Word of the Day

Ecrastinate - Check your email one more time hoping for an excuse to spend 5 more minutes not working.

I got a letter yesterday from the President of The United States. OK. I'm sure it was probably written by someone other than the President. It might even have been signed by someone other than the President. But it was signed and it came to me in a huge envelope with cardboard inside to keep it from bending. And...no-one was asking for money. And...it was signed with a real pen. Anyway, I'm going to keep it. I have to admit that I did e-mail the President last month. Other MOM's (Mothers of Marines) e-mailed him too after we saw and learned of the assaults from Cindy Sheehan and after we dug into her past. The other MOMs' replies came via e-mail. I didn't get a reply. I figured my little e-mail had gotten lost in the shuffle. No biggie. I never actually figured that I'd get a reply.

I wrote:


Dear Mr. and Mrs. Bush,

I am the proud mother of a Marine. My daughter enlisted last year. Her comment to me at that time was that she was tired of being just another desk jockey. She wanted to do something that made a difference. She graduated on April 1, 2005 from Parris Island. With a fractured hip. After her hip healed, she went on to MCT (Marine Combat Training). She completed this and headed off to Pensacola, FL, where they discovered that she refractured her hip and broke a femur sometime during MCT. My guess? I think it was that foxhole she fell into during night maneuvers. She's on light duty, much to her disgust, until January 2006. My daughter truly has drive and the heart. She's a Marine.

She's my oldest daughter at 26 years old. She and her GI Joe fianceeée (he's with the Nebraska National Guard) got married on July 2. Oorah! Thank you Marine Corps for granting her "Out of Bounds Liberty" so she could get married before he starts his train up for deployment to Iraq. She is currently at Cherry Point getting ready to class up for I-6541. Aviation Ordnance. (She gets to play with things that go "boom"...gotta find your humor where you find it.) I wish they could spend more time together between now and his deployment but they both know that sometimes it's hard for the Army and the Marines to get together.

I just wanted to let you know that I support you and your efforts and I'm not alone. I'm a member of a Marine support group online. We've been getting together on a daily basis since our sons and daughters have been in boot camp at Parris Island. It's been a wonderful and sometime sad experience to have and give support to our extended new families.

Recently our discussions have turned to the Cindy Sheehan vigil. It has indeed been an interesting discussion. Please know that although we feel that any Gold Star Mom should receive our support, we don't agree with the way she is using her son or the way the media and the left-wing Michael Moore types are using her. I feel that what she is doing is putting all of our sons and daughters in the military at risk. It has become very hard for any of us to feel sympathy for this woman. And that's a shame because she's become nothing more than a puppet, spouting words fed to her by those who want nothing more than to harm our country. She needs to go home. The living need her attention. None of this anger and vitriol will bring back her son. And at this point, no discussions with you or your wife will make a lick of difference because she isn't listening to you or to anyone else.

I just felt that you might want a drop of encouragement in the desert of politics. Keep strong. I've got you and yours in my prayers.

-- (Proud Marine Mom)

The letter I received yesterday, on official White House stationary, said:

Dear (Old Grey Frog...they used my real name but HTP is a stickler for security),

Thank you for taking the time to write and for your kind words. I appreciate your support.

The men and women of our Armed Forces are heroes. Your loved ones are selflessly serving to protect our country and spread freedom. To honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice and to make America secure, we will win the war on terror.

Americans stand solidly behind our military and are grateful for your family's service and sacrifice. We have the finest military in the world, and I am proud to be your loved ones' Commander and Chief.

Laura and I send our best wishes. May God bless you, may God bless our troops, and may God continue to bless America.

Sincerely,

George Bush (both typed and signed)

I don't care. I'm keeping my letter and I'm printing up my e-mail to keep with the letter. Call me dumb, call me naive. And I can just see my Devil Dog Daughter rolling her eyes and thinking, "Geez Mom! You wrote the President?! About me?!" Just be happy that I didn't call our write to your Drill Instructors at Parris Island while you were there. No...I didn't write them afterwards either. Give me some credit.

Murphyism of the Day

Leo Rogers' Blessing for Volume II

If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing.