A Memorial Day Poem
He would have been a pitcher
Playing baseball as a pro
He’d have thrown against the Yankees
Striking out fourteen in a row
Life would have been good to him
Making his living in the sun
Had the torpedo not found its mark
In December of 1941
He’d have been a very good dentist
A loving father and faithful spouse
He’d have loved to golf on weekends
And to putter around the house
His kids would have asked for peanuts
When he took them to the zoo
Had his plane not been shot down
In October of 1942
She would have been a terrific mom
To four girls and three boys
She’d have had a home in Eagle Rock
Filled with sounds of playful noise
She’d have loved and been loved
She’d have known joy and glee
Had the hospital not been bombed
In May of 1943
He’d have been a great salesman
With shined shoes and a smile
He’d have made his company a fortune
Once he’d been there for a while
Customers would have welcomed him
When he walked in the door
Had the bullet not pierced his heart
In June of 1944
He would have been a grandpa
With children on his lap
Telling stories of the old times
Before taking an afternoon nap
He’d have been a prime example
Of the joy to be alive
Had his “Victory” ship not been blown to bits
In August of 1945
These Americans didn’t go to war
With thoughts of how to die
Freedom was their sole pursuit
And “life” their battle cry
But when freedom was at risk
And Americans heard the call
They risked their lives and fortunes
And sometimes lost it all
From every walk of life they came
To pay our freedom’s price
No matter what they might have been
They made the greatest sacrifice
God bless you great Americans
On this thirtieth day of May
We decorate your graves with flags
On this Memorial Day.
-Ed Riffle
Thursday, May 26, 2005
Do you have your renters insurance paid up? or homeowners paid... ?? One never knows when something like this can happen... this is whats left of our neighbors home. It is very unusual to find anything left in a mobile home fire... but thanks to Perkins Fire Dept., the Iowa Tribe Fire Dept. and the Stillwater Fire Dept. there is something left.. plus there are many of Stillwater's full time fire fighters that are neighbors .. I think that around us and to the east in the 3 square miles there are 6 to be exact... enjoy the day!
Lots of things going on lately..
Last evening a neighbor to the east lost their mobile home to fire, so there was lots of smoke in our yard, as wind was from the east. Don't know anymore about it this am. We do know someone was hurt, as the ambulance made a run back to town with lights and sirens going. They are in our prayers.
I went over to take a few pics, but it was to early and light was bad, but the home looked intact, but the windows were gone and you could see where the fire came out the windows in the east end of the home.
We ran over to Paul's and by Phil's last night to deliver webcams for them to get online and hopefully now we can see and talk with each other more often, stay in touch more, as the kiddos grow up.. and we grow older.. haha... I think now I need to buy some sort of software that will allow us to hook up with audio and video, however. Seems it never ends.
Can you imagine living 100 years ago, without the things we take forgranted today? wow!
Mom has been building fence at her place for about a month it seems. You know Mom. haha. yelp.. had to save a dollar.. but this time she spent a bit more. She now has a GOAT fence on the west side of her pasture next to her hay fields. For those in the city, most fences of barbed wire are 4 wire, maybe five inside and the outer fences are 5 wire maybe six if you have goats.. haha.. Mom built a 6 wire internal fence and now she can run goats!! Needless to say, the neighbors are laughing and "kidding" about it. Instead of getting a professional crew to do it in 4 days she found through another person, an individual to do it who is older than I am, and you probably can guess the rest of the story. The professional crew would have built the 1/2 mile of fence for a dollar a foot, and a guarantee to be done in 4 days. Mom's worked a month, still is, and has had to help her "hand" do it and I bet it cost her more than that... with no guarantee... oh the things we do to save money... my Dad would have said!!
Phil is still at his old job. He was given a raise and things seem to be getting better, with a bit less stress. He now has a family blog too, which is linked on this page. You need to check it out, as well as Jonathan's and Heather's blogs.. I should have typed RANDI'S BlOG, as she, according to Jon, in now in charge of it! She updated it day before yesterday too.. FINALLY... haha , no slack Randi.. haha.. this used to be updated more, but work has taken me away from it a little bit, too.
Now back to Phil. He has a great garden this summer and you should see the wonderful flowers around their home this summer too. I am sure there will be pictures soon online, either from him or I ... I mean lots of cool, cool flowers.
Randi and Jon and Kaitlyn came up last Saturday, and we had a great visit. Down time for Jon who is really being pushed at work to meet some hard deadlines very soon, and really coming up fast. He too has received a promotion of sorts, and now is like assistant king in web development for his firm. Now he gets the big bucks! haha... Yeah right.
Jon Randi Heather Kaitlyn Madison Ann and I hooked up and got to see each other with the webcams last night, which was kinda cool. Kaitlyn was really active and Madison had the yawns... kind of bored with it all...
Jake is doing what he needs to do this am. Working two jobs and helping Ann and I and his Grandmother, he is beat and with the chance of showers this am, he is getting to sleep in. His back has been bothering him lately, so he needs to stretch out and rest in his new bed.
Yesterday, Jake received a "special tour" and met with the welding instructor at Meridian Tech. in Stillwater. His boss, Fred Shultz, owner of the Shultz Ranch, was the Supt. there and actually sort of built the school over the years. He recently retired, and has been after Jake to go learn to weld. .. Well, it seems Jake tried to check out MT, but they kind of gave him the run around... so Jake was checking into Tulsa Welding School, and told Fred this. So Fred took hold of things, and needless to say, when Fred does take hold, things get done, so MT called Jake and asked him to come in for a special tour, and of course, Fred was there and it went "very well" Jake reports, haha.. I bet it did!!
I think some of our family will be going with Ann up to Jet this weekend to the cemetery there where her folks are buried. Jake informed me he was taking Mom, and I think Heather and kids may go along.
As many of you know, the cemetery here where Amanda and Dad are buried is in receivership. Not sure what is going to happen, but it does not look bad at the present time. There are lots of old mainstream families who will help see to that. And of course there are lots of families very mad over this deal happening, but not at the caretakers there now who have been doing it out of their pocket... too.
Ann is going to watch Austyn tonight, tomorrow and maybe .. yelp, now on Saturday too.. That will be cool. We love when Austyn gets to come over. Phil and Tammy get to go to OKC and watch Bo Diddly tonight, and Tammy is in training tomorrow... and Phil just called and Perkins is having a big "barbecue" cook off this weekend, with the top cookers from two big national groups cooking off there, and they needed one more judge, and barbecue has stepped up to the challenge! Now that's cool!!
Not sure if we get to see Kaitlyn this weekend or not. Maybe as a family we might get to have a picnic together on Monday, but time will tell!!
Well, this book is coming to a close.. Enjoy the day!
I went over to take a few pics, but it was to early and light was bad, but the home looked intact, but the windows were gone and you could see where the fire came out the windows in the east end of the home.
We ran over to Paul's and by Phil's last night to deliver webcams for them to get online and hopefully now we can see and talk with each other more often, stay in touch more, as the kiddos grow up.. and we grow older.. haha... I think now I need to buy some sort of software that will allow us to hook up with audio and video, however. Seems it never ends.
Can you imagine living 100 years ago, without the things we take forgranted today? wow!
Mom has been building fence at her place for about a month it seems. You know Mom. haha. yelp.. had to save a dollar.. but this time she spent a bit more. She now has a GOAT fence on the west side of her pasture next to her hay fields. For those in the city, most fences of barbed wire are 4 wire, maybe five inside and the outer fences are 5 wire maybe six if you have goats.. haha.. Mom built a 6 wire internal fence and now she can run goats!! Needless to say, the neighbors are laughing and "kidding" about it. Instead of getting a professional crew to do it in 4 days she found through another person, an individual to do it who is older than I am, and you probably can guess the rest of the story. The professional crew would have built the 1/2 mile of fence for a dollar a foot, and a guarantee to be done in 4 days. Mom's worked a month, still is, and has had to help her "hand" do it and I bet it cost her more than that... with no guarantee... oh the things we do to save money... my Dad would have said!!
Phil is still at his old job. He was given a raise and things seem to be getting better, with a bit less stress. He now has a family blog too, which is linked on this page. You need to check it out, as well as Jonathan's and Heather's blogs.. I should have typed RANDI'S BlOG, as she, according to Jon, in now in charge of it! She updated it day before yesterday too.. FINALLY... haha , no slack Randi.. haha.. this used to be updated more, but work has taken me away from it a little bit, too.
Now back to Phil. He has a great garden this summer and you should see the wonderful flowers around their home this summer too. I am sure there will be pictures soon online, either from him or I ... I mean lots of cool, cool flowers.
Randi and Jon and Kaitlyn came up last Saturday, and we had a great visit. Down time for Jon who is really being pushed at work to meet some hard deadlines very soon, and really coming up fast. He too has received a promotion of sorts, and now is like assistant king in web development for his firm. Now he gets the big bucks! haha... Yeah right.
Jon Randi Heather Kaitlyn Madison Ann and I hooked up and got to see each other with the webcams last night, which was kinda cool. Kaitlyn was really active and Madison had the yawns... kind of bored with it all...
Jake is doing what he needs to do this am. Working two jobs and helping Ann and I and his Grandmother, he is beat and with the chance of showers this am, he is getting to sleep in. His back has been bothering him lately, so he needs to stretch out and rest in his new bed.
Yesterday, Jake received a "special tour" and met with the welding instructor at Meridian Tech. in Stillwater. His boss, Fred Shultz, owner of the Shultz Ranch, was the Supt. there and actually sort of built the school over the years. He recently retired, and has been after Jake to go learn to weld. .. Well, it seems Jake tried to check out MT, but they kind of gave him the run around... so Jake was checking into Tulsa Welding School, and told Fred this. So Fred took hold of things, and needless to say, when Fred does take hold, things get done, so MT called Jake and asked him to come in for a special tour, and of course, Fred was there and it went "very well" Jake reports, haha.. I bet it did!!
I think some of our family will be going with Ann up to Jet this weekend to the cemetery there where her folks are buried. Jake informed me he was taking Mom, and I think Heather and kids may go along.
As many of you know, the cemetery here where Amanda and Dad are buried is in receivership. Not sure what is going to happen, but it does not look bad at the present time. There are lots of old mainstream families who will help see to that. And of course there are lots of families very mad over this deal happening, but not at the caretakers there now who have been doing it out of their pocket... too.
Ann is going to watch Austyn tonight, tomorrow and maybe .. yelp, now on Saturday too.. That will be cool. We love when Austyn gets to come over. Phil and Tammy get to go to OKC and watch Bo Diddly tonight, and Tammy is in training tomorrow... and Phil just called and Perkins is having a big "barbecue" cook off this weekend, with the top cookers from two big national groups cooking off there, and they needed one more judge, and barbecue has stepped up to the challenge! Now that's cool!!
Not sure if we get to see Kaitlyn this weekend or not. Maybe as a family we might get to have a picnic together on Monday, but time will tell!!
Well, this book is coming to a close.. Enjoy the day!
Grandma Moffat and I ran over to Paul and Heather and Andrew and Madison's last evening to set up a webcam, so we can see the "new lady" in action more, course we picked up some pizza.. and we walked in and Grandma took Madison, and you can see the rest of the story...haha.. not really. She was in just a 'mood' like her Mom has .. once in a while.. haha.. but things got better quick.. As you can see, she is the apple of her grandmother's eye right now...
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