Prayers for all in Boston

Boston.  My city and where I call home has joined the list of cities that are a victim of terrorism.
 
I woke up early this morning in Kandahar to the news that my home city had been bombed by unknown terrorists. No one knows who did this but they will be found and brought to justice.

The words of Sir Winston Churchill come to mind and they are how I feel at this moment.

" We ask no favours of the enemy. We seek from them no compunction. On the contrary, if tonight our people were asked to cast their vote whether a convention should be entered into to stop the bombing of cities, the overwhelming majority would cry, "No, we will mete out to them the measure, and more than the measure, that they have meted out to us." The people with one voice would say: "You have committed every crime under the sun. Where you have been the least resisted there you have been the most brutal. It was you who began the indiscriminate bombing. We will have no truce or parley with you, or the grisly gang who work your wicked will. You do your worst - and we will do our best."

New Year's Day 2013

Hit the New Year at midnight and then somehow, my body decided I needed to be up at 05:00 a.m. even though I have the day off.  Happy New Year and best hopes to all for a better year in 2013

Sunrise Kandahar, Afghanistan

Sunrise - Kandahar, Afghanistan

Sunrise this morning in Kandhar, Afghanistan...we got rain overnight which is odd here as we get rarely get rain.  Winter here is the only rainy season.

I send this picture with thoughts and prayers for all back home in harm's way.  The residents of the East Coast, especially NYC, NJ, Philly, The Virginias and Delware are in our thoughts and prayers.

The aftermath of Hurricane Sandy has overwhelmed all and it will be sometime before life resembles normal back home.

SEMPER FI CODY GREEN

Many will never understand it fully but this is why our USMC are the very best.  They made a small boy part of their esteemed history by granting his wish to become a US Marine before he died.

SEMPER FI and Bravo Zulu to all those who helped this boy achieve his dream.  All our prayers for Cody and his family.  

Rest Easy Cody, your Marine Brothers and Sisters have the watch.

A United States Marine stands watch over the hospital door of 12-year-old Cody Green in Florida, Ind. After successfully battling leukemia since he was 22 months old, Green died after a fungus attacked his brain. (Courtesy WLFI/Riley Children's Hospital)


Boy made honorary Marine before he dies
6/13/2012

Meera Pal, WTOP.COM

WASHINGTON - Before he died, 12-year-old Cody Green achieved his dream of becoming a United States Marine.

Green had always admired the strength and courage of the Marines says his father, David Snowberger.

Snowberger tells an Indiana-based television station the Marines decided Green had showed "strength and honor and courage" through his health battles.

Happy 2012.....we all hope for a better year

2012 arrived with the expected fanfare and hopes for the new year. Today is also my daughter's 16th Birthday, and another reason to celebrate.

Enclosed is a picture taken of the early dawn outside my home and the words from " Morning Has Broken ", a song perfromed by Cat Stevens that my Dad has always loved.

Hope all enjoy a good year and that we all are better off as the year progresses. Patriots Football is on today also and our hopes for another run at the Super Bowl for the New England Patriots !!

Morning Has Broken - Cat Stevens

Morning has broken
Like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken
Like the first bird

Praise for the singing
Praise for the morning
Praise for them springing
Fresh from the world

Sweet, the rain's new fall
Sunlit from heaven
Like the first dew fall
On the first grass

Praise for the sweetness
Of the wet garden
Sprung in completeness
Where His feet pass

Mine is the sunlight
Mine is the morning
Born of the one light
Eden say play

Praise with elation
Praise ev'ry morning
God's recreation of the new day

Morning has broken
Like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken
Like the first bird

Praise for the singing
Praise for the morning
Praise for them springing
Fresh from the world

Happy New Year 2012 - Rock out the old year with Styx

It would be helpful to have a crystal ball which could tell us about the future and allow us to be better prepared for what is to be.

We have to take it one day at a time as that is the only way it is given to us. Rock out the old year with " Crystal Ball " by STYX.

All my hopes & prayers for a better year in 2012.

Praying

The American people are praying too....that we get better leadership in the 2012 election than the group of utter chumps are being offered to us presently...

We need an IKE or Truman right about now and all we are getting is a big pile of " Meh". There has to be better candidates out there.

Picture of the month

Here is the picture of the month.

November is more than half over and it is the week before Thanksgiving, the most American of all holidays.

Next week, you will likely be sitting down with family for the annual Thanksgiving Day feast. Military men & women will be doing their jobs and serving overseas away from family. Most will get a hot meal and the DFACs in Afghanistan will put on a feast. I have been there on the holiday and have seen how well our Soldiers, Sailors, Marines & Airmen get fed on this special day.

At the same time, there are those who will be at the point of the spear, like the soldier pictured here. He & his troops along with their K-9 mates will likely spend the day doing their job and hoping that a pre-packaged holiday meal finds it's way to their COP (Combat OutPost) as not all troops can be back at base to use the DFAC, regardless of the day.

Something to think about as you head to the mall, go shopping or have a drink with friends. They are out there, 24/7/365 allowing you the ability to enjoy your freedoms. Make sure they are in your thoughts and prayers. This week, Thanksgiving Day and always.

Remember & honor the US Navy SEALS who died in the line of duty...You can sleep easy because they gave their all for you & me

BRAVO ZULU to the US NAVY SEALS and our deepest condolences to the families of these splendid warriors. They were together with their " brothers " and valued K-9 companion. Now they are forever in our prayers.


Don't forget to honor the Navy SEALS who died in the line of duty
Michael Daly - NY DAILY NEWS


If you went to Ground Zero or Times Square or anywhere else to cheer and chant "U.S.A.! U.S.A.!" after Navy SEAL Team Six brought justice to Osama Bin Laden, go back there Sunday.

Go back and offer a moment of silence for the 22 men from SEAL Team Six and all the others aboard the helicopter that was shot down in Afghanistan yesterday.

SEAL Team Six is divided into four squadrons and the one aboard the helicopter was not the one that actually got Bin Laden, but it had long been part of the effort to track him down.

And, like the rest of the SEALs, they had continued to put themselves in harm's way after the crowds that chanted "U.S.A.! U.S.A.!" dispersed and went back to acting as if there were no war. The SEALs kept beings SEALs as we walked around as if nobody were risking all for our sake, as if we had no obligation to stand together as a nation behind them.

A dear friend of mine who trained with the SEAL Team Six after 9/11 ran into a member of the ill-fated squadron last month. The SEAL said he was deploying the next day, right after an all-important event.

"I'm going to be with my kids," the SEAL told my friend. "We're going to breakfast at McDonald's."

After breakfast with his kids, the SEAL headed off to Afghanistan, where his squadron was about to suffer such a terrible loss. My friend can only hope this particular SEAL was not aboard the helicopter, though that would mean it was someone else.

"You get a little selfish hoping it's not somebody that you know," my friend said.

The thought that so many SEALs had been lost was even harder to take now that Bin Laden was dead and our strategy in Afghanistan seems to be finding a way to extricate ourselves.

"A stopgap thing until we get out of there," my friend said. "It's not worth one of them, nevermind 22 of them, for a place you're going to walk away from."

Not that the SEALs complain or are one step slower in doing whatever is asked of them, no matter how dangerous.

With the loss of 22 SEALs along with eight other Americans and seven Afghan commandos came a reminder; in combat there is sometimes no protection even for the most highly trained and highly skilled warriors.

The bad guys knew when the Chinook helicopter swooped down into an Afghan valley that it would have to rise once those aboard were done. All the Taliban needed to do was wait on a mountainside.

The Chinook rose with a SEAL contingent that likely could have held off thousands of the enemy on the ground. The SEALs could do nothing in the air against an insurgent with a rocket.

"A moment of vulnerability," my friend said.

Among the SEALs were a dog handler and a dog that would remind outsiders of Cujo, but held a special place in the hearts of the squadron.

SEALs have a soft spot for their dogs, perhaps partly because a canine's keen senses can alert them to danger and give them a critical edge. A dog also allows resolutely reticent warriors to express a little affection; you can pet a pooch, if not another SEAL.

Many of the SEALs have a dog stateside. To take one on a mission may be like bringing along something of home. And home likely has taken on even deeper meaning as the long years of this war convinced ever more SEALs that they could not wait for it to end before starting a family. The tragedy is almost certainly compounded by children suddenly left without fathers.

With the loss of so many of our best warriors, we should honor them with a pledge to follow what is best in ourselves and therefore best for our country.

And, don't forget the ones that have remained out there long after those chants of "U.S.A.! U.S.A.!"

mdaly@nydailynews.com

The Force of the Japanese Tsunami

If you have not witnessed how bad the devastation was in Japan, this video should provide insight....water is the most destructive force known to man, and demonstrates that on a regular basis. Prayers for the people of Japan as they struggle to rebuild their country.