The Strangers that made my Christmas

Merry Christmas! I would like to take a moment to thank some strangers. Thanks to the Vietnam Vet Marine at the Atlanta airport who bought my husband coffee. Josh had been up since 5 am the day before, and he appreciated it a great deal! Thank you to the woman at the Atlanta airport who used Josh's cell phone. You called to tell your husband that you were taking a later flight for the service men who wanted to get home for Christmas. Josh was given YOUR seat. Thanks to the Sprint guy in first class going from Atlanta to Minneapolis for the cash. We had a wonderful dinner last night! It is people like you all who make our sacrifice easier. You never met my husband before, and yet, you gave him a wonderful gift. The recount of these gifts touched the hearts of my family, and brought tears to the eyes of my dad.

May your reward be great! Merry Christmas!

Home Alone Moment

Remember “Home Alone?” And you know how the mom had to go from Paris to all sorts of lengths to get home to her little boy for Christmas? Well, so Josh’s flight home was canceled. As I type this, he’s in air to where his stop over is, so he doesn’t know his flight was canceled.

And here’s to the day of “Home Alone” travel my husband is about to face.

Well, at least he’s coming home.

Update: OK, so Airline 1 that canceled flight A said that they got Josh on Airline 2 flight B; but flight B was double booked. So, Josh is on stand by with Airline 1 flight C and is booked for Airline 1 flight D. But, we must remember that he got to the airport at 3 am this morning so the poor man is tired. Airline 1 offered to put Josh up in a hotel and send him tomorrow morning. But that makes less time for us... What will Josh do? Will Liz be "Home Alone Tonight?" I'll let you know what happens.

Update 2: About bloody time! So, Airline 1 couldn't get Josh on flight C; and since Josh FINALLY threw a fit, they put him on a plane. Josh is coming home! Yea! Liz will not be "Home Alone!"

It CAN Happen Here

I am not a Bush fan. In fact, there is not a lot of love lost between myself and most of the people in office today. Those who wish to send my husband to fight for the freedom of others wouldn’t when they were of age. No, I know that some say, “Well, Bush wanted to go to Vietnam.” In response, I say that he should have grown a set and enlisted in the infantry or Marines.

And here’s the heart of the issue. Do we, or do we not want to live in a totalitarian state? Some say, “Well, as long as we are in power, it shouldn’t be that bad.” Bull. The government that can spy without warrant on the “bad guys” is the government that will turn around and spy on you. These are the tactics of the regime that we just overthrew in Iraq; spying on its own citizens.

I can trace my family’s arrival in America back about four hundred years. Not quite as early as the Mayflower, but pretty close. Family members of mine fought in the War of Independence, the War of 1812, the Civil War, both World Wars, the Vietnam War, and now the War in Iraq. And, if I look hard enough, I could probably add the missing wars to my list.

My family came as political refugees from England. Trying to overthrow the crown does that to you. We were seeking political freedom. And we found it. Now, are we going to stand idly by and let the Bush administration overthrow our freedoms? We are. We value life above freedom. We are a shame to those who came before us. We should value freedom above life.

It is time for us to stand up and say, “Enough.” We are not just fighting with those abroad who would take away our freedom; we are fighting with those domestically who would take away our freedom. I’m not calling to overthrow the Constitution, I am saying we need to stand up and insist that those who vowed to uphold it follow through.