Word of the Day

Atmosfear: Smog phobia.

Some days it's hard to be the Mom of a Marine and the Mother-in-law of a GI Joe. The topic of today was Notification on the Marine Family Support Board. We lost 20 Marines in a matter of days. I didn't know any of them but I know people who did. The media maintains a steady drumbeat with a running body count. They breathlessly race to interview parents and families. Warning to the press! Don't come to interview me! Today I read the fear expressed by the parents who waited and wondered how or even if they would be notified because they were at work when the news popped up on their computers that Marines in the unit where their sons were deployed had been killed. I know the Mothers of two girls from my daughter's platoon who are going to be heading off to Iraq. They are feeling shock at this point. So soon? But we only just watched them graduate! One Mom was joking that her daughter would be writing out parking tickets at Pendleton. I know the Mothers of four boys from my daughter's brother platoon that are scheduled for deployment. One was just managing to deal with the reality that her son had left for Japan for the next two years and then she found that he too will be heading to Iraq. Three other Moms knew that their sons were going to be deployed. Soon. GI Joe is scheduled for deployment. No, today wasn't easy. On top of that? I feel guilty. I'm sure I'm not alone in this. I'm not the Mom in Ohio worrying that I'll miss a Notification about my son or daughter while I'm at work. I'm just a Marine Mom who fires up her computer each morning and reads all the fears and grief from the other Marine Moms and tries to write something, anything that may make them feel that they aren't alone. That I'm not alone and won't be should I find myself walking in their shoes.

OK. I know. I promised that I'd keep this blog light and fluffy so...

Funny of the Day

A man's car broke down as he was driving past a beautiful old monastery. He walked up the drive and knocked on the front door. A monk answered, listened to the man's story and graciously invited him to spend the night.

The monks fed the man and led him to a tiny chamber in which to sleep. The man thanked the monks and slept serenely until he was awakened by a strange and beautiful sound.

The next morning, as the monks were repairing his car, he asked about the sound that had woke him.

"We're sorry," the monks said. "We can't tell you about the sound. You're not a monk."

The man was disappointed, but eager to be gone, so he thanked the monks for their kindness and went on his way.

During quiet moments afterward, the man pondered the source of the alluring sound.

Several years later the man happened to be driving in the same area. He stopped at the monastery on a whim and asked admittance. He explained to the monks that he had so enjoyed his previous stay, he wondered if he might be permitted to spend another night under their peaceful roof.

The monks agreed, and so the man stayed with them again.

Late that night, he heard the strange beautiful sound. The following morning he begged the monks to explain the sound. The monks gave him the same answer as before.

"We're sorry. We can't tell you about the sound. You're not a monk."

By now the man's curiosity had turned to obsession. He decided to give up everything and become a monk, for that was the only way he could learn about the sound.

He informed the monks of his decision and began the long and arduous task of becoming a monk.

Seventeen years later, the man was finally established as a true member of the order. When the celebration ended, he humbly went to the leader of the order and asked to be told the source of the sound.

Silently, the old monk led the new monk to a huge wooden door. He opened the door with a golden key. That door swung open to reveal a second door of silver, then a third of gold and so on until they had passed through twelve doors, each more magnificent than the last.

The new monk's face was awash with tears of joy as he finally beheld the wondrous source of the beautiful mysterious sound he had heard so many years before..........

> >>> > >>> > >>> .................. > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> ............ > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> ...... > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> But, I can't tell you what it was. You're not a monk.

Murphyism of the Day

Smith's Law

No real problem has a solution.