NOW IT'S CONFIRMED

IF YOU ARE NEW TO READING MY BLOG... PLEASE START AT THE BEGINNING... LOOK FOR ARCHIVES... GOTO AUGUST 2004 AND START AT THE BOTTOM AND WORK UP. THANKS.

My son Dan, the Marine, called. He had a great time sailing with his brother Jay on the tall ship, the Harvey Gamage. 7 days, from Georgia to the Bahamas and San Salvador... I'm so glad they had time together. The main reason is that as brothers go, they are very close. But, the underlying reason is that Dan got confirmation that he is to report to Gulfport on January 5, 2005, for re-deployment to Iraq.

Again, our world is turned upside down with doubt and worry for Dan's safety. But as Dan puts it, he's a Marine and goes and does what Marines do. He volunteered for this re-deployment.

Dan attended the Marine Corps Birthday Ball in Gulfport on November 13th. He said it was nice, plus he got to wear his dress blues, repleat with the blood stripe of a Corporal, USMC. I'm so proud of him.

Dan's coming home for Thanksgiving... we'll have a big dinner with about 19 friends and family present. Jay won't be able to make it, as he'll still be sailing on the Gamage, but he'll be home for awhile, mid December.

Dan also advised he received another certificate of commendation from the Marine Corps, for his action and contributions at Blount Island, FL., refurbishing Amphibious Assault Tracks and A1A Abrahms tanks... He even cleaned up and rehabbed the track he used in Iraq. Now you can see why I am so proud of him.

While I have not written about Jay alot, (there's alot I don't know about what he's doing) I'm very proud of him too... He is a caring, intellegent young man who is contributing to the education of other young people. As far as Rachel is concerned, proud is a simplfied statement for how I feel about her work as a volunteer EMT. Rachel is presently re-certifying her EMT and is also in an EMT-CC class. EMT-CC is a critical care provider status capable of administering IV therapy, medications and much much more. She'll be a great EMT-CC.

So there you have my latest update. I'm not wealthy, money wise, but I am a very, very, rich man. Later...