WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT...
(Author of the following poem is not known to me... I made a search but I did not
locate the origin.  It has been around for a while.  It made the circuit last Christmas,
too.  My deepest thanks to the origional author for this inspiration.  I have altered it
somewhat as I am remembering my own Christmases in the ice and snow alone.)

THE PEACE KEEPERS OF CHRISTMAS, HANUKAH, KWANZA..
AND WHATEVER THE SEASON... ALL THE TIME...
(Dedicated to All Peace Keepers)

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,  
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,  
My child beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white, 
transforming the yard to a beautiful sight.  
The sparkling lights of the tree I perceive 
completed the magic of that Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep.
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Out in the cold and the dark of the night,
stood a lone figure, his face weary and tight.

A Peace Keeper, I puzzled, I've no idea how old,
Standing for the right, huddled there in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked at me and smiled,
Standing watch over me, my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I went and asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your burden, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts.
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light. 
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right...
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."

"It's my duty to be here on the thinnest of lines,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like many before me.

My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"
He sighed... "That's a Christmas we will always remember."
My dad and others stood their watch in Korea and the jungles of 'Nam',
And now it is my turn... and so here I am.
I've not seen my own son but once in a while,
He sleeps as I work, I sleep when he is up, he's sure got a smile.

As he straightened and pulled his shoulders from their sag, 
On his chest I saw it, The red, white, and blue, the American flag.

"I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can work in a hell hole with no time to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with or for my sister and brother,
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that liberty and this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do...  At the least
Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?"
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget
To fight for our rights while we're out here...
To stand your own watch, no matter how drear.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we stood, fought and bled,
Is payment enough, and with that we hope and trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.

WE ALL NEED TO PRAY FOR, THANK AND APPRECIATE OUR PEACE
KEEPERS ALL OF THE TIME!!!
===============================================================
During the years of my early peace keeping career, we troopers alternated the duty
of all holidays.  I remember well those times it was my turn in the ice and snow alone.
No restaurants nor businesses were open.  Roads were often treacherous but there
was seldom anyone else out there.  One of the local restaurant operators always
extended to me an open invitation to come to his home for food and refreshments if
I had the time.  Most times I could make it.  It was a strange phenomenon for me...
few others say the same thing... but I had no calls then between 6PM Christmas Eve
and 6 PM Christmas Day... and have had only one call in the past few years...
between the hours of 6 PM Christmas Eve and 6 PM Christmas Day... 
That one call was for two pairs of shoes for two little boys who had
just lost all they had in a fire and needed shoes.  Of course no place was open
where they could be bought but the Chaplain Unit, the Police Department and the
Sheriff's Department had personnel working together in a ministry of helps for the
needy.  It was just a short trip for me to the facility and a few moments to find just the
right shoes for the boys and get back to my own family.

Many people wish me a quiet and merry Christmas.  My usual answer is that it will
be merry because of my relationship with my Eternal Captain (Jesus) and with my
Commander-in-Chief (my Heavenly Father, Almighty God).  With that one exception
my  Christmases have always been quiet... but life always speeds up and takes over
again very quickly.

This season is a very difficult time for many people.  Many are alone and lonely.
Some are old, alone and lonely... some are not so old, but still lonely and alone. 
Some of the lonely and alone are on watch and combating evil in homeland security...
some are on watch and in the same battle on foreign fields.  The lonely and alone
are often missing something or someone that was once very close to them in their
personal lives but is now gone or so very, very far away and not accessible. 
Loneliness is a difficult fight if allowed to fill our conscious thoughts.  I know that from
too much experience of my own and with the experiences of others.

It was Christmas season, just four years ago, that my dear wife and sweetheart, Sue,
lost her battle with life and disease the day after Christmas... her heart stopped and
she became totally paralyzed.   I was there with her when she departed this world
the day after New Year.  Even now as I write this message on Christmas Eve I must
often pull my conscious mind back to things at hand because it wants to wander back
to things that once were that I will never experience again in this life.  Pulling my
mind back to life at hand is a technique that I had to learn long ago.  It always works
as long as I use it to keep me in the right attitude and right state of mind to deal with
life as it now is.  Oh, I enjoy memories as much as anyone can but  I  learned that if I
tarry there too long it hinders me from living now.  When you make the journey to the
enjoyable past...  or think on the things that are planned in your future that you look
forward to enjoying... enjoy but do not dwell there.  The present moment is all that
we really have and dwelling too long in the past or the future will hinder the present.

Make plans and enjoy the possibilities.  Enjoy memories and experience again the
joy of them... but not for too long...  If unpleasant memories come up... please do not
dwell there at all...  unpleasant memories dwelt upon hinder our ability to live now...
altering our attitudes to be less than productive and hindering the quality of life that
you should and could have.  Dwelling upon unpleasant memories can lead to
depression and eventually to debilitation if the thoughts are not caught and changed
to more useful thoughts or pleasant thoughts.  A wise man said it so well many
thousands of years ago... "A he thinks in his heart, so is he." (Proverbs 23:7)

"119,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have sought health care through the
Veteran's Administration medical system.  16,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans
have a preliminary diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  Mental problems
are the second-most-common medical issue for veterans from those conflicts.
Approximately 1200 veterans are enrolled in the PTSD clinic at the Hampton VA
Medical Center.  120 of the approximately 1200 are Iraq and Afghanistan veterans."
Quoted from the VIRGINIAN-PILOT, December 18, '05, pages A14 and A15.
One of my personal friends also attends that same clinic in Hampton.  His PTSD is
from  WW2.  We have worked together over many years, become friends and I have
the special blessing of being able to help him deal with this malady when it hits him
too hard to deal with alone.

This condition can strike any Peace Keeper and/or anyone else following an
especially stressful or traumatic event.  We all need to be aware that this condition
can strike any one of us from on duty causes and... We all need to know that it can
happen sometimes from personal life causes... and the only defense that works well
in the long term is controlling our thoughts and changing our thoughts when we
realize that they are dwelling upon something that causes us pain of any kind...
including conscious emotional pain.  We humans are wonderfully constructed with
the ability to put our conscious thoughts upon whatever we want to put them upon.
This is not a new thing and effective people have been using it for thousands of
years.

Peace and liberty are purchased at great price.  Following are the costs of the gifts
this past week:
================================================================
IRAQ - DOD WEB SITE
KILLED DECEMBER - 50
WOUNDED DECEMBER - 94
KILLED SINCE 03/03 - 2332
WOUNDED SINCE 03/03 - 16155
================================================================
PoliceOne.com
Officer Down
Calif.: Few leads in death of CHP officer - 12/22/2005
Erick Manny - [Bakersfield, California]
N.Y.: School dance horror - 12/19/2005
Vivian Samuels - [New York, New York]

Police groups say 153 officers died in the line of duty in 2005
WASHINGTON- Two law enforcement groups said Friday that 153 officers have
died in the line of duty so far in 2005, with the majority killed in traffic accidents and
shootings ... Full Story

PoliceOne Safety Tip:

Keep your vehicle in drive
Submitted by: Ofc. James Hoskins, USDA Forest Service LE&I (KY)
I contact numerous persons in the national forests, especially during the hunting
seasons. When I contact someone from my vehicle, if they are on foot or in their
vehicle, I keep my vehicle in drive ... Full Story
===============================================================
WashingtonPost.com
Officer Injured in Blast Near D.C. Jail

=======================================================================
Waterborne@aol.com

California: Man dies, officer injured during traffic shoot-out. http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/northern_california/13426607.htm

Tennessee: A Knoxville police officer didn't get complacent after being honored for
the capture of suspects in an armed robbery, three hours later he did it again. http://www.volunteertv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4254190

Pennsylvania: New Details In Trooper Murder. One of the suspect’s passengers told
police that a few minutes they got a cell phone call from Mollet stating, "The officer
got three to the head." http://www.wpxi.com/news/5545511/detail.html

Suspect in trooper's death had lengthy police record.
http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/trib/pittsburgh/s_404531.html

Arizona: Recovery of shot Peoria police officer still uncertain.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1220gl-copshot20-ON.html

Detroit: Retired Detroit Police Officer Killed in shootout with robbery suspect. http://www.wxyz.com/wxyz/nw_local_news/article/0,2132,WXYZ_15924_4329336,00.html

Canada: Thousands honor fallen police officer. http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/story.html?id=5d494b07-6987-4f49-9413-5526230827f6&k=69747

Pennsylvania: A police officer was shot in the arm Wednesday while responding to
a report of a man exposing himself, authorities said.
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/13458023.htm

========================================================================
This is our time.  We are here now as inheritors of a great legacy.  What we do with
it will determine what we pass on to those who come after our time here.  I am most
thankful that I have been allowed to make this journey through life with you.  I am even
more thankful that I have been allowed to see what Peace Keepers have done just
within my life time among you.  There may be another place for me among Peace
Keepers at a different level and in a different position.  An offer has been made.  I
am exploring that opportunity.  Acclamation to retirement has been difficult.  Even
that may soon be changed.  I am looking to see what the Commander-in-Chief has
in mind for me... stay here... or move on to other opportunities.  The adventure and
the journey continues.  I am looking forward to being a part of this great company of
Peace Keepers for as long as I live and breathe.

I  receive great joy from two special sources... one from being part of peace keeping...
The other from being in the service of my Commander-in-Chief, Almighty God.  He
could not have found a better way to give me such great joy than to dovetail the two
services for and with Him together and to put me in the midst of it.  Thanks be to
God for His Eternal Blessings!!!

For you I wish and pray for the peace that passes all human understanding that
each of us may receive from Him.  I pray for peace, health, strength, power,
protection, provision and the greatest of blessing for each of you and your loved
ones.

The gift of peace and liberty has been passed on to you and I from so many others
that were willing to pay a great price.  May you now enjoy those blessings to the
fullest.

As always... today and for all of your life and service... 

"BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!!!"

Be alert, watchful, suspicious and wary.  Take the greatest care of you as you
provide peace and safety for others.  Please do not neglect the spiritual facet of
your life.  You need it to be strong and you need it to be a powerful contributing part
of you to all the fullness of you;  to the fullness of who you are; and to the fullness of
what you do. 

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!!!
THEY SEE IT ONLY BECAUSE OTHERS HAVE MADE THEIR ETERNAL
PAYMENTS OF SWEAT, BLOOD, TEARS AND LIFE FOR THAT VICTORY!

WITH THE DEEPEST OF APPRECIATION AND RESPECT...
BE BLESSED (A CONDITION TO BE ENVIED)...
BE SUCCESSFUL... BE SAFE...
My injunction to be safe means doing all you know to do as you do your job... it means
doing the best you can with what you have where you are using all your faculties to get
the job done well and with good results conquering evil and keeping or restoring peace...
it does not mean to avoid duty and honor... it does not mean to cower or allow anything
to hinder you in the process of duty according to rules, law and ethics...  it means that if
the demand takes your earthly life you destroy as much evil as possible in the process. 
That is my definition of being safe... doing the best you can and leaving the rest to God
or whomever else is responsible... being best employed for the sake and protection of all
the things and people that we hold dear.
Chaplain D. R. Staton (Don - C1) VBPD, VSP ALUMNI,
RETIRED VBPD Officer, Instructor, Senior Chaplain, Director of Chaplains
757-431-2190, chpln1@verizon.net
3709 Beacon Lane, Virginia Beach, VA 23452
=================================================
Copyright: CHAPLAIN CORNER (DRS) 2005. All rights reserved. May not be
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