Iraq War is Over, Soldiers Will be Home For Christmas!

Image via Wikipedia Last Soldiers from U.S. leave Iraq.

Families have mixed emotions watching the news these days, as they see many soldiers coming home from Iraq with the announcement that the war is over.  Yes, we are glad, but we all have mixed emotions about what will happen now?

Will Iraq remain free for its people?  Will Iran rush in and take over? Will the lives lost be worth it? Many young American and Iraq men, women and children died these many years, was it worth this tremendous toll?  It is too early to write those words.

We will have to wait a few more years and see whether Iraq can stay a free nation and keep its freedom for its people.

Our families who have lost fathers, sons, mothers, daughters, they are asking if the price paid was worth it?  The loss of a loved one is such a great price and one that has no cost to compare.

My heart is saddened to know that many families must go through the holidays without their loved ones, but we must also know that the Iraq people do not have a monster of a dictator ruling over them and torturing them as they did for many years.

Related articles

• Last American Troops Leave Iraq (fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com)
• Last Troops Exit Iraq in Subdued End to 9-Year War (abcnews.go.com)
• Iraq War Ends Last Soldiers Us Troops Leave Iraq (binsidetv.net)

Don’t Forget The Unemployed This Holiday Season!

Tory Johnson helps women and today in her uplifting email she stated ” nearly 25 percent of children in this country live in poverty. More than 14 million people are out of work more than 40 percent of whom have been unemployed for longer than 6 months.  There are nearly 9 million involuntary part-time workers who would prefer fulltime jobs.  And another million Americans aren’t counted in any of these stats because they’re too discouraged to continue their search. “

What does this mean for you and me?  We can help those who are unemployed by sending them job notices when we come across them. Writing them references when they ask us, and sending money to food banks, because that is where many unemployed people are surviving these days.

60 Minutes last night had a segment on homelessness in America and how many are living in shelters and in cars and trucks because of this recession. Doing without is a way of life for many homes.  Not having things is not as important as having food for dinner.  The 60 minutes segment showed that many families miss meals because they don’t have enough food to go around.

Giving to food pantry’s is the way to give back to help our neighbors who may be without. If you can help, please give to  your local pantry.  The need is greater now than ever.  Helping our friends who are out of work in whatever way you can will come back to you ten-fold.  Don’t do it because you want something to come back, just do it because it is the right thing to do!

Related articles

• Campaign to End Discrimination Against Unemployed – SmartRecruiters Announces Pledge Asking Businesses to Interview at Least One Unemployed Candidate for Every Job Opening (prweb.com)
• Obama, Unemployed Workers Toast ‘More Jobs’ (abcnews.go.com)
• Supporting the unemployed (japantimes.co.jp)
• Tory Johnson partners with EmployFlex to promote the Flex-Friendly Certification Program (prweb.com)

Realty TV Show Players are Not Writers, There Are Good Writers Out Here!

Tomorrow, a certain Reality Show star’s book comes out. Big Deal! I don’t watch that show, and I don’t care about her so-called book. She can’t put two sentences together sober, much less in proper English.

What upsets me is that a publisher actually paid her money for that terrible piece of something that they call a book, and yet, many wonderful writers can not get published or find an agent.  Pushing people, cussing in public and getting drunk and pretending you aren’t responsible for your actions is not what our society is about.

Many of us actually went to college and received degrees and  worked on our craft and learned how to construct a wonderful sentence to intrigue the reader. Good writers however that don’t have Reality Shows aren’t in high demand it seems.  Bad Manners are in demand for some reason with a certain percentage of our society namely the very young.

However, when this percentage of society needs a real job, they won’t be hired.  Guess why? Your attitude, your behavior in public and your illiterate ways.  If you can not write or speak in an intelligent way, who will want to hire you.

You think this Reality Thing is going to last? Guess again? It doesn’t. You won’t last and you will need an education. Pretending that you can write won’t pass with a real job.  I can’t wait for our society to swing back to realty and publish the Good Writers!!

Visting “Our Chalet” WAGGGS World Centre in Bernese Oberland, Switzerland On My Bucket List!

Image via Wikipedia

When I was a girl, I was a  Brownie, Girl Scout. One year, we had a young woman who came to our Council in Oklahoma City and showed us a slide-show on International Thinking Day, Feb. 22. that contained slides  from “Our Chalet” WAGGGS World Centre in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland. (World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts)

After watching those slides and listening to her stories about hiking the Alps, I made a vow to go to Switzerland someday when I was older.

I stayed in Girl Scouting and went through all the levels  Junior, Cadette and Senior, became a leader and even worked for them professionally for several years.

WAGGGS Official Photo

It is one of those items on my Bucket List. Yes, it has been there all my life, and now I must admit hiking is not one of those things I do anymore, but I would still like to visit this wonderful International Center. Even now as I look at these beautiful photos, I am reminded, to hurry up and do this. 

Official WAGGGS Photo from Our Chalet Website

As a Lifetime Member of Girl Scouting, it is one of the organizations that helped shape my life with skills in leadership, event planning,  and confidence just to name a few.   There are many skills, that I remember: working on a team, accomplishment of goals, budgeting and working on community needs.

Yes, there is still a need for Girl Scouting although it has changed over the years to bring  the many differences that young girls must face now in Society.

I urge everyone who has daughters to look into Girl Scouting for  its wonderful benefits.  Most of our women leaders in our society were Girl Scouts or Girl Guides and they will tell you that without Girl Scouting or Girl Guides they would not have had the foundation to develop fully into the wonderful functioning leaders they are today.