Honor Flight

Happy Memorial Day

  

A proper heroes return, Papa being interviewed for
the news,Highlights from a once in a lifetime party!

Jim Haley circa 1952, Japan

I can not think of a more appropriate way to celebrate Memorial Day, then with a return blog covering the Northwest Ohio Honor Flight on Wednesday May 21, 2014. Of course each and every trip that is made through this amazing organization is very special. However, this one was particularly significant. Why? Well, there happened to be an extra special passenger, Jim Haley aboard the 757 Boeing, that made the flight to Washington D.C that day! Mr. Haley, who I will affectionately refer to as Papa from here on out, had been on a waiting list and finally received clearance that he would be on one of the last 3 Honor Flights from Toledo, OH. Needless to say since Papa is bound to a wheelchair and lives at the Genoa Care Center, vacations are out of the question these days. This literally was the opportunity of a lifetime and not just for him but for our family too!

Selfie with Papa, Colton and Papa showing their
special badges and a Korean War uniform!

When I was 18, I worked in the Congress building alongside Marcy Kaptur, to complete my Senior project. You see, I had high hopes of going into politics. I wanted to make a difference, change the world, be the voice of the people, yadda, yadda, yadda! Although I changed my mind during that trip, regarding a career in politics, I learned something even more important during my time in D.C. What I learned was simple, you CAN NOT teach history in a classroom or a book as well as you can show it to a child. I had years of history classes throughout school and nothing really set in, until I walked the paths of Arlington Cemetery and browsed through the Library of Congress. I think before you turn 18 it should be mandatory to take a pilgrimage to our nations capitol. Not just to see the sights and experience the rich history of our country but to be reminded of why we are lucky to live in America and have the right to vote.



A very proud Papa with his family!
The Maria R. getting ready to fly to D.C

 

Last Wednesday, I again got to SEE history instead of just hearing about it or reading a book on the subject. I saw elderly men who once in their prime fought bravely on the battlefield during war. I witnessed the unconditional love they have for their country. There were no political sides being taken between men that day, just the side of the United States of America. Something long forgotten in today's day and age, that we are

still first and foremost UNITED. I saw hundreds of people show up to welcome those 72 men back from the days journey, an ode to welcoming them home long ago. I watched my own children wave their flags and clap their little hands to the beat of, "God Bless America". But most importantly I realized that the man who sat across from me at the breakfast table, who yelled at me to get off the phone during dinner and told me I couldn't go to the basketball game because it was, "Too damn cold out", was a HERO. So while you are enjoying your hot dogs and hamburgers today, playing corn hole and drinking a Bud Light on your patio, remember to take time and thank a soldier for allowing you to live freely in the USA!!!




For more pictures click here! Thank you to the Genoa Care Center especially to Candace Camp for orchestrating everything, Steve Goodhand for being an amazing, selfless care taker and a veteran as well, Mike and Diane Haley for living in DC and meeting up with Jim so he could have family alongside and to NWO Honor Flight for making this all possible!


Did you thank a soldier today?



A very special THANK YOU to
Steve Goodhand, who went along as a
very helpful guardian... without you, this
opportunity would have never been
possible and Thank you for your
service to our country as well!  

Wicked, Weird and Wonderful

 

"RUN DOROTHY RUN!"

When I watch The Wizard of Oz, still to this day, I get a little nauseous.  You see one of my earliest memories is hiding behind a chair at my babysitter’s house while the other kids watched the movie.  I could not close my eyes tight enough.  She was coming for me in all her green glory and I couldn’t get the image out of my head.  No matter how tightly I closed my eyes and even with covering my ears, so as not to hear her voice, I still would go home at night and have nightmares.  It’s silly really, all the other kids could sit and laugh at the flying monkeys and sing along with the munchkins, while little Lisa sat cowardly in the corner.  Then it happened, I would get a burst of braveness and squint open one eye, look at the screen and cry.  I would go home and continue on like nothing had happened.  Playing with my Barbies and going about my business.  My Mom would put me to bed, tuck me in tight and I would snuggle up with my stuffed friends, finally fall asleep, only to be awakened by her again.  The green, ohhhhhhh the green and her pointy nose and her jagged teeth and that ball of fire.  I hated her.  She was ruining my life.  As soon as I fell asleep and started to dream about playing outside, sleepovers with my friends or getting a new doll, she would creep into my mind and “Poof” ruin everything. 

    

She's one bad a#$ witch!

It started the same way each night.  I was sitting in the living room of my Grandpa and Grandma  Someone would call me so I would run up those iconic 1960’s stairs, only to find myself inside a small restaurant with a few cozy, red leather booths.  There’s a bar but it’s unattended so I sit down in the booth. I can hear my family’s laughter and see rays of light streaming in from the living room below.  Suddenly that familiar puff of smoke and crimson flame appears in front of the bar and she would be peering her beady eyes out at me.  Her broom reaches out like it’s going to touch me and I scream!  My stomach starts churning, even in the dream, my legs cannot carry me back down those stairs fast enough.  When I would finally wake up out of the nightmare, I would be at the side of my Mother’s bed, sobbing. 
Lento’s house, only it wasn’t their house, it was The Brady Bunch House.

Just a dream... perhaps?  But then why did I continue to have that dream till I was a senior in high school? Not only would I have the exact same dream, over and over and over and over again for years, but I could almost feel her breathing on the back of my neck. For some kids it’s the boogie man or the monsters under the bed, but for me it was the fear of the Wicked Witch of the West, grabbing my arm and whisking me up into the sky by broom. 

 

Best musical EVER!!!

As I matured into adulthood, the nightmare faded away.  Even so, I had a hard time watching the movie. Even when the previews flashed across the screen showing that it would be played on a cable channel around Thanksgiving, I felt a little sick.  Knowing that I had this phobia, a friend told me to read the book “Wicked”, the evil witch’s version of what happened in Oz.  So I borrowed the book and quickly became obsessed.  Such a classic story told from the villains viewpoint was absolutely enchanting to me.  This modern day version was darker and much more poignant.  As I would flip through the pages and read about how the Wicked Witch had been born with emerald hued skin, razor sharp nails and jagged teeth, which led to her ostracism from birth, I began to feel less afraid of the character and instead felt for her.  I grew sympathetic to her cause as a misfit while I continued to read.

She's really not so scary!

     Yes, I know that the Wicked Witch or Elphaba, is a fictional character. I know she isn’t real and I  Margaret Hamilton, in the 1939 original. Margaret Hamilton who was actually a young Kindergarten teacher before portraying this role. In fact she later stated that she regretted taking the part because of how badly children were scared of her. How do I know all this? Well let's just say I have spent many nights researching The Wizard of Oz and specifically the actress herself.
know that she was portrayed by a regular woman,
 
It's beyond strange to be so affected by a movie for such a large portion of my life, or to be so scared of a woman who taught 5 year old children how to read and was a Mother herself. But hey I'm weird! Maybe somewhere in my nightmare there was a hidden meaning or some subconscious thought trying to get to the forefront of my mind. I guess I will never know. But here is what I do know, my kids love The Wizard Of Oz and all the spin offs and we even just bought the first five books in The Wizard Of Oz series written by L. Frank Baum. Despite my fears I do find the world of Oz wonderful and can't wait to read the books to Gabby and Colton. So I guess I have no choice but to get over my issues with the Queen of Green and soldier on. 

 A little light reading for the summer!