'Twas the night of Thanksgiving ~  but I just couldn't sleep,

I tried counting backwards ~ I tried counting sheep ...

The leftovers beckoned ~ the dark meat and white,

But I fought the temptation ~ with all of my might ...

Tossing and turning with anticipation

The thought of a snack became infatuation,

So I raced to the kitchen, flung open the door

And gazed at the fridge, full of goodies galore

Gobbled up turkey and buttered potatoes,

Pickles and carrots, beans and tomatoes;

I felt myself swelling so plump and so round

'Til all of a sudden, I rose off the ground!

I crashed through the ceiling, floating into the sky

With a mouthful of pudding, and a handful of pie;

But I managed to yell as I soared past the trees

Happy eating to all! Pass the cranberries, please!

May your stuffing be tasty, may your turkey be plump

May your potatoes 'n gravy, have nary a lump

May your yams be delicious, may your pies take the prize

May your thanksgiving dinner stay off of your thighs!

 May your Thanksgiving Be Blessed with the Love of Family and Friends!

 

 

 

Daily Affirmation

Each experience through which
we pass operates
ultimately for our good. This is a
correct attitude to adopt
and we must be able to see
it in that light. 
Raymond Holliwell

UNBELIEVABLE

GREENSBURG, Pennsylvania (AP) - A case of funny money has ended happily for a woman who had been charged with passing a bogus $200 bill with President George W. Bush's picture on it.

Prosecutors in Pennsylania's Westmoreland County dropped all charges Friday against Deborah L. Trautwine, 51, after she paid the store in real currency.

Trautwine "wasn't aware that it ... wasn't actual legal tender," said her attorney, Harry Smail Jr.

Trautwine could not be reached for comment. A clerk at a Fashion Bug clothing store also thought the bill (worth about 155) was real and gave Trautwine $100.58 (77.84) in change from her August purchase.

There is no $200 denomination bill, even without Bush's picture on it. None of the recent U.S. presidents has been depicted on the country's currency.

Police said the bill's phoniness should have been obvious for other reasons. It had a silly serial number - DUBYA4U2001 - and didn't bear the signature of the Secretary of the Treasurer. Instead, it was "signed" by Ronald Reagan, whose title was "Political Mentor" and by Bush's father, who is listed as "Campaign Advisor and Mentor."

The back of the phony bill depicted the White House with several signs erected on the lawn, including those reading "We Like Broccoli" and "USA Deserves A Tax Cut."

On the home front: Local Marine Dies in Iraq

Wednesday, November 10, 2004
By DEAN BAKER, Columbian staff writer

Amanda Ries talks about her late husband, Staff Sgt. David Ries, shown in a family photo at top, in their apartment in Vancouver on Tuesday. David Ries, 29, was killed with two other Marines when a roadside bomb exploded near their Humvee in combat at Fallujah. (KIM BLAU/The Columbian)

A 29-year-old Vancouver Marine reservist was killed Monday when a roadside bomb exploded and tore apart his Humvee as thousands of U.S. troops stormed into Fallujah.

    Staff Sgt. David George Ries, a 1993 graduate of Evergreen High School and a 10-year veteran of the Marine Corps, was among about a dozen American troops killed in the early fighting for the insurgents' stronghold.

    The one-time high school runner and expert marksman left Vancouver for his second tour in Iraq on Aug. 31, said his wife, Amanda Jean, 24.

    Ries is also survived by a 4-year-old son, Bailey, and a daughter, Camryn, 2.

    Ries, a generator operator and a convoy leader, was riding in the passenger seat of a Humvee on his way back from the center of the city when the bomb went off, said Marine Sgt. Ken McNulty, 25, one of Ries' friends. The incident happened at 4:30 p.m. Iraq time, or 4:30 a.m. Pacific Time, officials said.

    The improvised explosive device, or IED, killed Ries and two other Marines, whose names were withheld pending notification of kin, said Marine Capt. Vince Dawson. Dawson is commanding officer of Headquarters and Supply Co., 6th Engineer Support Battalion, of Swan Island in Portland, Ries' home unit.

    "It's a nightmare," said Amanda Ries. "I couldn't believe it. I still can't believe it."

    McNulty and three other Marines from Swan Island came to Amanda's apartment door in the Vancouver mall area Monday at 7 p.m. and told her of her husband's death.

    Amanda's roommate, Tasha Johnson, answered the door. The Marines told Amanda to sit down.

    "They said, 'We have bad news,'" she said Tuesday. "It's a shock. The worst nightmare ever. It's indescribable. It's hard to take in. It wasn't supposed to be like this. This wasn't supposed to happen to me."

    What's hardest for her is seeing Bailey's reaction.

    "Bailey was saying, 'Daddy's in Iraq shooting the bad guys,'" said Amanda. "Then I knew I couldn't take it."

    Ries had been working in a Portland shooting gallery called A Place to Shoot while serving in the Marine Reserve. A call came for specialists who knew how to place and operate diesel electric generators, and he volunteered for a second tour in June, Dawson said.

    He was called up just four days later and, after several weeks of training, left for Iraq on Aug. 31, the couple's second wedding anniversary.

    "He was a generator operator, which is rare in the Marines, and he volunteered, which was a heroic thing to do," said Dawson.

    He did his first tour in Iraq last year.

    Amanda described her husband as a strong leader, wonderful husband and father and great friend.

    "He was my soul mate. He was funny, and he loved to be around his friends. He loved to drink beer," she said, drawing a rare ripple of laughter from a somber crowd in her apartment Tuesday afternoon.

    Brent Loper, Ries' childhood buddy, told The Associated Press that Ries "believes in what this country stands for and the general purpose that we're there ... to give people a shot at making their own choices."

    "He'll go out of his way to help you," Loper said.

    Friends said he'd talked about becoming a police officer or working with corrections when he got out of the Marines.

    "He was a great guy, a great Marine," said McNulty, who knew Ries for five years.

    Besides his immediate family, his survivors include his parents, David and Jean Ries, formerly of Vancouver but now of Amarillo, Texas; Amanda's mother, Debbie Hutter, of Longview; her father, Les Hutter, who is living in Louisiana, and Amanda's sister, Adale, of Salem, Ore. Ries had no brothers or sisters.

    A 1997 graduate of R.A. Long High School in Longview, Amanda quit her job two weeks ago as a bartender at C.J.'s Grill in Battle Ground to stay home and care for her children. At work, she showed photos of her husband. Together the employees all sent him a card recently, said Greg Hurley, the manager.

    "A lot of our customers knew her, and to hear about this just sends chills through us all," he said.

    Along with her roommate, several other friends gathered in her apartment, including Christina Keith of Rainier, Ore. Another friend, Heather Mortensen of Phoenix, planned to fly in Tuesday night.

    The Marines, Dawson and McNulty, stood vigil in Amanda's apartment.

    "I'm very confused, and lost, and very well supported," said Amanda.

    She last talked to her husband Thursday.

    "He said he had just got back from a convoy and was getting ready to go on another. He said he needed to stay strong and focused on what he was doing," she said.

    "I heard from him about every other day by phone or e-mail," she said.

    David Ries is the second Clark County serviceman to die in Iraq. Another was killed in Kuwait.

    Marine Lance Cpl. Kane Funke, a 2003 Heritage High School graduate, was killed by an incendiary device in Iraq on Aug. 13.

    Marine Lance Cpl. Cedric E. Bruns, a 2000 graduate of Prairie High School, died in May 2003 when his Humvee collided with a truck in Kuwait

It's been just over two years since my mom passed away on October 15, 2002. This year was actually a little harder to get through than last. At first I wondered why, but then it didn't take me long to figure it out. It's because of Madison my beautiful granddaughter. My mother would have fallen in love with Madison and the love would have been returned by this golden child who gives everyone who comes into contact with her a sense of wonderment at God's ability to bring such beauty to this world. Her birth, regardless of how anticipated, was bittersweet because my mother was not here to enjoy it with me.

All through my life I had shared everything possible with my dear, sweet mother. I remember when I was a little girl in elementary school, I would bring home the dessert which accompanied the school lunch whenever possible for my mom. Whether it was a piece of chocolate cake or a frosted sugar cookie, and regardless of how much I lusted after the delectable morsel I would carefully wrap it in a clean napkin and tuck it into my coat pocket. Once home, I'd carefully unwrap my treasure and present it to my mother to enjoy with a cup of coffee. She always asked why I didn't eat it, but I'd fib to her and say that I didn't like it or make up some other feeble excuse so that she could enjoy it without guilt.

Once I entered high school there were other things mom and I would share like stories, music (she liked rock'n roll too), shopping, and long rides in the car when we'd take off and drive up to my aunt's house. Even when my cousins and I would make silly prank phone calls, mom was in on those too. We'd laugh ourselves to tears at the reactions of our unsuspected victims. It was all so innocent and never devious or vulgar.

When my own son, Stevie was born I shared him with her too. She often said that his birth saved her life, as that was a dark time for mom because she and dad were in the middle of a spiteful divorce. Mom told me many times that she loved him as if he were her own. And she did. I was never jealous or resentful of their very close relationship. In fact, I was so very happy and grateful that my child had such a wonderful, loving grandmother who would have easily given her own life for him.

Naturally I assumed that one day we would once again share yet another milestone in my life, my grandchild. But it was not meant to be. Many people have said to me that my mom is here with me and she looks over my Madison with love, and I believe that. But it is bittersweet because I can't see the love and pride on mom's face. I don't have someone to brag about Madison to, or to share her every little accomplishment with like crawling, cutting teeth, walking and saying her first words. I can't share with mom how Madison cries when I get ready to leave after spending an afternoon with her. My heart breaks every time I think about what mom has missed out on, and I can't help but cry tears of sorrow because my Madison will never get to know her wonderful and loving great grandma.

The one thing that will bring a smile to my face and cause my heart to be light is knowing that someday, somewhere mom and I will have a lot of catching up to do.

Daily Affirmation

When we walk to the
edge of all the light we
have and take the step
into the darkness of the
unknown, we must
believe that one of two
things must happen:
There will be something
solid for us to stand on,
or we will be taught to
fly.

 Patrick Overton