Winter Jam 2011

On Saturday, our daughter, son-in-law and grandson joined us in Fayetteville for  Winter Jam 2011.  If you've never been to a concert with 10,000+ kids, you have truly missed something...LOL.

I have been to concerts like this before, but the kids had not.  I told them we needed to be there early to get a good seat.  It was $10 at the door and no tickets were sold ahead of time and the doors didn't open 'til 5:00.  We arrived at 3:00 and stood in line for two hours.

The door opened and we all were ready to sit down, but everyone waited patiently for their turn.

The first to perform was Jason Castro -- you may remember him from American Idol, where he finished fourth in 2009.

Chris August

Sidewalk Prophets

Red 

(This is the only group we could not understand the words of their music)

Newsong

Francesca Battistelli

David Crowder Band

Kutless

Newsboys ROCKED the house and put on quite a show!

Grandson Dalton had his own light show:)

Did I mention this was a Christian concert?  Yes, all the groups are Christian and you can't beat seeing all those groups for ten bucks.  It's awesome to see so many young people standing, clapping, singing and praising God -- it was a blessing.  And it was great to share it with our daughter, son-in-law and grandson.

Some of you have probably never heard of these musicians.  Let me encourage you to listen to a couple of their songs.  If you only want to listen to one or two, I'd recommend Newsboys, David Crowder Band, Francesca Battistelli or Newsong.  Just click on one on the sidebar.  They are all wonderful and have tremendous musical ability and write a lot of their own songs.  We LOVE music of all kind, but we listen mainly to Christian contemporary music, but I do love the oldies but goodies of Southern Gospel music, as well as the great 50s music.

Grandson Dalton

Until next time, live each day to the fullest -- as if it were your last!  May God continue to bless our voyage, as well as our family and friends everywhere.   Thanks to you for stopping by.

Airborne and Special Operations Museum

Friday we visited the Airborne and Special Operations Museum in Fayetteville, North Carolina.  It took us a couple of trips around the block before we found the parking lot -- there was street construction around the parking area which made it difficult to find.  There is no entrance fee for the museum, but there is a fee for a short movie and a simulator ride.


Fort Bragg in Fayetteville is the home of the 82nd Airborne  Division and the XVIII Airborne Corps.  The world famous Golden Knights (The Army's Parachute Team) also call Fort Bragg home.

Meet Iron Mike who stands guard at the entrance to the Museum.

The term "Iron Mike" is American slang used to refer to men who are especially tough, brave and inspiring.  Because the use of the slang term was popular in the first half of the 20th century, many statutes from that period acquired the Iron Mike nickname.  This particular Airborne Trooper is the newest Iron Mike statute and was placed in front of the Museum on June 14, 2010.   The statute depicts a World War II-era Airborne Trooper with a Thompson machine gun and stands 16' 4" and weighs 3,235 pounds. 

The inscription on Iron Mike's plaque states:

            "Iron Mike stands in honor of Airborne Troopers  
            whose courage,  dedication  and traditions  make 
            them the world's finest fighting soldiers." 

These paratroopers are hanging just inside the Museum's doors.

We continue to find military museums uniquely designed, informative and well presented. One aspect I found interesting was the repair and packing of parachutes.  The parachute is stretched out on a long table and folded and packed in the small pouch at the end of the table.

Those who repair parachutes are known as "Riggers." 

The red baseball cap is a signature piece of  the rigger's  uniform and immediately identifies a troop as a rigger.

Their job is very important as depicted in their pledge:

During WWII, a detachment of Women's Army Corps (WACs) served at the Parachute Training School in Ft Benning, Georgia.  WACs were put through strenuous training before they became certified riggers.  In the five weeks of parachute school, the women learned the fundamentals of packing, how to sew parachutes by machine and hand, how to pack trays and mend harnesses, how to repair canopies and finally how to pack all kinds of parachutes.  However, the women were not allowed to be paratroopers.  On Graduation Day, a WAC packed twelve parachutes and went with twelve paratroopers making a jump.  If one parachute failed to open properly, she would not earn her rigger wings.  They thought women with textile mill training would make good parachute riggers, but nearly 40% of those women failed to complete the training.  On average, a WAC could rig six parachutes a day, compared to men who rigged ten a day.  As the Corps better understood who made better riggers and picked more suitable women, the WACs became more proficient and eventually were considered equally qualified with their male counterparts.  One hundred fifty-thousand women served in the WAC during WWII.

Another story I found interesting was the one about the wedding dress.  As the story goes, the year was 1943 and a young paratrooper was in training with the 101st Airborne Division.  He and two other friends went in together and purchased a car so they could "socialize" with the local girls.   It was during one of those dates when Eugene Deibler met Mary Smith and he knew she was "the one."  Following his training, Sergeant Deibler shipped out to Great Britain.  In the early morning of June 6, 1944, he was part of the airborne assault on Normandy.  The unit landed in a field near the German headquarters.  Sergeant Deibler said he doesn't know why he did it, but he took out his knife and cut out half of his unused reserve silk parachute canopy and stored it in his knapsack.  He kept it there through 76 days of combat.  At the first opportunity, he mailed the material back to Mary.  She took the silk from the parachute, put it with a little more material and with the help of a seamstress, they made her wedding dress.  Mary kept it ready until the two were wed on December 22, 1945.  Now, that's a love story!

One more story before I end this post.  By December 22, 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge, the German offensive had surrounded the town of Bastogne, Belgium.  Inside the town, General Anthony McAuliffe commanded the 101st Airborne Division.  That morning a German contingent approached the 101st under a flag of truce and handed a surrender ultimatum, stating the battalions were ready to annihilate the US troops.  The note demanded a surrender within two hours or shelling would begin.  The note was presented to General McAuliff, whose response was -- "Awe Nuts!"  

This was the entire content of the note delivered to the Germans by Colonel Joseph Harper:

"""To the German Commander:

Nuts!

The American Commander"

Depiction of  Colonel Harper presenting the message to the Germans.

A few moments later, Colonel Harper made sure the note was clear.  "If you don't know what 'nuts' means, in plain English, it is the same as 'Go to Hell.'"  That night the Germans began a four-night bombing assault against the town; and on December 26, 1944, after a ten-day siege, American tanks from General George Patton's Third Army lifted the siege of Bastogne.

Alan loves watching old military and western movies.  He actually watched the movie "Battle of the Bulge," starring Henry Fonda and knew all about this particular scene.  Guess I need to watch more movies with him, so I can learn more history.

A few more pictures from the Airborne and Special Operations Museum.

Each waiting for their turn to jump

As we exited the museum, there were numerous memorial squares on the sidewalk.  This one honored members of one family who has served.

As I close this post, I leave you with this message:

Short Note

This is really going to be a quick post.  We returned to Fayetteville, North Carolina, today to have the fridge recall fixed.  We were told it would only take about an hour, but as we all know, it seldom happens as quickly as they predict.  Our appointment was for 1:30 and we finally left near 4:30 -- guess that's not too bad.  They also had to look at our steps.  Alan was absolutely correct when he diagnosed the step problem as the gears were stripped. 

We were told the plate with the gears would actually have to be  "made" by Kwikee -- the step manufacturer -- and would take 4-5 weeks before it would be received at the service department of Hawley's Camping Center.  We had to pay the $580 up front, but because of our extended warranty, we will be reimbursed by Hawley's when the gear plate is installed.

We are staying in the Fayetteville area until Sunday.  Our kids are driving over on Saturday and we are going to Winter Jam -- a Christian concert where we will see the Newsboys, David Crowder Band, Sidewalk Prophets, among others.  The campground we are in has I-95 to the west and railroad tracks to the east, not to mention the flight path for Ft Bragg's helicopters.  Hope we are able to get some sleep:(

My grandson, Dalton -- who will be 13 in May -- is happy he is finally taller than Nana...lol.

A few more Spring pics:

Bradford Pear Trees

Azaleas

         

          Blooming Collard Greens              (At least that's what we were told)

 We will see what else we can find in the area over the next couple of days.   May God continue to watch over our family and friends, wherever they may be.

Girls Night Out

WOO-HOO, Girls Night Out -- Since my daughter's mother-in-law and I both have birthdays in March, my daughter, Alissa, treated us last night to a Girls Night Out at church with Anita Renfroe and Mandisa.

Mother-in-Law Gail, daughter Alissa and Me

It was a sold-out crowd of 2000+ in the sanctuary of the church we attend when in North Carolina -- Englewood Baptist Church.  You can see a few men showed up too.

Anita Renfroe is a Christian Comedian from Atlanta, Georgia, and the wife of a Baptist pastor, who is now her business manager.  She became famous for her comic rendition of everything a Mother would typically say in the course of a day, set to the William Tell Overture.  You can listen to "The Mom Song" by clicking on it on the sidebar to the right of this post.  She is the mother of three and grandmother of two.  She is so funny -- we laughed and laughed and laughed.


During intermission, I was clowning around with my camera -- attempting to take a picture of the three of us.  Apparently, it's not easy to take a good picture of yourself while holding the camera too -- anyway that's my excuse.  Maybe I should have held the camera up higher, I don't know.  We laughed even harder at how distorted I appear.   My daughter said it was like those houses with crazy mirrors you find at a carnival.  This is the best one of several possibilities -- the distortion isn't quite as bad as the others...LOL.

Following intermission, Mandisa took the stage and rocked the house

As most of you probably know,  Mandisa was a part of Season 5 of American Idol and she gave a powerful testimony about her experience on AI.  She shared it was the last year age-wise she would be eligible to try out for American Idol, and she had once heard Joyce Meyer say, "If you're scared to do something, do it scared." So, the first time she stood before Simon Cowell, she was scared to death and intimidated by him.  She further shared she had always struggled with her weight -- even as a child, food was her comforter.  However, five years after American Idol, she has forgiven Simon for his derogatory comments about her weight, and with God's help, she has now lost 106 pounds.  Mandisa's five step program for weight lost is:  1)  Getting into God's Word; 2) Eating healthy -- no particular diet; 3) Exercise -- she loves Zumba; 4) Counseling to help her overcome her food addiction; and 5) Prayer.  And she  gives God all the Glory for her success.  

And she looks great

I have also put one of Mandisa's songs on the sidebar, "Broken Hallelujah."

If you want to laugh, please listen to "The Mom Song" by Anita and if you really want a blessing, please listen to "Broken Hallelujah." 

I have a small pillow on my couch Alissa gave me many years ago and it says it all:

I thank my daughter for being willing to share this night with both her mother and mother-in-law.  I am truly blessed with the love of a beautiful daughter.  Thanks, Alissa, for who you are...I love you very much.  

Before I close, I want to say our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Japan.  The devastation is incredible and we pray for everyone who has been affected by this tragedy.

God bless our family and friends, near and far. 

Medal of Honor Recipient

Since March is Women in History month, I thought I would share some of information on the only female military Medal of Honor recipient -- Dr. Mary Edwards Walker. 

 

Dr. Walker was born on November 26, 1832, in Oswego, New York.  She was the youngest of five daughters and had one younger brother.  As a young woman, she taught at the local school and earned enough money to pay her way through Syracuse Medical College, where she graduated as a medical doctor in 1855 as the only woman in her class.  She married a fellow medical student, Albert Miller, and they set up a joint practice in Rome, New York.  The practice did not do well, as female physicians were neither trusted or respected.  In 1860, Dr. Walker briefly attended Bowen Collegiate Institute in Hopkinton, Iowa, where she was suspended because she would not quit the all-male debating society.

At the beginning of the Civil War, she volunteered for the Union Army as a civilian, working in the nation's capital.  Although Dr. Walker was a physician,  she was only allowed to practice as a nurse.  Finally, in September 1863, she was awarded a commission as a "Contract Acting Assistant Surgeon," becoming the first ever female U.S. Army Surgeon.  Later, Dr. Walker was appointed assistant surgeon of the 52nd Ohio Infantry.  During this service, she frequently crossed battle lines, treating civilians.  On April 16, 1864, she was captured by Confederate troops and arrested as a spy.  She was sent to Virginia, but in August of that same year, she was released as part of a prisoner exchange.  

Her work so impressed leaders that after the war, Dr. Walker was recommended for the Congressional Medal of Honor by Generals William Sherman and George Thomas.  On November 11, 1865, President Andrew Johnson signed a bill to present her the Medal of Honor, the first woman to receive that award.  To date, Dr. Walker is still the only female recipient of the Medal of Honor.  

In 1917, Congress created a pension act for Medal of Honor recipients and in so doing created separate Army and Navy Medal of Honor Rolls.  At that time, the Army decided to review eligibility requirements for the Army Medal of Honor Roll.  The Medal of Honor Board never rescinded any medals but deleted 911 names from the Army Medal of Honor Roll, including that of Dr. Mary Edwards Walker.  Dr. Walker continued to wear her medal until her death on February 21, 1919, at the age of 86.

And in 1977, President Carter restored her medal posthumously.

Today, the Medal of Honor is as follows, from left,

                                     the Army, Navy/Marine Corps/Coast Guard, and Air Force.

Following the war, Dr. Walker became a writer and lecturer, fighting for the right of women to wear healthy clothing which did not restrict their movement or hurt their internal organs, as did heavy skirts and corsets.  She frequently wore her own "uniform," which was comprised of a long coat and bloomers.  When women began enlisting and even receiving commissions in the military, they were often issued uniforms consisting mostly of skirts, with pants rarely seen and then only worn by female officers.  Women weren't issued "fatigues" until the 1970s, and the Battle Dress Uniform (BDUs) was issued to women soldiers for the first time in the 1990s, shortly after I started working for the United States Air Force.

As of September 30, 2010, women comprised 14.5% of the total active duty forces, 19.6% of the total Reserve forces and 15.2% of the National Guard, for a total of 404,228 female Americans currently serving their nation.

To say women in the military have come a long way is an understatement, but there is still only one female Medal of Honor recipient.  There have been hundreds of military men awarded the Medal of Honor.  Wouldn't it be great to see another female receive this prestigious award?


Until next time, may God continue to bless our voyage and our family and friends, near and far.  And may God bless and keep our military men and women safe throughout the world, as they fight to protect us.

Fort Bragg Pope Army Airfield

Yesterday, we took a little car trip to Fayetteville, North Carolina.  From reading various blogs and forums, we learned about the Norcold recall.  We have not received anything from Norcold to indicate our fridge was on the recall list, but after checking with Norcold's website, we learned it is on the list.  Also, our entry door steps will not stay locked in the stowed position because the gear is stripped. Since we have an extended warranty on our Motorhome with Route 66, Hawley's RV in Fayetteville was the closest Route 66 dealership.  We wanted to check it out before we  allowed them to work on our Motorhome.  Fayetteville is approximately 90 miles from where we are parked in Nashville.

It was a beautiful, blue-sky kind of day.  The Bradford pear trees were in full bloom and aligned the streets of the smaller towns we drove through.   

 

After visiting with the Service Manager at Hawley's RV, we were satisfied he was well versed in the Norcold recalls and he ordered the recall kit.  When the kit arrives next week, we will make an appointment to have it installed, and John will also check out our steps and order what is needed to repair those.  Like some have done, we would like to replace our Norcold with a residential fridge, but do not feel it is financially feasible to do so now, but perhaps in the future.  Thank goodness the steps are covered under our extended warranty because to replace the steps would cost around $1700, plus labor. 

Leaving Hawley's, we headed to Pope AFB, which is located 12 miles Northwest of Fayetteville's business district.  When we first saw this sign, we were like, what is "Pope AAF?"  

Then we learned that in accordance with the 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC), as of Tuesday, 1 March, Pope AFB became part of Fort Bragg and assumed the name it held before becoming a United States Air Force base -- that is -- Pope Field.  Pope was Fort  Bragg's Army Airfield from World War I to World War II, thus "Pope AAF."

I knew when I was still working at Little Rock AFB that Little Rock was acquiring Pope's C-130s but had forgotten that eventually there would be no Pope Air Force Base, as it was known then. The few active-duty airmen who remain at the base will be responsible for operating "Green Ramp," where Fort Bragg paratroopers board airplanes.  The Air Force Reserve's 440th Airlift Group will operate the airfield and a wing of 16 C-130H2 cargo airplanes.  The gates that separated Fort Bragg and Pope AFB no longer exist.  

Just past what used to be Pope AFB's entrance gate is the normal static display of various AF planes.

 

We were a little surprised  when we pulled up at a stoplight on base behind this truck:

Why you ask?  The fact that both the driver and passenger in this truck were Army soldiers and were obviously expressing their open political opinion in this way on a military installation.  Having worked for the military, as well as being a military spouse, it was well known that we were not to express our political opinions in any open forum,  to include bumper stickers on our vehicle.   If you  look really close, one sticker says, "Voting Democrat is just Stupid."    It's right under the sticker that says, " Drill for American Oil NOW!"     I didn't want to expose the license plate but to the left of it was a sticker that simply said, "Palin."  Maybe times have changed since I retired in 2008 and it's okay to now express such an open opinion on a military installation -- or maybe it's allowed in the Army.  With their opinions, we couldn't help but wonder what these soldiers thought about obeying the orders of the current Commander-in-Chief.

Another political statement of some kind we became aware of is this gas station in Rocky Mount, just down the road from Nashville.

We have no idea what the story behind this is -- maybe we'll find out.  We do know there is road construction in the area and perhaps somehow it's related.   

We are hanging in with our no-meat regimen -- however, I did cheat a little and had some turkey bacon with my pancakes at Denny's.  We read we should lose weight not eating meat and we should save money on food.  So far, neither of those have happened -- I haven't lost any more than the five pounds I had originally lost and Alan hasn't lost any more than his original ten pounds.  And we haven't seen much difference in the grocery bill, but maybe that's because the price of food -- along with gas -- just continues to rise.  Anyway, we will continue to press on meatless -- for now.

That's it for now.  As always, may God continue to bless our voyage, as well as our family and friends, near and far.