Saturday's Super Site

I have been a reader of The Blogway Boys for some time. I have enjoyed Paul's take on many of the social and political issues that make the news. I have agreed almost unanimously with what he writes, and on occasion have even felt obligated to comment. I had to recognize him with the Saturday's Super Site honor because it is obvious that a lot of time is put into what is written and posted. There is heart in all that is done on this blog.

All of that, and his blog description, that appears below his blog title is:

Just spouting off about everyday news that pisses me off. In competition to be the most insignificant blog on the internet.

Most insignificant blog is definitely my rightful title. There isn't a competition. :P I have it hands down. Despite that, the humbleness present in his blog, as is showcased in his blog description, speaks volumes. The way he reacts to those that comment on his blog speaks volumes more.

Paul, keep up the good work!

You can learn about how to nominate a site by clicking on the graphic above. I would love to start seeing some more nominations.

Lunch On Wednesday

Those of you who are near enough to know me and my schedule, know it is rare for me to get away from my desk at work to have lunch. I usually eat at my desk. OK, I don't eat, I munch, but that is beside the point. Wednesday, I went to lunch. This entailed that I got in my car to run over to Wendy's that is a block away. Yes, I drove a block. I didn't want anyone at work to be able to chase me, so I drove.

An interesting thing happened at the Wendy's drive thru. I got in line, someone pulled in behind me, and then the lady in front of me wanted to back out of line. She puts the car in reverse and starts backing toward me. I have a big SUV behind me! She keeps backing. She then starts honking because I am not moving. Can she not see that huge SUV behind me! You know, the one that is dwarfing my little car? She honks again.

I put my car in reverse. Maybe the guy behind me will see my reverse lights and back up. Nope, he didn't budge. Well, he is not all that close to my bumper so I inch, and I mean inch back ever so slightly. Then he honks at me! I wasn't even close to him at this point, not that my little car would done anything more than fit neatly under his front bumper! He starts yelling at me and keeps honking with one hand and giving me the bird with the other. I threw my car in park and my hands in the air. The lady in front of me manges to squeak out without hitting anyone or anything by employing the 32 point turn.

I am now free to proceed to the speaker and place my order. I do so, and when I arrive at the first window, where I get to pay, I decide in a split second that I will buy lunch for the gentleman behind me too. I do so, and ask the cashier to tell the "nice" man behind me that I said "Thank you for reminding me how short life is, and to please smile more". I left the part about short-sighted, impatient ass off. I left the drive thru and went on my way back to work.

At the light I needed to make a left-hand turn to get back to work. The impatient honker, who just got a free lunch, was right next to me in the lane that went straight. He didn't even make eye contact, but he wasn't honking!

Wednesday's Hero

Staff Sgt. Richard P. Ramey
27 years old from Canton, Ohio
703rd Ordinance Compan, supporting the 82nd Airborne Division
February 8, 2004


Richard Ramey always knew what he was going to be. Once, while in the third grade, his teacher asked him what he wanted to do when he grew up. His response? "I'll go to war and fight" Concerned by his answer, his teacher called his mother, Julie Ramey. She told her "No, that's my son".

SSgt. Ramey was killed when insurgents attacked his and other convoys in Mahmudiyah, Iraq.

"Richard loved to do his job. No matter where it would take him," said his mother. "He really felt deeply that he wanted to protect people that couldn't protect themselves"

In a statement released through Fort Knox, the Ramey family said, "He was adventurous and smart, combining both qualities in what he did for the Army. We knew his work was dangerous but also knew he wouldn't have wanted to do anything else".

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your blog, you can go here.

A Tribute To September 11th

Today is September 11th. Six years ago today our nation was attacked, and thousands of innocents lost their lives. The following is a tribute to September 11th, but it arrived in my email from a very unlikely place. Jordan in Gdynia, Poland sent this wonderful tribute to me via email, and I had to share it with all of you. Jordan is a reader of this blog, so all, please send him your thanks.

I am publishing Jordan's email to me, word for word. His English is so much better than my Polish! I can't speak a word of Polish!

as every year , in my little town lost somewhere at the end of the world - at seaside of Poland ,people fold flowers and inflame candles to celebrate the memory of innocent victims of the attack on WTC which were killed from the hand of animals.
From the hand of animals which shamed to all other animals

the inscription proclaims : on September 11th,2001 our hearts stopped petrified with horror - on that day we were all New Yorkers.

-on the 1st anniversary of the terrorist attack on WTC - inhabitants of Gdynia.

my town Gdynia

Jordan, on behalf of every American I know, I would like to say thank you to you and all of the others in Gdynia who prayed for the families who lost loved ones in the World Trade on September 11th, 2001. We also send our thanks for standing beside our nation in it's grief. We are grateful, and truly blessed to have all of you as friends.

Ask Captain Dramatic

Last weekend Captain Dramatic went camping with his father over Memorial Day Weekend. He came home with some gnarly looking road rash on his right elbow. I asked him what he did, and was told that he fell of his scooter and scrapped his arm up. OK, boys do this stuff. The funny part is when I got a chance to talk to his father about it on Wednesday. I guess they had just arrived camping, and CD was riding his scooter. CD went to the top of a fairly large hill on the street leading to the camp sites. CD yelled down to his father "Watch this!", took off down the hill on his scooter, made it a few feet and rolled the rest of the way down the hill, minus the scooter beneath him. Yep. "Watch this!" is now in my list of famous last words.

No worries. The elbow is mostly healed now. CD is why I have stock in Neosporin.

To learn how you can submit your questions to Captain Dramatic, click here. Don't be shy!

Saturday's Super Site

This weeks Saturday's Super Site, is late once again. I blame the husband's birthday celebration that left me recuperating all weekend. Sorry everyone.

Without further ado, this week the honor goes to a blog that has some of the most amazing photos I have ever seen! They are breath taking, and beautiful. I know you will enjoy Light Of Soul. Below I have listed the links to my favorites.

Favorite 1
Favorite 2
Favorite 3
Favorite 4
Favorite 5
Favorite 6
Favorite 7
Favorite 8
Favorite 9
Favorite 10

There are so many there that I liked in addition to these, but these ten really caught my eye.

You can learn about how to nominate a site by clicking on the graphic above. I would love to start seeing some more nominations.

Wednesday's Hero

Sgt. Willard T. Partridge
35 years old from Ferriday, Louisiana
170th Military Police Company, 504th Military Police Battalion, 42nd Military Police Brigade
August 20, 2005


Sgt. Partridge was killed by an IED that exploded near his vehicle in Baghdad, Iraq.

There isn't that much information about Sgt. Partridge so I though I would share some of the memories that his friends and family have of him.

"I remember Partridge from basic training and AIT. He was a very quiet guy who had a good sense of humor. I remember asking him why he joined, and he told me it was so he could take care of his family and give them a better life. I would have deployed with him any day, he was one of the good guys I graduated with. He will not be forgotten. God Bless."

"Todd was one of the best men I have ever met and I will always have great memories and admiration for him! My thoughts and prayers go out to his family!"

"I will never forget you and those awful eighteen weeks at Fort Leonard Wood. You are in every sense of the term, 'A HERO'"

"Todd was such a quite, solid person. He never demanded the attention of those around him. I remember him always just smiling while everyone else at our LARGE FAMILY get togethers made noise. I could get a hug from him, but I had to ask for it. He never assumed anything. I loved making him hug me.

Todd was a solid, faithful husband, father and man in every respect. He did what had to be done in all areas of his life. He died doing what he knew to be his job in this life. Not that he wanted to die but he wanted to serve whatever the cost might be. He knew that freedom is not free and wanted to pay his part for that freedom for himself, his wife and girls.

I have nothing but love and respect for Todd's memory and will always proudly and thankfully count him among my nephews that adore. His memory will always be honored. I thank God that He brought Todd into our family. He left his mark on it just as he did everywhere he went."


These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your blog, you can go here.

Some People Should Not Be Allowed To Be Parents! Part II

My story wasn't nearly as bad as the one brought to my attention at R1ght-W!ng & R!ght M1nd3d.

This story is even more sad, and even more disgusting.

Some People Should Not Be Allowed To Be Parents!

Some people should not be allowed to be parents! It is just that simple! As if any of us needed further proof of this. Read this story.

A Bend, Oregon man was arrested Sunday in Storey County, Nevada. Why? Because he locked his two year old daughter in a car in our 90 plus degree weather while he patroned a local brothel near Mustang Ranch.

Yes, prostitution is legal in Nevada, but not in Washoe or Clark counties where Reno and Las Vegas are, but usually just out side of both counties you can find a whole slough of brothels.

Back to the story. The little girl was left in the car for two hours while her father did his business inside the brothel. Security guards found her in the car and removed her from it, and took her inside until authorities could arrive. She was suffering dehydration, but is otherwise no worse for ware. Thank God.

Her mother, in Oregon has been contacted. The child is currently in the care of Nevada child welfare services. The father, as I mentioned was arrested and is being held on charges of child neglect.

According to the Nevada Revised Statutes:

NRS 200.508 Abuse, neglect or endangerment of child: Penalties; definitions.

1. A person who willfully causes a child who is less than 18 years of age to suffer unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering as a result of abuse or neglect or to be placed in a situation where the child may suffer physical pain or mental suffering as the result of abuse or neglect:
NRS 200.508 Abuse, neglect or endangerment of child: Penalties; definitions.
(b) If substantial bodily or mental harm does not result to the child:

(1) If the person has not previously been convicted of a violation of this section or of a violation of the law of any other jurisdiction that prohibits the same or similar conduct, is guilty of a category B felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 1 year and a maximum term of not more than 6 years; or

(2) If the person has previously been convicted of a violation of this section or of a violation of the law of any other jurisdiction that prohibits the same or similar conduct, is guilty of a category B felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 2 years and a maximum term of not more than 15 years, unless a more severe penalty is prescribed by law for an act or omission that brings about the abuse or neglect.

-OR-

2. A person who is responsible for the safety or welfare of a child and who permits or allows that child to suffer unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering as a result of abuse or neglect or to be placed in a situation where the child may suffer physical pain or mental suffering as the result of abuse or neglect:

(b) If substantial bodily or mental harm does not result to the child:

(1) If the person has not previously been convicted of a violation of this section or of a violation of the law of any other jurisdiction that prohibits the same or similar conduct, is guilty of a gross misdemeanor; or

(2) If the person has previously been convicted of a violation of this section or of a violation of the law of any other jurisdiction that prohibits the same or similar conduct, is guilty of a category C felony and shall be punished as provided in NRS 193.130, unless a more severe penalty is prescribed by law for an act or omission that brings about the abuse or neglect.

We will have to wait and see if more regarding this case becomes known. It will interesting to learn the outcome. No matter what punishment this man received, it probably won't be what I feel he should get.

The Future Of Iraq

I was reading an article at Operation Iraqi Freedom, which is the official site of the Multi-National Force in Iraq. This article caught my attention, and I couldn't let it go by with out a mention. The article is titled, Diversity is strength for new Iraqi Army, and you can read the full text here.

What caught my attention, was that the article opens with this:

The strength of any democracy is the equal representation of various cultural interests; thus, the power of a military force can be measured by diversity as well. American culture takes pride in boasting equal opportunity in public service roles.

Iraqi culture mirrors this attitude, and the warriors of the Iraqi Army’s 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st Division – currently conducting a force integration with Battalion Landing Team 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines – are a simple, flawless example of strength in diversity.

The reason this caught my attention was that I have heard all of the same reports that the rest of you have. The Sunnis and fighting the Shiite. I even had the same fears that most of you have. They just can't get along, so this is never going to work. What is surprising to me, is that there are some that have made it work, and many that are willing to try. This is a step in the right direction.

How can this happen? How did this change begin to come about? The same reason Americans are able to do the same thing. We may be from different backgrounds and religions, but we have one thing in common, and that is being American. The Iraqi's are learning that they can be Sunni and Shiite and still be Iraqi. They are learning that they have common goals in the grand scheme of things. Did you think that the Iraqis wouldn't notice that our military is made up of men and women from every walk of life, from all different religions, for all different heritages and still manage to get along? It seems that a number of them have noticed, and started taking notes.

Now, none of this is to say that the current secretarian violence is going to go away over night, as racial hatred didn't abate here over night either. This is going in the right direction though. And guess how some are accomplishing this? The same way Americans do in the work place or in social situations. What two topics do people swear they don't talk about most often? Politics and religion right? Those are the two they will start a debate or a fight any day of the week. Here is a quote from the article that I liked a great deal.

Speaking from an office at Combat Outpost Golden in Al Anbar Province here, Iraqi Army Col. Ali Jassimi, 1st battalion commanding officer, explained the cultural representation within his unit.

“My staff is Sunni, Shiite, and Kurdish. We have officers from many different areas of Iraq; Mosul, Baghdad, Ramadi – and we’re all here working together,” he said. “There are many people around the world who would think this would be a problem. We are a perfect example that it is not.”

Jassimi, a native of southern Iraq, said there is a preconceived notion in some global media circles that various sectarian issues create problems within the new Iraqi Army. To combat this, he said, he avoids prejudice by ignoring religious preference altogether.

“When I get a new officer, I do not ask him if he is Shiite or Sunni. I don’t care,” he said.

The article is amazing in my opinion. It gives me hope. The article goes on that state that during field operations, if any one needed help, the all helped. The question of religious faction, or tribe never came into it. If they went into an Sunni or Shiite mosque they all prayed despite whether they were Sunni or Shiite. I am proud to say that our guys are leading by example, and the I am proud of any Iraqi who learns these important life lessons.

U.S. Marine Lt. Col. Woody Hesser, Military Transition Team commander, said within the MTT, the ethos of “one team, one fight” is clearly evident during joint operations. Hesser and his team have shadowed 1st Battalion since January, and he says with each patrol a shared interest in Iraqi security is obvious.

“We’re here fighting a war, and when we go on patrol, it’s one fight. There have never been any sectarian issues,” Hesser said. “Really, it’s almost like another Marine unit taking over, but it’s not about Marines and Iraqis, it’s about good guys versus bad guys.”

That, my friends, is the truth when looking at any country and its citizens.

On closing, I leave you with this, one last quote from the article that speaks volumes and attests to the ability to be different and co-exist, all at the same time.

“I’m from the north and I’m a Sunni,” began Iraqi Army Maj. Istabraq Ashawani. “That man over there,” he gestured, “is a Shiite. That man over there is Kurdish … everyone in this battalion is a family. We eat together, sleep together and pray together. Anything you hear on the news about us being different is not true,” he exclaimed. “Ask any Juundi or officer … we’re all the same.”

How Does History Speak Out On This Issue Of Immigration?

Now does that cartoon speak volumes or what? Does history repeat itself? Hmmmm....

For the record, I am not against immigration, it just needs to be the legal kind, and I don't think open borders are ever an option.

I proudly stole this carton from the Blogway Boys.

Ask Captain Dramatic

As I mentioned in last week's episode of Ask Captain Dramatic, this week marked the first week of third grade. CD was very excited and remains so. He also never ceases to amaze me. Here is why.

This weekend is a three day weekend compliments of Labor Day. My ex-husband, CD's biological father, wanted to take CD camping over this weekend. He called and requested that he be able to pick CD up right after school on Friday. I said that was OK, but he would have to walk over to the school with Dad-E to do so, but that would also give him a chance to meet CD's new teacher. He sounded as if he liked that idea, so I let Dad-E know, and the plan was set.

On Friday, my ex-husband met my current husband here at home and they meandered over to the elementary school together. Class let out and CD runs up to both of them and proudly proclaims to his teacher:

CD: Ms. V, these are my two dads!

That could have so been interpreted in a bad way, but Dad-E quickly explained the step-father, biological father thing, and they all went on their merry way, ending at our home with CD giving Dad-E two hugs because one was for me, who was of course, still at work.

This whole exchange impressed me. If you had asked me right after the divorce, I would have never guessed that the ex and I would be getting along, let alone the ex, and my new husband, Dad-E. Not only that, but CD impresses me even more because he has love and respect enough for both of them, and broadcasts it to anyone who will listen. It is obvious that the three adults in CD's parenting entourage, have been able to be the parents that one little boy is very proud to have. He has no fear of reprimand from any of us, for loving all of us the same, and the smile we all give him when he does is enough reward for him.

It's takes a village, doesn't it?

To learn how you can submit your questions to Captain Dramatic, click here. Don't be shy!

Voted Best Commercial In Europe

The following was voted best commercial in Europe, and you probably won't guess what it is a commercial for. At least not until they say at the very end.



That was just hysterical, wasn't it? Well, I thought so...

Saturday's Super Site

This weeks Saturday's Super Site is Pointless Banter. This is a site that I found today and fell in to hysterical laughter over. The blog is full of pointless banter, as the title depicts, but it seems that the more pointless the banter, the more amusing the posts are. I had to share it will all of you.

One of my favorites is "How I Almost Blinded and Killed Myself in the Shower". This is a story that I can relate to on the "stupid things I have done and regret, yet made millions laugh" level. Chances are, we have all done something equally humbling in our past, and boy does it feel good to know I am not alone.

My second favorite is "I want to learn from my mistakes". We have all heard, or read about Mike Vick, but I certainly didn't look at his public apology quite like this.

I foresee many nights laughing at home in from of my PC in my very near future. One small disclaimer, this site has a fair bit of adult humor. Don't share it with the kiddies.

You can learn about how to nominate a site by clicking on the graphic above. I would love to start seeing some more nominations.

Wednesday's Hero - Happy Anniversary

One year ago today the Wednesday's Hero Blog roll began. It was a blog roll to celebrate America's heroes, and to spotlight the fine men and women serving this great country. Below is an amazing slide show created by one of our blog roll members, Kathi, that takes us on a walk down memory lane.

Wednesday's Hero has given a number of us the opportunity to bring attention to those who deserve it. It has been an way to openly say we are proud of the efforts and sacrifices made by so many. It has been a way to give something back to those who gave so much more. None of this would have happened with out Chris, who has been behind the Wednesday's Hero blog roll from day one. Chris, thank you for all of your hard work, and for making Wednesday's Hero a success and a reality.

Happy 1st Wednesday's Hero Blog Roll!