Stressless

This is from a buddy that ran the Marine Corps Marathon a couple months ago to raise money for USO. Her buddy is me and ya we're on box springs only kinds sux but better then on the ground in a hole.



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OK folks, the poem at the bottom of this e-mail was sent to me by a friend with the request to share.



So, here it goes,- I?m honoring her request - and adding a second:



If you are in the position to do so, please consider making a small donation to the United Service Organization (USO) this Christmas. I?ve been corresponding with some USO folks (as most of you know, I was a charity runner at the Marine Corps Marathon in DC two months ago and this cause is near and dear to my heart) and they tell me that this time of year, they are getting A LOT of supplies. However, with the troop surge in Afghanistan (an additional 30,000 troops to help expand and connect safe areas of the country), they would still appreciate any help they can get.



Regarding the monetary donation option: Donations made to Operation USO Care Package program (OUCP) pay for the cost of the care packages the USO assembles and distributes. A $25 donation covers the cost of one care package. More information about the USO Care Packages, photos and making a donation are all available via the following links:



About: http://www.uso.org/whatwedo/usoprogr...socarepackage/

Donate: https://www.uso.org/donate/custom.aspx?id=565&

Recent Photos: http://www.facebook.com/#/album.php?...5354406&ref=mf



A USO rep in Afghanistan said that a hands down favorite and always in need item is - junk food. She says that their folks have what seems like 4 stomachs and can always eat. So, if in lieu of a cash donation you would like to actually pack and ship a package yourself, the suggestion is snacks (sealed) -and keeping the packages small enough to manage through the USPS.



Also, a friend deployed in Afghanistan shared that their particular group is sleeping on box springs (better than the ground, I suppose, but pretty hard on the back) so if you think you?d like to donate some creature comforts ? Walmart has a foam mattress pad for $13 (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...i_sku=10083472)?.just a thought J



The USPS actually has a flat rate Priority Mail box specifically for APO and FPO addresses ? VERY affordable! The address to send packages to is:



Pat Tillman Memorial USO



Bagram Air Field



TONY YOUNG, Country Director



APO AE 09354



If you do decide to play Santa for our troops this way, please let the manager of field operations know ? her contact information is: Sarah K. Kelley, Manager, Field Operations, 2111 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1200, Arlington, Virginia 22201 -703.908.6485 (Office) - skelley@uso.org . I am sure Sarah can give you the APO address of USO Centers in other countries you may wish to mail to (like Iraq) as well.



Again, thank you for considering this. It?s been a tough year for most of us ? but as I shop for children picked up from the Angel Tree program and drop change in the Salvation Army bucket, I think how richly blessed I am ? and that this is an easy and financially feasible way to spread a little cheer. I hope you do, too.



Merry Christmas, everyone!!!



Andrea



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The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,

I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.

My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,

My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,

Transforming the yard to a winter delight.



The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,

Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,

Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.

In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,

So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.



The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,

But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.

Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the

sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,

And I crept to the door just to see who was near.



Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,

A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,

Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.

Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,

Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.



"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,

"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!

Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,

You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,

Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts.



To the window that danced with a warm fire's light

Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,

I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."

"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,

That separates you from the darkest of times.



No one had to ask or beg or implore me,

I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.

My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,"

Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."

My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',

And now it is my turn and so, here I am.



I've not seen my own son in more than a while,

But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,

The red, white, and blue... an American flag.

I can live through the cold and the being alone,

Away from my family, my house and my home.



I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,

I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.

I can carry the weight of killing another,

Or lay down my life with my sister and brother.

Who stand at the front against any and all,

To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.."



" So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,

Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."

"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,

"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?

It seems all too little for all that you've done,

For being away from your wife and your son."



Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,

"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.

To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,

To stand your own watch, no matter how long.

For when we come home, either standing or dead,

To know you remember we fought and we bled.

Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,

That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."



PLEASE, would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many

people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our

U.S service men and women for our being able to celebrate these

festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people

stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.



BTW: from Snopes.com:

Badfisherman

Good Stuff--I am going to organize a donation program at my company and try to raise money for the USO care package fund. Since its so close to Christmas and the USO already has the assets in place I think a monetary donation will have the best chance of bringing Christmas cheer to our troops in time.