Two Great Stories – BOTH TRUE – and worth reading!

STORY NUMBER ONE

Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago . Capone wasn’t famous for anything heroic. He was notorious for enmeshing the windy city in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder.

Capone had a lawyer nicknamed “Easy Eddie.” He was his lawyer for a good reason. Eddie was very good! In fact, Eddie’s skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time. To show his appreciation, Capone paid him very well. Not only was the money big, but also, Eddie got special dividends. For instance, he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of the conveniences of the day The estate …

What is Suffering?

The most traumatic place I’ve yet visited on this Earth is Auschwitz-Birkenau.  I was there with some friends in 2005.

I know I’ve talked about it before.  The awful things that were done to people during that war.  The humiliation.  The beatings.  The dreadful murders of so many people.  The intense fear and pain of those who watched others die so horribly.

People who were drowned, crippled, killed, or otherwise experienced devastation from the 2005 southern US hurricanes and the 2004 tsunami in the Pacific.  Many people left with nothing after the floods and other weather disasters in 2008.

Those who died and those who watched the destruction of the World Trade Center in 2001.

People who have endured starvation, lacking …

Kind of a busy day today… but I was moved by reading Peggy Noonan’s column in the Wall Street Journal today.  She provides a vivid memory of one man’s heroic experience during the attack on Omaha Beach.

I can’t help but think of all of those who died that day for the sake of freedom.  Many knew they were running into a slaughterhouse. Yet they ran, and died.

I can’t begin to express the pain and appreciation my heart feels.

And I feel the same for each person that dies today for the same freedom.  And for each that is willing to put their life ahead of mine.  That sacrifice is very real.

I will not forget what you do.…

Since 1775, over a million men and women have given their lives in service to the United States of America, that we may be able to live in the freedom we enjoy today. War is an awful thing, but it has been absolutely necessary to secure our freedoms.

Rag-tag militias fought, some reluctantly and for reasons they did not understand, to secure colonial independence from Great Britain. The leadership, cunning and inspiration of George Washington helped provide critical victories and maintain a semblance of order to the Continental Army through hard battles and a harsh weather through 1776.

1812 brought Britain’s attempt to retake the colonies, but we stood undeterred and continued to fight for our right to be independent and free. The Texas Revolution …

For shielding her injured comrades and treating them while under fire, a woman medic in the 82nd Army Airborne Division will be awarded the Silver Star. Spc. Monica Lin Brown, a 19-year-old from Texas, is will receive the award for showing valor by saving the lives of 5 other soldiers after a road-side bomb attack left them injured and insurgents opened fire on the group as they moved about 500 yards away from the fighting. Only one other women has received the Silver Star for actions since World War II.

It’s getting close to the time that we admit that women can indeed fight alongside men, and can handle the stress and challenges of front-line duty. The actions in Afghanistan and Iraq have made …