We just returned from a most memorable trip to Anchorage Alaska.  Thank you to the 4th Brigade (Airborne) of the 25th Infantry Division and 1st Squadron of the 40th Cavalry Regiment for remembering and honoring 77 paratroopers who all paid the ultimate sacrifice on battlefields somewhere in Iraq and Afghanistan.  We traveled to Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson (JBER) to participate in their annual week-long Spartan Memorial Week.  The words on this page cannot begin to express our sincere thoughts and thank you to everyone who made Spartan Memorial Week what it is. Upon arrival at the Anchorage airport, we were met by seven 1/40 CAV (Tom’s unit of assignment during

This year, 2020, we are observing Memorial Day like no other year…social distancing.  As I read the many great debates on social media about the national (and some state) cemeteries curbing organized groups from placing flags, the debates almost make me laugh.  I seriously do not understand why so many are so upset over flags placed on graves that honor way more than those we should be honoring on Memorial Day.  Before you get upset with my last sentence, think about it.  In recent memory, it has become customary to place flags on the headstones of everyone interred in a national or state cemetery.  While it makes for a beautiful

In the past couple of months, we celebrated Memorial Day followed quickly by the 75th anniversary of D-Day, then Flag Day and today — Independence Day!  It has been an emotional time, particularly for those who believe in the ideals of our United States.  We are all familiar with a few of the many documents that highlight the foundations of our country – particularly with regard to equality and freedoms.  The first of those documents, date all the way back to the Mayflower Compact of 1620…well before we were a nation.  Then there is our Declaration of Independence (1776) …declaring all men are created equal with rights – life, liberty,

Can you ever truly go home?  That is truly a tough question to answer.  As a small child, the longest I ever lived (in the same city!) in one house was about 6 years.  For a multitude of reasons, my parents (and eventually my single Mother) packed up the house and moved to a new location.  So, for many reasons, my “home” was the city where I grew up – Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  I really enjoy going back to where I was born and raised, albeit I left that city 40 years ago!  I love riding up and down the alleys where I ran as a kid, reminiscing about

You are never too old to… Go ahead, I dare you to fill in the rest of that sentence!  How well I remember when I was a little girl, that my Mother would say things to me, like, “act your age!”  What does that really mean?  Did that mean she wanted me to act more mature, more childlike, more whatever?  Guess I’ll never know for certain, but I am pretty sure it was more along the lines of stop with the shenanigans!   Age – is it really important?  It is when you long for a driver’s license, wait to reach voting age, and even yearn for retirement.  Other than that,