Website www.517prct.org
Mail Call Ben517@aol.com
517TH ST. LOUIS REUNION BEGINS:THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 2008 THRU MONDAY, JUNE 30, 2008THE BANQUET WILL BE ON SUNDAY JUNE 29
Information and Registration Forms:
Recent website additions:
Major John "Boom Boom" Alicki, Reg. HQ
Leo Dean's 109th jump at the Palm Springs Reunion
Blue Book Magazine articles - 1947-1948
Paras en Provence: Le 517th PRCT Dans Les Alpes
Maritime
from Armes Militaria
Magazine (cover, article)
Betty Traver
Bank Account
A
92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each
morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably coifed and shaved perfectly,
even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. His wife of 70
years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of
waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told
his room was ready.
As he maneuvered his
walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room,
including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window.
"I love
it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been
presented with a new puppy.
"Mr. Jones, you
haven't seen the room; just wait."
"That doesn't have anything to do with
it," he replied.
"Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time.
Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged
.... it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. "It's a decision
I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed
recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work,
or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.
Each day is a
gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy
memories I've stored away. Just for this time in my life.
Old age is like
a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in.
So, my advice to
you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories!
Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. I am still depositing."
Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart
from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3 Live simply.
4.. Give
more.
5. Expect less.
Mike Kane
Hi Ben.I meant to pass on this link last May 2 when it appeared in the New York Times "This Day in History". It is an obituary they published on that date in 1945, after it was confirmed that Hitler was dead. Very detailed, well written account of the rise and fall of a madman. It's an interesting historical document from the most incredible period of American history, written at a time when newspaper stories could paint a picture better than today's wide screen high definition tv's. I thought others on the Mail Call list might be interested in reading it.http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0420.html
All the best.
Mike Kane.