The Heart of It All

Hi Folks,

Mathew 8

5And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
6And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
7And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
8The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
9For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
10When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
11And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
12But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
13And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

I was going to start of with "My fellow Americans", but I hear someone else all ready said that!

I will warn you now this is more personal blogging than thought provoking, then again, some would say I have never really had a thought provoking idea.

WOW, is all I can say! ABNPOPPA has been pressed back into service for the US ARMY. Nah, I didn't re-enlist, and didn't get called up, too old. I did, get a call from Fayetteville, home of the 82n AIRBORNE Division to report for duty as a youth monitor, aka, grandpa or baby sitter. Am I up to the challenge, you betcha Charlie! Three grandsons, 10,11, and 14 and me for 72 fun (?) filled hours. One of my fellow bloggers suggested something like chocolate about an hour before mom and dad get home. I am thinking about that!

It seems some of the husbands and wives get to visit Myrtle Beach this weekend as part of their debriefing since returning home from Iraq. Debriefing? Gotta think that one over. Anyway since ABNMOMMA'S dad has been in the hospital for some breathing difficulties, I am in Fayville, as I like to call it. and it's easier to type.

This is one town let me tell you. Flags and signs supporting our soldiers and of course Fort Bragg. What can I say? Fort Bragg, Home of the 82nd AIRBORNE, Special Ops, Delta Force. For an older Army veteran like me this is the mecca for our fighting forces. I am sure the Marines and Air Force and Navy and Coast Guard might disagree. Next week is All American Week and there is going to be more parades, brass, exhibitions than one can imagine. There have bowling tournaments, baseball games for our returning soldiers. The media may want to say the returning veterans are not getting greeted the way they should be and people are ready to give up on the GWOT but these soldiers want to win. You can just feel a difference in the air. You can feel the Pride, the Dedication, and the Courage of these young men and women soldiers as they walk with pride and their heads held high! These are the GREATEST Soldiers in the world.

You can run stories about barracks in poor repair but forget to mention they are barracks from WWII and haven't been lived in for two years. The media also forgets to mention about the millions of dollars spent in new barracks for our fighting forces. Sorry, not meant to be a slam fest.

This is double high for ol' ABNPOPPA. Mom and dad away and the boys and grandpa play. And I am so lucky to be playing in Fayville and Fort Bragg. All I can say is WOW!

I am so lucky to be an American G-d Bless the USA and blogging from Fort Bragg!!

Hoooah! ATW!