Dementia for 2

As you all know, Veterans Day is Thursday. I am so excited because this is the first Veterans Day I have had off in forever! I honestly cannot remember the last time I was scheduled off for Veterans Day.

To celebrate this momentous occurrence, I thought I would share a little trivia about Veterans Day with all of you. I will try not to bore you with too many tidbits.

1. The U.S. Government has stated that the official spelling of Veterans Day is with no apostrophe.

2. It is celebrated on the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended WWI. The 11th hour of the 11th day in the 11th month.

3. In 1971, the day was moved to the 4th Monday in October. It was moved back to its original date in 1978.

4. Since the switch back to the original date, more businesses are remaining open. Most banks still close however, some schools and local governments are choosing to remain open.

I find this trend very disheartening. Not only because I am a Veteran, but, because I think this country has been losing sight of those that helped shape it into the great country that we have.

So, on this Veterans Day please take time out to thank a Vet that you may work with or be related to. Let them know that while you may not understand what they have been through, you do appreciate their willingness to give the ultimate sacrifice....their life.

I have not been enlisted in the USMC for a long time. A lot has changed since I was at Parris Island. Women in my day did not qualify with a rifle, participate in the obstacle course, or do any type of combat training. That has all changed now. The one remaining constant is that women in the USMC still do not train along side the men. Personally, I think that is a good thing.

I recently received a request for "details" of my military life. Here are some of the more humorous things that I still remember. I hope that you all can laugh along with me.

I think they still only train women at Parris Island, SC. I arrived at the airport in some small town off the coast at like 2 in the morning. I think they do this on purpose. Anyway, there was no female Drill Instructor there so the male DI made me sit in the airport away from everyone else. All the young men that arrived, had to stand up beside him facing the wall. They were in a platoon formation and they stood there for what seemed like hours.

When we finally get on the bus to leave, the DI starts pacing the bus and telling us that we have to turn over any weapons that we have. You would be surprised at what you could take on a plane then. Almost all of us had a knife of some sort.

So we get to Parris Island and when we get off the bus, there are these yellow footprints painted on the ground. We all have to stand on them. Then the yelling starts. "Stand at attention!" "Eyes to the center!" "Hands down!" You get the drift. I went to boot camp in October so it is still dark and it is cold at 3 in the morning.

Then we all go in this room and we are weighed again and our luggage is searched. Since I was under the minimum weight allowed and "cheated" to get in, I was worried that they would send me back home. But, obviously their scales were wrong because they put me in at the minimum allowed weight.

You are given a list of things to bring before you leave. Most of this you will not need. Anyway, you have to take all items that are not allowed and put them in a bag with your name on them. You get this back after basic.

So the women get back on the bus after at least 2 hours of this and go to the women's barracks. By now it is daylight and you have missed breakfast. On the way there, we see these people marching with flashlights. We assume they are practicing for something. Little did we know that the next morning that would be us and they were going to breakfast. IN THE DARK!

We also had to go through the gas chamber. This is not fun. They use these tear gas tablets and you want to be in the first group to go in. The reason is they keep adding tablets and if you are in the later groups you get all that gas. So because I am so small, my gas mask did not fit properly. I could not get a good seal on it. You go in and they start talking to you. "Remove your mask." So everyone has to take the mask off. If anyone freaks out at this point, you all have to stay in there until they calm down. Needless to say, I was in one of the last groups. Some girl thought she was going to start screaming and I think the girl next to her hit her or something because she calmed down real quick.

Since this gas is in your hair, clothes, all over your body, any thing you touch will burn. We came out and every orifice on my face was running. Naturally I want to touch my face. Fortunately, I turned towards the wind and that helped to stop all the flowing rivers from my eyes and nose.

When I wrote my mom about this all I said was "we went to through the gas chamber today." My mom freaks! She calls my recruiter and asks what are they trying to do kill me or something? So he calls Parris Island and they get in touch with my DI. I have to go and call my mom and let her know that I am still alive and all is well.

There are a lot of things you are not allowed to have in basic training. You are allowed to get packages from home, but, you have to open them in the presence of the DI. Any contraband is taken then. Depending on their mood, any number of things can happen. So, in every letter I sent home, I always ended it with "Please send no candy!!" I saw too many women do pt (physical training), as punishment for getting contraband.

That's enough for now. Hope you enjoyed my little trip down memory lane. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!!

Rather than post on what I donate, I though I would expand on 2 of my favorite charities.

The one charity that I donate the most is Vietnam Veterans of America. They will come to your house and pick up anything you decide to donate. After the first donation, you will envelopes in the mail periodically, that contain their yellow donation bags with a date they will be in your area. What I like the most about this organization is that the proceeds go directly to help Vietnam Vets. They help with legal issues, medical issues, jobs, training, and the Veteran's Homes.

The second charity that I use the most is Dress for Success. This organization helps women that are returning/joining the workforce with a suit appropriate for an interview. You must have an interview scheduled to be eligible for a suit. To get a second outfit, you must be working. This organization helps women from all walks of life. From homeless shelters, to stay at home moms returning to work. They also offer many different programs to help women that are entering the workforce. Dress for Success will take any interview appropriate clothing. Suits, dresses, blouses, skirts, shoes, handbags and accessories.

There is a similar organization for men call Career Gear. This organization is similar to Dress for Success. They are not as widespread but they are growing and you can contact them about affiliates in certain cities.

While I am sure there is a plethora of good charitable organizations out there, these are my top 3. I like the feeling of know that what I have donated is going to an individual that really needs it. I also feel better knowing that in some small way, I am helping some woman/vet/man make a better life for themselves and their families.

I wanted to post something a little different than most for this day so I decided to post a couple of videos of our armed forces. Since I have a special place in my heart for Marines (being a BAM), I decided to post a special favorite of mine just for them.

Semper Fi!!!

The first video was taken at a Patriots Superbowl Game.



This is one of my favorite cadences.



I hope you all enjoy your freedom today!!!

I really miss the USMC. I was enlisted for 6 years and I really enjoyed it.

One of the things I really miss is the opportunity to see the Marine Silent Drill Platoon in action. I was able to see them in 29 Palms with the President's Own which is the USMC Band that plays for all the presidents. If you ever get to see them take your camcorder you will be glad you did!

You can go to the official Marine Silent Drill Platoon's website and get their travel schedule.

This is a video of their new routine. I hope y'all enjoy it!

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the US Embassy in Beirut. I will never forget this time in my life.

I had just come home from Japan. I was on leave and still trying to get settled in at my new home just off the base at Camp Lejeune, NC. My first husband was also an active duty Marine.

I still can't think on this time without crying. I worked in a communications center so I received all the "death messages" before they were distributed to the respective units. Guys I dated, went to school with, worked with were dead.

The most vivid memory of this time for me is seeing the Marines carrying this awful news to families. For weeks I saw them in their modified Dress Blues delivering this news. To think of some poor wife or mother getting this news still makes me cry today.

You can go to any Marine and support a Marine through letters, care packages,etc. here. There are also sites for Navy, Army, and Air Force.

I encourage anyone who has someone in the Armed Forces or knows a family with a member in the Armed Forces to just let them know that you are thinking of them today.

Semper Fidelis