Stuff from my Inbox-Playing Catch-Up

Work and Life this past week just seem to have conspired to limit my computer time,lol, so I have numerous odds and ends that I wanted to pass on, and am just now finding the time to do so.

First of all, it looks like I Won't be able to attend the 2008 Milblog Conference this year,darn.  It won't be held in DC, but will be in Las Vegas, and JP of Milblogging.com announced it on March 8th (so you can see how far behind I am on getting news out,lol:)

Breaking News: Milblog Conference 2008 Sneak Peek

For more from JP,  his platoon will be featured on PBS Frontline on April 1, Wow!

Bad Voodoo’s War on PBS FRONTLINE, April 1st

 

A Fellow  Soldiers Angel  member and friend up in CT does a great job of passing things on to me, particularly to do with  Anysoldier.com  ,and she sent me this story that is posted also at this  News Link  on Anysoldier (scroll down the page):

   " Hello everyone, this is Taylor Batten.  How are you doing?  I am ok, a bit sick but nothing I can't handle.

 

    I need your help please.  I am trying to get emails and cards for veterans and when I get them all, I am going to take them to local nursing homes and then the VA nursing homes and deliver them to our veterans.  It doesn't have to be a holiday or Veteran's Day to say thank you to a veteran does it?  I don't think so and I want our veterans to know they are appreciated.  Especially our older veterans in the homes, they might not get many visitors and might not feel like they are loved.  Can you help me?  You can send an email back to me marked VETERAN and then we will print it out.  I will cross out your email address if you want to.  Or you can send a card marked VETERAN in care of Taylor Batten and I will not open the card but take it to the homes and let the veterans open them.  Also if you can, pass this around to anyone you know that you might think will help me.

 

    My email address is  cab24@verizon.net  and the address to send cards to is:

 

VETERAN in care of Taylor Batten

PO Box 350

Mendon, MI 49072

 

    I will be collecting for a couple of weeks to make sure I get them all.  Thank you very much if you can help me!  And remember, pass this on to other people if you think they can help.  It is our duty to make sure our veterans know they are appreciated and this is one way I can do that.

 

    Thank you,

 

    GySgt. Taylor Batten"

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The 'back story' on Taylor Batten, for any of you who don't know it, can be found at One Marine's View  Here 

and then I also found a link to a mention of her here, she was one of the  winners of the 2007  STAR Awards

The Sharing Time And Resources (STAR) Awards recognize outstanding volunteers who exemplify the essence of volunteerism. Each year, individuals and groups from the Kalamazoo County area are recognized for their volunteerism during the year.

(hey, I grew up right outside of Kalamazoo!!) 

And, here on  the list of winners , it had This to say about Taylor:

YOUTH VOLUNTEER

Taylor Batten
At 13 years old, Taylor Batten has dedicated her time to showing U.S. military personnel that she supports them. The Three Rivers teen, winner of this year's Youth Volunteer STAR Award, sends cards, letters, e-mail messages and care packages to soldiers who are stationed overseas. She attends the funerals of fallen soldiers as a member of the Patriot Guard Riders.  She has visited wounded Marines at the national Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. Recently, Taylor held a blanket drive for the troops in Iraq and collected nearly 150 blankets to ship out. “It just popped into my mind that really anything that the troops get from home helps out a lot with their psychological well-being, and, believe it or not, it gets really cold out there,” said the Mendon Junior High School student. “It was just a good idea and it was fun to do.”

With all of her volunteer activities, Taylor does not seem to be a typical 13-year-old girl. Her health problems also set her apart. She has Turner syndrome, a chromosomal condition characterized by a partially or completely missing second sex chromosome. As a result of her condition, Taylor has impaired visual-spatial functioning, chronic-fatigue syndrome and scoliosis, has had a number of sinus surgeries and heart surgery, and is very small for her age. The STAR Award is not the first time Taylor has been honored for her efforts. In October, she was named an honorary U.S. Marine Private First Class and an honorary state-ride captain for the Patriot Guard Riders. That December, she was promoted to honorary U.S. Marine Sergeant. Her volunteer activities have not been limited by her illness. She said she draws on her Marine courage to deal with it. “It's always been in me that I want to do something,” she said. “The Marine Corps motto is honor, courage and commitment. I feel that I need to keep up with that and do everything I can. I just feel like it's the right thing to do.” Currently, Taylor is raising money for Hope for the Warriors, an organization that collects money to help wounded military members and their families. Her health condition prohibits her from ever joining the Marines as an active member, but by volunteering for a cause she loves, Taylor can still be involved, said her mother and nominator, Cathy Batten. “She's looking outside of herself,” her mother said. “All this help that she's doing, she's helping others, but in the long run we think it's helping her.”  By Emily Monacelli - Special to the Gazette

 

A very special young lady, can't you please help her help our veterans? and send her an email or card to pass along?

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CT Soldiers Angel also sent me This interesting link

Click here: Running Across America For Jesus - Home Page

about a  Marine Vietnam Veteran

 

and,finally, here's another book to add to my list of books I want to read (in all my spare time?lol:)

Reaching Past the Wire: A Nurse at Abu Ghraib by Deanna Germain and Connie Lounsbury

 

so,now, I'm off to work on my Soldiers Angels Web Surfing post, late again! for that one,too!