Have you ever had a song stuck in your head?

I attended a church service last week and one of the songs we sang was “Marching to Zion.”

Well, the tune stuck in my head. I was humming it, singing it and hearing it in my head constantly. So much so that by the end of the week, I was ready to catch a new song.

I shared that with the music minister at my church, Ron Ethredge, who assured me there would be a snappy line up of music that Sunday so I might catch on to a different tune. He was true to his word, and when I left church, I was humming a new song. This was great.

On my way home from church, I admired some of the beautiful yard decorations on display in the front yards of homes around Van Alstyne. In one of those I saw a penguin. I think it caught my eye because, the night before, I watched the movie “March of the Penquins” — and, by the way, loved it. If you haven’t seen that movie, you should. The photography is stunning and the story engaging. It gave me a new concept of parental dedication and sacrifice for the sake of offspring.

The story is about thousands of Emperor Penquins in Antarctica that walk 70 miles over ice to their breeding ground every year. One particular detail caught my attention and made me wonder how scientists can believe in the theory of evolution. The penquin father is the only parent present when the chick hatches. He has had no food in months and there is no food available near the breeding ground. The mother has not yet returned from her walk back to the ocean to be able to feed and store up food for the chick before wallking a third time over ice to the breeding grounds. The chick needs to be fed but sometimes the mothers don’t return for a couple of days after the hatching.

The creator in all His wisdom provided for the new chick to be able to get life-sustaining food while waiting for the mother’s return. There is a small compartment in the back of the father’s throat that holds just enough nourishment for the chick to have one feeding that sustains him until the mother returns. I marvel at the details our creator has built into all our lives.

But, back to my original story. After seeing the penguin yard art, the movie title went through my mind.

Once I heard the word “march,” the whole morning of reprogramming my brain for a new song was gone, gone, gone. In an instant, I was again singing “Marching to Zion, beautiful, beautiful Zion. I’m marching onward to Zion...”

I’m delighted to think about seeing the “beautiful city of God,” but I REALLY need a new song. I’m taking a different route home from church this Sunday.

A Local Hero

I took this picture in 2007 and it's one of my all-time favorites. Airman Bill Long stands in salute as a mournful "Taps" sounds from a single trumpet at the graveside services for Long's brother, Spc. Braden Joseph Long Sunday afternoon at Cedarlawn Memorial Park in Sherm

an. Spc. Long was killed in battle in Iraq Aug. 4, 2007. In the background is an honor-guard detail from the Sherman Police Department, also standing in salute and further back is part of the line of Patriot Guard surrounding the grave site holding U.S. flags. Member or the Sherman Fire Department were also present to honor Sherman's fallen warrior.

The story of Spc. Braden Joseph Long, by Joyce Godwin:

A 2005 graduate of Sherman High School, he is remembered for his infectious smile, love of cars, love for his family and the intense desire to serve his country. 

Spc. Long died of injuries sustained when his Humvee came under grenade attack in Baghdad Aug. 4, just three days shy of his 20th birthday. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.

During his short military career, Spc. Long earned the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Combat Action Badge, Iraqi Campaign Medal and Global War on Terrorism Medal. He served as a gunner.

Chaplain Ken Sorenson told mourners at Faith Church of Sherman that one of the outstanding features of Spc. Long was his smile. His father added in a later telephone interview that his son's smile was always there. Sorenson used the letters in 'smile' to describe Spc. Long to family and friends who flocked to his funeral. 'S' was for Specialist, Braden's army rank. 'M' was for military. He said Spc. Long wanted to join the military since he was a little boy. 'I' was for his intelligence in choosing a supportive wife like Teresa and for choosing the Army. 'L' stood for likeable. Sorenson said Spc. Long was an incredibly loving person. "I can see why Teresa would fall in love with him," Sorenson said. 

Lastly, 'E' stood for excellence. He described Spc. Long as determined to do the right thing. He would always fulfill his commitments. 

Sorenson referred to the scripture Romans 5:7-8. "Christ died for us," Sorenson said. "There is something about a man who is willing to die for those he doesn't even know...day after day, a willingness to sacrifice his all for people who didn't know him, much like his Savior did 2,000 years ago." 

Later in the service, Sorenson said, "Freedom is never free and his (Spc. Long's) death serves as a reminder of the cost." 

Following the final prayer of the funeral, the cadence of marching military began to echo across the auditorium and grew louder as the military honor guard advanced through the church isle to retrieve Spc. Long's casket. 

Mourners poured from the church and the unmistakable roar of motorcycle engines could be heard as the Patriot Guard prepared to escort Spc. Long and his family to Cedarlawn Memorial Park for the final farewell. This was the third part of the Guard's mission for Spc. Long. 

Riders met the plane bearing Spc. Long's casket at Grayson County Airport last Thursday and escorted him to Waldo Funeral Home in Sherman. Then the Guard stood in a protective formation around the funeral home during the family's visitation Friday. 

With flags unfurled in the wind, the motorcycles escorted Spc. Long and his family and friends to Cedarlawn. 

As the procession passed each police sentry at various intersections on the procession route through Sherman, the officer sentry boarded his unit with lights flashing and joined the end of the procession until there were 10 cruisers bringing up the rear.

Sherman firefighters also honored the fallen hero with a U.S. flag suspended between two ladder trucks for the procession to pass under as it turned into Cedarlawn from Texoma Parkway. From that point, the procession stretched west on FM 691 all the way to U.S. Highway 75. 

Inside the funeral tent, the awards earned by Spc. Long were each presented to his wife, Teresa, his mother, Melanie Thrasher, and his father. 

When a mournful "Taps" sounded out from a single trumpet, military and police alike raise their hands in salute. Then Airman Bill Long, Spc. Long's older brother who was sitting with the family, stood slowly, turned toward the ceremony and raised his salute. Airman Long, served as escort for his brother's final return to Sherman. He was his mother's support along with her husband, Bobby Thrasher, throughout the services. 

Hours after the funeral, Spc. Long's father described their son as a normal teen while he was growing up. "But then, when you look back, you see a teen that almost never caused trouble," William Long said. "He was focused in wanting to go into the Army and that's what he did. He was a fantastic kid and a wonderful husband for his wife, and we are really going to miss him." 

William Long commented on the military honors during his son's service. "The amount of people that showed up was way beyond our expectations," he added. "We knew the Patriot Guard was coming but we didn't know how many there would be." 

Sparky Cox of Sherman served as one of the Ride Captains for the Patriot Guard along with Mike Grove of Bells and Gary Winters of Sherman. Cox reported there were 129 motorcycles and several cars carrying Patriot Guard members who came from as far away as Waurika, Okla to the north and Fort Worth and Garland to the South. 

William Long said his son was doing what he wanted. "He wanted to join and signed up and enlisted right after his 17th birthday, but couldn't go in for basic training until eight months later," William Long said. "He was unbelievably proud to wear the uniform and his whole family was very proud of him." 

Spc. Long was sworn into the Army Oct. 2, 2004. He left for basic training June 28, 2005 and did his basic training at Fort Knox, Ky. A Web site set up in his memory states he left for his first duty station, Ft. Riley, in Nov 2005. He was deployed to Iraq Feb 8, 2007. 

He is the fourth military personnel, and the fifth over all, from the Texoma area to die while serving in support of the war against terrorism. 

Using shorthand

Sitting next to a friend in my Wednesday morning Bible Study recently, my friend noticed an element in my note taking that is something she doesn’t often see. I still use Gregg shorthand that I learned in college. In the same session, I took out my iPhone to make some adjustments on upcoming dates as they were announced.

My friend commented on my use of technology as well as my use of shorthand in the same conversation, and it struck me later the dichotomy of the two.

I love to stay up with technology and have the latest to work on, but most times can’t afford it. I did splurge to get an iPhone, though, and now I think I can’t live without it. It’s really a hand-held computer for all the things it does.

On the other end of the technology spectrum, I also use shorthand when I’m taking notes, and I’m thankful I never stopped using it.

To the unfamiliar eye, my scrawling looks much like a foreign language, and in a way, it is. People often look at what I’m writing, and I’m sure they wonder if I know what I’m doing. The use of shorthand has diminished greatly in the business world with the increased use of dictation machines, and later, computers. It seems to be a dying art, and therefore, not as many people are familiar with or know about shorthand as in the 1960s.

I was surprised to see, through a quick look on the Internet, there are still some courses available where someone can learn a shorthand system, but they don’t seem to be very plentiful.

I learned shorthand in 1968 but have never used it in business until the past 10 years working for the Herald Democrat. The system made it easier to take more complete notes in college, but then I couldn’t lend my notes to someone who missed class. That also meant there were fewer people willing to lend me notes when I missed. Everything has a trade off.

I do enjoy the quizzical glances I get as those who aren’t familiar with shorthand try to decipher what must seem like hieroglyphics scratched across my pad. 

For new moms

Tiffany is a family friend who went to school with our daughter Jamie.

I wrote this to her on the day she went back to work after becoming a new mother.

Dear Tiffany,

Today you leave your sweet baby princess for the first time of any length to return to work.

It’s a tough day for most new mothers and many repeat new mothers — that first day back to work — and today it’s yours. It will continue to be a tough separation for a while but it will get easier with time.

Soon you’ll be a pro at managing all the little details involved with leaving that special bundle who sleeps in her room under the letters of her name. It’s a room that shows a mother’s love in every detail.

We all understand what you feel today because we’ve been there. But that doesn’t lessen your anxiety or stress.

Remind yourself and take solace in knowing, she is not going to change while you’re gone and she’s always going to know who you are, i.e., the most important person in her sweet life. Remember also that God has his hand on you and her, and when God is in control, we get only the VERY best in our lives.

There are many more disappointments in store for you as your little one grows up. That’s motherhood. But those disappointments will melt away through the joys you will feel as you share your life with this new little one who’s taken over your every waking thought.

Your love will grow exponentially day by day, year by year, and a life of joy will totally overshadow the sadness of days like today.

Cowboy pre game 9-20

As one might expect, the season opener for the Dallas Cowboys was one of grand spectacle and elaborate preparations. A video showing some of the Cowboy history from the beginning to today opened the official ceremonies for pre-game. “Texas, this is the time of legends,” a booming voice said to the more than 100,000-sized crowd. “It’s a new chapter for America’s team because tonight the Cowboys have come home.”

With the video’s final frame, shown on the world’s largest high-definition television screen measuring 160 feet by 72 feet, attention was directed to center field where the turf was pealed away to display the Cowboy blue and white star and the crowd erupted in cheers and standing ovations. Attendees were clearly thrilled to be a part of the Cowboys’ showing off a new home.

A flag was carried out by military individuals of all branches of the service who seemed proud and excited to be selected to help display Old Glory, which by the time everyone was in place, stretched the entire width of the field.

Former American Idol winner Jordan Sparks led the crowd in the Star Spangled Banner. When she finished the phrase “Oh say does that Star Spangled Banner yet wave,” the men and women attending the flag began to move the fabric up and down so it looked like it was waving.

President George W. Bush and wife Laura were ushered onto the field from the western end zone for the ever-common coin toss which assigns the ball’s first carrier in every football game. At his introduction, the crowd began to cheer and applaud. One person yelled out “We love you George” and the phrase was picked up by others who repeated it. Bush tossed the coin and the small group gathered on the blue star immediately looked down to see it’s outcome. The Cowboys won.

Some might have claimed that win to be a good omen for what was to follow, but unfortunately, the Cowboys were upset by the Giants in the inauguration game for their new stadium home.

Nevertheless, a new kind of excitement filled the air as players ran onto the field with fanfare of cheerleaders waving pompoms, loud music and smoke.

Even mother nature cooperated with a beautiful sunset sky to show through the openings at the western end of the stadium.

Informative week

Our "Good Morning" column appears on the front page of each paper. We (editorial staff) all write them at different times. I learned a few things last week and decided to share them in the "good morning" column. It appeared in our paper today and for any of you who may not be able to see our paper, I've posted it here. Hope you like it.

By Joyce Godwin

Herald Democrat

I received an e-mail recently titled “Life’s Handbook for 2009” and several points expressed in the writings touched me. You might say I learned something from it, or was reminded of things.

In fact, last week was pretty informative for me on several levels.

You know all those stories you hear about someone being victimized because an unscrupulous person got hold of their bank or credit-card account information? Well, I learned those stories are not just happening to “other” people. To my surprise, I now know it can happen to me.

The e-mail I mentioned instructed that I should not compare my life to that of others. “You have no idea what  their journey is all about.” Is that something like don’t jump from the pan into the fire? 

Also, “Don’t take yourself so seriously; no one else does,” and “don’t waste your precious energy on gossip. Dream more while you are awake, and envy is a waste of time.” All GREAT advice to include in a handbook about life.

I also learned last week (or it was my decision) that our City Editor, Gary Carter, is never again allowed to take a vacation. Unfortunately for me, I don’t have the power to enforce that one.

The last and maybe the most important thing I learned last week, at least for the immediate future, is those treadmills driven by electricity keep moving even when you stop walking.

My daughter burst into laughter at the mental picture that lesson presented her. Actually, I prefaced it with “You’ll never guess what happened to me,” and she guessed it. I think she knows me better than I thought. And, what my husband said first is, I hope no one there knew your last name.

No one did, at least I’m pretty sure of that. Although, one really nice and considerate man removed his ear plugs and asked me if I was okay. I was, but my humiliation level was over the top.

One of my Facebook friends said she has had a similar experience and then I didn’t feel so stupid. But, in all fairness, let me say I got distracted when I saw Pudge wearing a Ranger uniform again. Sweet!

My daughter’s still laughing... and so am I.

Sunday lunch

Jamie brought Langston and Hallie to church in Van Alstyne today and we went to dinner with the Servatis afterward. Here are some of our pictures. Kristi, Jamie and I are the only ones who didn't get in the pictures.

First is Umbi with Hallie then Umbi with Raigan.

Then we have Griff holding Langston and Jaidan and Griff holding Langston with Kaidan.

We had a great time.

Cowboy Stadium

Punctuated with chrome and glass, steel and mirrors, the new Cowboy Stadium is almost ready to go. It was unveiled to season-ticket holders Saturday. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. the doors were opened and those with tickets were allowed to roam freely from level to level and section to section.

Billy Wayne said he’s never seen anything like it. The structure was massive. The sliding roof covers were closed fending off the days stifling heat from 100-plus-degree temperatures.

A large array of event staff was on hand to make sure the tour was easy and interested individuals could see everything they wanted to see.

The jumbo-tron is huge and will surely enhance the football-watching experience of every seat in the stadium.

A tribute to Allie

Last week the Godwins said hello to a new grandson when daughter Jamie gave birth. This week the Godwins are saying goodbye to an old and very loyal family member. Our dog Allie has reached the point where quality of life is at an all time low so we need  to relieve her of her discomfort.

 Allie is a black Labrador retriever who entered our home for the first time in 1994 in my sister-in-law Marylyn’s purse. Allie, whose full name is Allie Oop, made us all happy. Of course she was my husband’s and daughter’s dog, but I was the one who rose night after night and made my bed next to Allie’s pen so she could feel like she wasn’t alone (and stop howling). 

She was their dog but she was my companion day by day. I trained her to walk on a leash though, sometimes I wasn’t sure who was walking whom. I trained her to sit but Billy Wayne trained her to shake. She was a smart, smart dog and training her to do things was incredibly easy.

 When she first moved in with us, the plan was to build a pen for her outside but that never got done and she spent all of her life inside. That is probably why she’s survived this 15 years — 105 if I understand the doggie-years calculations.

Allie stood guard over all of us and every baby or child who spent time with us. Her normal sleeping place was at the foot of Jamie’s bed, and when Jamie went to college, Allie continued to sleep in Jamie’s room,  until I finally began shutting the door to keep her out. Undeterred, Allie simply figured out how to bump the door just under the doorknob to make it slip the latch and open. It took me a long time to figure out how she was doing that.

 The youngsters of the Servati family of Van Anlstyne, where we live, spent a great deal of time at our house during Allie’s life. Allie was a constant companion to Raigan and Kerrigan (the two oldest of four beautiful girls) from their cradle days. It was common place for me to enter the living room and see Raigan watching television from the floor with the top part of her body lying on Allie, as if the dog was a bean-bag chair, and Allie perfectly content. Whenever any of the girls took a nap, Allie was laying next to them in such a way that no one could get to the children unless they went through the loyal Allie Oop.

 When Billy Wayne was found to have cancer, he began a year of arduous interferon therapy. Although he seldom missed work, he was sick many days and just plain drained most days. Allie knew. She frequently left her nightly post in Jamie’s room to lye on the floor next to Bill. During the days, she sat next to Billy’s chair in quiet vigil over him. She knew.

 Our lives have been enriched by knowing Allie. I share this story today as a celebration of the life of a noble friend whom we will miss greatly. It’s a natural cycle for the generous people who share their lives with “man’s best friend” whose only desire is to please us.

 On the Internet in a variety of places, one may find the story of the Rainbow Bridge attributed to an anonymous author. I love this story, and hope it’s appreciated here by others.

Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. 

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. 
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. 
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable. 

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. 
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind. 

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. 

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart. 

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together.... 

Author unknown...

Remembering D-Day

We've been pretty busy with our new baby and I feel bad I didn't post anything about the 65th anniversary of D-Day. It's important to me to honor our military men and women and our veterans. But, since I've been busy with family stuff, I'm just going to take a shortcut. I did a story in the Herald Democrat for D-Day and I'm just going to post that story here.

One thing interesting I learned while doing research for this. The D-Day memorial is in Bedford, VA because that small town lost the most soldiers per capita on D-Day than any other town in America. That is the town where my father was born and raised and we still have much family there.

Several of my cousins appear on the list of soldiers from Bedford.

Following is my story:

Sixty-five years ago the Allied forces of World War II fought against insurmountable odds to attack from the sea along 50 miles of shoreline around Normandy, France. Brave forces stood in the gap for freedom against Nazi Germany, liberating untold numbers of everyday people caught in a Nazi chokehold. It was a time that earned today’s grandparents and great-grandparents the title “the greatest generation.” The youngest of those veterans of war are turning 82 this year.

It was June 6, 1944 — D-Day. The size of the event, dubbed Operation Overlord, was unprecedented and remains the largest land, air and sea invasion in history. Planning for the orchestration began in December 1943 and the invasion served to be a turning point in the European campaign against Nazi Germany — a decisive day in history.

The Allied forces were led by Denison native Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower. A transcript of Eisenhower’s encouraging speech to the troops before embarking on the landing is found at the D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Va.. It follows:

“Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon a great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers in arms on other fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

“Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened, he will fight savagely.

“But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man to man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our home fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory!

“I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory!

“Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessings of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.”

More than 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day’s end on June 6, the Allies had gained a foot-hold in Normandy.

Staff Sgt. Carl W. Fulmer of Tioga was wounded in the D-Day invasion, his son Bill Fulmer of Whitesboro said. Staff Sgt. Fulmer survived WWII until Sept. 27, 1944 in France. During the battle, a machine-gun operator was killed and Staff Sgt. Fulmer stepped up and took over its operation. “He was the main officer with his group; he could have told someone else to do that, but he stepped up himself,” explained Bill Fulmer. It was in this battle that Staff Sgt. Fulmer was killed.

During his military career, he earned two Purple Hearts and the Silver Star. He was one of five brothers who were in the war at the same time. He attended high school in Tioga, attended Indian Creek Church and is buried in the Tioga cemetery. He was a member of the 90th Infantry Division of the 359th Infantry Regiment attached to Fort Dix, New Jersey.

Another Grayson County son was Lt. Comdr.. James Earl Riley, a 1942 graduate of Sherman High School whose activity on D-Day was aboard one of the troop carriers. He was a “boat’s inmate,” reported his wife Wanda from Pensacola, Fla. He took the troops to Utah Beach. She said he never talked much about his experiences in WWII.

“He came back and went to Austin College and then became an officer,” she said. “He retired from the Navy after 28-and-a-half  years.”

Lt. Comdr. Riley also served in the Korean conflict as well as Vietnam. Mary Lueb of Sherman was a classmate of Riley’s and reported that he was a very dear friend. Others Grayson County boys she mentioned who were participants in the D-Day event are Pete Odum, Billy Painter and Billy Ray Fry.

Fry was a private first class for the Army when he departed the Higgins boat that delivered him to Omaha Beach in the first wave of the attack. His son, Judge James Fry of Sherman, said like so many other veterans of WWII, his father didn’t talk much about the experiences.

A member of the 29th Infantry Division, Pfc. Fry was not injured during the D-Day invasion but he was wounded about 10 days later when he was captured by the Germans. He remained a prisoner of war for about nine months before escaping with another POW with the assistance of a former Luftwaffe pilot. Judge Fry remembers that his dad came home in 1945.

“He told me very little about D-Day,” Jim Fry said. “When the movie ‘Saving Private Ryan’ came out, I called my dad and asked if he was going to see it. There was a long silence before he said, ‘Son, I spent 50 years trying to forget what happened on that beach, now why would I want to see that.’”

Jim Fry said his dad did eventually see the movie and he reported the scene that was the D-Day landing was pretty realistic. Billy Ray Fry died on the 60th anniversary of D-Day.

From the documentary movie “Voices of D-Day,” Thomas Valence, a rifle sergeant, tells how many of the troops got sick while moving toward the beach. He said the water was rough and choppy.

“As we came down the ramp, we were in water about knee high, and we started to do what we were trained to do — move forward, and then crouch and fire,” Valence said. “One of the problems was we didn’t quite know what to fire at.” He said men on either side of him were being “hit and put out of action so quickly that it became a struggle to stay on one’s feet.”

He reported how he abandoned his equipment that had become heavy and while floundering to get his balance he was shot through his left hand breaking a knuckle and again through the palm of his hand.

“I felt nothing but a little sting at the time, but I was aware that I was shot,” he said. “My rifle jammed, so I picked up a carbine and got off a couple of rounds. We were shooting at something that seemed inconsequential. There was no way I was going to knock out a German concrete emplacement with a .30-caliber rifle.

I was hit again, once in the left thigh, which broke my hip bone, and a couple of times in my pack, and then my chin strap on my helmet was severed by a bullet. I worked my way up onto the beach, and staggered up against a wall, and collapsed there. The bodies of the other guys washed ashore, and I was one live body amongst many of my friends who were dead and, in many cases, blown to pieces.”

More than 150,000 men were moved across the English Channel that day to the shores of France. Six parachute regiments, more than 13,000 men, were flown from nine British airfields in more than 800 planes. More than 300 planes dropped 13,000 bombs over coastal Normandy immediately in advance of the invasion.

By nightfall on June 6, more than 9,000 Allied soldiers were dead or wounded, but more than 100,000 had made it ashore, securing French coastal villages and beginning the march across Europe to defeat Hitler. 

Captured Germans were sent to American prisoner-of-war camps at the rate of 30,000 POWs per month from D-Day until December 1944. Thirty-three detention facilities were in Texas alone.

Saturday was June 6. It is a day to remember the valor, fidelity and sacrifice of this country’s “greatest generation.”

6-7-2009 — To My daughter

Today, my sweet girl, you joined a new and noble club. 

I watched you suffer the long pains of child birth, the end of which presented the sweet picture of you as a new mother.

You planned for this moment and this time for nine months only to learn there is much you cannot plan nor predict. Welcome to motherhood.

Today you learned a new love. I saw it when you got your first glimpse of little Langston. Now, you’re beginning to realize how much you can love another person. This, my Himeeta, is only the beginning. Your love will grow exponentially day by day, year by year.

You’re going to experience the joys of watching your little son grow, only to wish at every stage that he will stay just as he is. Do you remember me asking you to “stay just like you are — promise Mommy you’ll never change from the way you are right now.” You always said in your sweet little voice and with a big smile, “Okay, Mommy.”

Every stage of growth of your little boy is going to be like that for you.

Now, my little girl, you have a glimpse of how much you are loved.

more of our little angel

Langston Peck Wayne Roubinek

Our family had a new arrival Sunday.

Langston Peck Wayne Roubinek was born at 1:32 p.m. Sunday.

He landed weighing 7 pounds 10 ounces and he's 20 inches long.

Celebration Freedom concert

The rain threatened on and off all day in Hobart but at the beginning of the concert, this rainbow showed up...... Then it rained again.

Wayne Newton was also a featured entertainer and took the stage backed by McCoy's band