A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....02-25-03...There Will Always Be A Place For Freeps

FreeTheHostages; Billie | FreeTheHostages

[Billie]

A Few of FR's Finest.....
......Every Day

FR is a Treasure Trove of talented, compassionate, patriotic, wonderful people who gather every day to discuss the latest news and issues; salute and support our military and our leaders;  tell a few jokes;  learn a new word;  write poetry;  pray for those in need;  and congratulate those who are deserving. Thank you, Jim Robinson, for giving us the vehicle in which we can express ourselves.

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   I can remember lurking when there were only a few regulars who posted, and now there are over 60,000 who have registered for posting privileges. The forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest November 11, 2001

So many people have written me since my original Veteran's Day Tribute, asking how they, or a loved one, could be included in that tribute. Since I can no longer add the photos to the body of the thread, I've been including them in additional posts as I received enough to make another collage.

Still that doesn't seem to be enough. I think there's never been a better nor more appropriate time to keep the faces of our own Veterans and Active Military in front of FReepers--every day! That's why I wanted to do yet another Daily Thread .....ABOUT FReepers .....and FOR FReepers. But not only about our Military FReepers; for all FReepers! Wouldn't it be nice to get to know a few of the other FReepers as well? That's why, in addition to seeing FR's Finest Military Personnel every day, I thought it might be fun to feature a different FReeper (or FReepers) each day. If you would like to be pictured, or know someone who would, please FReepmail me and we'll turn the spotlight - on YOU - for the day!

And do let me know if you'd like your picture added to the groups of Veterans/Active Military below. I will keep this page updated, and continue to add them to the comment section of the original Veteran's Day thread as well.

<

TOP:  g'nad, AgThorn's son Justin, SLB, AgThorn's son Brett.
MIDDLE:  fish70, razorback-bert, CheneyChick,Leroy S Mort, Mark17.
BOTTOM:  Terry's Take, Taxman, DinkyDau.

TOP:  ValerieUSA's son Grant, SK1Thurman, kd5cts, RangerVetNam,
dansangel and .45man's son-in-law Tony
BOTTOM:  rangerX, Old China Hand, Trish, Howlin's dad, Mustang

TOP: ohioWfan's son, MamaBear's father-in-law, MamaBear's dad, ladtx
MIDDLE:  The Mayor's niece, M.Kehoe, Beach_Babe's son-in-law
BOTTOM:  deadhead's dad, HiJinx, Severa's hubby, viligantcitizen's granddad.

TOP:  spectr17, RightOnline, SERE_Doc, Tet68.
MIDDLE:  FutureSnakeEater, RightOnline's wife, CIApilot, Clamper1797
BOTTOM:  usmcobra, onedoug, DiverDave, Joe6-pack

We now have eleven groups of veterans/active military; we will post each group of three or four twice a week, with thumbnail/links of the remaining seven or eight groups on each thread. Click on any of the thumbnails below to see the group full-size.

         

GROUP 1A: TOP: Logos, SwedeGirl's hubby, Neil E Wright, FallGuy, 1John, Sneakypete MIDDLE:  T'wit, COB1, LadyX, Dick Bachert, 68-69TonkinGulfYatchClub BOTTOM:  YankeeinSC, Delta21, JoeSixPack1

GROUP 2A: TOP:  Bosniajmc, AFVetGal, Archy, A Navy Vet MIDDLE:  4TheFlag, Aeronaut, 68Grunt, Xinga BOTTOM:  Codger, AAABest, Clinton's A Liar, Duke809, dcwusmc

GROUP 3A: TOP:  mc5cents, Norb2569, LBGA's son, VanJenerette MIDDLE:  Jim Robinson, KJenerette, davidosborne, KG9Kid BOTTOM:  gwmoore, Equality7-2521, SAMWolf

GROUP 4A: TOP:  porgygirl, Phil V., MudPuppy, NorCoGOP MIDDLE:  RaceBannon, OneidaM, rdb3, jwTexian BOTTOM:  USMC Vet, TheMayor, Vineyard, rhododogma

      

GROUP 9A: TOP: Q6-God, Scan59, Mama Bear and JKPhoto's son, ofMagog. MIDDLE:  Big'ol_freeper, JustAmy's great uncle, Prodigal Son. BOTTOM:  JustAmy's husband, JustAmy's brother-in-law, JustAmy's brother.

GROUP 10A: TOP: dakine's wife, MeeknMing's dad, Auntbee's nephew, MilitiaMan7, AlasBabylon. BOTTOM:  Joe Brower, Temple Owl, Temple Owl's wife, dutchess' dad, Aomagrat.

GROUP 11A: TOP: ladtx #2 son; DiverDave's twin Don; petuniasevan and husband poorman; Mustard; ladtx #1 son. BOTTOM: AlamoGirl's brother Floyd; AG's dad; AG's brother Jim (inset); WVNan's husband; ladtx' Aunt Eva.

                     

by FreeTheHostages

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Nutmeg and Zelig are a charming couple who live in a very small town in Connecticut - The "Nutmeg State." You’d want them on the Free Republic recruiting poster (if we had one). They’re just the way their photo looks, too: kind and decidedly intelligent, like all good Freepers!

They arrived at Free Republic in the perfectly normal way: by watching a proven criminal remain in the presidency for eight years and watching Democrats trash military votes. In the fall of 2000, Nutmeg was surfing political websites on the net as part of her volunteer work for the Rick Lazio campaign when she found Free Republic. Living in Connecticut she was "stunned" to see so many like-minded conservatives in one place here. She started doing "late night posting", and Zelig joined shortly thereafter. As he puts it, the 2000 election "ignited a spark. We just could not see four more years of the Clinton/Gore crowd."

Zelig says with wry humor that he will "never forget" what Dutchy, a fellow Tri-State Chapter member, said at a chapter meeting about possible non-rally projects to further the conservative cause. Looking a little deflated by much talk of non-Freep activities, a plaintive Dutchy asked: "There will always be a place for Freeps, won’t there?" Nutmeg laughs in agreement as Zelig relates the story. It’s clear that Nutmeg and Zelig admire Freepers such as Dutchy, who follow their principles and get "out there" often to help make the United States a better place.

Nutmeg and Zelig’s answer to Dutchy’s question is decidedly, "Yes, there’s always a place for Freeps." And in their case, it’s not always the same place twice! Let’s follow them as they travel up and down the Northeast Corridor.

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New York, New York...

Nutmeg and Zelig have participated in several New York City, Connecticut, and Washington DC Freeps. Their Freeping career began with a "Welcome Rally" for then-Governor George W. Bush in front of David Letterman's studio in midtown Manhattan (Dubya was Letterman's guest, that day in October 2000). It was at that rally Nutmeg and Zelig met several Freepers for the first time, recognizing a few of them from photos posted on FR threads - particulary the Hillary-themed ones.

Nutmeg's goal that day was to find out just who those "Go Home Hillary" Freepers were, and to join them! It turns out the "Go Home Hillary" crowd were members of the Tri-State Chapter of Free Republic, a group of Freepers from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

The day after Election Day 2000, Nutmeg and Zelig didn't have much time to become dejected over New York Rep. Rick Lazio's loss of the New York Senate race to (ugh!) Hillary Clinton... the task at hand for all Freepers during the infamous Florida recount debacle was to get out into the streets - all over the US - in support of George W. Bush. Nutmeg and Zelig participated in several spirited Freeps in New York's Times Square, rallying for Dubya and supporting the counting of the military absentee ballots.

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Rallying "in Our Own Backyard"

One of their favorite Freeps was at Senator Joe Lieberman’s residence in Connecticut. Zelig fondly remembers the date: December 2, 2000. The protest focused on the Gore camp’s discounting the military votes in Florida. Nutmeg notes that conservatives seemed to come from out of nowhere for that Freep. (It could have been Zelig who said that. When I interviewed them, they occasionally finished each other’s sentences!)

Nutmeg explains, "This amazing rally was led by fellow Connecticut Freeper RaceBannon." They just love him. "For once, conservatives far out-numbered the liberals... we must've had over 400 on our side for that one, to their 100 or so," says Nutmeg. "Of course the local media slammed us, calling us an 'angry mob', among other colorful things."

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Nutmeg and Zelig have a son. Shortly after the December Freep of Joe Lieberman's house, their book-smart teenage son saw this photograph of his dad, Freeper Zelig at the Yahoo news site. The photo, which received fairly wide circulation via AP, caused him to exclaim to Nutmeg and Zelig: "I thought you two were boring!" LOL! Ah, the cruel lessons of reality. Zelig bemusedly describes the photograph as "striking a nerve" with his son.

**Gas money to Joe Lieberman’s house: Three Dollars.
Bullhorn: Twelve Dollars. Watching your teenage
son figure out you have a life too: Priceless.**

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Freeping with the DC Chapter
on Their Home Turf

In January 2001, Nutmeg and Zelig attended the Free Republic "Count the Silverware" Inaugural Ball, absolutely thrilled that Washington DC had been (at least temporarily) taken over by conservatives. On the night before George W. Bush's inauguration, the Freepers gathered at Luigi's restaurant in Washington DC decided to Freep President Bill Clinton one last time, on his last night in office. Zelig says:

"While Clinton was up there signing pardons, our big group of Freepers walked from Luigi's to the White House. As we stood there in the cold rain (under the watchful eyes of several Secret Servicemen and policemen), DC Warlord Kristinn and Tri-Stater RaceBannon led us on our favorite chant: 'Bill Clinton! We have you surrounded! Put down the cigar... step away from the intern. And come out.. with your pants... UP!'"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

These two also made the 7-hour drive from Connecticut to DC for the DC Chapter’s Freep of the White House Media Correspondent’s dinner last May. As you can see, their amicability extends to liking the same signs.

Nutmeg

Zelig
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CPAC 2003 - Arlington, Virginia

Nutmeg and Zelig went to CPAC in Virginia this year to see what they could learn. Plied with a cold beer after a long CPAC day, Zelig waxes philosophical:

"This may sound sappy, but I think Nutmeg and I both are coming of age politically, and the more we read and become involved, the more we realize how much has to be done."

Here Nutmeg and Zelig are sharing an after-hours moment with some Freepers at CPAC when in walks a Navy Lieutenant looking for a place to eat. We invited him to eat with us, (he’s on the left in the foreground in the above photograph), and our guest remarked on how nice everyone was at CPAC. He started to talk about his political views, how at-home he felt at the conference, etc. So Nutmeg said, "Oh, you should join Free Republic!", and Zelig said, "You would love it!" Hence Warrior Nurse joined Free Republic. (Welcome, Warrior Nurse!) Who could resist the Connecticut charm of these two?

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Out in Cyberspace (Especially Nutmeg!)

Nutmeg is very concerned about media bias and maintains her own ping lists to flag Freeper friends to interesting threads, and to help get the word out on upcoming rallies. She acknowledges that she does a lot of posting with a cheerful smile, and indeed does have a presence here. If you’ve been out and about (and c’mon... Billie will kill me for saying it, but you shouldn’t spend *all* your time on this thread!), you’re sure to have seen Nutmeg’s reflective posts in many threads.

OK, in this photo, Nutmeg and Zelig aren’t actually in cyberspace. But see the twinkle in Nutmeg’s eye? She’s thinking of what to post next, and where! She said with a hint of complaint after a beer at CPAC that "most of the Freeper action is in the big cities," but (LOL) we all know that a lot of the Freeper "action" happens at Nutmeg’s keyboard!

If media bias is one of Nutmeg’s core concerns, sign Zelig up as very concerned about moral character in our leadership, and blocking Hillary Clinton’s election as President. (Hmm, now what would those two issues have to do with each other?) ;) Go Zelig!

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Now We’re at FR’s Finest

Well, look where they are now! Don’t Nutmeg’s rosy cheeks and flashing eyes and Zelig’s businessman-look go together perfectly? If you were their neighbor, you’d invite them over for some coffee, with nutmeg. So let’s share a cup with

Nutmeg and Zelig,

Two of FR’s Finest!

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THIS WEEK'S THREADS 02-24-03 MJY1288

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' The guy's good, folks!

Thanks, Mixer!

1) Click on the graphic to open the Calendar.
2) Once there you can click on any month and even click to the right to go into next year. Once you are in the month that you joined FR you will need to click on the number in the calendar and then an add item screen will come up.
3) In the next box enter your name in the "Calendar Text" field and then click on submit.
4) If any of the screens fail to load simply click on refresh in your browser and that will usually fix it.
5) If all else fails or simply if you want me to do this for you send me an FReepmail and I will gladly do it for you. ~Mixer

[FreeTheHostages]

{{Mama_Bear}} Thank you for dropping by with a lovely graphic. :) Take good care.

[WVNan]

I could almost smell those catfish. Then Jack came home from the grocery store with.........Ta da....catfish. But it was too late to cook it for tonight. He also brought some ribs home. We're going to fix them like hot wings. Cut them apart and back them then put Frank's hot sauce on them. BTW thanks for the invite. Sure wish I could take you up on it. Sometimes I really miss the South.

[FreeTheHostages]

First pineapple pie, now Frito pie. Man, the people in this thread are into some unusual pies. :) What's up with that?

[humblegunner]

Dress uniforms and spit'n polish, Y'all.

[Mama_Bear]

It was your birthday yesterday?? No one told me. :-(

Belated

Hope you had a wonderful day!

[nutmeg]

I forgot to mention to you that my mother is a Navy Vet also! She served during WWII as a WAVE (Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service), and was stationed at the Charleston Naval Base in SC. She has great stories about her time in the service back then. Like when the Sixth Fleet came into the Charleston Navy yard docks after WWII had ended, thousands of sailors - all possessing "liberty" to go into the city of Charleston - came racing off the ships onto the docks, sprinted through the yard, and stormed the gates leading to Charleston. Mom claims all the WAVEs had to be "locked up"! LOL

She also has interesting stories about the German and Italian POWs who were held at the Charleston Naval Base. "Herman the German" was assigned to launder and press the WAVEs uniforms... he'd put pleats in the WAVEs skirts when they weren't supposed to be there, but the WAVEs loved them!

My father was a war hero also, as was yours. He served during World War II in the 169th Infantry, 43rd Division of the US Army. He participated in a lot of the action in the Pacific Theater: Guadalcanal, New Georgia, New Guinea, Solomon Islands and the Philippines. He earned the Silver Star medal, Purple Heart, Combat Infantryman's Badge, American Defense Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Theater medal (with four stars), Victory Medal, Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation and the Philippine Liberation Medal.

Many of my uncles and cousins have served in the Army and Navy as well... during World War II, the Korean War, Viet Nam and the Gulf War. My grandfather fought in the trenches of France during World War I.

Heroes... every one of them. A HUGE THANK YOU to all soldiers and Vets who fight or who have fought for our freedom!

[nutmeg]

A little of my family history in post 286. :-)

[LadyX]

LOL - are you going to cook this gem for your mother Sunday?!!
Or for your Saturday night date, to impress her?...:))

[nutmeg]

THANK YOU, Mama_Bear... what a wonderful graphic!

[LadyX]

"Dress uniforms and spit'n polish, Y'all."

Thank you for tending to the details, humblegunner.

[WVNan]

Will stand down at 10:00 EST Wed. in memory of those who have reached safe harbor. They are Home.

<--Click here

[nutmeg]

Beautiful picture, LadyX... sure wish it looked like that here NOW! (Frozen tundra outside my window)

What gorgeous pictures of you on your profile page... and you were a Marine! THANK YOU for your service to the USA!

[Mama_Bear]

Please pause wherever you are to remember them.

That I will do. Thank you for passing this on to the crew.

[WVNan]

Hi MB. Glad to see you here.

[nutmeg]

Thanks, Molly! I see you were bright and early on this thread this morning (unlike me)!

[LadyX]

During the Korean Conflict, nutmeg, I was a USMC Classroom Subjects Instructor for women recruits at Parris Island.
There were 35,000 Souls On Board at the time.

To get to the indoor pool then, one went by bus out past the Rifle Range.
It was literally unnerving to have waves of thousands of roaring, enthusiastically vocal male recruits cheering our passage with women aboard!!
I just knew one day they would storm the bus!

[nutmeg]

Nutmeg and Zelig: from one FReeper couple to another, .45MAN and I welcome you to the finest. You two are certainly a credit to FR and stand for everything that makes FR great!

Well, thank you very much! FReeper couples seem to be on the increase. Many are becoming couples because of FR (more power to them!). We met long before I discovered FR. Hope to meet you both in person someday!

nutmeg & zelig

[humblegunner]

LOL - are you going to cook this gem for your mother Sunday?!!
Or for your Saturday night date, to impress her?...:))

Mom might actually request it!
It probably would not impress the Saturday night date, though...

[LadyX]

Oh, Nan, I knew we could count upon you and Aqua for pictures and beautiful music.

We love you, Captain, and cherish the memories of our phriends.....

[nutmeg]

DC Warlord Kristinn and Tri-Stater RaceBannon led us on our favorite chant: 'Bill Clinton! We have you surrounded! Put down the cigar... step away from the intern. And come out.. with your pants... UP!'"

Too funny! I almost fell off my chair when I read that!

I have to say that the DC policemen, Secret Service people, NYPD and various other onlookers during the course of our FReeps have found FR's "Cops Cheer" to be hysterically funny as well! It was SO much fun to actually yell it to Bill Clinton while he was still in the White House (after we had shouted ourselves hoarse doing this "cheer" during the 2000 FL debacle).