A Year of Readership - Thank You.

I just saw Matt at Black Five wrapped up the year. He had some interesting opservations of note. Take a look over there and see how he was surprised. I also wanted to say thank you to those of you who come around, once or more. If any one has any suggestions, the comment section is always open. I enjoy looking at my Site Meter and Stat Counter logs. It's amazing to see readers show up from all over the world. It's more interesting to look at the ones who come in from search engines and see what words they find me with. One thing, with I can't decide to be preplexed about or not, is that almost daily for the last few months, the search words "right to die" have been present in the logs. My blog comes up because of a post I did when Terry Shaivao was soon to have her feeding tube removed. I'm not sure if those coming into that post are considering the circumstances for themselves or someone they care for, but it makes me feel sad that the discussion has to be held in the first place. I want to acknowledge the websites who have sent me of my traffic: Mudville Gazette. Thanks, GreyHawk and Mrs. Greyhawk for the almost daily open posts and the Dawn Patrol, which featured some of my posts! Little Green Footballs. The place where Dan Rather met his match and the influence of bloggers really took off. Charles does a daily open thread, and, if you find it soon enough, it may provide you with a posting high enough that people don't get bored scrolling thru about 2000 comments on the thread. Black Five. Matt picked up the Cpl Desmond Doss story and it spread like wildfire. That one post has been reponsible for about half of tall the hits I got this year, and has been one that shows up regularly from search engine hits, even today! Chapomatic. The submariner Captain, now vanquished to the center of the nation on a joint tour, has been a consistent reader and linker to some of my posts. Thanks, Captain, and whatever the NAVADMIN is about, I'm hoping for a positive outcome! A Female Soldier. Talk about dedication! A 35 year old wife and mom enlists to be a combat medic. Currently in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division. That sounds hard core to me. Thank you, Grey Eagle for your service, and your blog. And, thanks to all the others who have linked to me, either for a post, or on your blogrolls. Every little bit helps! Thanks! The Valour-IT competition this year (and, in case you're not aware, it's an ongoing project) at Veteran's Day was a sight to behold. Just turn a bunch of type "A" people loose, forgive them for not asking questions, and see what they can do. Last update I saw, where all the checks coming had been added in for the ten day push to raise funds was over $99K (but not quite $100K)! And to think the four service teams all took the $21K goal as their own team's...silly us! As of a few days ago, here is a report of one of the deliveries of the laptops to some service men in a VA Hospital. It's a tough read, and I've linked to Part II, so click on the link and read Part I first to get the whole story. Update 01/06/2006: Part III of the trip to deliver laptops is here. FbL told me in her comment that it's a tougher read than the first two parts... As a simple request to all of you, next time you see a Vet, past or present, take a moment to say thank you. The WWII vets aren't going to be here much longer, and it's not often there are accolades to those who suffered through and fought the "police action" of the Korean War. The Vietnam guys got far too little, specifically because the negative treatment. The Gulf War vets still had to do what they did, but because they were good, it was over quickly. That sure doesn't diminish their willingness to head east about 7000 miles. Of course, the present day troops are doing a great job. They are all around us, and, if you have time, spend a few minutes to listen to their stories, you'll most likely feel rewarded for the small investment of your time, whether their remeberances are happy or sad. Speaking of stories, the Library of Congress has been hosting the collection of these stories under the Veteran's History Project. Please collect the history you can from your family and friends for others to share in the future via this project. Here's a short brief on the project:

Every veteran has his or her own war, and each is custodian of a unique story and memories. At the Veterans History Project, we treasure the personal narratives sent to us by veterans from all wars. Vivid as if they happened yesterday, these heartfelt accounts make us laugh, cry and remember.The stories are not a formal history of war, but a treasure trove of individual feelings and personal recollections. As we build this unprecedented collection documenting both veterans and civilians and their EXPERIENCES of war, we will introduce new themes on the Web site. Please join our effort by sending us your own recollections and memories. Each contribution makes this project all the more priceless.

Here's a plug for the families who support the troops. Thank them, too, for they are in fact, a vital component of what their family members are doing worldwide. If you can help out doing some chores for a spouse with someone deployed, it's a great service, costs you little except time, but, they aren't getting rich on the taxpayers good graces, so it sure beats the price of a service call. They will be very thankful to you for serving them, while they serve. And with that, thanks for all the fish! Have a happy and safe New Year, where ever you may be.