Credo
"Sign on, young man, and sail with me. The stature of our homeland is no more than the measure of ourselves. Our job is to keep her free. Our will is to keep the torch of freedom burning for all. To this solemn purpose we call on the young, the brave, the strong, and the free. Heed my call, Come to the sea. Come Sail with me." -- John Paul Jones
"Pardon him, Theodotus; he is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature" --George Bernard Shaw, "Caesar and Cleopatra"
"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music."--Friedrich Nietzsche
"A kind Providence has placed in our breasts a hatred of the unjust and cruel, in order that we may preserve ourselves from cruelty and injustice. They who bear cruelty, are accomplices in it. The pretended gentleness which excludes that charitable rancour, produces an indifference which is half an approbation. They never will love where they ought to love, who do not hate where they ought to hate."--Edmund Burke
“You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours.”--General Sir Charles Napier
"Μολὼν λαβέ" -- Leonidas
"Blogito Ergo Sum" -- Neptunus Lex
My mother was a greeter at Bangor airport during GWI. She had to have her sandwiches ready to go at a moments notice so my mom kept these little pumpernickel breads in the freezer along with several cans of corned beef in the closet for corned beef salad.
Tirelessly, these fine patriots never fail to turn-out to send us off or welcome us home. I look forward to this special.
These are the true patriots.
I wish Code Pink and all those other groups that claim to “support the troops, not the war” would watch this and be shamed. So too for all the members of Congress and our current administration.
Maine citizens are made of hardy stuff….Got stranded north of Bangor on Thanksgiving Day in the middle of nowhere. My car quit in front of an old farmhouse. The family who lived there invited us in, while the two oldest sons looked over my car.
On Thanksgiving Day, these fine people asked us into their home and treated us to pie & tea while their sons fixed my car. The trouble turned out to be a frozen gas line, which they removed and repaired and sent me & my college girlfriend on our way. They refused any offer of payment.
This is what the definition of HONOR means – ” probity, uprightness. Honesty, integrity, sincerity refer to the highest moral principles and the absence of deceit or fraud. Honor denotes a fine sense of, and a strict conformity to, what is considered morally right or due: a high sense of honor; on one’s honor.”
Knowing how creaky these older folks must feel when they wake up every morning, I’m impressed and humbled by their determination to go out in the cold mornings, go to the airport, and welcome back our defenders to our soil. I won’t say that they’re the only ‘greatest generation’ in our country, because we’ve got a wonderfully great generation going right now, a generation of brave warriors and defenders of those of us too old and fragile to defend ourselves.
America still creates great people. And those of us confined at home send them our praise and our prayers.
Thank you and God bless you.
Marianne
The Bangor airport was one of my favorite stops, been through there maybe four times over the past two years, even though I stayed in the “being improved” hotel on the airport property.
Troops were treated just great, with honor, love and respect. Thinking back, when I first went there about two years ago I think it was a catalyst for me to get more involved locally with activities that support our troops.
CARE packages are meaningful to the troops overseas, though the local support organizations need money too. To see how much the local volunteers appreciate our local efforts to help them has rewarded me more than them. A little bit self-serving perhaps, though of all the sins that I (MAY!) have, this would be a pretty small one. Not giving a hoot helps also -self introspection is way overated.
The PBS show is on my DVR list.
They greet them going too, my son was through there back in April on the way to the AF and we got to see pictures of him getting a great big hug from some lovely Senior Mom type. Made his leaving less painful knowing someone like that was there to say good bye, and comforting to know they will be there on their return.
Wonderful group of people, I only hope to be as giving when I am looking at the end as closely as these fine people do.
BT: Jimmy T sends.
Son-in-law left a week ago for AF. I’m sure he got both a warm welcome and a rousing send off from Bangor as he went through. Where do we get such wonderful people as those who work day and night to host our troops. God bless each and every one of them.
My cohorts and I were greeted by a similar bunch of people when we arrived at Westover AFRB in Massachusetts from Jordan in 2003. Was a bit of a surprise, and, considering I’d only been overseas for two months, there was more than a little “Do I really deserve this?” feeling going on inside.
Wonderful people.
I am a senior citizen and are so proud of you guys who do this for the newest of the ‘greatest generation”. God Bless You All and God Bless Our and Keep our Troops!