Let We Forget...

This weekend, America celebrates Memorial Day.

While there is ever-increasing focus on the military, I'd like to take a moment to also note - and thank - others who give life and limb in a different line of service.

Firefighters

Both paid and volunteer firefighters are the primary responders to fires, accidents and many other calls, ranging from routine to bizarre.

They put their life on the line many times, from entering blazing buildings and forest fires, to working at roadway accidents on rainy nights, to entering icy waters.

In addition to helping fellow man, they are also called to rescue animals from family pets, to farm livestock, to a wide variety of wildlife.

Some leave loved ones in the middle of dinner or the dead of night to answer the call, and never come home again...

Police

Police officers and auxiliary volunteers, put themselves at risk, from high-speed chases and gunfire, to domestic fights and bomb responses, from mass evacuations to search and rescue.

Many officers are killed in line of action; some even when they simply walk to help a disabled motorist and are struck by a distracted driver.

EMT and Paramedics

These ambulance crews are mostly volunteers across this country, yet they put themselves at risk on a regular basis.

They race through traffic, where impatient drivers may ignore the siren and jump out into their way; they work roadside at accidents with cars whizzing past.

Many don't realize that these dedicated men and women also go into very dangerous situations, such as over the side of a cliff or into dangerous neighborhoods to help the fallen or sick.

I didn't realize the extent of danger until a New York City Paramedic friend walked up in bullet-proof vest. She told us that on many calls where someone was shot, the bullets are still flying when they arrive...

Rescue Workers and
First Responders

This includes those who go into dangerous situations immediately following a tornado, flood, hurricane, tsunami, earthquake or similar.

They brave churning waters, collapsing debris, open gas lines, and/or flames to help complete strangers. 

In times of emergency, often these people are NOT the trained emergency responders, but simply caring hearts who first arrive on the scene and realize that someone needs help! 

And the most important...

The Peacemakers and
Human Rights Activists 

These bold hearts who stand up for others, often those who cannot do so themselves. Some face ostracization, job loss and prison; some pay the full price with their lives.

Over these recent years, there are many reports from around the world where people die protesting against unfair or inhumane leaders and/or laws. 

 We in United States should not forget our own similarly fallen. Our largest generation, the Baby Boomers, lived through a time when many people ~ men and women, black and white ~ were injured and died simply because they stated in words and non-aggressive actions that treating another human being differently is WRONG. 

Some, likewise, died on American soil while protesting for Peace during a time of war. 

On this Memorial Day Weekend, in addition to fallen military, may we remember those who have NEVER raised a hand to harm another, but lost life or limb in helping others and in making this a better world. 

Not just those in the United States, but all those around the world...

In Memoriam

~ESA

Lest We Forget

Today, America celebrates Memorial Day. While there is ever-increasing focus on the military, I'd like to take a moment to also note - and thank - others who give life and limb for the sake of others. 

Firefighters, both paid and volunteer, who are the primary responders to fires, accidents and many other calls, ranging from routine to bizarre.

They put their life on the line many times, from entering blazing buildings, to working at roadway accidents on rainy nights, to entering icy water.

In addition to helping fellow man, they are also called to rescue animals from family pets, to farm livestock, to a wide variety of wildlife.

Some leave loved ones in the middle of dinner or the dead of night to answer the call, and never come home again... 

Police, both paid and auxiliary volunteers, put themselves at risk, from high-speed chases, to gunfire-fights, from domestic fights, to bomb responses, from mass evacuations, to search and rescue.

Officers are killed in line of action; also when they simply walk to help a disabled motorist and are struck by a distracted driver. 

EMT, Paramedics and ambulance crews are mostly volunteers across this country. They also put themselves at risk on a regular basis. They speed through traffic, where cars jump out into their way; they work roadside at accidents with cars whizzing past.

Many don't realize these dedicated men and women also go into very dangerous situations, such as rescuing some over the side of a cliff. They enter dangerous neighborhoods to help the fallen or sick. I didn't realize the extent of danger until a NYC Paramedic friend walked up in bullet-proof vest. On calls where someone was shot, the bullets are still flying when they arrive...


Rescue Workers/First Responders include those who go into danger immediately following a tornado, flood, hurricane, tsunami, earthquake or similar. They brave collapsing debris, churning waters and/or flames to help complete strangers.

In times of emergency, often these people are NOT trained emergency responders, but simply caring hearts who first arrive on the scene and realize that someone needs help!

And the most important...

The Peacemakers and Those who stand up for the rights of others, especially those who do so at the cost of their own lives. The news reports deaths in other parts of the world where people die protesting against unfair or inhumane laws or leaders. We in US should not forget our own similarly fallen.

Our largest generation, the Baby Boomers, lived through and should not forget the 1960's, where many people ~ men and women, black and white ~ died simply because they stated in words and non-aggressive actions that segregation is WRONG.

Some, likewise, died on US soil while protesting for Peace during a time of war.

On this Memorial Day, in addition to fallen military, may we especially remember those who have NEVER raised a hand to harm another, but lost life or limb in helping others and in making this a better world. Not just those in the US, but those all around the world...

In Memoriam

- ESA

Memory Lane

I hope my readers let me indulge in a jaunt down memory lane. Though I swear I had that hairstyle with my "banana seat" bicycle when I was in high school, I will only scroll back to the time I was in college...

It was the late 1980's. OK - while some of you weren't even sparks in your parents eyes, some of you probably just thought, "That isn't that far back!"

That was a time before CD's, when being able to play a cassette tape in the car was a cool thing. Though it was a bit better than the first cars of my parents' generation, where they only had AM radio.

It was a time before the public access of the world-wide web (a.k.a. the internet). Computers were no longer huge machines with punch-cards and spinning reel-to-reel machinery that took over a whole room. By then, there were humble desktop computers that ran on a new language called DOS.

This was a lot better than strings of ones and zeros. I remember typing in lines of DOS code in my computer class. But I had a hidden asset; my kid brother was a genius on using those blinking boxes since he was in the 8th grade. He taught the teachers how to use the school one.

The time when we would dial up over the phone lines to "post messages" on a virtual "bulletin board" didn't arrive until well after collage. So I declined to learn more than the basic requirements of this blinking box.

It couldn't even help me type up my school reports. There were better tools for that. I had transitioned from manual to electric typewriters in high school. For those younger readers, "manual" means one without ANY use of electricity. The electric ones had no screen, but replaced the keys that would jam together if you typed too fast, with a spinning ball that could fly out if you typed too fast. For those my age and older, remember typing a page and making a mistake, where you would have to retype the WHOLE page?

I had a "high-tech" typewriter as my graduation gift before college. This would let me scroll through one whole line of type and correct it before I hit the "Return" key, which acted like today's "Enter" key and typed out that line. (Before that, for you youngsters, the "Return" key was how you got to the next line on a page. What wordwrap?) This technology saved on correction tape. If I missed a typo on the screen, though, I still had to manually scroll up with the roller on the side (not the "scroll-bar"), space over to the spot, and use the typewriter's version of "white out" to cover and re-type the error. If it was more than a few words, I would just crumple up the page and begin again...

We were well before the age of the "spell-checker" too. One would hire an English major to proofread a school report before handing it in.

Phones were another thing that changed over the years. Hands up ~ who remembers what this is? This was still on the phones at my parents' home when I was in college. My grandparents had this on their sole house phone too. But their phone number dated to an even-older technology: IVANHOE-6-3015. While we no longer needed to have an operator connect us, we did have to use the rotary phone letters to dial "IV" and the numbers. (And I bet you youngsters thought letters on the keypad had to do with texting!)

My college roommate and I had the luxury of sharing a phone (and our first regular bill). But ours was a newer technology - the push button phone! (We paid extra for "touch tone" dialing.) It was still connected to the phone jack in the wall, and the hand-held receiver was connected to the base with a long spiral cord. If I wanted a private conversation, I either called when my roommate was in class, or I hid in the closet like I did at home... until someone tripped over the phone cord and yelled at me! :P

The phone bill was different too. I paid per minute on local calls and a small fortune for long distance. But for some reason, when there was someone we loved (as boyfriend or girlfriend), we wouldn't count those minutes. We would spend an hour or more in either conversation or just listening to each other breathe in the silence. Maybe that didn't mean much to the guys, but it did to the girls. I wasn't the only one who would curl up around the receiver and shut my eyes listening...

The world keeps changing. There are generations today that will only know of what I speak from old stories and history class. Now we connect over cordless phones that work anywhere (or at least where we get a signal). We touch our loved ones over the internet, even in a virtual "face-to-face" conversation.

Is it really the same? I remember the old AT&T commercials: "Have you ever tucked your kid in from 10,000 miles away? You will!" We never did get those video-phone booths we were promised though. In fact, finding a working phone booth in the US today is a rarity. My husband is screwed if he ever has to use one; we can't afford cell phones. Mine is a company phone.

There is something my husband mentioned about today's technology that makes me think: "When a person is chatting, texting, tweeting or whatever online or on the phones, they are NOT where they are physically. Their mind -- and maybe something else -- is elsewhere."

It's sad to see a family having dinner together in a restaurant, yet all of them are using either hand-held video games or their smart phones. They don't speak to each other; they  barely notice the food they are eating. The only thing they have in common at that moment is where their bodies are.

Will we actually go to the extent of sci-fi, where our bodies are connected to some machine to keep us fed and alive and our minds are ... out there?

As I grew up, there was growing interest that started in the 1970's (maybe earlier, but I wasn't around much before 1969...). In grade school, I was assigned a science fair project on Extra-Sensory Perception (ESP). Ever since then, my ears would catch conversations about those studies. In college, there were lectures on telepathy, empathic ability, telekinesis, etc. There was curiosity about the spirit and how we could reach out and connect beyond the copper phone lines that were strung overhead everywhere.

In college, we would hug the phone close to our ear just to listen to a distant loved one breathe. There was a connection, despite the miles between. Perhaps there is a connection through the electronic world today, as well. Could our spirits have adapted to some degree that we use the technology to reach out and touch another spirit, even when we can not physically touch that person?

I am not a techo-phobe, and would likely have an iPad and smart phone if it was in my fiscal ability. The laptop I use to type this is also a company tool (with permission). But I also consider how this technology changes us.

Can I be the only one that found addictions to Twitter, FaceBook (and countless other online stuff) eating up all the time I can spare, and even more late into the night? Am I the only one that has seen online activities killing time I should be spending with family or visiting a friend who's struggling with illness?

Am I the only one that needs to unplug?

I've even been diagnosed (temporarily) with Adult-ADHD. I never had it as a kid, nor did I show any signs of it as a child, in my 20's or even 30's. Why now? Technology overload? Is that what happens when I try to keep up with all the things online? Instead of letting the doctors put me on medications that screw with my head, I sought prayer and looked for the root cause.

Unplugging helped -- significantly. It also brought me closer to my family members again. I have more time to volunteer and talk face-to-face with my neighbors and co-workers. Though I wonder if they will become jealous of my time when I go back to Twitter again...

In my life, my goal here is to find balance. I do enjoy reaching out and connecting to people worldwide. Perhaps there is a spiritual element. I've found the same "connection" when I pray for someone at a distance, as well as when I tweet back to folks online in rhyme. Perhaps it was there when I hung onto the phone and listened to a loved one breathing... just sharing that moment in time.

But I also know, too, that face-to-face connections are required. We are not spirits with minds alone. We are also spirits with bodies. While some consider the body "evil temptation," there are benevolent uses for the body too. A touch, a handshake, a hug, a kiss, ... a look when eyes meet eyes.

What do you do with your time

When you are no longer online?

~ESA

Lest We Forget

Today, America celebrates Memorial Day. While there is ever-increasing focus on the military, I'd like to take a moment to also note - and thank - others who give life and limb for the sake of others.

Firefighters, both pay and especially volunteer, are the primary responders to fires, accidents and many other calls (from flooded basements, to the proverbial cats stuck in trees). They put their life on the line many times from standing out at roadways accidents on rainy nights to entering blazing buildings. Some never go home from the call...


Police, also put themselves at risk, from high-speed chases to gunfire-fights. Sometimes it's unintentional, such as those officers killed when they were simply walking to help a disabled motorist and they get struck by a car whose driver wasn't paying attention.


EMT, Paramedics and ambulance crews are often not thought about on Memorial Day. But they also put themselves at risk. Speeding through traffic, where cars jump out is one hazard, working roadside at accidents another. One many don't realize is those dedicated men and women also go into dangerous neighborhoods to help a fallen or sick human being. I didn't realize this was an issue until I noted the bullet-proof vest of a friend who's a NYC Paramedic. She pointed out that some calls where someone was shot, the bullets are still flying when you arrive.



Rescue Workers and First Responders include those who dig through the debris of fallen buildings immediately following a tornado, hurricane, tsunami, earthquake or similar. They brave churning flood waters to rescue stranded motorists or people in homes. Many of these aren't trained emergency response but just the caring hearts who first arrive on the scene and realize there is someone that needs help.



And the most important...


The Peacemakers and Those who stand up for the rights of others, especially those who do so at the cost of their own lives. The news reports deaths in other parts of the world where people die during protests against what they see as unfair or inhumane laws or leaders. We in US should not forget our own similarly fallen. Our largest generation, the Baby Boomers, lived through and should not forget the 1960's, where many people ~ men and women, black and white ~ died simply because they stated in words and non-aggressive actions that segregation is WRONG. Some died for protesting for Peace.

These too, as well as fallen military, should be remembered on this Memorial Day. Not just those in the US, but those all around the world. May we especially those who have NEVER raised a hand to harm another, but lost life or limb in helping others and making this a better world.

In Memoriam

- ESA

Lest We Forget (Non-Military Fallen Heroes)

Today, America celebrates Memorial Day. While there is ever-increasing focus on the military, I'd like to take a moment to also note - and thank - others who give life and limb for the sake of others.

Firefighters, both pay and especially volunteer, are the primary responders to fires, accidents and many other calls (from flooded basements, to the proverbial cats stuck in trees). They put their life on the line many times from standing out at roadways accidents on rainy nights to entering blazing buildings. Some never go home from the call...


Police, also put themselves at risk, from high-speed chases to gunfire-fights. Sometimes it's unintentional, such as those officers killed when they were simply walking to help a disabled motorist and they get struck by a car whose driver wasn't paying attention.


EMT, Paramedics and ambulance crews are often not thought about on Memorial Day. But they also put themselves at risk. Speeding through traffic, where cars jump out is one hazard, working roadside at accidents another. One many don't realize is those dedicated men and women also go into dangerous neighborhoods to help a fallen or sick human being. I didn't realize this was an issue until I noted the bullet-proof vest of a friend who's a NYC Paramedic. She pointed out that some calls where someone was shot, the bullets are still flying when you arrive.



Rescue Workers and First Responders include those who dig through the debris of fallen buildings immediately following a tornado, hurricane, tsunami, earthquake or similar. They brave churning flood waters to rescue stranded motorists or people in homes. Many of these aren't trained emergency response but just the caring hearts who first arrive on the scene and realize there is someone that needs help.



And the most important...


The Peacemakers and Those who stand up for the rights of others, especially those who do so at the cost of their own lives. This year's news reports deaths in other parts of the world where people died during protests against what they see as unfair or inhumane laws or leaders. We in US should not forget our own similarly fallen. Our largest generation, the Baby Boomers, lived through and should not forget the 1960's, where many people ~ men and women, black and white ~ died simply because they stated in words and non-aggressive actions that segregation is WRONG. Some died for protesting that we should not be at war.

These too, as well as fallen military, should be remembered on this Memorial Day. Not just those in the US, but those all around the world - especially those who have NEVER raised a hand to harm another, but lost life and limb in helping others and making this a better world.

In Memoriam

- ESA

Looking Ahead

I can not write the Looking Behind post without also adding this one. While I believe it's important to listen to the stories and connect with those who have gone before us in life, I also believe it's critical to connect with those who are to follow.

While this world makes our lives ever-increasingly busy, and our schedules are overwhelmed with appointments, meetings and events. We need to take time out, unplug from the non-stop stream broadcasting from the radio, TV, computers and internet. Instead, spend some time with others.

There are untold treasures in the quiet moments.

• A young babe sleeping curled up on a father's chest.
  
• An adult re-living the joy of finger-paints with a young child.
  
• Building things together with leggos, without using the directions that came in the box.
• Passing on baking and other traditions around the holidays.
  
• Sharing stories, and listening as they tell you ones of their own.
  
• Helping as they struggle to learn school lessons (and digging frantically through internet sites and other resources so we don't let them know how much we've forgotten since our own school days).
  
• Trying not to leave fingerprints embedded on the passenger side of a car when a teenage driver is behind the wheel.
  
• Connecting over a cup of tea or coffee with a younger adult as you listen to the trials and tribulations that you have been through yourself - though they may seem so strange compared to the way things were in the "our days."

These are some of many moments that impact both the elder and younger people who share the experience. These are the building blocks of life that connect us to each other, both before us and behind us. These are what we take with us, and what we leave behind.

What do we leave for the future to find?
Do we leave loving memories,
Or say we don't have the time?

-ESA

Looking Behind

Following the death of someone, it's amazing how memories of ones who have passed earlier come swirling to the forefront of the mind. There are many nuggets that pass from generation to generation in my family.

While many can not picture Long Island (near New York City) without the infamous bumper-to-bumper, traffic-packed Long Island Expressway. My father shared his childhood memories of riding his bike with his friend over to the construction site in the late 1940's and early 1950's when they were building that highway for the first time.

While my father, brother and nephew share identical names, my father received his name from his uncle. The uncle and his father also shared the same identical name. My dad's uncle had no kids of his own, having died in Pearl Harbor in 1941. In my mom's basement, a US Navy sea chest bears that name. In a twist of "lost luggage" my great-uncle made it to Pearl Harbor, and his sea chest was delayed. The sea chest came home; my great-uncle didn't. Two generations later, my brother spent the last 23 years in the Navy, being stationed TWICE in Hawaii. The sea chest with his name on it still has yet to get there. :P

I once asked my paternal grandmother to tell me stories of her visit to the New York World's Fair. I knew of the one in 1964. She gushed over her outfits, the food, the sights and many other details, particularly the way the young man (her boyfriend) was a proper gentleman. I was a bit confused until I looked it up online. She wasn't talking about the 1964 Worlds Fair; she was recounting the 1939 New York World's Fair! :D

While many know about the Great Depression and devastating mid-west "Dust Bowl" from history texts and John Steinbeck's books, my maternal grandfather shared a different story. He and his elder brother attended college in the 1930's. They were not rich; they were just two of many kids on their parent's North Dakota farm, where the drought did not reach them. Colleges were so desperate for students that four-years of tuition, room and board, plus all text books and lab fees was $200 each. One became a doctor and my grandfather became a chemist at a paint company in Brooklyn, NY. After moving there, he attended a "dance-till-you-drop" event, where he met my maternal grandmother. My grandmother, also from a large family, was at that time the only one in the family who had a job. She worked as a switchboard operator in New York City. Those were the days when phone numbers started with a word or place name, and you used a real-person operator to connect your call. I recall her home phone number when I was a kid still had the "Ivanhoe-6" prefix (IV6-3015), the last remnant of a long-gone past.

There are many stories of immigrants coming to America. My family is no exception. One of my great-great-great-uncles came to America via a Philadelphia port. He found a coal company recruiting and moved to North-Eastern PA to work in the anthracite mines there. After working for a year or two, and seeing most of his earnings disappear into an ever-growing debt at the company store, he literally walked away from the job. Moving to New York City, he eventually found a job manually sweeping the city streets and shoveling horse manure (pre-automobile days) in Manhattan. To his dying day, or so I've been told, he swore that was the BEST job he ever had. He had sunshine, fresh air and could breathe without the impending roof of unpredictable rock over his head.

I learned that nugget when I, myself, lived in the same PA town generations later. A check into the town records showed that a great-great-grandfather of my friend there was the foreman of the coal mine shaft where my great-great-great uncle worked. Small world.

The reason I share these little snippets from the past with you today, is I hope you find some of your own. Even if it's not your own family, there are many elderly in the neighborhood that are quite willing (some are even desperate) to tell their stories before they no longer can. Do we take the time to listen?

Take a moment to look behind.
Listen while the story is still there
Before time passes and the nuggets disappear

-ESA

Archives (Poem)

I wanted to post this blog yesterday, but never got the chance until now. While gathering stuff for Saturday morning's yard sale, something I wrote many years ago came to mind. When I was tasked with organizing 75 years of archival items for a nursing home's anniversary celebration, I wrote the following poem:

Archives

When all the tomorrows
Become the yesterdays,
The shared laughter
Of long, long ago
Has become tears of loss,
And then faded away
To the dusty nothingness
Of the archives.

Photographs, files, notes
That were put aside
To make more room for
The coming todays,
That became yesterdays.
Now, they sit together
In the dusty nothingness
Of the archives.

One far-of, future day,
Someone will question
Of where, when and how
It all came to be.
They will open the door
And ask the residents
Of the dusty nothingness
Of the archives.

Treasured clutter of the past.
Memories that last.
Archives

-ESA

Crossing Bridges

Last night, I took down one of my YouTube accounts and prepared the other for a long hiatus. I've also closed my DailyMotion account. It's hard leaving that behind and untouched as I would check on them several times a day. (This is why I avoid Twittering. :D )

I'll try to write a little something here each day as well as continue to add stories to my other blog.

My feet reach the last boards, the hollow thumping has now become a firm thud of supported surface. I turn and glance over my shoulder, seeing the place I have just departed. I've closed all avenues between there and here, except for the bridge I just crossed. Shall I burn it completely too, or do I leave this one span open in case someone wants to find me? There were many good memories from that last place, some even connecting to far older memories that have long since been cut from the tapestry of my life, only to be stiched back in, creating a patern anew.

I step off the bridge and face the path before me, head held up and heart ready for what awaits me in the future. May God guide me on this new path as well.

Time to move on.

- ESA