Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Happy Thanksgiving
I am not sure that I will be blogging much over the holiday weekend, but I may churn something out in between the helpings of food and football games. Either way, I wanted to wish all of my readers a Happy Thanksgiving.
I also wanted to call your attention to two items related to our troops currently serving overseas who, along with their families and loved ones, are feeling a particular sting this time of year. Their sacrifice deserves special attention and consideration.
In furtherance of this, I recommend a gift of books, DVDs and/or magazines to the young men and women stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to those recovering in VA hospitals. Although they are temporarily on hold until after the holidays (due to overwhelming mail traffic), sites like Books For Soldiers (linked in my blog roll under "Help Our Troops") are an excellent place to go in order to send donations to soldiers in need of a little support. While they will not be able to process donations until after Christmas, that shouldn't prevent any of us from setting aside a care package as we contemplate our own bounty of blessings. The link will be there after Christmas, and indefinitely, if you care to utilize it.
Until then, there are sites you can visit in order to donate money for phone cards and long distance minutes for our less affluent soldiers who cannot afford to call home from their VA hospitals as they convalesce over the holiday season. That fact alone is a travesty.
Or you can always go the direct route and send phone cards of any amount to:
Medical Family Assistance Center
Walter Reed Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20307-5001
The second item is a story from a truly remarkable blog called A View From A Broad. This article, the featured item in the blogger zine Blog Tower, is written by Ginmar, a young woman currently serving in Iraq. Her observations are stunning in their beauty, subtlety and honesty. Less pretentious than a journalist, but more insightful than a casual observer, her voice is more like literature in real time - at least when she feels like it. In this article, she is clearly in the mood, and the result is something of more worth than the vast majority of the rants and ravings careening through the blogosphere.
I also wanted to call your attention to two items related to our troops currently serving overseas who, along with their families and loved ones, are feeling a particular sting this time of year. Their sacrifice deserves special attention and consideration.
In furtherance of this, I recommend a gift of books, DVDs and/or magazines to the young men and women stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to those recovering in VA hospitals. Although they are temporarily on hold until after the holidays (due to overwhelming mail traffic), sites like Books For Soldiers (linked in my blog roll under "Help Our Troops") are an excellent place to go in order to send donations to soldiers in need of a little support. While they will not be able to process donations until after Christmas, that shouldn't prevent any of us from setting aside a care package as we contemplate our own bounty of blessings. The link will be there after Christmas, and indefinitely, if you care to utilize it.
Until then, there are sites you can visit in order to donate money for phone cards and long distance minutes for our less affluent soldiers who cannot afford to call home from their VA hospitals as they convalesce over the holiday season. That fact alone is a travesty.
Or you can always go the direct route and send phone cards of any amount to:
Medical Family Assistance Center
Walter Reed Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20307-5001
The second item is a story from a truly remarkable blog called A View From A Broad. This article, the featured item in the blogger zine Blog Tower, is written by Ginmar, a young woman currently serving in Iraq. Her observations are stunning in their beauty, subtlety and honesty. Less pretentious than a journalist, but more insightful than a casual observer, her voice is more like literature in real time - at least when she feels like it. In this article, she is clearly in the mood, and the result is something of more worth than the vast majority of the rants and ravings careening through the blogosphere.
