June

June©

June, the month we look forward to, the beginning of summer.

Outdoor activities, travel, entertainment and fun,

from June through August, we're all on the run.

The downside of June, the year's now half over, oh what a bummer.

Warm sunshine, bright blue skies and soft breezes,

as pollen counts bring for some, uncontrollable sneezes.

Seems so long since the snow, the great winter of skiing,

this month we call June, brings to us all, a great sense of being.

The weekend soon gone, dedicated to Father,

never quite like for Mom, less fuss and less bother,

but memories we have, some happy, some sad,

for that someone so special, we call our Dad.

This month, as we enter the solstice, the meridian of our year,

summertime activities, now move into high gear.

Boating, swimming, fishing, camping, golfing, biking, we go,

only four months or five and we'll be wading through snow.

As we now greet June head-on, and soon welcome July,

the heat starts to increase and the lawns start to dry

We now start looking for shade and a cool spot to rest,

but remember last winter, when we said it's summer, that is best.

Richard G. Shuster (from Rick’s Random Ramblings, June©)

Balance

Balance

We all need realize that in our lives we need balance just like all finely made precision instruments.

We learn to maintain our balance by avoiding excesses in any part of our existence.

We attempt to include in ourselves the right amounts of those of life’s balancing ingredients.

We include in our balance; spiritual, intellectual, emotional, physical, and environmental weights.

We also realize that this balancing requirement we embrace is somewhat unsteady at times.

We think somehow that the balance should be tight, precise and never wavering, firm footed and solid.

We soon find it is more like a small flat river raft, sometimes smoothly gliding, at other times hanging-on.

We often find that the balance most needed in our lives is the others, who like ourselves, need the balanceof us in theirs.

Richard G. Shuster (from Rick’s Random Ramblings, Balance©)

Reflections on Memorial Day

Reflections on Memorial Day

Let each and every one of us reflect this Memorial Day about the real meanings and what it has meant to us throughout our lives.

To me, it is all about those who have given all, for me.I shall never forget those who have paid that ultimate price.

Richard G. Shuster (from Rick's Random Ramblings, Reflections on Memorial Day)

http://randomlyrandomrick.blogspot.com/

http://www.pmimchat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=868

Is nothing worth living, fighting and dying for?

Is nothing worth living, fighting and dying for?

"You and I know and do not believe that life is so dear and peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery.

If nothing is worth dying for, when did this begin?

Should Moses have told the children of Israel to live in slavery under the pharaohs?

Should Christ have refused the cross?

Should the patriots of Concord Bridge have thrown down their guns and refused to fire the shot heard round the world?"

-Ronald Reagan-

Armed Forces Day, this Saturday 19 May

Armed Forces Day

This Saturday, 19 May, is Armed Forces Day, first set aside in 1949 by President Harry Truman to recognize the unification of the Armed Forces under the Department of Defense and to acknowledge the extraordinary dedication of America's uniformed Patriots standing ready in harm's way at home and around the world.

In the words of President Dwight Eisenhower, "It is fitting and proper that we devote one day each year to paying special tribute to those whose constancy and courage constitute one of the bulwarks guarding the freedom of this nation and the peace of the free world."

Since the opening shots of the American Revolution on 19 April 1775, American Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coastguardsmen have plowed the ground for freedom. We remain the proud and the free because they remain on post today. For this, we, the American People, offer our heartfelt thanks.

Take the time and make the effort to honor today’s men & women in uniform, and remember always our Veterans, those who yesterday proudly wore their uniforms.

A Sailor's Uniform©

It seems a long time since this once young sailor wore that uniform,but my pride in what it stands for is as new as today?

Richard G. Shuster (from Rick's Random Ramblings, A Sailor's Uniform©) rgsjesshuster@charter.net

Let us make a vow to our Veterans who have died.

Let us make a vow to our Veterans who have died.

“Let us make a vow to our dead. Let us show them by our actions that we understand what they died for. Let our actions say to them... ‘I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.’ Strengthened by their courage, heartened by their valor, and borne by their memory, let us continue to stand for the ideals for which they lived and died.”

-Ronald Reagan-

Moms

Moms

Your Mother is always with you. She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street. She's the smell of certain foods you remember, flowers you pick and perfume that she wore. She's the cool hand on your brow when you're not feeling well, she's your breath in the air on a cold winter's day. She is the sound of the rain that lulls you to sleep, the colors of a rainbow, she is Christmas morning.

Your Mother lives inside your laughter. And she's crystallized in every tear drop. A mother shows every emotion .......... happiness, sadness, fear, jealousy, love, hate, anger, helplessness, excitement, joy, sorrow..... and all the while, hoping and praying you will only know the good feelings in life. She's the place you came from, your first home, and she's the map you follow with every step you take. She's your first love, your first friend, even your first enemy, but nothing on earth can separate you. Not time, not space.......not even death!

(Richard G. Shuster, from a friend, author unknown )

PASS THIS ON TO ALL THE MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS AND SONS YOU KNOW.... MAY WE NEVER TAKE OUR MOTHERS FOR GRANTED.

"The best and most beautiful things cannot be seen or touched - they must be felt with the heart."
~Helen Keller~

Memorial Day Memories

Memorial Day Memories©

A serious time, yet one that always brings hope….

It seems like yesterday, when but a lad of eleven, twelve and thirteen, back in Union City, PA. I was a junior member of the VFW Post Drum and Bugle Corps, an adventure I shall never forget and always cherish. A time that I learned of wars and of those who fought them and those who remained at home to await the return of their loved ones.

I learned the deepest respect for the old timers and their stories of valor and fear and faith and courage, often in eulogies at graveside.

The drums beat cadence, the glockenspiels called the order, and the bugles recalled taps in honor of all who passed in the line of duty, as they have done for time beyond my memory and will, I hope, long after I am gone.

Richard G. Shuster (from Rick’s Random Ramblings, Memorial Day Memories©)
Vietnam Era Veteran
Father of 3 Gulf War Era Veterans