Another motivating story... "Late in the afternoon of 1 December 1950, Marine Staff Sergeant Windrich's company was surrounded by enemy aggressors at Yudam-ni. They were ordered to move toward Hagaru-ri. By the time they reached Hill 1520 (Hill number shows elevation in meters) it was very dark and the temperature averaged a minus 40 degrees. The company relocated a few times, then back to the knoll, between two rugged mile high mountains where they were bombarded by grenades, machine gun and rifle fire. Staff Sergeant Windrich led a rifle squad of twelve men to meet the enemy head on, while armed with a M-2 carbine. Seven of his men were wounded or killed before they reached the forward position they were to defend. Windrich was also wounded in the head by a bursting grenade. As blood gushed down his shoulder and back he moved his remaining men into a tight fire group. Then he ran to the company command post, drafting a small group of volunteers, and led them to evacuate the dying and wounded. Assuming command of what was left of a platoon, Windrich once more took up defensive positions. Now he was shot in both legs, but kept fighting, always refusing medical attention. For a long time he crawled in the snow, back and forth between his men shouting words of encouragement, deploying his forces and helping to throw back the attackers. It was only after the enemy had been beaten off did Staff Sergeant Windrich collapse and die due to the bitter cold, excessive loss of blood and severe pain. In the end there were two officers and eighteen enlisted men alive, who staggered down the mountain to be with the rest of the column headed toward Hagaru-ri. Windrich was not there! He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. "

We are starting nine days of vacation today. Yippee! In doing my maternal genealogy DH & I have located about a dozen graves of my ancestors from the 17th, 18th & 19th centuries throughout New England. Many served in various military capacities. For the past 15+ years we have used Memorial Day as a time to visit the graves & do maintenance. Many are in very rural areas but located on private property. Others are in rural cemeteries that have virtually been lost to time. We cut back encroaching forest growth, straighten the stones, & plant a daylily. The oldest military grave dates to 1687. It took us 5 years to find the site. The headstone was buried halfway...we knew it HAD to be the right grave so DH started digging. We were able to get a tracing of the stone's engraving for verification. It's quite a hike off the road to reach the grave site. We notified the historical society of the location back in the early 90's so Samuel's grave now has a permanent Veteran's placque & flag. Buried near Samuel we located the graves of his second wife & 2 of their children who died in infancy. Other graves are in more prominent cemeteries & we visit just to pay our respects & leave one rose. We'll start our trip before dawn on Monday & won't be home until well after dark. All we can reach in one day are those graves in MA & NH. The rest we visit periodically to keep them maintained. Today & tomorrow we'll do some garden work & BBQ. Next week, we'll take the ferry to Orient Point & spend the day garden center hopping. Then, we'll toss a suitcase in the car & take off for a few days...location unknown as of yet. Have a safe & great long weekend, everybody! /tricia

As they say now: the back story. Birthdays had always been celebrated in our family. My DH passed away in December, 1982. Life was just a blur for months after that. On my Birthday in 1983, my DD and my DGS and I went out to eat. That was it. June 21st, 1984 was my 60th birthday. I had heard nothing about any birthday plans. My DGD was spending the day with me, but that wasn't unusual. I spent the afternoon sewing, as my cat sat in the window and watched. After a while I noticed the cat getting down from the window and heard a thud. A few minutes pass and I noticed the paper boy looking at something on the sidewalk. I went to see what he was looking at and there was my cat. Poor Fluffy was dead! On my birthday! She was 17 years old, but had no signs of being unhealthy.I called to my DGD and she and I went to the back of the area where we had a garden and we buried her. By now I was sad, dirty and sweaty and it was about 6 o'clock. I was wearing some old shorts and a shirt with the hem coming out! I sat on the swing on the patio to rest a minute and then I heard voices and saw people coming down the driveway carrying food and packages! We had always had parties, cookouts, etc. in that backyard, but without my DH, I had done nothing like that. I just didn't have what it takes to do that without him. The yard was his favorite place. My DD had planned this Surprise Birthday Party for me. Now today, how could I not be happy, surrounded by the love that brought these people here to break down the wall of gloom? My DD knew what I needed. June 21st., 1984, and I was 60 years old. That was the day I took a new look at Life! Sue

Speaking of Beatrix Potter, on our last visit to the library my kids and I found this wonderful book called Beatrix Potter The Complete Tales. It's 400 pages long with original illustrations. We've been enjoying it so much that I wanted to buy one, but they are a bit spendy--new $40, and the cheapest I could find a used one was for $20, plus shipping which wasn't cheap either. Even the used is out of our budget right now, but maybe for Christmas:-) Kelly