How are all the idjits to day???
hope you are fine & dandy
RIF 4 days to go!! WOW bet you are getting edgy now!! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="images/icons/smile.gif" />
Fish ARE for eating, as are crayfish EXCEPT Koi and those itty bitty things you pay a fortune for. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="images/icons/grin.gif" />
Hey I happened to be E mailing a lady by the name of Ellen - in the US - for my young niece as her web site had lots of Xmas things for her and her school friends to use and as we were chating over the net she asked me where 'Uncle Aussie' was as my niece had said her Uncle was in a very 'bad' place. I think she had visions of San Quentin or something...LOL
So I explained he was fighting somewhere in Iraq and we had no idea where or when he would return. So after a little more talk she said she had to go and would email some things for my niece & her school friends to play around with over the next week to which I thanked her very much.
Then to my surprise she emailed me this poem after speaking to a poet friend of hers and I thought it was so good and for all the boys (& girls too!) , like RIF & Aussie who may not be home at Xmas.... though I can hope ... so I wanted to share it with you all
A Soldier's Christmas
T’ was the night before Christmas,he lived all alone,
in a one bedroom house made of plaster and stone.
I had come down the chimney with presents to give, and to see just who in this home did live.
I looked all about, a strange sight I did see,
no tinsel, no presents, not even a tree.
No stocking by mantle, just boots filled with sand, on the wall hung pictures of far distant lands.
it smelled of medals and badges, awards of all kinds,
a sober thought came through my mind.
For this house was different, it was dark and dreary, I found the place of a soldier, once I could see clearly.
The soldier lay sleeping, silent, alone,
curled up on the floor in this one bedroom home.
The face was so gentle, the room in such disorder, not how I pictured a brave Allied soldier.
Was this the hero of whom I'd just read?
curled up on a poncho, the floor for a bed?
I realized the families that I saw this night,
owed their lives to these soldiers who were willing to fight.
Soon round the world, the children would play,
and grownups would celebrate a bright Christmas Day.
They all enjoyed freedom each month of the year,
because of the soldiers, like the one lying here.
I couldn't help wonder how many lay alone,
on a cold Christmas Eve in a land far from home.
The very thought brought a tear to my eye,
I dropped to my knees and started to cry.
The soldier awakened and I heard a rough voice,
"Santa don't cry, this life was my choice;
I fight for freedom, I don't ask for more,
Like the ANZAC’s before me my life is my God,
my Country, my Corps."
The soldier rolled over and drifted to sleep,
I couldn't control it, I continued to weep.
I kept watch for hours, so silent and still
and we both shivered from the cold night's chill.
I didn't want to leave on that cold, dark, night,
this guardian of honour so willing to fight.
Then the soldier rolled over, with a voice soft and pure,
whispered, "Carry on Santa, it's Christmas Day, soon it will be daylight and hell coming to play."
He slipped off the safety, he went to the wall
The angel went with him his soul shining bright
One look at my watch, and I knew he was right.
"Merry Christmas my friend, and to all a good night
For no matter his fate, now I knew he would be right.
Written by: Lt Col Bruce Lovely
2004
I thought it was such a lovely gesture and made me feel very humble to think strangers understood so well. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="images/icons/wink.gif" />
