then a cold knocked me off my feet for a few days and of course, now ted has it...ah well. this too shall pass, right? in any case, i'm sure we'll both enjoy the holiday just fine. i hope you all get a chance to see those that you want to spend time with and be careful on the roads! we've had way more snow in decemember than is usual and the snow banks make it hard to see sometimes. enjoy your time!