Why Blog?

I realize thta there are a wide variety of people who may view my blog, some of you I know and some of you I dont. Some of you leave comments and some choose not to. However, I have been asked and often wondered myself why it is people blog. So I write this entry as a brief explanation atleast of why i do it, and also things I don't think it should be used for. I write for several reasons, the simplest being that I like to write. Another is the fact that there are sevral people I don't have the time to e-mail all the time. They have often asked me questions abotu how I am and what I have been up to. Well, I blog, because if they really want to know they can read it, and see for themselves. The final reason I write is because occasionally I come accross things or have thoughts of my own that I wish I could share with the whole world, well this is about as close as it comes. I do nto use this blog as a place to belittle others ideas or beliefs. I do not use this blog to share my personal thioughts or things that are of a more priavte nature. I have always believed that my persoanl thoughts or problesm are my own, and certainly not something I want the world to view. Lastly I do not use my blog to THREATEN people or express hatred!!!!!!! If you are reading this you know who you are, and I have no problem telling you, that you are wrong.

Heros Memorium

I write this post to a great man who recently passed away. His name was Captain James M. Burt. Anyone at Norwich reading this will know who he was. He was both a Norwich grad and a Medal of Honor recipient. I still remember having to memeorize his name freshman year. I never knew him personally, but it would have been a great honor for me to even just shake his hand. The man was a true hero in every sense of the word. Often we think we are heroes because we wear a unifrom or we go to a military school, but let me tell you we are not. A hero must earn his right to be called such. Captain Burt certainly did, may we all rise to the occasion should we ever have the chance. Below is a copy of his commendation.

Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Army, Company B, 66th Armored Regiment, 2d Armored Division. Place and date: Near Wurselen, Germany, 13 October 1944. Entered service at: Lee, Mass. Birth: Hinsdale, Mass. G.O. No.: 95, 30 October 1945. Citation: Capt. James M. Burt was in command of Company B, 66th Armored Regiment on the western outskirts of Wurselen, Germany, on 13 October 1944, when his organization participated in a coordinated infantry-tank attack destined to isolate the large German garrison which was tenaciously defending the city of Aachen. In the first day's action, when infantrymen ran into murderous small-arms and mortar fire, Capt. Burt dismounted from his tank about 200 yards to the rear and moved forward on foot beyond the infantry positions, where, as the enemy concentrated a tremendous volume of fire upon him, he calmly motioned his tanks into good firing positions. As our attack gained momentum, he climbed aboard his tank and directed the action from the rear deck, exposed to hostile volleys which finally wounded him painfully in the face and neck. He maintained his dangerous post despite pointblank self-propelled gunfire until friendly artillery knocked out these enemy weapons, and then proceeded to the advanced infantry scouts' positions to deploy his tanks for the defense of the gains which had been made. The next day, when the enemy counterattacked, he left cover and went 75 yards through heavy fire to assist the infantry battalion commander who was seriously wounded. For the next 8 days, through rainy, miserable weather and under constant, heavy shelling, Capt. Burt held the combined forces together, dominating and controlling the critical situation through the sheer force of his heroic example. To direct artillery fire, on 15 October, he took his tank 300 yards into the enemy lines, where he dismounted and remained for 1 hour giving accurate data to friendly gunners. Twice more that day he went into enemy territory under deadly fire on reconnaissance. In succeeding days he never faltered in his determination to defeat the strong German forces opposing him. Twice the tank in which he was riding was knocked out by enemy action, and each time he climbed aboard another vehicle and continued the fight. He took great risks to rescue wounded comrades and inflicted prodigious destruction on enemy personnel and materiel even though suffering from the wounds he received in the battle's opening phase. Capt. Burt's intrepidity and disregard of personal safety were so complete that his own men and the infantry who attached themselves to him were inspired to overcome the wretched and extremely hazardous conditions which accompanied one of the most bitter local actions of the war. The victory achieved closed the Aachen gap.

I once read this poem and even included it in my yearbook pages. There is a reason why, because I was struck and am still struck by its words. They seem to me to be a timeless and true and I often read it to remind me to be patient. Waiting is never easy for any reason, but when i read this I feel liek I could wait an eternity as long as I knew waht the outcome would be.

Waiting

by John Burroughs

Serene I foold my hands and wait,

No care for wind or tide or sea:

I rave no more 'gainst time or fate,

For lo! My own shall come to me.

I stay my haste, I make delays,

For what avails this eager pace?

I stand amid the eternal ways,

And what is mine shall know my face.

Asleep, awake, by night or day,

The friends I seek are seeking me;

No wind can drive my bark astray,

Nor change the tide of destiny.

What matter if I stand alone?

I wait with joy the coming years;

My heart shall reap where it has sown,

And garner up its fruit of tears.

The waters know there own and draw

The brook that springs in yonder height;

So flows the good with equal law

Unto the soul of of pure delight.

The floweret nodding in the wind

Is ready plighted to the bee;

And maiden, why that look unkind?

For lo! Thy lover seekest thee.

The stars come nightly to the sky;

The tidal wave unto the sea;

Nor time, nor space, nor deep, nor high

Can keep my own away from me.

On Our Selfishness

Sir Thomas Moor once wote a book called Utopia. It described what he deemed to be th perfect society. Plato argued for the perfect government in his Republic, yet neither of these two planned or took into account the depravity of man himself as an individual. Man is by nature selfish, and we often take into acount only oursleves. It is not necessarily always our fault. We give into our impulses and allow our own emotions to control us. The reason I write this is because I have been often guilty of this and even recently I made this mistake. At the time I did not realize it. I acted on impulse and and what I was feeling at the time. I allowed myself to give way to human emotion, which can often be deceptive in many ways. It has its place, but it must never be allowed full control of our thoughts and actions. I do not need to say what it was I did, it is past now, but I write this in hopes that others amy learn form my mistake and maybe it will serve also as a reminder in the future for me. I guess it is one of my weeknesses. I was very humbly and catiously reminded by someone what i was doing, and it was put in perspective. Thank God for those who are willing to point things out, especially in that way. I tend also to not take criticism well, and my first instinct is to get defensive. I am working on listening, but it is never easy. I am so glad I still have a conscience, and how I hate the feeling of guilt, but I never want to lose it. I think guilt is the worst punishment I could ever recieve. It eats inside of me, and the feeling that what is done can not be changed is like a knife in the heart.God is faithful and he will sustain us and teach us what it is we need to do, even if that requires us learning from our mistakes, as in my case.

911 Shocker

-------Original Message-------

Subject: Remember?




I was recently forwarded a message conaining these startling facts. I thought I would share them with you all. Think what you may. I certainly know what i am thinking...... and blaming.



Thought you might be interested in this forgotten bit of information......

It was 1987! At a lecture the other day they were playing an old news video of Lt.Col. Oliver North testifying at the Iran-Contra hearings during the Reagan Administration. There was Ollie in front of God and country getting the third degree, but what he said was stunning! He was being drilled by a senator; "Did you not recently spend close to $60,000 for a home security system?" Ollie replied, "Yes, I did, Sir." The senator continued, trying to get a laugh out of the audience, "Isn't that just a little excessive?" "No, sir," continued Ollie. "No? And why not?" the senator asked. "Because the lives of my family and I were threatened, sir." "Threatened? By whom?" the senator questioned. "By a terrorist, sir" Ollie answered. "Terrorist? What terrorist could possibly scare you that much?" "His name is Osama bin Laden, sir" Ollie replied. At this point the senator tried to repeat the name, but couldn't pronounce it, which most people back then probably couldn't. A couple of people laughed at the attempt. Then the senator continued. Why are you so afraid of this man?" the senator asked. "Because, sir, he is the most evil person alive that I know of", Ollie answered. "And what do you recommend we do about him?" asked the senator. "Well, sir, if it was up to me, I would recommend that an assassin team be formed to eliminate him and his men from the face of the earth." The senator disagreed with this approach, and that was all that was shown of the clip. By the way, that senator was Al Gore! Also: Terrorist pilot Mohammad Atta blew up a bus in Israel in 1986. The Israelis captured, tried and imprisoned him. As part of the Oslo agreement with the Palestinians in 1993, Israel had to agree to release so-called "political prisoners." However, the Israelis would not release any with blood on their hands, The American President at the time, Bill Clinton, and his Secretary of State, Warren Christopher, "insisted" that all prisoners be released. Thus Mohammad Atta was freed and eventually thanked the US by flying an airplane into Tower One of the World Trade Center. This was reported by many of the American TV networks at the time that the terrorists were first identified. It was censored in the US from all later reports.