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

Weekend Adventure (True Story)

On Memorial Day weekend last year, I had a great adventure I'd like to share with my readers. While I hope to share the smiles, I also hope one can see how one can be guided to help another anywhere, any time, in more ways than you may realize. :)

Last year, my husband and I decided to spend the long weekend apart; he'd do things that he liked, and I'd drive out to friends of mine in Northeastern PA. For some reason, my boss decided to let the employees leave by noon that Friday. So, given that I wanted to avoid the holiday traffic on the drive from New England, through New York State to the Northeastern corner of PA, I found myself heading out a few hours before my planned time.

While I plan things, I love improvidence too. So I decided on the drive out to stop by for a surprise visit with other friends in Carbondale, PA before I went to the home of the friends I had planned to visit out in Wayne County. After all, I had quite a few hours to kill before my anticipated arrival of 9 pm that evening.

I was on the "new highway" (Route 6) where it bypasses downtown Carbondale when I happen to notice a broken-down car, a group of four people and the tow-truck driver with his truck. So, given I was only minutes from where my friend lived and knew the neighborhood intimately as I had lived there a number of years myself, I stopped to see if they needed a lift.

It turns out, the four young (18-21 years of age) people were on their way from Brooklyn, NY to some camp in Wayne County PA when their car broke down. As the tow-truck driver only had room for one person, I took the other three and, knowing the location of his shop, said we'd meet them there.

At the garage, they were disheartened to discover that the fix was not an easy one. The car would not be ready for a couple of days as the part needed to be ordered. It was amusing and sad to watch as they tried offering more and more money to get the mechanic to fix the car sooner. They didn't understand that the part really was NOT there in the shop, and no amount of bribing would get them on the road sooner. I also had to argue with the youths several times that the people working on their car were honest; that almost everyone in that area was honest and hard working. They were not "trying to pull a fast one." Ironically, I later discovered the reason their car stopped working was because the young driver didn't believe HIS mechanic in New York when he was told they needed more coolant for the engine; so they cooked it on the drive to PA...

They called several people they knew at this camp, and, to their dismay, discovered only one who would give them a ride from Carbondale to the camp - for $300! Both the tow-truck driver and I were horrified by this, and we both offered to give them a ride. Wayne County was just "over the mountain" and not worth $300 in gas. The tow-truck driver, however, has an appointment near Scranton, first, however, and could drive them out in his car afterward. It would be another two hours before he returned.

It turns out, the youth couldn't wait that long as they needed to be at the camp by sunset, for religious observations. So, I loaded all four and an amazing amount of luggage for just a weekend into my Jeep with myself. I noted, though, as I'm playing a manual version of 3-D tetris with their belongings, that if my husband HAD been with me on this trip I would never be able to help them now. I had only myself and one bag and we barely squeezed in with stuff on everyone's laps save mine.

The next several hours were interesting, especially given that a point-to-point drive should have only taken a half-hour or less.

First, the youth discovered that technology is only as good as the signal; and there was absolutely NO AT&T signals in northern Wayne County then. My Verizon cell was iffy at best, but I only own a cheapie flip phone, with no GPS or internet like their newest iPhones had. And my '99 Jeep was far older than that. Thus with the GPS and internet maps gone, I asked them for directions as we navigated the rural back roads past cows, woods and open pastures that looked quite reminiscent of Farmville to them. They tried to decipher some limited direction via email but kept referring back to the last GPS coordinates they had. We finally get to the bottom of the email where it read, "Do not use GPS coordinates as they will not get you to the camp."

So, about 3 miles south of PA's northern border, I pull the car aside and ask the young woman in the passenger side to pull out one of many PAPER maps I had of PA. I wish I had taken a picture of the look on her face at that moment. No one considered the antediluvian method of looking at a paper map to find where they are and where they want to go! LMAO! Worse, when I read off the cross-roads of the two rural route numbers where we had stopped, plus the last "four-corners" town we passed before, she didn't have a clue how to read the map. So I spent the next five minutes teaching four "kids" how to read a paper map, how to find where we were, and an approximation of where we need to go, knowing the name of the private camp will not be listed on the map.

It turns out we had gone about 20 miles too far north, and while turning around, discovered they had entered the wrong "Lakeville" into the GPS. So we drove back to the nearest four-corners, which had an open-air Bar-B-Que. I pulled in and suggested we get out and get some directions. There was a bit of hesitation, which I didn't understand right away. But when I started to get out, one of the young men bravely leapt from the Jeep and ran ahead of me. I approached the table just in time to hear the last of the directions. ".... then once you pass the church, it's the next left, if you come to the fire house, you've missed it."

This was vague but typical directions from the area. There was no street name, also typical. I asked the young man if he understood the directions and could get us there; he nodded. We were off again. Twenty minutes later, we found the turn, which turned out to the be back road into the camp, but it wasn't marked on the paper map. Thus, my four passengers were VERY uncomfortable with taking this unpaved, unknown road that disappeared very quickly into dense wooded area like something out of a Blair Witch movie. So I continued with our map toward where we believed the front entrance to the camp is.

It was then that my Jeep pointed out that I have very lousy gas mileage and, as I last filled the tank in New England, she was pinging me to remind me to feed her.

Aware that I had limited range, and the nearest gas station known to me was Honesdale, about 20 minutes south of the camp, I took matters into my own hand. I saw a house where there was a pick-up in the driveway and the inner front door was open. I pulled into the driveway, much to the dismay of my passengers and marched up to the front door. They rolled down the windows and called from safety of the Jeep that I was insane to walk up to a stranger's house like this. While I grew up in New York and understood their fears, I also lived a decade in this part of the world and knew the people here. I was fine.

An old lady called out for me to enter, and my passengers nearly had a conniption as I opened the screen door and calmly let myself in. Remarkably, I had chosen just the right place to stop. While they did not recognize the name of the camp, the old man was once a volunteer firefighter in the area. But he knew all the local roads by local name, so the old lady pulled out a detailed map. Voila! We were able to see the property marks of the camp and backtracked down the local roads to where we were. So I now had very accurate directions, which I wrote down with a pencil and piece of paper the old lady was kind enough to provide.

The next ten minutes were the most amusing of all. I was able to follow detailed turn-by-turn directions, right down to barn silos and major bumps in the road. The youth were amazed that someone not only let a stranger into their home - an old defenseless couple at that! - but gave such great directions without asking for money. In addition, they kept asking me, at every "ping" from my low-fuel warning system, what happens if I run out of gas. They realized - with growing dread - that the last time they saw a gas station was way back in Carbondale. They could not grasp the fact that a stranger would not only stop to help us if we ran out of gas, but would likely give us some gas so we could get to the nearest station.

A bigger issue would be they had a time deadline, and there was no guarantee we'd be able to get them to the camp before sunset if I ran out of gas. The sun's angle was getting quite low; we were cutting this close. I didn't need them to worry more, so I simply kept telling them, "have a little faith."

On the final stretch, we encountered several other cars pulled on the sides of the dusty unpaved road, while one person or another was out of the car with their iPhone or similar trying to get a signal that wasn't there. The youths and I told them, car by car, "Follow us, we have the good directions." By the time we pulled through the gates of the camp, we had nine other cars following us, and many happy people who all needed to be there before sunset.

As the youths, thanked me, they asked for my FaceBook or Twitter account so they could "friend" me. I didn't give them my FaceBook name, and was a bit hesitant to give them my Twitter name as well. But, just as I was pulling away, a bit of mischief tugged at the corner of my mind and I thought, why not... I pulled aside, jotted my Twitter account on a piece of paper, drove back to them and handed it to them.

I knew they were young Jews, and this was a Jewish camp, but that really didn't matter as I was just one human being helping another, a "Good Samaritan" one would say. My young passengers took the slip of paper and read it. And as I drove away, I wondered if they would recall their adventures to others that night around a campfire. And when asked who helped them, they may or may not say they don't know who I was other than the fact that I'm @JesusSister on Twitter. :D

In case you're wondering, yes, I somehow managed to get to Honesdale for gas. It was after sunset (about 8:30pm) by then. While I was pumping gas, my friend who was expecting me called to see if I was nearby and if I wanted dinner. I arrived just a few minutes before 9pm - the expected time.

Had I not gotten out early
Had I not gone without my husband
Had I not previously lived in that area
Had I not, on a whim, decided to visit a friend
Had I not made plans to arrive late that night at another's
Had I not randomly stopped at that particular house for directions
Had I not had faith in God and other good hearts of the people there

None of this adventure would have happened as it unfolded.
But I'm glad it did.

- ESA

Simply Good

This blog post is primarily in response to some conversations I've had with people over the past week. For some reason, it's hard for some to accept the simple fact that there are good hearts in this world. That when a person is nice or does some kind act, it can simply be from the love in their heart for a fellow human being and not for any ulterior motive.

I grant that in this world there are people who are nice, using flattery and helping in many ways, to either get attention/recognition or influence another in some way. Some help others in this world because they believe it will lead to some great prize, including power. But I sincerely believe these are the minority.

Then there are many, many others who help people out of the love/kindness of their hearts. They roll up their sleeves and/or open their hearts just because it's another person in need, and their hearts go out to another human being who is suffering at the time.

The reason we more often see the minority is a combination of humility of the vast number of good hearts (and anonymity that goes with that), and that the media covers the darker side of human nature - the greed, the corruption, the lies. We are taught that this darker nature is what rules all hearts; that there will always be an underlying motive other than a good heart. But this is not true.

I believe the majority of people in this world would help another if they see the opportunity within their hands and believe they can help. A bit of faith in each other can go quite a long way.

Ulterior motive we don't need
To help another indeed.
Simply be Good.

- ESA

Apology

Like many, I can get short-tempered and snappy at times. This often leads to cross words I later regret, such as what happened yesterday between myself and a dear friend. While stewing over the words traded, I contacted another friend and received an unexpected bit of valuable advice.

This friend said he has a great relationship with his wife because they both learned to apologize to each other. Even when one feels they were not the one in the wrong, there is the realization that at least 20% of the blame falls with all parties in an argument. Sometimes that small 20% can be what leads to the remaining 80% in the fight.

When I read these words, I realized that what had my own back up was that I wanted to stand on the “high ground” of the argument I just had. I wanted to be the person who was “right” and the other would thus be “wrong.” Further, I realized the driving force behind that feeling was simply my ego. So I swallowed my pride and apologized to my dear friend. I didn’t demand or expect an apology in return, nor did I elaborate on “my side” and continue the needless debate. The issue was a petty one in the grand scheme of things, and certainly not worth losing a good friend.

A simple apology
May open the door
That I just slammed shut

- ESA

Planting the Seed (Story)

I wrote this about two years and it's time to repost this. Enjoy!

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The early morning sun rose gloriously in the eastern sky as the two walkers set out for a stroll down a quiet Main Street in a small New England town. The woman glanced at a sign above a new eatery as they walked past, "Mustard Seed Cafe."

She smiled mischievously as she took a sip of her coffee and commented toward her companion, "That sign reminds me of something... Maybe something you said once, about a seed...."

The man walking at her side laughed, his white teeth showing clearly through his beard. "And what did you take away from that one?"

She shrugged and glanced around her looking for some inspiration for another witty remark. "Wasn't there a parable involved..."

A little wren dove down to the sidewalk a few feet before them and picked at the concrete block a moment, then fluttered away. "No, that's right, the parable I'm thinking about involved seed being tossed in different places, each failing save the seed that hit fertile grown and produced hundredfold or something like that."

He chuckled nodding, "...something like that. So what about the mustard seed?"

She grinned as she took another sip of her coffee from the travel mug. "Little seed becomes big plant. Right?"

His deep brown eyes took on a blend of challenge and mischief, "Maybe you can write a story about it?"

She smirked, "Yeah, right."

He gestured expansively with his arm, "You are a writer; you were given that gift. Write a story about it. Maybe then you'd understand it better."

She took a good swallow of her coffee, while she started to wrap her mind around the challenge, knowing there was something there that maybe DID make a good story...

She shifted the story into the back of mind to simmer, and the conversation changed, covering a broad range of topics about what was going on in her life.

Before she knew it, the conversation arrived at the topic she needed to speak about. Part of her shyly wanted to hold back and digress, but another part knew this is why she asked her companion to walk with her this morning. She really needed his advice, his guidance. She rolled the still-warm metal travel mug between her palms as she searched for the words.

"I... I really don't know what it is I should be doing with my life. All these little projects get started, and then... they just seem to peeter off into nothing. I feel like I start so many things and just can't seem to finish them. What is it that I should be doing?"

He draped his arm lovingly across her shoulders and smiled gently. "Plant the seeds."

"And then?"

"Nurture them a little until they sprout."

Her hands paused as she glanced quizzically at him. "And then?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

He grinned, seeing she wasn't getting it, but - with infinite patience - gave her the time to think . "Nothing."

She knew that look on his face, she'd seen it before. She walked wordlessly at his side for a spell, fingers wrapped around the warmth of the mug and her shoulders wrapped in the warm embrace of his arm.

"But if I do nothing, what will happen to what I started? It would just unravel wouldn't it?"

"Not necessarily."

Again, she shot him an inquiring look, raising one eyebrow in his direction.

He smiled back at her but didn't say a word.

"Well?"

He paused and turned to face her. She stopped and faced him with a look that clearly read "Tell me or stop teasing me."

He playfully poked the bridge of her nose and quietly replied, "That's my job."

The challenge in her eyes faded as comprehension dawned in her mind. Then she smiled as they resumed their walk. She nodded and tossed back the last of the coffee. "You're right. I really should trust you more often."

Companionably the two continued their stroll down Main Street.

Two pairs of sandals tapped quietly down the sidewalk in the early May morning. One pair worn below jeans and a T-shirt; the other beneath a desert robe from a bygone age.

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- ESA

Holy Alphabet (Poem)

This was shared with me by email from @worldprayr, and I thought to post it here:

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For those who are fighting their own personal battles, whatever it may be, never give up!

The Holy Alphabet

This is beautiful. Whoever came up with this one must have had some Divine Guidance!

Although things are not perfect
Because of trial or pain
Continue in thanksgiving
Do not begin to blame
Even when the times are hard
Fierce winds are bound to blow
God is forever able
Hold on to what you know
Imagine life without His love
Joy would cease to be
Keeping thanking Him for all the things
Love imparts to thee
Move out of "Camp Complaining"
No weapon that is known
On earth can yield the power
Praise can do alone
Quit looking at the future
Redeem the time at hand
Start every day with worship
To "thank" is a command
Until we see Him coming
Victorious in the sky
We'll run the race with gratitude
X-alting God most high
Yes, there'll be good times, and yes some will be bad, but...
Zion waits in glory...where none are ever sad!

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-ESA

Quirks

This weekend my husband and I are visiting with my mom who lives in a different State. Given the distance, we spend a couple of nights at her house, and my husband sees some of the many "quirks" my family has. Quirks are little habits that an individual or family has that seems strange and makes no sense to another. For example, the measuring scoop for the coffee is kept inside the coffee grounds and there is knife inside the box of coffee cake.

So on mornings like this, there is a futile search through a drawer for the coffee scoop and a questioning look when I put the knife BACK into the coffee cake box. Why are these things done? Actually, out of courtesy.

Growing up, we were a large family. We left the knife behind in the coffee cake box so others had it there to cut themselves a piece. When we were older, we followed my parent's quirk of leaving the coffee scoop in the grounds. This way whomever was up first and made the coffee could find it, even half-asleep.

When we run across quirks in someone else's life, instead of ridicule ~ approach with the curiosity of a child. Sometime there is a very good reason for the quirk, sometimes there is a funny story. And anytime we ask, we can learn one more thing about that person and grow further in understanding one another.

We all have quirks
Little opportunities
To learn more of each other

- ESA

Birdsong!

I was awake early and heard the first hesitant calls of a bird outside my window a little before 4:30 this morning.

While many know the joys (and sometimes annoyance when one is trying to sleep in) of birdsong right outside their bedroom window, I think that New England springs spotlight it all the more for me.


In winter, there is a silence so profound you can hear falling snow softly whisper through bare tree branches, or a distant rumble-crunch of the snow plow as it trundles down Main Street. Mornings, especially in the hours before the commuter's cars and school buses, are very still and quiet.


Then spring arrives, and with it, a great multitude of birds migrate back to the area. And they bring such sweet birdsong! There is even a tradition in the Northeastern US that "It ain't Spring until you've seen your first redbreast robin."


And what was once still silence has turned into a beautiful melody greeting the morning sun, celebrating the return of life, warmth and growth.


By the Autumn, I may be among those who scowl at the birds keeping me from my sleep, but in the Spring, I bless their little hearts as my joins theirs in sweet song of life!


Sing
for
Spring

-ESA

Fears to Cheers

The death of Osama bin Laden has been on the news of late and a radio station I listen to even had a discussion on what our reaction should be. I had mixed feelings and searched through some tweets and blog posts to see what others thought. Some I would like to share:

RT @NiraMe: "Mommy, why are they celebrating someone being killed?"

That hit me hard with the truth behind it. When the twin towers of the World Trade Center fell, the media showed some parts of the world celebrating the death of Americans, whom they considered the enemy. We shook our heads at their disgraceful behavior. Why do some Americans now behave the same way, when our declared enemy falls? Are we any different?

I think my feelings are best reflected by these words, which many have posted around the net:

I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. ~Jessica Dovey

Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

My own words cannot outshine
The famous quotes
In the above lines

- ESA

Okie (True Story)

With the continuing reports of tornadoes and the damage they have done in the US recently, this story comes to mind. I have permission from the one who originally told me her story to share it here. (Picture of Okie to follow.)

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Following a devastating twister, a woman went out to Oklahoma to help them recover what they could. After several days there, she spied something on the side of the road on her drive to the airport.

It was a little puppy, somehow separated from his mother before he should have been. Not wanting to leave this defenseless pup to fend for himself, she adopted him on the spot and took him to the airport with her. He was named "Okie" after Oklahoma.

Southwest Airlines had a carrier for the pup so he could go in checked luggage, and they promised to keep an eye on him. At the layover, however, a flight attendant told her that Okie wasn't doing so well. The pup was very frightened and had been anxious and crying non-stop. They admitted that if Okie were to ride in checked luggage the second leg of the flight, he would not survive the trip.

They gave the pup some water and took him for a walk around the tarmac under the docked plane. Then the captain himself brought the pup to her and, against regulations, they allowed her to carry him to her seat and hold him in her arms the second leg back to New England.

Being held helped calm the pup and he did survive the ordeals of storm, separation and flight. Okie lived a full and happy life - just a month shy of 14 years.

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Sometimes we never know who we will help, nor how far our efforts will go when we reach out with kindness. Because people cared enough to help and respond with compassion, a life continued and a family has been the richer with the love and memories Okie brought over the years.

When there is a need
Listen to your heart
Indeed.

- ESA

May Day

What does Easter, May Day and Winston Churchill's funeral all have in common?

Soon after my brother's funeral a few weeks ago, my family celebrated Easter. During one of the Easter celebrations I attended, someone brought up Winston Churchill's funeral. Seven days later (yesterday) was May Day, or Belltaine in my Celtic roots. It also marked the one year anniversary since my husband and I performed a memorial to our lost pregnancy described here.

Other than the timing, they all celebrate a time of moving from death into life.

Belltaine is a celebration between the cold, dark winter days in the northern hemisphere and the bright summer season full of life and growth. Easter is a celebration of passing through death into eternal life. At Winston Churchill's funeral, as he requested, the last notes were not Taps, though that was played. But immediately following Taps, was Reveille ~ the song the military uses to get people out of bed and report ready to start the new day ~ meeting life with renewed energy.

While there are times things must end in life, and our hearts are saddened by their passing. there are also times when we must remember:

LIFE ~ GOES ~ ON!

We need to see what we still have, what is just starting, and where that takes us, away from darkness, sadness and loss... back into life!

Happy Easter
Happy May Day
Reveille!

-ESA