FReeper Canteen ~ Remembering Our Troops! ~ 28 September 2017

Serving The Bestest Troops and Veterans In The Whole World !! | The Canteen Crew

[Huskrrrr]

Worth standing for.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, mountainlion. It’s coming! Got all your wood in?

We’ve had a couple dustings, but then it rains again.

[radu]

Howdy there, Publius!

Sounds like you’ve had your hands full getting ready for the big move. Getting excited about it yet?

[Kathy in Alaska]

Exciting times for you. Pretty big change of weather. d:o)

[radu]

Howdy, PRO.

How are things up your way this evening?

Hot and muggy here today but it’ll feel more like Fall for the next week beginning tomorrow.

[Publius]

It’s a mixture of excitement and exhausting work. I’ll feel better once I’m on the road.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, radu....I had 2 weeks of homework. Thankfully the first week only had about a dozen corrections, and the second week corrections are easy to fix.

Will spend tomorrow and Friday at home with my sister and take her to the airport really late Friday night. Then things will be REALLY quiet. Time to wind down and try to get some sleep.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Permission Granted!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Hello Veterans, wherever you are!!

[PROCON]

Hey radu!

Son was over all day to study/hang, just left a bit ago.

He studied while I ran shopping errands and such.

Since he's working the 8pm-4am shift tonight thru tomorrow, I'm going over early tomorrow to "dog-sit" so the dogs don't get too loud while he's sleeping and his Mom's working, LOL. But I'll enjoy hanging with the dogs.

Wuz new with you and the kittehs?

[ConorMacNessa]

Thanks very much, Kathy!
***HUGS***



Striding up the gangplank as we speak,
rendering Hand Salutes to our National Colors
and to the Officer of the Deck!
Thank you very much for this evening's
"Remembering Our Troops" thread!

[Kathy in Alaska]

~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~

FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT

Showing support and boosting the morale of
our military and our allies’ military
and the family members of the above.
Honoring those who have served before.

CLICK HERE TO FIND LATEST THREADS

CLICK FOR Current local times around the world

CLICK FOR local times in Seoul, Baghdad, Kabul,
New York, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Anchorage

To every service man or woman reading this thread.
Thank You for your service to our country.
No matter where you are stationed,
No matter what your job description
Know that we are proud of each and every one of you.
To our military readers, we remain steadfast
in keeping the Canteen doors open.

The FR Canteen is Free Republic's longest running daily thread
specifically designed to provide entertainment and moral support for the military.
The doors have been open since Oct 7 2001,
the day of the start of the war in Afghanistan.

We are indebted to you for your sacrifices for our Freedom.

NOTE: CANTEEN MUSIC
Posted daily and on the Music Thread
for the enjoyment of our troops and visitors.

[radu]

Moving’s a royal pain in the hiney, that’s for sure.

I hope you have a little time to catch your breath before jumping into work next week.

[Publius]

I have just about 48 hours.

[Kathy in Alaska]

I am off for home....back after we get my sister’s ticket.

[radu]

TWO weeks worth? OUCH! Sounds like you have things under control though.

You and your sister have been through a lot the past couple of weeks. It’ll be nice for y’all to just relax a bit together before she goes home.

Yes, things are going to be REALLY quiet now. That’s going to be alien to you, isn’t it?

[ConorMacNessa]

Real Men Stand for Our National Anthem!

GOD BLESS AND PROTECT OUR TROOPS AND OUR BELOVED NATION!



"The Star Spangled Banner"
Verse Four
(Click)

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Please let me know by Freepmail if you would like
to be admitted to or released from my music ping list.

[SkyDancer]

~ Good Evening ~

~ ~

~ Good Evening ~

~ Welcome To My World ~

[ConorMacNessa]

Welcome To All Who Enter This Canteen, To Our Serving Military, To Our Veterans, To All Military Families, To Our FRiends and To Our Allies!



Missing Man Setting

"The Empty Chair"

By Captain Carroll "Lex" Lefon, USN (RET), on December 21st, 2004

"In the wardroom onboard the aircraft carrier from which I recently debarked was a small, round table, with single chair. No one ever sat there, and the reasons, both for the table being there, and for the fact that the chair was always empty, will tell the reader a little bit about who we are as a culture. The wardroom, of course, is where the officers will dine; morning, noon and evening. It is not only a place to eat – it is also a kind of oasis from the sometimes dreary, often difficult exigencies of the service. A place of social discourse, of momentary relief from the burdens of the day. The only things explicitly forbidden by inviolable tradition in the wardroom are the wearing of a cover or sword by an officer not actually on watch, or conversation which touches upon politics or religion. But aboard ships which observe the custom, another implicit taboo concerns the empty chair: No matter how crowded the room, no matter who is waiting to be seated, that chair is never moved, never taken.

The table is by the main entrance to the wardroom. You will see it when you enter, and you will see it when you leave. It draws your eyes because it is meant to. And because it draws your eyes it draws your thoughts. And though it will be there every day for as long as you are at sea, you will look at it every time and your eyes will momentarily grow distant as you think for a moment. As you quietly give thanks.

AS YOU REMEMBER.

The small, round table is covered with a gold linen tablecloth. A single place setting rests there, of fine bone china. A wineglass stands upon the table, inverted, empty. On the dinner plate is a pinch of salt. On the bread plate is a slice of lemon. Besides the plate lies a bible. There is a small vase with a single red rose upon the table. Around the vase is wound a yellow ribbon. There is the empty chair.

We will remember because over the course of our careers, we will have had the opportunity to enjoy many a formal evening of dinner and dancing in the fine company of those with whom we have the honor to serve, and their lovely ladies. And as the night wears on, our faces will in time become flushed with pleasure of each other’s company, with the exertions on the dance floor, with the effects of our libations. But while the feast is still at its best, order will be called to the room – we will be asked to raise our glasses to the empty table, and we will be asked to remember:

The table is round to show our everlasting concern for those who are missing. The single setting reminds us that every one of them went to their fates alone, that every life was unique.

The tablecloth is gold symbolizing the purity of their motives when they answered the call to duty.

The single red rose, displayed in a vase, reminds us of the life of each of the missing, and their loved ones who kept the faith.

The yellow ribbon around the vase symbolizes our continued determination to remember them.

The slice of lemon reminds us of the bitterness of their fate.
The salt symbolizes the tears shed by those who loved them.
The bible represents the faith that sustained them.
The glass is inverted — they cannot share in the toast.
The chair is empty — they are not here. They are missing.

And we will remember, and we will raise our glasses to those who went before us, and who gave all that they had for us. And a part of the flush in our faces will pale as we remember that nothing worth having ever came without a cost. We will remember that many of our brothers and sisters have paid that cost in blood. We will remember that the reckoning is not over.

We many of us will settle with our families into our holiday season, our Christmas season for those who celebrate it, content in our fortune and prosperity. We will meet old friends with smiles and laughter. We will meet our members of our family with hugs. We will eat well, and exchange gifts and raise our glasses to the year passed in gratitude, and to the year to come with hope. We will sleep the sleep of the protected, secure in our homes, secure in our homeland.

But for many families, there will be an empty chair at the table this year. A place that is not filled.

WE SHOULD REMEMBER."

Many Thanks To Alfa6 For Finding Capt. Lefon's Chronicle Of "The Empty Chair."

"Träumerei"
Robert Schumann
(Click)

Never Forget The Brave Men And Women Who
Gave Their Lives To Secure Our Freedom!!

[radu]

Whew, I hope he had a little time for a nap before going to work this evening. He’s gonna be a tired young man after work otherwise.

Sounds like a fun day ahead playing with the pooches.

It was grocery shopping day for me too. Gots ta keep da kittehs fed. LOL

Been watching a new show, “SEAL Team”, and this first show wasn’t bad. We’ll see how it goes as the season wears on.