a second look at "The Sound of Freedom"

"What is the Sound of Freedom"

Several years ago I had a young man, ask me what the sound of freedom was; since he was simply using the question to disrupt the class I simply ignored it and went on with the day’s lesson. But since today is America's Birthday I thought I might re-post some thoughts I had on "What is the Sound of Freedom".


Memories: we all have that special smell that can bring back volumes of memories of warm summer days and fresh watermelon, or the warmth in our hearts when we smell the turkey coming out of the oven on Thanksgiving Day. Those are tangible memories ones that come back easily or can be felt or touched but how do you define the “sound of freedom”??? Some of you may raise your hands and say “The liberty bell” or “The Star Bangle Banner” and the list can go on and on of sounds you have heard from childhood that to you represented the freedoms we all enjoy …….but what is the sound of freedom?

I narrowed my list down to two: The opening of a textbook – symbolizes the sound of our freedom through education. Try listening to 30 textbooks opening all at once to study today’s lesson. The book sees no difference in your sex, color, economics, religion or lifestyle – it is freedom that brings insight. I thank God for the freedom to hear the sounds of education that so many have fought and died for, and which other countries so deny to their people.

My second sound may cause you to stop and think I hope it does. As most of you know I grew up Air Force. To some that may not mean much given that you stayed home while your parent served but for our family we went where ever dad was stationed. I bring that up because military life even for the children was completely different than for those of you growing up non-military. And for the most part the differences we minor – I grew up “on base” you grew up in a neighborhood, I went to a school “on base” you went to public schools.

So where is the “sound” difference?? Movie theaters……….yes I said movie theaters. I know some of you are saying “well she finally lost it” but hold on…

In the military, when you went to a movie, there were rules that had to be followed and here is where the “sound” comes in. At the beginning of every movie they played our national anthem – all they had to play was the first two notes of that song and every man in that theater SNAPPED TO ATTENTION – seatbacks snapped up and……….. you have no idea how “freedom” sounds until you hear over 200 military combat boots snap together. The sound is almost deafening. There is a ……it is so hard to describe – the feeling rumbles in your heart it is so strong and it implants itself into your whole body that these men, these boots are there to protect, defend and to secure your freedoms. It has been almost 45 years since I heard that sound – I can still hear it and it brings a smile to my face and warmth to my heart. I wish each of you could experience that feeling. Today there is a small sound that echoes when you see a military parade, or when a young man is given a metal, and yes………the sound of the quiet tap when they lay another soldier to rest. I hope each of you has a “sound of freedom:” because remember in some countries the people are deaf.

God bless our men in the military, God bless our country, and by far God bless the “sound of freedom” today and always.

My Favorite Pictures from Europe

 For Kelsey:

These are some of my favorite pictures from Europe.  Each has a special meaning in my heart.  First has to be this picture of the birds flying next to the ship on our Greece tour.  The reason I love it - they are so peaceful - as if to say " Ahhh.......rest at last - no effort, just letting the wind carry me for a while".  Kinda like Let Go, Let God.


This is my second favorite picture - The Lion in Lucerne Switzerland.  When you first look at the sculpture you wonder how did he carve that out of the wall of an old Sand Stone Quarry.  Then as you get closer the overwhelming sadness in the Lion's eyes grab your soul and you realize that he is crying for humanity as if to say "I gave my best and yet I am so sorry".   He was meant to represent the Swiss Guards that were killed trying to protect the French King.

Next up is the beauty that is around Capri.  First is the  view from Capri over the water, the second is of the rock formations called faraglioni rock formations.  Each offers a different description  - one a beauty that creeps up from the Sea and the other the beauty that shines down on water that is so clear you can see the algae that grows. 

                                                     

The final pictures:  one is of the St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican at night.  There would appear to be a great deal of peace in that place.  A solace that can not be defined.  Match that with the final picture taken at the end of a very busy day in Sorrento, Italy.  What a way to end a tour. 

 

 

Man divided, life questioned.

Today I saw an old friend.  He was a man divided between a tremendous pain in his heart from loss, and a heart filled with the joy of goals accomplished and dreams met.   He said that through his tragedy this summer he had found a new sense of how special people are in his life and how to treasure those that mean so much to him.  I started to wonder how we loose touch with each other, how do we not reach out and remind people how much they mean to us.  Have I said how important you are in my life lately or do I simply say you should know?  But do you really know?  Can you know? 

We rate our lives now by the number of “friends” we have on Facebook, but shouldn’t we really be focused on how many “people” did we talk to today?  How many lives did we personally touch?  How many times did we thank God for the blessings we have in our lives when we have heard the pain and frustration in others.  Have cried in one eye and laughed with the other. Instead of accepting another friend on Facebook why not pick up the phone, call, talk, share your life.  And just maybe, instead of just having a friend on a website you will have a friend in your heart.  

Rome and Paris Tour May 2012

The Sound of Freedom

Several years ago I had a young man, ask me what the sound of freedom was; since he was simply using the question to disrupt the class I simply ignored it and went on with the day’s lesson. But something inside of me raised that question again this weekend as I work to plan the Veteran’s day assembly “What is the sound of Freedom”.


Memories: we all have that special smell that can bring back volumes of memories of warm summer days and fresh watermelon, or the warmth in our hearts when we smell the turkey coming out of the oven on Thanksgiving Day. Those are tangible memories ones that come back easily or can be felt or touched but how do you define the “sound of freedom”??? Some of you may raise your hands and say “The liberty bell” or “The Star Bangle Banner” and the list can go on and on of sounds you have heard from childhood that to you represented the freedoms we all enjoy …….but what is the sound of freedom?

I narrowed my list down to two: The opening of a textbook – symbolizes the sound of our freedom through education. Try listening to 30 textbooks opening all at once to study today’s lesson. The book sees no difference in your sex, color, economics, religion or lifestyle – it is freedom that brings insight. I thank God for the freedom to hear the sounds of education that so many have fought and died for, and which other countries so deny to their people.

My second sound may cause you to stop and think I hope it does. As most of you know I grew up Air Force. To some that may not mean much given that you stayed home while your parent served but for our family we went where ever dad was stationed. I bring that up because military life even for the children was completely different than for those of you growing up non-military. And for the most part the differences we minor – I grew up “on base” you grew up in a neighborhood, I went to a school “on base” you went to public schools.

So where is the “sound” difference?? Movie theaters……….yes I said movie theaters. I know some of you are saying “well she finally lost it” but hold on…

In the military, when you went to a movie, there were rules that had to be followed and here is where the “sound” comes in. At the beginning of every movie they played our national anthem – all they had to play was the first two notes of that song and every man in that theater SNAPPED TO ATTENTION – seatbacks snapped up and……….. you have no idea how “freedom” sounds until you hear over 200 military combat boots snap together. The sound is almost deafening. There is a ……it is so hard to describe – the feeling rumbles in your heart it is so strong and it implants itself into your whole body that these men, these boots are there to protect, defend and to secure your freedoms. It has been almost 45 years since I heard that sound – I can still hear it and it brings a smile to my face and warmth to my heart. I wish each of you could experience that feeling. Today there is a small sound that echoes when you see a military parade, or when a young man is given a metal, and yes………the sound of the quiet tap when they lay another soldier to rest. I hope each of you has a “sound of freedom:” because remember in some countries the people are deaf.

God bless our men in the military, God bless our country, and by far God bless the “sound of freedom” today and always.

Remember our Veterans this Thursday Nov. 11, 2010, but more than that remember them everyday.

                                              Spring break vacation

Baseball and ??Snow??

How to describe a 7 day period that I have been waiting several weeks for is hard, especially if you live in Oklahoma.

Spring Break March 2010.  We left very early (4am) on Sunday March 14th for vacation. - three nights in theTunica/Memphis area.  The picture on the left is a beautiful glass blown design that greets guest at the GoldStrike Hotel.  The glass looks so fragile.  

Arrived Sunday afternoon, took a nap, rested, and played a little. Monday we went touring the area – down to the Town of Tunica, and then out to the Riverpark area where they have ecotrails, and a small museum/history. Mike was fascinated by one of the old propellers.

Tuesday was “My” day as I finally made it to Beale Street in Memphis. And of course I forgot my camera. I did take some pictures using my cell phone and as soon as I figure out how to download them I will post them. I loved the evening. We walked up and down Beale Street, ate some great BBQ at a place called “Pigs with Attitude”. And then spend over an hour listening to a band called The Plantation Allstars – OMG they were so good. The blues just resonated through them – It was everything I imagined.

Long long drive back on Wednesday. Thursday was just a kick around day – laundry, banking and getting some school work done.

Friday my sister and I took a short trip to Miami Oklahoma to watch our nephew Josh play Baseball for Northeastern Oklahoma A & M. We bought the NEO t-Shirts so of course we wore them to cheer on the team. It was a beautiful day – forgot the sunscreen so our arms got a little red but I love color in my skin. Doesn’t even matter what the score was it was more important that we were there, we were supporting the team, and we got to see Josh.

Saturday northeastern Oklahoma was hit with some pretty strong winds and lots of snow. We got about 5 inches of the wet stuff. Woke up this morning and it was snowing again, but it is quickly melting. I guess Mother Nature had one more blast of winter to get out of her system. I have no idea what is up with her but I have reached my limit with the snow this year.

My goal for the next 9 weeks of school……….lesson plans, worksheets, whinny kids, sunshine and MORE BASEBALL!!!!!!

Train in transition part II

Just for fun Mike laid out his blue board, and put some buildings up to give me a perspective on what it might look like. You have to imagine the mountains on the top and apparently there will be a river next to the Casino on the main level........ Thanks to Mike's favorite Uncle Jim we have wonderful buildings and memories........... Don't forget to click on the picture to see it up close.

debide

Train in transition

For those of you who regularly check in to my blog forgive me for using my space to share pictures of my husband building his train table.  It is just easier for the family and extended family to see his progress without having to email everyone picutres. 

Since his retirement Mike has been working on a design for his "O" gauge Lionel train.  He has had the train since 1956 and is just now taking it out of storage.   It has taken over the spare room and continues to grow each week.   He has architectual drawings of where the train will feed in and out of tunnels, through the town, drop off goods and pick them up. 

So far he has a table that is set on wheels so he can work on all sides, his base table, and this weekend he created the upper mountain tracks and the tunnel.  The "M.K.J." is set to go full speed ahead  early this summer............with prayers.
(click on a picture to see full size and more detail)
d

New weather Pictures

Since my blog yesterday we have had an additonal 9 inches of snow~~~

There are some beautiful trees across the street - hope you enjoy these pictures.  With 9 inches of snow, one lane bridges, and few "working" buses I doubt we have school on Monday.  Remember there is still a 1/2 of ice under all the snow.  We are "stuck" here in Sperry but have plenty of house projects, and as usual I have plenty of papers to grade and lesson plans to write.   Just took Sweet Potato Pecan Bread out of the oven.  Sounds good with some coffee.........

Will keep in touch.

** be sure to check out the difference in the two pictures of the patio table from earlier yesterday  morning's blog  and today **

ANOTHER snow storm...........

Well it’s been a long time since I have seen a winter like this in Oklahoma. But here we are again with ice and snow. (see previous blogs) Thought we were going to miss out on the blunt of the storm, and to some extent we were as we only got about ½ inch of ice, but this morning around 9:30 it started snowing and it is still snowing and expected to continue until late evening. So far we have about 5 inches of snow on top of the ice. We are lucky that we still have power, full refrigerator and things to do around the house. Hopefully we will be able to get out tomorrow or Sunday – then they are predicting another “something” for Monday. At this point I think they are afraid to use the “snow” word again……….ha ha ha

Teddy Bears and Love

Teddy Bears and Memories

This week our FCCLA group has been collecting Stuffed Animals for DVIS and Nursing Homes and I thought it was time to maybe clean out my closet for some “Slightly used” Teddy Bears. So while I was at work I had Mike take them out and lay them on the bed for me to decide which to save and which to donate. Well………..I knew I had some bears, but I had no idea I had that many!!! They took up the whole bed, and of course Mike had them staged just perfectly. I remember walking into the room and the first thing that popped into my head was “Love”. Look at all that love. I never remember thinking – what a mess – or how did this thing get out of hand – or have they been multiplying on their own. – but love.

Each of us has memories of that favorite thing we carried everywhere when we were growing up -  for my brother it was his beanie hat, for my grandson Jason its his donkey and for my grandson Kevin it was his monkey. But I never remember having anything I had to carry around, maybe I did but I am so old I can’t remember. But I do know that if I had 30 minutes to pack up before disaster I would for sure grab the largest stuffed bear on the bed. Why?? Because it symbolizes me hugging me, me hugging family, me hugging God. That’s the whole thing about Teddy Bears isn’t it?? That we as humans can hug something – we can connect our bodies with something else. We have that need to touch, hug, embrace, and confirm our existence with someone or something else.

So what is a Teddy Bear and why are they so important in our lives?

A Teddy Bear is Love,

A Teddy Bear hears all our pain as we cry

A Teddy Bear hold us when we are sick

A Teddy Bear is the best defense in pillow fights

A Teddy Bear protects us on cold and rainy nights

But mostly a Teddy Bear is the one friend, family, and life line that will never judge, never criticize never forsake or abandon us and will always be the last thing we see in the morning and the first thing we see when we go to bed. But most of all the Teddy Bear is the smile that makes life happy. For me life is easy – I don’t need jewelry, I don’t need flowers, but apparently what I do need is another teddy bear.

( did I give some away……..no, I couldn’t because each held a special memory – this one I got for Christmas, or this one I got when I graduated college, or these are all from my brother-in-law………and so the story goes. But I will buy a new one and donate it so that some child can feel its love, and an older person in the nursing home can have fond memories return to hug.)

Christmas Blizzard

It has never happened - at least that is what the weathermen are saying - BLIZZARD Warnings for Tulsa County. It started yesterday - rain, heavy at times with lightening and tornado warnings in the southern half of Oklahoma. Then this morning a viscous arctic blast - rain turned to freezing rain, sleet. Then about an hour ago it turned to snow. We are expected to get 4 to 8 inches. So much for Christmas Eve family get together. Even the Churches in Tulsa have all cancelled their evening  and midnight services.

For us Christmas Eve started out with cooking and mike smoking a Ham. Then as the day went along first our grandson Jason became ill, then our grandnephew Lucus turned up ill, couple that with the weather and the two matriarchs - (Debbie and Cari) decided we did not need "specific date" to celebrate Christmas and family so we cancelled the evening events and rescheduled for tomorrow. So here we are food in the fridge - but that is for tomorrow, so for tonight I am making a big batch of Chicken Enchilada Soup and grilled cheese sandwiches........

Tomorrow we will feast on lots of GREAT food and goodies, open gifts, and share the true meaning of Christmas - Christ, Love, and Family

The Alps
There are rare occasions when we need to step back and reflect on the level of our own worth and importance in this world. Basically just how significant are we? Is an ant less valuable because it is smaller? If so how do we measure up to the size of a Mt? I recently had an opportunity to stand upon a mountain– Mt Pilatus at 7,000 feet, but to also sit and view the alps from the balcony of our hotel at 6,000ft. And the definitive question and answer has to be – are the Mts. Gods gift to us to show us his beautiful work or is it to remind us of his infinite power and wisdom? I like to think a little bit of both.

As I sit here looking at this world
To see Gods great hand
I realize what a gift he gave us in a single command
Love one another

As an ant respects his world and sees the glory of Gods work in the smallest of crumbs, so should man take time to view the beauty we call Earth and see its inner value as Christ see and fills our souls with the same.

color choices

To Tent or Curtain Maker that is the question:

I used to tell people that I had my clothes made by Omar the Tent Maker, but it was not until we were on vacation in Myrtle Beach South Carolina that I realized that I had my bathing suit made by his cousin Corilita the Curtain Maker. (Mike said he was grateful that I had a sun burn otherwise he would not have been able to see me sitting at the table.) If you click on the picture you can see just how closely they match.
Enjoy your summer, love, laugh, and BE HAPPY
Lots more blogs to come of tours, trips and flowers.
d

Europe Trip 2009 Part 3

D-Day and the Chunnel

As a History teacher there is nothing more real that actually touching the ground or seeing first hand the impact some major event has had on society. It is hard to put into words the emotions I was feeling this day – that we were to cross the English Chanel. To most of the students in our groups this was just an opportunity to sleep on a train. But for me it was much more – you see I knew the date – June 6th, in historical terms “D-Day”.

WWII Multimedia Database
“On 6 June 1944 the Western Allies landed in northern France, opening the long-awaited "Second Front" against Adolf Hitler's Germany. Though they had been fighting in mainland Italy for some nine months, the Normandy invasion was in a strategically more important region, setting the stage to drive the Germans from France and ultimately destroy the National Socialist regime” DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER

What a unique honor it was to know that 65 years later I would be crossing the English Channel, certainly not in the same means, nor with the same intensity, but none the less I would be traveling the same land/water that took the lives of so many of our American and Allied soldiers in WWII. The magnitude of understanding what their sacrifice has meant to Americans and others freed around the world. To know that because of these young men, many of them not much older than the boys on tour, sacrificing their lives so that we would have the freedoms to travel, to learn, to see first hand.

I thought back to movies that I have seen, The Longest Day and Saving Private Ryan. but mostly the documentaries that aired on PBS World at War series - The announcer in the background, deep voice crying out the horrors of War. Watching film clips of our young soldiers storming the beaches, clips that were shown back home in movie theaters to elicit national pride and encourage enlistment. Those to me were the real meanings behind the invasion. And here I was 65 years later, crossing under, the same waters they crossed. As we crossed under the water in the Chunnel I could not help but want to reach out to all those who died in the water to thank their souls for the sacrifices they made and to their families that will never have a gravesite to visit or honor.


The Chunnel was to start in 1974, ran into problems and was not actually started until 1988. It was completed in May 1994 and opened to passengers in Nov 1994. It is about 31 miles long (under water). It takes only 2 hours and 15 minutes to get from London England to Paris France. There is no “fanfare” letting you know you have entered the Chunnel – it just gets eerie dark for a long long time…………. Then you emerge into the daylight and surrounding new farm land that is France.


God Bless our troops, God Bless our country, God Bless our History
*** Click on Europe Trip 2009 Part 3
at the top of the page and it will take you to a video on D-Day***

Europe Trip 2009 Part 2

Art – or

why I ended up in Marching Band

As you may note in my previous blog I had two loves in my life – created by two trauma’s – first it was the popsicle stick (architecture) and today I will talk about art, primary colors, ships and the clarinet.

I loved drawing – ok not so much drawing as coloring (yes within the lines) highlighting, shading sometimes adding my own personal touch. But no matter how hard I tried at freestyle art, it always just looked like a mush of colors. Again there was no connection created in the womb between the art that the eye sees and the hands…………. Alas……….. I was doomed to love and not touch. So how does this relate to today. Well it all started in 9th grade (when it was still part of Junior high) .. You see I decided my 9th grade year that instead of playing the clarinet (poorly) I would take art instead. After 2 weeks of introduction from the teacher he gave us free reign to draw anything we wanted. So I used the bold primary colors and drew a ship with masts and water with waves. I was proud!! Then he came over to look at it – and I will never ever forget his word- “Debra you played in the band didn’t you?? You might want to consider going back to band”. OMG how traumatic. So the next Monday mom and I went into the office, and by last period there I was sitting 3rd seat, 3rd row clarinet.
We did not see a lot of art this trip – So I will throw in a few pictures that I have loved over the years.
Stay tuned for next blog = D-Day 65 years later

Part one of this year's European Tour

Architecture
or the trauma of Popsicle sticks

As many of you have noted over the years my blogs tend to focus on art and architecture or sculpture. They are my loves in life – as with many of you our loves are also our secret inabilities.
Growing up I loved looking at buildings, the more unique the better. Always asking the “how” or “why” of the architect. These were the hidden dreams of a little girl traumatized by the popsicle stick..
I bet you all remember Vacation Bible School or Girl Scout Camp - a time of joy and sharing. I had fun, learned a little but mostly had fun – until the Popsicle Lady showed up and fear emerged in me like Mt. Vesuvius getting ready to explode. Why – because she was always “perky” and said “Now children today we are going to take these sticks and you are going to build a church” Ok…… Now I have said how much I loved architecture what I did not say was that getting a concept from my brain to my hands – well lets just say that connection was never made in the womb. So here I sat – looking at dozens of sticks, glue, and felt……. well after hours of trying the best I could do was make a very large star. Not exactly the church the teacher wanted I would go home defeated – why could other kids glue sticks and make reindeers, or houses and I could not……
But architecture remained in my eye, and even today; as you will see with my pictures; I still love to look at the lines, the design, the vision of the architect and hey – give them credit - apparently they knew what to do with the popsicle sticks.

Stay tuned for more pictures from London and tomorrows blog: Art truama and the Clarinet