And then a few weeks after that I will very happily watch the Para Olympics and cheer on all the Aussies and USAian teams. Oh and *this* amazing Japanese sprinter - if she manages to fund her way to attend [Maya Nakanishi - she has released a tastefully done partial-nekked calender to help raise travel costs. ***WARNING - PROBABLY NOT SAFE TO VIEW AT WORK - SOME PARTIAL NUDITY*** The Calender seems to be available only via Amazon.JA (Japan) - HERE]
I had wondered how many of the USA team may be wounded warriors and did a bit of a Google search. Lovely to see that the U.S. Paralympics website has a whole area dedicated to the Military
And in Caffienation... :D - I like to send off "Cup of Joe" donations via the Green Bean Coffee group. With every donation I send (be it $30 for 15 vouchers or $60 for 30) I get to write a short letter - usually thanking the unknown recipient for their service and telling them a little about myself and my country (..."It is Winter here in Australia - which means that up here in Queensland we are all wrapping up in our woolens and moaning how cold it is (which means it is less than 20 degrees Celsius with a wind chill:D - we're a bit thin skinned up here in the sub-tropics [you would probably love it!....") It isn't the wittiest of writing but sometimes I get the nicest of replies back from those that get my coffee donations.
And sometimes you make a connection with the Trooper* on the other end. I have made some of the Best of Friends from ticking the "Yes I am happy to be a penfriend" box whenever I donate more coffee vouchers.
In other troop treating news - Soldiers' Angel store has packs of Girl Scout COOKIES for sale! 9 packets of biscuits (cookies) per parcel. I have ordered a parcel each for my three adoptees and I hope they will really enjoy them when received.
Later this month I need to arrange a water balloon launcher for Cpl TT (ooh the inner Pax-Joy of sending a watery ballistic "toy" to a Marine to play with - Bwhahahaha!) and possibly more snack or hygiene packs to the other two adoptees. I try to vary the items so it's always a surprise and occasionally useful :)
Oh and you recall I was Medievally Dreaming last weekend? Sadly that trip failed to occur. We had really heavy rain throughout last Saturday night and by Sunday morning things were super soggy and not optimum for travelling. So next year for sure.... Actually I may even be there as one of the re-en actors by then [need to get a tent first - oh and a bed that is off the ground since my very awful knee problems mean that the less strain on them the better. (yes yes... one day I may bore you with the Ice Skating accident I had when I was 20.... or not... maybe just take it as "Pax was a klutz and caused life long damage to herself) :D]
*I tend to use the word "TROOPER" as a generic military tag since calling Marines Soldiers or Soldiers Marines or Air Force/Navy anything else gets confusing. Plus some of them get a wee bit upset if I get it wrong
When the Olympics were in Atlanta, I got the week off and led a team of GREETERS at the Atlanta Airport. We greeted and assisted the teams, the judges, and VIP's from all over the world. The down side is, don't let all the brotherly love fool ya. They were all snobs, disrespectful, and rude to the other countries. You do not leave your heritage behind. You only keep it in check for the cameras. It was an eye opener for me. I haven't watched an event since. I'd rather watch a game of football (American type) and NASCAR.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to watching the Olympics, too, especially because they're in London. I want to learn more about the city and country this English major longs to visit.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Glad to hear you're getting a chance to 'enjoy' the Olympics. And thanks again for your continuing support to the folks downrange!
ReplyDeleteChange the logo: "Coffee first, then maybe a second cup, then we'll go see about doing something with honor...but you can't start your day without a good cup of coffee."
ReplyDeleteI was lucky to have some very nice folks send me Starbucks and Peats coffee beans when I was deployed. I had more than I could use for my team, so I'd use it to make friends.
Echo the Cup of Joe program. Some time back I found it on these pages and clicked the logo. Like Pax, I enjoy hearing back from the Troops (ExAF sez that's perfectly acceptable) and starting pen pal (well, maybe today it's "keyboard" pal) relationships. It's been a long, long time, but I still remember how important (snail) mail call was then. I know it's no different today.
ReplyDelete