Robin's Nest

The Robin is the One
That speechless from her Nest
Submit that Home — and Certainty
And Sanctity, are best

~Emily Dickinson

Wreaths Across America

Remember the fallen;

Honor those who serve;

Teach our children the value of freedom.

http://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/

2007 will mark the 16th anniversary of holiday wreaths being sent from the State of Maine to Arlington National Cemetery. Each year the folks at Worcester Wreath Company make and decorate wreaths that will adorn over 5000 headstones of our Nation's fallen heroes - in what has become an annual event coordinated with the Cemetery Administration and the Maine State Society.

Row after row of bleached white stones, with evergreen wreaths and red bows - it is a stirring image to commemorate those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

What started over 15 years ago, as one's man's dream to honor Veterans with Maine wreaths for the holidays, has become an annual event cherished by many. Humbled with a new understanding about the impact the Arlington Wreath Project has made, not only in honoring the dead, but recognizing the sacrifices of the living, Morrill Worcester - President of Worcester Wreath Company committed himself to doing more, by reaching out across the country.

"Our goal is to expand the recognition of those who serve our country, both past, present, and future, as well as their families who deserve our support. Without the sacrifices of our veterans, there would be no opportunity to enjoy the freedoms, the life we live today."


“We make it our business to never forget.”

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

According to snopes.com, Merril Worcester not only provides the wreaths, but covers the trucking expense as well. The director of the cemetery selects the location for each year's wreath-laying, and the Project's plan is to cover all the areas of the park over a number of years.

Rest easy, sleep well my brothers.
Know the line was held, your job is done.
Rest easy, sleep well.
Others have taken up where you fell,
the line was held.
Peace, peace, and farewell...

http://www.snopes.com/photos/military/wreaths.asp

Craig R. Smith

Made in the USA: Spoiled brats

November 20, 2006

The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source, right?

The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the president. In essence 2/3s of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change.

So being the knuckle dragger I am, I starting thinking, ''What we are so unhappy about?''

Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter? Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job? Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?

Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state? Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter? I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all involved. Whether you are rich or poor they treat your wounds and even, if necessary, send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.

Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home, you may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of having a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes; an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers own cell phones and computers.

How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world? Maybe that is what has 67 percent of you folks unhappy.

Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S. yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.

I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled brats safe from terrorist attacks? The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me?

Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an ''other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable'' discharge after a few days in the brig.

So why then the flat out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells. Just ask why they are going to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book and do a TV special about how he didn't kill his wife but if he did … insane!

Stop buying the negative venom you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad.

I suggest this Thanksgiving we sit back and count our blessings for all we have. If we don't, what we have will be taken away. Then we will have to explain to future generations why we squandered such blessing and abundance. If we are not careful this generation will be known as the ''greediest and most ungrateful generation.'' A far cry from the proud Americans of the ''greatest generation'' who left us an untarnished legacy.

Note:
This commentary is the original work of Craig R. Smith, author, commentator and popular media guest. It has since been altered through multiple e-mail forwards with a Jay Leno joke appended to the end, creating the mistaken impression that the talk show host was the author of the entire piece.

From: Urban Legends

Virginia Tech, Profound Sorrow

"All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated...As therefore the bell that rings to a sermon, calls not upon the preacher only, but upon the congregation to come: so this bell calls us all: but how much more me, who am brought so near the door by this sickness....No man is an island, entire of itself...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." ~John Donne

FALLEN SCHOLARS

Please take a moment to pray for the victims and their families.


Ross Abdallah Alameddine, 20
Hometown: Saugus, Massachusetts
Sophomore, English, Business Information Technology
Student since fall 2005


Christopher James Bishop, 35
Hometown: Pine Mountain, Georgia
Instructor, Foreign Languages
1993 Fulbright Scholar
Residence in Blacksburg
Joined Virginia Tech on August 10, 2005


Brian Roy Bluhm, 25
Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Master's student, Civil Engineering
Major: Water Resources
Student since spring 2005


Ryan Christopher Clark, 22
Hometown: Martinez, Georgia
Senior, Psychology, Biology, English
Student since fall 2002


Austin Michelle Cloyd, 18
Hometown: Champaign, Illinois
Freshman, Honors Program, International Studies
Student since fall 2006


Jocelyne Couture-Nowak
Adjunct Professor, Foreign Languages
Residence in Blacksburg
Joined Virginia Tech on August 10, 2001


Daniel Perez Cueva, 21
Hometown: Woodbridge, Virginia
Junior, International Studies
Student since summer 2006


Kevin P. Granata, PhD, 45
Professor, Engineering Science and Mechanics
Residence in Blacksburg
Joined Virginia Tech on January 10, 2003


Matthew Gregory Gwaltney, 24
Hometown: Chester, Virginia
Master’s student, Environmental Engineering
Graduate student since fall 2001


Caitlin Millar Hammaren, 19
Hometown: Westtown, New York
Sophomore, International Studies
Student since fall 2005


Jeremy Michael Herbstritt, 27
Hometown: Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
Master's student, Civil Engineering
Student since fall 2006


Rachael Elizabeth Hill, 18
Hometown: Glenn Allen, Virginia
Freshman, Undecided
Student since fall 2006


Emily Jane Hilscher, 19
Hometown: Woodville, Virginia
Freshman, Animal and Poultry Sciences
Student since fall 2006


Jarrett Lee Lane, 22
Hometown: Narrows, Virginia
Senior, Civil Engineering
Student since fall 2003


Matthew Joseph LaPorte, 20
Hometown: Dumont, New Jersey
Sophomore, Leadership, Political Science
Student since fall 2005


Henry J. Lee, 20
Hometown: Roanoke, Virginia
Freshman, Computer Engineering
Student since fall 2006


Liviu Librescu, PhD, 76
Professor, Engineering Science and Mechanics
Residence in Blacksburg
Joined Virginia Tech on September 1, 1985


G.V. Loganathan, PhD, 51
Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Residence in Blacksburg
Joined Virginia Tech on December 16, 1981


Partahi Mamora Halomoan Lumbantoruan, 34
Hometown: Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia
Ph.D. candidate, Civil Engineering
Student since fall 2003


Lauren Ashley McCain, 20
Hometown: Hampton, Virginia
Freshman, International Studies
Student since fall 2006


Daniel Patrick O'Neil, 22
Hometown: Lincoln, Rhode Island
Master's student, Environmental Engineering
Student since fall 2006


Juan Ramon Ortiz, 26
Hometown: Bayamon, PR
Master's student, Civil Engineering, Water Resources
Student since fall 2006


Minal Hiralal Panchal, 26
Hometown: Mumbai, India
Master’s student, Architecture
Student since fall 2006


Erin Nicole Peterson, 18
Hometown: Centreville, Virginia
Freshman, International Studies
Student since fall 2006


Michael Steven Pohle, Jr., 23
Hometown: Flemington, New Jersey
Senior, Biological Sciences
Student since fall 2002


Julia Kathleen Pryde, 23
Hometown: Middletown, New Jersey
Master's student, Biological Systems Engineering
Student since fall 2001


Mary Karen Read, 19
Hometown: Annandale, Virginia
Freshman, Interdisciplinary Studies
Student since fall 2006


Reema J. Samaha, 18
Hometown: Centreville, Virginia
Freshman, University Studies
Student since fall 2006


Waleed Mohammed Shaalan, 32
Hometown: Zagazig, Egypt
Ph.D. student, Civil Engineering
Student since fall 2006


Leslie Geraldine Sherman, 20
Hometown: Springfield, Virginia
Junior, Honors Program, History
Student since fall 2005


Maxine Shelly Turner, 22
Hometown: Vienna, Virginia
Senior, Honors Program, Chemical Engineering
Student since fall 2003


Nicole Regina White, 20
Hometown: Smithfield, Virginia
Junior, International Studies, German
Student since fall 2004


More details at roanoke.com

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

THE WOUNDED

Katelyn Elizabeth Carney, 21
Hometown: Sterling, Virginia
Junior, International Studies

Jamal Anthony Carver, 21
Hometown: Virginia Beach, Virginia
Senior, Engineering Science and Mechanics

Guillermo Leonel Colman, 38
Hometown: Harrisonburg, Virginia
Graduate student, Civil Engineering

Allison Claire Cook, 19
Hometown: Richmond, Virginia
Sophomore, Nutrition and Food

Garrett Evans, 30
Hometown: Plainfield, Illinois
Senior, Economics and Statistics

Colin Lynam Goddard, 21
Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia
Senior, International Studies

Kristina Heeger, 19
Hometown: Fairfax, Virginia
Sophomore, International Studies

Justin Evans Klein, 20
Hometown: Catonsville, Maryland
Junior, Engineering Science and Mechanics

Sean Tyler McQuade, 22
Website
Hometown: Mullica Hill, New Jersey
Senior, Mathematics

Heidi Miller, 19
Hometown: Harrisonburg, Virginia
Freshman, Undeclared

Derek Jefferson O'Dell, 20
Hometown: Roanoke County
Sophomore, Biological Sciences

Kevin Tyler Sterne, 22
Hometown: Cumberland, Maryland
Senior, Electrical Engineering, Media Communications

Hilary Clare Strollo, 19
Hometown: Gibsonia, Pennsylvania
Sophomore, Biological Sciences

Matthew R. Webster, 23
Hometown: Smithfield, Virginia
Engineering Science and Mechanics


More details at roanoke.com

Reports by washingtonpost.com

Jonathan Swain, continued

The Miraculous Life of Jonathan Swain

(continued)

By Keith Morrison,
Correspondent, NBC News

July 7, 2006

Neil Willenson, founder of Camp Heartland, a summer camp for children with AIDS, met Jon at the National Institute of Health when Jon was 10 years old. Neil invited Jon to Camp Heartland— to play, to forget even for a little while his daily struggles with AIDS. But he also asked him to talk to children and adults about his disease, to educate, to give them some of the hope that kept him going.

As he remembered it... the realization came slowly that cocaine had stolen his mother away, that in her desperation to get high, she’d forgotten his needs. Luckily Jon had his older brother Josh to protect him, not only from the world outside but his own mother, but then Josh left. It was hard, even for a boy as strong as Jon, to withstand the downward spiral of a junkie for very long. A young child on the verge of death had become his mother’s parent— her nurse, as she flirted with the fatal dangers of her addiction.

Jon Swain, neglected and depressed, gave up. He stopped taking his AIDS medication. For all those years he had hoped, but now, he didn’t anymore. But Jon says it felt strange. He wasn’t used to just giving up. And that’s when a name came into his head: The one adult he could trust.

Neil Willenson, the founder of Camp Heartland, who’d bonded with Jon through all the speeches they’d given together, answered the phone at one o’clock in the morning.

Willenson: He kept asking, “Can I live with you? Can I live with you?”

Jon Swain: I said, “I know you don’t know me.” I said, “I know I’m just some kid from your camp. And I know how bad it would look but I have nothing else. I have nothing.”

Neil knew the one thing Jon needed was a stable home. He’d made it his life’s mission to help children with AIDS and here was a real opportunity to make a difference. He said yes.

In mid-1998, Sheila had finally kicked it- no more drugs and a stable job. She had moved to Milwaukee to be near her son in whom her interest was once again insatiable. Jon told Neil she was “mom” again. Then one day, when Jon was 16, the past caught up. In October 1999, Sheila answered the door to a dozen FBI agents with an arrest warrant for her drug dealing days in Iowa. She could do nothing but plead guilty, she was guilty. In a lifetime of bad days Jon called sentencing day the worst. It was hard that day to face his mom. Sheila Swain was sentenced to 12 years in prison. She’s an inmate at the federal correctional institution in Dublin, California, reflecting on the mother she failed to be.

Part 3: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13756759/page/3/

~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpts from Part 4

~~~~~~~~~~

In June 2001, Jonathan Swain was posing for photos with Neil Willenson, the man who’d given him a home these last 5 years, who’d made sure Jon got back on his AIDS medication and began to look after himself again. His mom was now in prison, serving 12 years for drug-dealing. He might have abandoned her; he didn’t. He went to see her and made a video of his high school graduation just for her.

The future was a strange and unsettling concept for Jonathan Swain, but he knew there was someone who could help him figure it out— his older brother Josh. Josh, now a cook, lived in a small town called Vernal, Utah. Was Jon ready to leave the understanding world around him, ready to face possible discrimination, to fight for acceptance one more time? Was Jon ready for Vernal, Utah? People who knew Jon asked a different question: Was Vernal ready for him?

Jon, in a way only Jon could, wasted no time in making his presence known. He was back with his brother again, weathering the storm — this time of food orders — side by side, just like old times. And then, the most unexpected thing: Jon met a girl. Her name is Amber. She was a waitress at the restaurant. She liked Jon. And Jon liked her. Jon had always been upfront about his disease. With girls that usually meant the end of any romantic relationship, but not with Amber.

Amber came from a tight-knit Mormon family. She had two little kids. She was separated, soon to be divorced. She was bright, rebellious... and in love. Jon used a condom to minimize any chance of infecting Amber with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Still, when Amber told her parents about Jon, they warned her: she was playing Russian roulette.

On June 6, 2004, when Amber was eight months pregnant, she and Jon got married. Amber’s parents attended the ceremony, finally ready to embrace Jon as one of their own. Then, six weeks later, on July 27th, 2004, it was time.

Jon and Amber were in the delivery room. Jon was there, of course. He was nervous and almost dazed, in utter amazement that this was happening to him at all. Jon watched open-mouthed as the baby appeared, cut umbilical chord, and handed the baby to Amber. Just like that, the boy who was never supposed to live, was now a father to a son to "Jett Davis Swain." They tested Jett as soon as he was born and there was no HIV. Jett was healthy.

Part 4: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13756759/page/4/

To be continued.

Neil Willenson

A Simple Act of Kindness

In 1991, Neil Willenson, a native of Mequon, Wisconsin, was 20 years old and a senior at the University of Wisconsin- Madison. He was majoring in TV/Film and, upon graduation, had plans to seek a career as a feature film producer in Hollywood. All that changed, however, when Neil read the headline in his hometown newspaper: "AIDS hysteria in Mequon." A young boy with AIDS named Nile Sandeen was entering kindergarten in the small town of Mequon, and the community was up in arms. Fear and prejudice filled the air. At the center of all this controversy was a five-year-old boy who only wanted to go to school, who only wanted a chance to make friends.

When Neil read this story in his hometown paper, he knew he had to get involved. For the next two years, Neil got to know Nile. He got to know Nile's brother, Sean, and his mother, Dawn Wolff; an entire family affected by AIDS in the center of America's heartland. Neil compared his own life-history in Mequon to Nile's. On the sidewalks, streets and in the schools of Mequon, where Neil had found joy and friendship, Nile had found only isolation and despair. Fear, ignorance and prejudice had turned what had been a heartland for Neil Willenson into a wasteland for Nile Sandeen. Neil was so moved by his experiences with the Wolff family that in 1992, he and friend Brad Elliott produced created and distributed a documentary film on the family entitled, "One More Day - a Family Living with AIDS." This award winning family was broadcast on PBS and shown at schools nationwide.

In 1993, Nile turned seven years old. Like millions of other children, more than anything, he wanted to go to summer camp. He wanted to run; to play in the sun with kids his own age. He wanted to sit around a campfire at the end of a day filled with fun activities and sing silly summer camp songs in the dancing firelight - to eat breakfast in a dining hall ringing with joy and activity.

A Life-Changing Mission

And so in 1993, inspired by Nile Sandeen, Neil Willenson founded Camp Heartland - a summer camp program that accepted both children infected with AIDS and children who were affected by the disease. The camp was equipped with state-of-the-art medical facilities able to handle the special needs of immuno-compromised campers. It was a summer camping program where children living with HIV/AIDS could step out of the shadows of secrecy into the light of openness and honesty - a place where they could have the best week of their lives.

During that first summer, 73 children with AIDS were welcomed to Camp Heartland at a rented campsite in Wisconsin with funds raised by Neil Willenson and a few dozen college students. After five years of renting campsites around the country, Camp Heartland in 1997 purchased its own, permanent home: The Camp Heartland Center in Willow River, Minnesota.

Set amidst 88 wooded acres in Northern Minnesota, with access to three lakes and miles of wilderness trails, the Camp Heartland Center is an extraordinary haven. It is a light in the darkness for children who live every day of their lives in a thickly shadowed world of chronic illness and discrimination.

Camp Heartland - http://tinyurl.com/jpzl6