If a picture is worth a thousand words, how much for a bunch of cartoons?












My Aunty Val sent these. I thought they were worth a post and a chuckle. Kudos to the authors.

"THESE EAGLES SUFFER WE LITTLE BIRDS TO SING".



Recently, I was asked to comment on if the soldiers feel like they are being used as fodder by President Bush. Working with the injured from Iraq and Afghanistan, I get a good picture of the soldier's state of mind, especially those who come through my hospital in Germany.

I have been in Landstaul Germany for almost a year and I have seen quite alot of injured soldiers physically but amazingly only a few who were bitter, angry or felt that they shouldn't have been in Iraq or Afghanistan. I met a commander of a strker battalian who when one of his soldiers got hit in the neck and almost died, he personally called the young man's Mom, comforted her, then gathered his men together and found the enemy and ended up on my ward as a result.

He gave me a link to the journalist who was with them and it shows pictures of what they do and stories of how they have helped the people there.

I think it will suprise you to find that the soldiers themselves feel 100 feet tall when they are down range. It is more of a neutral view then what you see on the news. go to my links section to go to the reporters site.

I don't tell people what side to be on politically, but I can tell you that the majority of the soldiers I take care of do not want to leave, they fight to go back to the war. On the other hand not every oneof them is a President Bush fan either but they still want to fight, and help rebuild those countries.

I met Don King last week, and have heard really bad stories of the man, that he is a crook , a murderer etc. Personally I thought the man was a American hero on that particular day because he took time to honor the soldiers, and used his celebrity status in a positive way.

I don't allow my personal view or the person's reputed acts, cloud or diminish the good things that they do. I guess the same goes with the President. You may not always agree with their means or their agenda, but now that we are there, we have to get the job done, so that the rest of us back home do not have to go through any more 911 type tragic events. I don't want my kids to grow up without me, but if I have to give my life to help protect them in the long run I will.

Regardless of how we feel politically, the fact is these young soldiers need our support as Americans first. There is no clear answer to whether the war is right or wrong, sometimes people have to respectively agree to disagree. But when young folks are hurting there is a clear answer. They don't need our accusations, they need our love and support to help nuture them back to health, otherwise we will have the messed up generation that followed the Vietnam War.

I have an Uncle I have never met. Uncle Merv. He was killed at age 26, shot down over Belguim on the last days of the war, fighting Nazi Germany. He left a wife and 3 kids. I actually went to the cemetary in Belguim, where he is buried. I felt alot of pride, and emotion due to the fact that he died so young and that he died protecting his family, including me from experiencing the horror that befell the jews. This is what was written on his tombstone "These Eagles Suffer we Little Birds to sing". This is relevant today, and should make us proud of our modern soldiers as a whole, and help keep us focused on the task ahead of us, building a road of freedom and of peace

It is good to "agree to disagree" on points that divide us, and to unite on those common things we share. I hope this has been helpful. Please e-mail if you want and check out the rest of my "blog" especially the post of how you can donate some of the things the soldiers need, if you would like to help.

Have a great day.
Cheers

SSG OZ

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Landstuhl Army Medical Center:- Donations for the Soldiers

I know that alot of you out there would like to know how to donate items for the wounded soldiers that come through the LRMC hospital. I spoke to the Chaplain Services Office and they sent me a list of the things they need the most. There are many things which they have a surplus of, and others which always seem in short supply. As a nurse on the floor, I can say that I have seen how thankful the soldiers are for your giving and how much they appreciate all the gifts that they receive. You can add a letter with your address if you want to so that they can write back and express their thanks.

The easiest and most helpful way to give a gift is by making a cash contribution. This gives greater flexibility to purchase the most urgent needs in a timely and predictable way and to control the flow and distribution of the items based on current patient loads.

You can participate by sending your check made payable to IMA-E CTOF-WW, marked for "Wounded Warrior". All items should be sent to the following address: Commander, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, ATTN: MCEUL-CH, CMR 402, APO AE 09180.

Another way people help is by mailing specific items. Some on going needs are…

Athletic shoes
Men’s sizes – 9 to 15
Women’s sizes – 6 to 9

Men’s and women’s Fall and Winter jackets
Sizes medium through extra large
Good quality Shavers
Boxer Underwear and Boxer Briefs, Medium - Large

Phone Cards

Air-evacuation Pillows- small couch size pillows, found on some airlines, can be decorated with patriotic messages, national colors etc. I found these at http://www.nursinghomeapparel.com/shop/product88.html, for 55-60 bucks/dozen. but any cloth type would work

DVD's. Any ones are great.

PLEASE NOTE: ONLY NEW ITEMS ARE ACCEPTED

For more information about specific needs at this time please contact The Pastoral Services Office secretary at DSN 486-8143 or COMMERICIAL TELEPHONE is 06371-86-8399. From the United States you will drop the 0 prior to the commercial number.

A PLAN TO LOSE WEIGHT WITHOUT REALLY TRYING

One of my friends from the Army gave me an outline of how to lose weight without really trying. This is her plan, but try it and see if it works for you. Someone once said that "If you aim at nothing you are bound to hit it". Have a go at some or all of the plan for a month or so. Let me know how it works.

This is The Plan: 5 Ways to Improve Your Diet and Lifestyle
If you are going to do 5 things to improve your health, here they are: Do the 1st one for two weeks, then add the second for two weeks then add the third for two weeks and within 6 weeks you will have easily created the 3 habits to sustain a healthy life style. (You will see 4 and 5 will come naturally within week 1)

Drink more water.
This should add up to just about 2L a day. Specifics: 1 glass when you wake up, 1 glass before any meal, 1 glass before any snacks or deserts, 1 glass before you go to bed. This will get you started. Drinking more water helps your body naturally raise its metabolism and drinking it before you eat helps you to feel fuller so you eat less.
Take a multivitamin (females should also take calcium in addition)
Most multivitamin’s want you to take them 3 times a day. Taking vitamins is important because they give your body the nutrients needed to help your body perform at its best. Cravings come from your body not having the nutrients it needs, so you have cravings to eat in hopes to get those nutrients. Usually we crave foods that are not healthy for us so taking vitamins helps control those cravings. Hint: Put some vitamins in a zip lock bag and take them to work and leave them there, or in your back pack/day planner. Then you’ll have some with you incase you forget to bring them that day. You will see that as you start to get used to taking them you will automatically start to eat better which will make step 3 easier.
Eat more often through out the day.
This also helps raise your metabolism. The trick is to eat at least 5 times a day and no more than 6. With that said you need to watch what you eat and I don’t mean watch it while it goes in your mouth.
The best rule of thumb is eat food in as close to it’s natural form as possible. If you are going to eat fruit, eat fresh fruit. If you are going to eat potatoes eat real potatoes and not boxed ones and bread if you don’t like heavy wheat breads, eat a light wheat bread. It’s almost the same as white. All the chemicals and additives from processed foods are not good for your body and they actually slow your body down and you’ll have less energy. Follow the food pyramid as much as you can. Eat as much protein as you would like if it is cooked in a healthy way (you know, not fried) Chicken, Turkey, and Fish are better choices for protein. The trick for me was when I was craving something or for my snacks I started eating a lot more fruit. It is naturally sweet, so that helped me. Of course you can mix it up and put what you like in there of course. Try new things and be open minded when it comes to food. You might find some thing you like that is better for you as a snack or a meal than what you would used to have eaten. You can at times eat desert or eat what you like. Just don’t eat it every day or every meal and eat it in smaller portions. Here is an example of what a day’s intake could look like.

Day:
Breakfast (0800ish): Glass of water & vitamins
Bowl of oat meal (any cereal would do, try not to make too sugary)
1 piece of fruit with cottage cheese or yogurt
Or 1-2 hard boiled eggs (with or without the yoke)

Mid morning snack (1000ish): Glass of water
1 piece of fruit or vegetables
1 granola bar (not one with chocolate chips and such)

Lunch (1200ish): Glass of water & vitamins
Turkey Sand-which (or a chicken breast salad)
1 piece of fruit
Another side dish (chips, potato salad, etc, about 1-1&1/2 cups)

Mid afternoon snack (1430ish): Glass of water
1 cup of pretzels
A few pieces of beef jerky

Dinner (1800ish): Glass of water & vitamins
1 piece of meatloaf (or meat of your choice)
Side salad / vegetables


Evening snack or dinner desert
(no later than 2000): Glass of water
Small bag of popcorn, light on the butter
Or 1 cup frozen yogurt or frozen fruit bar (Popsicle)
Or pudding
Or angel food cake and fruit with no whip cream. Light sugar sprinkled.
Exercise.
I’m not going to elaborate on this because you are already working on this with the army so keep it up! This is definitely important because it also helps raise your metabolism and burn calories.
Take a free day!
This is the best and easiest one, and my personal favorite. Let me elaborate. I got this from the Body for Life program if any of you have ever read that book you will know what I’m talking about. If you are consistent with your diet (meaning food intake cause we are not on a diet, we are changing our life style so we can maintain our weight loss) and exercise, this free day really does work. What you do is you pick and plan a day that you can eat what ever you like and not feel guilty about it because you’ve been doing so good. The key is planning it in advance because otherwise anytime someone brings in a cake to work you’ll say it’s your free day. Which we all know happens all the time, especially as hospital workers. Pick your day because it’s the weekend or because your going to a party or out to dinner and if you want to cause there is nothing special going on just pick one to go to burger king or have some pizza, eat that ice cream and brownies. You get the picture. The idea of allowing yourself a free day once a week is so your goals feel smaller. It now doesn’t seem like you are never going to have any of the things you like for 6-12 weeks you can have them once a week. For many of us, food means pleasure, comfort, or even an addiction. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying that you “eat to live not live to eat” well, now you can have both. My grandma once told me, “If you’re going to eat something that you think maybe is not the best for you, you better enjoy it because the stress you will create from worrying about it is worse for you than what ever it is you are eating.” So enjoy that free day and maintain the rest and you can’t loose.


To all those who read this: I am not a dietician and this is not official medical advice. This is just my opinion on what works and how to go about loosing weight the “right way” It worked for me. I lost 25 pounds with this. Tweak it and the foods so it works for you too, with your schedule and what you like to eat. If you work night shift, the night is your day so try to treat it the same way. Routine is the key. One thing I didn’t mention was getting adequate sleep. Your body recovers when it sleeps and you will have more energy to do all those army work outs.

The most important clue is:
Don’t give up on your self. All too often we say, oh well since I ate those cookies (or what ever we ate we felt we shouldn’t have) we say our day is ruined and we might as well eat what ever we want. Don’t do that! Say since I ate those cookies I’ll have a salad for dinner instead or I won’t have desert at the party. Every time you put something to your mouth it’s a choice, not by the day.

PHYSICAL TRAINING - Army Style

Over the last few months I have been one of the instructors in the PT Improvement Class (PTIC), and have helped organise and conduct a one month schedule of intense training to try and improve the individuals PT score.

After 6 weeks, we are starting to see an average improvement in the overall fitness levels.

This is our basic schedule and can be used in conjunction with a good eating plan to help build fitness and overall health.

Week 1

• Monday- 1 lap (fast) x 12 w/ 40 second rest
• Tuesday - Double max, double the max level of pushups and situps that person needs to max. Usually 90-120 pu Females 140-160pu Males. 140-160 su Both M&F
• Wednesday- warmup lap, 3laps,2 laps, 1 lap, 2 laps, 3 laps, cooldown lap. Hard runs w/ 1min rest in between.
• Thursday- Rest
• Friday- Gym 8-12 stations, targeting upper and lower body, 2mins each, 1 min rest in between. Low weight high intensity.

  

Week2

• Monday - 1/4 lap sprints w/ partner x 10 laps, plus 1 warm up and 1 cooldown lap.
• Tuesday- 25m drills. High exertion sprints, kareokes, skips, backward runs, bearcrawls, kangaroo hops, jumps, lunges, flutter kicks, situps and pushups, 3 laps cooldown.
• Wednesday- 200m incline run/200m decline sprints x 10
• Thursday- rest
• Friday- PT test self evaluation

Week3

• Monday - 1 lap fast 40 sec rest x 12
• Tuesday- Double max pushups and situps (see week 1)
• Wednesday- 1/4 lap sprints x 12 laps
• Thursday- rest
• Friday- Gym (see week 2)

Week4

• Monday - Stretches plus light cardio exercise to increase heartrate
• Tuesday - PT test
• Wednesday - long run around post (3 miles)
• Thursday - rest
• Friday - Gym (see week 2)

Most of these exercises are self driven, and allows the person to work at their own pace and effort, but still with the aim of completing the exercise.

ENJOY THE GOOD!

Today was one of those days that could have started better, but turned out ok. I won't go into details, but I hope that the things I learned will hold me in good shape for the future.

After the not so good morning things did improve. One of America's icons showed up today with the producer of another of the nation's television icons. I am talking about the one and the only Don King and the co-producer of the Simpsons, Sam Simon.

"Only in America" was the caption on Mr King's shirt. He was certainly a character, and welcomed. Anytime someone comes to help encourage soldiers and show their patrioticness, is a good thing. Mr. Simon, though less vocal, drew pictures of Bart and added a new feature to the wall space of several American Homes.

Culminating this day, I went to the movies and watched the 'Bad News Bears' and later at the Jimmy Fallon/Drew Berrymore movie 'Fever Pitch'. Both revolving around baseball, it helped move my focus off the day onto something more important. Tonight as I prepare for bed and another day in a few hours, I can tell myself, this is just one day. So don't worry about the bad, enjoy the good.

CHILLI COOK OFF

In celebration of Spanish-American week, the hospital offered a "chilli cook-off". I have no spanish blood what so ever, but I do like chilli, (a direct result of three years living in Texas). Deciding to experiment a little, I journeyed to the comissary with the beginning of a receipe in my head. With limited resources I decided to start with canned chilli, canned chopped tomatoes, ranch beans and add the swedish meatball sauce from my friend John's receipe. His ingredients were simple Picante sauce and Grape Jelly. To cut a long story short, after experimenting on my roomates and getting the thumbs up, I made a pot, added caramalised onions and entered the cookoff. Well I didn't win. But my pot was scraped clean, everyone apparently enjoying my mix of ingredients. I even had a cool name "Montana Mild Fire". Not to worry I should win the next time we celebrate "National Australian-American Week".

Montana Mild Fire
3 cans Wolf Chilli
1lg can chopped tomatoes
3 cans texas ranch beans

1 can picante sauce
1 cup grape jelly

1/2 onion chopped
tblspn honey
butter

Fry the onions then add all ingredients, bring to boil and then simmer for 1 hour.
Let cool and reheat the following day.

My Family

This is an update on my crew, including the family pets.

• Heidi, married to me for 15 years. A saint. Works as a CPA, likes to swim, watch movies, read, hike in the woods. Has a cool elephant collection. Was the National Gelbvieh Ambassador" in 1987. Is a great Mum (Mom), also a talented dog groomer, and took Judo as a kid.

• Emily, the oldest at 13. Born a cat, is a very talented cartoonist, and especially likes to draw Japanese Anime. She is an up and coming novelist, likes to read, especially Harry Potter and the Narnia Chronicles. Enjoys horses, taking care of animals, and listening to music. She won a purple ribbon for hog showmanship this summer. She wants to be either a vet or a teacher when she gets older.

• 
• Matthew, 12. He likes any type of video game, especially Tony Hawk, and has played Age of the Empires since second grade. He loves his cats, and is sad after we lost Max to a coyote a year ago. He likes to collect foreign money, and is an avid saver. Matt too is an excellent reader, and excells in school. He has played baseball, and is involved in 4H where he got Grand Champion for his Pavlova, and a blue ribbon for showmanship. Matt hasn't decided what he wants to be when he grows up, but we think either a banker or the next Bill Gates.says he wants to be a chief software designer.

• Shannon, 10. A tough kid. Didn't flinch on riding the roller coasters this summer. Goes to Twae Kwando lessons, and is learning the trumpet. Is a Daddy's girl. Wants to play sports this year. She is doing well in school and likes showing her animals in the 4H also, and has many ribbons. She collects dolls and stuffed toys. She is excellent with animals and may want to be a vet also

• Our pets

1. Barley, an English Springer. A four-year old in a dog suit
2. Molly, a chocolate lab. A great bear tracker
3. Sarah, a wheaton/chow, also good at tracking bears.
4. Stella, an arab gelding
5. Bandit, Stormy, Cleo and Moggy, the cat crew
6. Sugie, a Sugar glider
7. Ghost, the portuguise fighting fish
8. Pixie, the rabbit
9. Ducks and Chickens

GRANDPA JOE


I never met my Grandfather, as he died before I was born, but I have always felt close. Partly as we share the same middle name and also now that I too am a soldier. I came across this article and felt that it was someting I wanted to add to my blog. I also added some old images , and a letter (not from my Grandfather), that I have from that time to help paint a picture of what life must have like for Joe and all the other brave souls who fought and died during that time..... SSG Oz


Private Joseph William Collins No. 3787 enlisted in Adelaide on 11th. July 1916. At the time he was 20 years 4 months old, 5foot 7inches and weighed 148lbs. According to his medical records he did not suffer from amongst many other conditions, Scrofula, Phthisis, inveterate cutaneous disease, syphilis, defective intelligence or any other disease or physical defect calculated to unfit him for duties of a soldier.

After initial training he embarked Adelaide on the S.S. Commonwealth on 21st. Sept. that year and disembarked in Plymouth on the14th. Nov. 1916After a short period in hospital in January 1917 for inflammation of the joints he proceeded to France on 28th. Feb. 1917Joe was taken on the strength of 32nd. Battalion on the 6th. Mar. 1917. Assigned to 9 Platoon in C Company during a period that saw the battalion participating to some extent during the following battles.BapaumeBullecourtYpresMenin RoadPolygon WoodA severe leg wound (referred to in his medical records in one spot as a gunshot wound and in another as a shrapnel wound) to his right leg on 25th. Oct. 1917 saw Joe in hospital in England by the 30th. October.Following his rehabilitation he returned to his unit on 12th. June 1918 in time for the 32nd Battalion to engage in some more battles before it was withdrawn for training and rebuilding.After the Armistice he returned to Australia and was discharged at Port Denison on 6th. January 1919.As a result of his service Joe was entitled to wear the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

THE TREE vs THE FRUIT

They say the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree, but I think the opposite is also true. The tree doesn't fall far from it's fruit. For example how many of us parents have found ourselves doing things with our kids and then being totally consumed by it to the point where we no longer have a life? For example. On my recent trip back home I spent some good quality time with each of my three kids, including watching cartoon network and playing on our playstation. After being beat repeatedly by my 12 year old son, Matthew I gradually developed the basic skill of operating a game controller. It was fun but I felt that the roles were reversed and that it was Matt teaching me. Back in Germany, I am fortunate to have some roomates who are also role reversed and spend considerable hours playing video games.

As I get older I find myself acting younger in some ways. Is this an attempt to slow down the aging process? I am not sure. I know that when I was younger I couldn't wait until I could get rich, have a nice car and do all the good stuff that adults do. Now, I am enjoying watching my children grow and trying to participate more in their lives. Kids are cool. They frustrate you at times but they are also rewarding if you let them. I probably have 8 years or so before they leave the nest, so I think I am probably in the middle of not slowing down the aging process for me, but delaying the time before the apple leaves the tree for good.

MEETING WILLY

The first inpression that you get when meeting Willy Nelson, is his kindness. It shows in his eyes his manner and is reflected by the people around him. I also thought that he looked like a cool hippie with those long braids.
From whatever side of the fence you decide to look at him, Willy is certainly a one of a kind, dyed in the wool American original. I was pretty impressed. Firstly for his performance, and how he stole the show with his smoky but strong voice, and familiar tunes, but also for his willingness to embrace soldiers. His whole focus while we sat there in his trailer, was on the injured soldiers and the work that we do for them as medical personel. It was very comfortable and relaxed, and even 4 months later I still am overawed by the whole experience, being glad that the impression of an individual who I have so long admired, was not disappointed by reality.

TOO LAZY TO BIKE

My German $600 Hooptie died not long ago, the victim of a broken timing belt, and the enormous amount of cash it would take to fix it. The bright side was that it carked it right in front of a Burger King (Hungry Jack's), and not on the autobahn. The downside was that now I had to catch a bus or ride my bike. At the time I wasn't too enthused about either choice.

I always thought that biking was for people too lazy to run. Well, about three weeks ago I went on a long mountain bike ride with a couple of mates. It was really hard work, and alot of fun. That day and the next I put on over 40 miles, and have biked another 50 or so since.

I decided that when I get back to Montana, that I would go biking more often. I even traded my freebie walmart special bike in for a 21speed schwim. (A red one). There are so many trails here in Germany, a product of a poor transport system after the war and centuries of pilgrimages by priests and travellers. I have at least two old castles within cooee, and an old railway line that extends all the way to France. So if you are up to it come join me on a ride sometime either her e or in Montana. Try and keep up!