Remembering Flight 93

 Forty ordinary people came together on September 11, 2001 for a cross country flight from New Jersey to San Francisco on United Airlines Flight 93. Yet, when their plane was hijacked and turned around near Cleveland, Ohio, on a course for Washington D.C. and the U.S. Capitol, these 40 ordinary people showed extraordinary courage and selflessness. It can't have been easy talking to their loved ones on the phone, learning that other planes had hijacked that morning and crashed into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. Yet instead of giving up, these 40 people--33 passengers and 7 crew members came together as one to lead the charge in the war against terrorism.

The following poem was written in memory of a man who lost his life on Flight 93.  It is dedicated to all of those whose lives were lost or changed forever on September 11, 2001
We remember them all with love.

"We are hurting, but healing,"
My young son said to me.
"My sweet Lori's brother,
Was on Flight 93."

The shock,
The grief,
The pain,
The fear,
All of these, I did hear.

The great silver bird,
In Pennsylvania lay,
When in truth it was bound,
For California that day.

We know of the heroes,
The "creme de la creme"
Sons, brothers, husbands,
These were the men...
These were the men, On Flight 93,

Performing heroics,
 For you and for me.
For this our great land,
So nobly they gave,
Exchange of their lives,
 For a meadow land grave.

For flora and fauna,
In his loving care,
Richard Guadagno,
Always was there.

In the refuge he tended
For creatures, so small,
He gave his protection,
"Lest one should fall."

He is missed.
He is loved.
His mem'ry lives on
The birds that he loved,
With their sweet, plaintive song.

"We are hurting, but healing,"
His birds sing to me,
"For our kind, loving Richard,
 Was on Flight 93."

~ Renee' Larson Bratlee March 11, 2002 ~

The Hero's of Flight 93

Christian Adams, Lorraine G. Bay, Crew, Todd Beamer, Alan Beaven, Mark Bingham, Deora Bodley, Sandra W. Bradshaw, Crew, Marion Britton, Thomas E. Burnett, Jr., William Cashman, Georgine Rose Corrigan, Patricia Cushing, Jason Dahl, Captain, Joseph DeLuca, Patrick Driscoll, Edward Porter Felt, Jane C. Folger, Colleen L. Fraser, Andrew Garcia, Jeremy Glick, Lauren Grandcolas,Wanda A. Green, Crew, Donald F. Greene, Linda Gronlund, Richard Guadagno, LeRoy Homer, Jr., First Officer, Toshiya Kuge, CeeCee Lyles, Crew, Hilda Marcin, Waleska Martinez, Donald Peterson, Jean Hoadley Peterson, Mark Rothenberg, Christine Snyder, John Talignani, Honor Elizabeth Wainio, Deborah Ann Jacobs Welsh, Crew, Kristin Gould White, Nicole Miller, Louis J. Nacke, II.

May they rest in peace.

Source: Internet

A True Friend

Horror gripped the heart of the World War I soldier as he saw his lifelong friend fall in battle. Caught in a trench with continuous gunfire whizzing over his head, the soldier asked his lieutenant if he might go out into the “no man’s land” between the trenches to bring his fallen comrade back.

“You can go,” said the lieutenant, “but i don’t think it will be worth it. Your friend is probably dead and you may throw your life away.” The lieutenant’s advice didn’t matter, and the soldier went anyway.

Miraculously he managed to reach his friend, hoist him onto his shoulder and bring him back to their company’s trench. As the two of them tumbled in together to the bottom of the trench, the officer checked the wounded soldier, and then looked kindly at his friend.

“I told you it wouldn’t be worth it,” he said. “Your friend is dead and you are mortally wounded.”

“It was worth it, though, sir,” said the soldier.

“What do you mean; worth it?” responded the Lieutenant. “Your friend is dead.”

“Yes, Sir” the private answered. “But it was worth it because when I got to him, he was still alive and I had the satisfaction of hearing him saying, “Jim…, I knew you’d come.”

---

Many times in life, whether a thing is worth doing or not, really depends on how u looks at it. Take up all your courage and do something your heart tells you to do so that you may not regret not doing it later in your life. May each and every one of you be blessed with the company of TRUE FRIENDS. A true friend is one who walks in, when the rest of the world walks out. War doesn’t determine who’s right. War only determines who’s left.

Military: A Beautiful True Love Story

One day, a young guy and a young girl fell in love.

But the guy came from a poor family. The girl’s parents weren’t too happy.

So the young man decided not only to court the girl but to court her parents as well. In time, the parents saw that he was a good man and was worthy of their daughter’s hand.

But there was another problem: The man was a soldier. Soon, war broke out and he was being sent overseas for a year. The week before he left, the man knelt on his knee and asked his lady love, “Will you marry me?” She wiped a tear, said yes, and they were engaged. They agreed that when he got back in one year, they would get married.

But tragedy struck. A few days after he left, the girl had a major vehicular accident. It was a head-on collision.

When she woke up in the hospital, she saw her father and mother crying. Immediately, she knew there was something wrong.

She later found out that she suffered brain injury. The part of her brain that controlled her face muscles was damaged. Her once lovely face was now disfigured. She cried as she saw herself in the mirror. “Yesterday, I was beautiful. Today, I’m a monster.” Her body was also covered with so many ugly wounds.


Right there and then, she decided to release her fiancé from their promise. She knew he wouldn’t want her anymore. She would forget about him and never see him again.

For one year, the soldier wrote many letters—but she wouldn’t answer. He phoned her many times but she wouldn’t return her calls.

But after one year, the mother walked into her room and announced, “He’s back from the war.”

The girl shouted, “No! Please don’t tell him about me. Don’t tell him I’m here!”

The mother said, “He’s getting married,” and handed her a wedding invitation.

The girl’s heart sank. She knew she still loved him—but she had to forget him now.

With great sadness, she opened the wedding invitation.

And then she saw her name on it!

Confused, she asked, “What is this?”

That was when the young man entered her room with a bouquet of flowers. He knelt beside her and asked, “Will you marry me?
”
The girl covered her face with her hands and said, “I’m ugly!”

The man said, “Without your permission, your mother sent me your photos. When I saw your photos, I realized that nothing has changed. You’re still the person I fell in love. You’re still as beautiful as ever.

 Because I love you!”

Author Unknown

A Short Story On Self Confidence

There was a business executive who was deep in debt and could see no way out.

Creditors were closing in on him. Suppliers were demanding payment. He sat on the park bench, head in hands, wondering if anything could save his company from bankruptcy.

Suddenly an old man appeared before him. ”I can see that something is troubling you,” he said.

After listening to the executive’s woes, the old man said, “I believe I can help you.”

He asked the man his name, wrote out a check, and pushed it into his hand saying, “Take this money. Meet me here exactly one year from today, and you can pay me back at that time.”

Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come.

The business executive saw in his hand a check for $500,000, signed by John D. Rockefeller, then one of the richest men in the world!

“I can erase my money worries in an instant!” he realized. But instead, the executive decided to put the uncashed check in his safe. Just knowing it was there might give him the strength to work out a way to save his business, he thought.

With renewed optimism, he negotiated better deals and extended terms of payment. He closed several big sales. Within a few months, he was out of debt and making money once again.

Exactly one year later, he returned to the park with the uncashed check. At the agreed-upon time, the old man appeared. But just as the executive was about to hand back the check and share his success story, a nurse came running up and grabbed the old man.

“I’m so glad I caught him!” she cried. “I hope he hasn’t been bothering you. He’s always escaping from the rest home and telling people he’s John D. Rockefeller.”

And she led the old man away by the arm.

The astonished executive just stood there, stunned. All year long he’d been wheeling and dealing, buying and selling, convinced he had half a million dollars behind him.

Suddenly, he realized that it wasn’t the money, real or imagined, that had turned his life around. It was his newfound self-confidence that gave him the power to achieve anything he went after.

Author Unknown

Life Is To Short

...To wake up in the morning
with regrets. So love the
people who treat you right,
and forgive the ones who don't.

And believe that everything
happens for a reason.

If you get a chance, take it.
If it changes your life, let it.

Nobody said it would be easy,
They just promised...
It would be worth it!

Happiness can't be bought,
it would be too expensive...
You have to make your own.

Happy are they that take life day
by day, complain very little, and
are happy for the little things in life!

At the end of the day, it's not
about being pretty and popular,
it's about being healthy and happy!

Laugh when you can 
Apologize when you should...

And let go of what you cannot change.

Labor Day Prayer

Lord on this Labor Day,
we celebrate the work we do,
 and we thank You for the blessing of our jobs.
We ask for those seeking employment that
You guide them in their search for work.

We ask for guidance when we are confused.
We ask for patience when working through conflicts.
We ask for strength to complete each day.
We ask for rest when we are weary.

We ask that You be with those whose faces
we might never see but who work tirelessly
each day for the good of us all.

  'Lord, support us all day long until  shadows lengthen,
       evening comes, the busy world hushed, the fever of life
       is over and our life's work is done.

       Then, in Thy tender mercy, give us safe lodging, holy
       rest and everlasting peace at your side for eternity.'

Amen

Cruise Ship Or Nursing Home

There will be no nursing home in my future...

Nope... I'm going to live on a Cruise Ship year round! The average cost for a nursing home is $200 per day. I have checked on reservations, and I can get a long term discount and senior discount price of $135 per day. That leaves $65 a day for:

1. Gratuities which I estimate at only $10 per day.

2. I will have as many meals a day as I want, as long as I can waddle to the restaurant, or I can have room service. The best part is that they're good meals. None of that cardboard stuff I've seen my old friends eating. Breakfast in bed every day of the week.

3. Cruise ships have as many as three or four swimming pools, a workout room, free washers and dryers, a casino, movies and shows every night.

4. They often have free toothpaste and razors, and free soap and shampoo.

5. They even treat you like a customer, not a patient. An extra $5 worth of tips should have the entire staff scrambling to help you.

6. I will get to meet new people every 7 or 14 days.

7. TV broken? Light bulb need changing? Need to have the mattress replaced? No Problem! They will fix everything and apologize for the inconvenience.

8. Clean sheets and towels every day, and you don't even have to ask for them.

9. If you fall in the nursing home and break a hip you are on Medicare.

If you fall and break a hip on the cruise ship they will likely upgrade you to a suite for the rest of your life.

And, the best for last!

10. I get to see Alaska, South America, the Panama Canal, Tahiti, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, etc., etc. Don't look for me in a nursing home, just call shore to ship.

P.S. And don't forget, when you die, they just dump you over the side at no charge.