LIFE...
On the cab of a truck observed on Interstate 81... Guns... No Roses... that
statement is simple enough for anyone to understand...
Overheard on CB Radio... One driver fussing because someone had a beautiful
cow and he did not have one... knowing about trucker lingo I will leave the meaning
of "cow" to your imagination... we are not talking about the kind that eats grass in
a pasture...
I have just returned from a very, very quick trip home to the Great Valley of Virginia
to officiate the Memorial Service for my brother-in-law who was the same age as I.
In our younger life we spent much time together hunting, fishing and exploring. I
was there when he met the Lord Jesus Christ. One of his last requests of me was
that I do his memorial service and my daughter sing special songs. This was my
fifth memorial service for his family... plus three for my own family. It seems the
only time that I am allowed to visit that place on this Earth where my heart still most
desires to be is for such events... at least it is always for a special event... and after
it is over I cannot linger there but must bring myself back here for other crisis.
In the congregation for the service were two military men in uniform... one with 34
years of service and serving in Afghanistan until just a few days before the service.
He arrived home on Tuesday, the day my dear brother-in-law breathed his last...
it seems that he was informed that he must take a rest leave and he could choose
where or they would choose for him. He chose to come home... the amazing thing
was that he arrived just in time to be moral and emotional support for my sister-in-
law when he could not have had any prior knowledge of the death in the family. He
was a Godsend for her...
The other, a young airman, had also spent his time in Afghanistan but is now
stateside and looked so handsome in his spiffy blue uniform. The 34 year
National Guard soldier home on leave had his desert sand cammy uniform
because the orders were that he had to catch transportation out of country quickly.
I made it a point to personally tell each one how thankful I was for their service and
their value to our country...
Then the procession was escorted by a County Sheriff's car. When the Deputy
blocked a major intersection for our passing he stood at attention and saluted the
passing of the remains... life in my old home world is very, very different than here
in this city... slower, gentler, kinder... definitely very, very different. Once more I
stood there in that Garden of Stone on the shoulder of one of my mountains. I have
been too many times already... Once more I marveled at the beauty of the creation
in which we have been privileged to live and move and have our being...
Once more I thanked my God for where He put me... where He brought me from..
and to where He is taking me... Once more I was overwhelmed with my heart
literally wanting to burst as I contemplated the beauty I was taking in... the family
of my blessed departed wife Sue whose family welcomed me and made me as one
of their own... the journey I have traveled... and the destination for which I am bound.
NO MAN HAS EVER LIVE A MORE BLESSED LIFE!
Several times I rejoiced at the opportunity to hear a train pass by in the night just
a few yards from my bedroom window... and the chance to see one or two trains
pass by and be able to watch without having some pressing demand to rush off
and do something else. I reveled in the food from those country cooks... just
before we arrived my daughter was reminiscing in the van and wishing for some
good old home made macaroni and cheese... we had not been at the house of
our destination for more than a few minutes when a neighbor lady brought in a
large container of the very same food fresh from the oven and still too hot to eat
and we immediately dug right in to it. No place in this world have I ever eaten
better food... and plenty of it... yet I returned home lighter than I was when I left a
couple days before.
When I entered into the home of one of my Nephews he had a good sized
collection of lanterns... as I was looking it over... there in the very middle of all of
them that were in pairs sat one lone lantern with no mate... that one lone lantern
matched a lone lantern in my collection at home... I had purchased it in hopes
of finding a mate... I wanted two of them to use for marker lanterns on the
caboose of my one fourth size train in my back yard... all train cabooses must
have marker lanterns. When I asked where he had gotten it so that I might find
one like it because I needed one... he took it down, emptied the oil out of it and
handed it to me... He said, "Now you have two."
In the very midst of what the world calls a sad occasion I was immensely blessed...
blessed numerous times with blessings that could not happen to me here where I
live... I had to go there for special duty... and then be blessed because I was there.
The provisions of my COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF are beyond english words ability
to describe. In the course of my life, living in and dealing with the crisis in the lives
of others, I am blessed in ways and means often not believable to others around
me... but such has always been the way of my COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF (MY
HEAVENLY FATHER) with me since I began to learn His ways.
Now for things relating to others..
==============================================================
PoliceOne.com, April 9, '05
Niles Police Officer Killed in Crash - 04/08/2005
Steven Zorkus - [Niles, Illinois]
PR State Marshal dies in motorcycle crash - 04/06/2005
State Marshal Ricardo Cardona Perez - [Bayamon, Puerto Rico, ]
Wreck kills off-duty deputy - 04/06/2005
John Joseph Roach - [Alamance County, North Carolina]
'Cloud' Hanging Over Benton Police - 04/05/2005
Sgt. Bryant Dorminey - [Benton, Arkansas]
PoliceOne Officer Training Tip:
Drawing Weapon on Your Back
As a military veteran and current police officer, I would like to point out a basic technique that, to many, is not so basic; Drawing your weapon while laying on
your back ... Full Story (Secure - Login Required)
Submitted by Shannon Elliott
Moosic P.D., Pennsylvania
===============================================================
FROM THE INTERNET... AN ARTICLE BY
Col. Dave Roberts, a Navy Commander at a port in Kuwait.
"They are so young"
I was going to the gym tonight (really just a huge tent with weights and treadmills), and we had
heard that one of the MEUs (Marine Exp Units) that had come out of service in the "triangle" was
redeploying (leaving country). We saw their convoy roll in to the Kuwait Naval Base as the desert
sun was setting.
I have never seen anything like this; trucks and humvees that looked like they had just come
through a shredder. Their equipment was full of shrapnel blast holes, and missing entire major
pieces that you could tell had been blasted by IEDs. These kids looked bad too! I mean, sunken
eyes, thin as rails, and that 1000-yd. Stare they talk about after direct combat. It made me pretty
damn embarrassed to be a "rear area warrior".
All people could do was stop in their tracks and stare... and feel like me...like I wanted to bow my
head in reverence. A Marine Captain stationed with me, was standing next to me, also headed to
the gym. He said, "Part of 1st Brigade Combat Team, 8th Marines, sir. They took the heaviest
losses of any single unit up north as part of Task Force Danger, sir."
As the convoy rolled up, all of us watching just slowly crept toward these kids, as they dismounted
the Hummers and 5-tons. Of course, we were all shiny and clean compared to these warriors.
These kids looked like they had just crawled from Iraq. I had my security badge and id around my
neck, and started to help them unload some of their duffle bags.
A crusty Gunny came up to me and said "sir, you don't have to do that..." I said, "Gunny... yes I
do..." They all looked like they were in high school, or younger!! All held themselves sharply and
confident, despite the extreme fatigue you could tell they had endured. "You guys out of the
triangle?" I asked. "Yes, sir", 14 months, and twice into the grinder, sir" (both fights for Fallujah).
All I could do was throw my arm around their shoulders and say "thanks Marine, for taking the fight
to the bad guys...we love you man".
I looked at these young kids, not one of them complaining or showing signs of anything but focus,
and good humor. 'Sir, they got ice cream at the DFAC, sir?" "I haven't had real ice cream since we
got here..." They continued to unload... and after I had done my handshakes and shoulder hugs, the
Captain and I looked at each other...
They want ice cream; we'll get them ice cream. You see a squid O-5 and a focused Marine O-3
can get just about anything, even if the mess is closed. Needless to say, we raided the closed
DFAC (mess tent), much to the chagrin of one very peeved Mess Sergeant and grabbed boxes of
ice cream sandwiches (as many as we could carry), and hustled back to the convoy. I felt like
Santa Claus. "Thank you, sir..." again and again from each trooper, as we tossed up the bars to
the guys in the trucks. I'm thinkin', "Son, what the hell are you thanking me for? I can't thank you
enough."
And they are so young . I will sleep well, knowing they are watching my back tonight."
Pray for our troops!
====================================================
VIRGINIAN-PILOT, Norfolk, VA, April 9, '05
IRAQ
U.S. TROOPS KILLED - 11
U.S. TROOPS WOUNDED - 96
U.S. TROOPS KILLED SINCE 03/03 - 1544
U.S. TROOPS WOUNDED SINCE 03/03 - 11, 664
===============================================================
AFGHANISTAN, April 6, '05,
Death toll in US chopper's crash rises to 18
KABUL, April 9 (Xinhuanet) -- The death toll of the US helicopter crash in southern
Afghanistan reached 18, US military said Saturday. "A total of 18 remains have
been recovered from the crash site and will be flown to Dover air force base for
positive identification," Cindy Moore, the spokeswoman of the US-led coalition told
the press here.
<+>
166 TOTAL U.S. TROOPS KILLED
498 SERIOUSLY INJURED April 2005
98 OTHER COALITION TROOPS KILLED
294 SERIOUSLY INJURED April 2005
===================================================
Creativity is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift to God.
-Bob Moawad (courtesy my friend Rick Crespo)
===========================================
Life is to be lived to the fullest wherever you are... peaceful pastoral scene...
chaos... battlefield... in mourning... in loneliness... in any and every state of condition
where we may find ourselves at any moment. Life is defined as "THOSE THINGS
THAT HAPPEN TO YOU WHILE YOU ARE MAKING PLANS."
==============================================================
My oldest son, a retired Navy engineer drove his old truck home to the mountains for
the memorial service. He limped in late on Thursday night. A mechanical problem
had developed in the last hour of the trip. He worked on it on Friday and it seemed
to be taken care of. Just in case he asked me to lay hands upon the old truck and
ask Father to get us back home safely. I did and we began the trip.
He was doing fine for a while until he asked to stop someplace between
Charlottesville and Richmond. The motor was making a terrible rattling noise. We
dumped in all the oil we both had and continued on at a slower pace. We made it
all the way without the truck breaking down... it ran out of gas in Norfolk, twenty miles
from home, near a 7-11, and we bought some gas. He made it all the way home...
it is still running today so that he can work. When we stopped and poured in the oil
the truck sounded like it was on it's last legs... yet we made it all the way in without it
blowing up or running out of oil again... another full three hours of the last leg of the
journey after the oil fill. Thanks be to my COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF for His faithfulness.
Thanks also to a Norfolk Police Officer who stopped where I was parked while I
helped my son get refueled. This Peace Keeper helped me get turned around and
off the exit ramp... THANKS SO VERY, VERY MUCH TO GUYS LIKE HIM OUT
THERE TO DO ALL THEY CAN FOR PEACE AND SAFETY.
Life is to be lived... doing the best you can with what you have where you are...
Our Peace Keepers are doing that every day in all of their duty... at home... on the
battlefields of our streets here... on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq... in all
kinds of law enforcement... in airplanes, ships, cars, humvees, tanks... and on foot.
Whether the battleground is Afghanistan, Iraq, some embassy in a hostile area,
a demilitarized zone in Korea, a rural area, a county, city, town or large metropolis
here in the USA... our Peace Keepers are doing their best to live as best they can
while they serve the duty of protecting and providing for all the rest of us. They keep
going back into the field day after day... doing those duties that are unimaginable to
a civilian who has never been there... doing these duties so that the rest of us can
move about in peace and safety... they are patrolling our streets... and patrolling
other places in the world... LAYING ALL THEY ARE ON THE LINE THAT
SEPARATES GOOD AND EVIL FOR ALL THE REST OF US.
In the statistics and descriptions I have enclosed above... I share some of my daily
life... it's trials and it's blessings... and I share the details of what it has cost others
as they tread out their duty in the thin line of Peace Keepers... that in their doing
their duties keep all the rest of us as free and as safe as possible... I share the
small blessings... AND THE GREAT BLESSINGS... from a personal stand point...
AND FROM A MEMBER OF THE THIN LINE OF PEACE KEEPERS STAND
POINT. As of today I have 83 days until I turn in my badge and gun in mandatory
retirement... but those 83 days are not what matters. WHAT MATTERS IS THAT
I HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN LIFE AND PEACE KEEPING FOR 43 YEARS.
AUTHORITY OF GOVERNMENT AND OPERATING RULES MAY UNPIN MY
BADGE... UNBUCKLE MY GUN... AND TELL ME THAT I CAN NO LONGER
ENFORCE THE LAWS OF PEACE AND SAFETY... BUT NOTHING CAN TAKE
AWAY MY MEMORIES AND MY EXPERIENCES AS I HAVE TRAVELED THIS
JOURNEY AMONG ALL OF YOU.
I WILL STILL BE A CHAPLAIN... I WILL STILL BE A WRITER... I WILL STILL BE A
TEACHER... I WILL STILL BE A MAN WHO IS CALLED TO DO THE BEST HE
CAN WITH LIFE AS IT COMES AND AS I HAVE OPPORTUNITY TO ACT IN THE
LIVES OF OTHERS. A TITLE WILL CHANGE... LIFE WILL CONTINUE ON FOR
ME AS IT HAS... UNTIL I REACH THE APPOINTMENT OF MY GRADUATION
FROM THIS LIFE. NOTHING CAN CHANGE NOR STOP MY JOURNEY BUT ME...
OR MY COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF.
REDIRECTING IS UP TO THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. FOLLOWING HIS
DIRECTIONS IS UP TO ME. LIFE GOES ON UNTIL THE APPOINTED TIME.
WHAT WE DO WITH THE LIFE WE ARE GIVEN IS UP TO US.
PEACE KEEPERS... I AM MOST THANKFUL TO MY COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF
FOR CALLING YOU INTO HIS DUTY OF BEING MINISTERS OF RIGHTNESS...
I AM MOST THANKFUL TO YOU THAT YOU RESPONDED TO THE CALL. I
HAVE SHARED THE TOUGH TIMES WITH YOU... I HAVE SHARED BLOODY
TIMES WITH YOU... I HAVE GONE WITH YOU THROUGH GRIEF, BOTH YOURS
AND MINE. I HAVE SHARED MANY OF YOUR JOYS... AND DREAMS...
TOGETHER WE HAVE PLAYED ROMP AND STOMP IN RIOT CONTROL
TRAINING. WE HAVE TOSSED EACH OTHER AROUND IN DEFENSIVE
TACTICS... WE HAVE SHARED TIME THROUGH MANY BORING CLASSES.
WE HAVE LAUGHED TOGETHER... AND SOMETIMES WE CRIED TOGETHER.
WE HAVE SHARED THE DUTY OF EXTREME BUSINESS... AND WE HAVE
SHARED A SUNRISE OR TWO TOGETHER. TOGETHER WE HAVE SEEN THE
WORST OF MAN... BUT SELDOM HIS BEST... UNLESS THE BEST WAS FROM
ONE OF US. WE HAVE SHARED SOME HELL... AND ECSTASY OF THE VERY
BEST EXPERIENCES.
IN ALL OF THIS I HAVE BEEN PRIVILEGED TO BE WITH YOU AND TO KNOW
YOU. THERE IS NO GROUP UPON THE FACE OF THIS EARTH WITH WHOM I
WOULD RATHER SHARE TIME AND LIFE. IT HAS BEEN A GOOD JOURNEY.
I LEAVE YOU WITH THIS AS I ALWAYS DO... "BE CAREFUL OUT THERE."
BE ALERT, WATCHFUL AND SUSPICIOUS... BE WARY LIKE A FOX... AND IN
IT ALL, BE AS GENTLE AS YOU CAN BE IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES. GIVE
YOUR BEST... NOTHING MORE IS POSSIBLE... AND ANYTHING LESS SHOULD
BE UNACCEPTABLE TO YOU. TAKE CARE OF YOUR WHOLE BEING...
PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL AND SPIRITUAL... THEN WHEN YOU NEED IT, IT WILL
BE THERE FOR YOU. THERE ARE DIRECTIONS YOU WILL NEED IF YOU DO
NOT ALREADY HAVE THEM... HE SAID, "SEEK AND YOU SHALL FIND."...
I ADD, " DON'T SEEK... AND YOU WILL NEVER KNOW!"
THANK YOU... EACH OF YOU AND EVERY ONE OF YOU... FOR WHO YOU ARE
AND FOR ALL THAT YOU HAVE DONE. MY COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF AND I ARE
ETERNALLY GRATEFUL FOR YOUR SERVICE... FROM THE OLDEST OF
THOSE RETIRED PEACE KEEPERS STILL AMONG US... TO THOSE HOLLOW
EYED YOUNGSTERS SPOKEN OF IN THE ARTICLE ABOVE... TO ALL OF YOU
WE SEND OUR DEEPEST HEART FELT GIVING OF THANKS...
I CANNOT SAY ENOUGH FOR YOU NOR TO YOU...
AS IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN... SO IT STILL IS...
"VICTORIOUS WARRIORS WIN FIRST...
AND THEN GO TO WAR,
WHILE DEFEATED WARRIORS GO TO WAR FIRST...
AND THEN SEEK TO WIN." Sun tzu
ONLY LIVE PEACE KEEPERS SEE THE VICTORY!!!
WITH THE DEEPEST OF APPRECIATION AND RESPECT...
BE BLESSED (A CONDITION TO BE ENVIED)...
BE SUCCESSFUL... BE SAFE...
Chaplain D. R. Staton (Don - C1) VBPD, VSP ALUMNI,
Officer, Instructor, Senior Chaplain, Director of Chaplains
757-431-2190, chpln1@verizon.net
3709 Beacon Lane, Virginia Beach, VA 23452