IT'S THANKSGIVING

 

It's Thanksgiving. One of my favorite holidays. When I was a young teenager, Thanksgiving Day was the beginning of rabbit hunting season. We would get up early and head out to the fields looking for the elusive bunnies. We were often successful and had to get back home, dress our rabbits, get cleaned up and head for grandma's house to join the feast. And what a feast it was.

 

There was always turkey and ham. All the aunts brought their best recipes. The dessert table was a beautiful sight. There were pies, especially pecan, cakes of every kind. Oh, and banana pudding. In your wildest dreams you could not imagine a more elaborate meal spread. I remember the cousins would run our legs off so we could fit more food in. Those were great memories. 

 

As I grew older and had a family of my own, we tried to continue the traditions of our childhoods. Fortunately for the rabbits, that didn't include shooting innocent bunnies. But the food, the feast, was definitely a big part of that tradition. 

 

I have fond memories of many Thanksgiving days. Those memories should be about thankfulness but they are mostly about food. And, one of the great treats of the day are the smells. There is something about the aroma of turkey and stuffing in the oven that makes the day even more special. 

 

One year my wife and I decided to go out for Thanksgiving. It just wasn't the same. My house didn't smell like Thanksgiving. Oh, and the final straw, turkey sandwiches. I know you can buy turkey at any deli in any grocery store, but, it's just not the same. I'm sure everybody has their favorite way of making a turkey sandwich. I sure do and deli turkey won't get it done.

 

This year we will again prepare the feast. And we will enjoy it all. But, this year I promise to spend more time being thankful. Thankful for my health, thankful for my loving wife and family, and thankful for yet another wonderful holiday with them. We are all so blessed and we should never forget where those blessings come from. For me and my house we are thankful to God for it all.

 

Happy Thanksgiving

Ron 2023

 

VETERANS DAY 2023

 

November 11 is Veterans Day. We set aside two days each year to celebrate our veterans. Memorial Day is primarily dedicated to fallen veterans while Veterans Day is dedicated to celebrating all veterans of military service. 

 

I, along with many others in my age group, am a veteran. When I was a teenager the draft was a very real probability. So, you either joined or you got drafted. There was no particular patriotism involved with my joining. I joined to keep from being drafted. 

 

The rest of the story is joining the Army was the smartest thing I did as a youngster. I was a seventeen-year-old redneck country boy, with few to no options for a future. College was not a financial possibility for me or for people like me. 

 

So, here I was. Completely bewildered. The army fixed that. They gave me training. I learned things I never knew. I went from East Tennessee to Georgia, to Seattle, Washington, to my final duty station in Germany. I got to see the world. Had I not been in the service, I would never have been able to travel the world. Let me tell you, the world is a lot different from the hills in East Tennessee. It was all an eye opening experience for me. 

 

Now here many years later, I am truly grateful for my time in the Army. I went in as a kid and came out as a full grown man. Today I am enrolled in the VA healthcare system. It may not work for some, but it absolutely works for me. During my recent illness, they couldn't have been more helpful and generous. My every need was taken care of. 

 

I also have a VA loan on my home. That was handled with the utmost professionalism. We couldn't be happier. 

 

People often say to me, "Thank you for your service." My response continues to be, I got so much more from my time in the service than I gave. It is me who is grateful for all that the military has given me. 

 

Of course we don't have a draft now, but I wish we did. I guarantee you, young people would face the world a lot differently if we had a draft. I also recommend today's kids should join the military. You can play video games with real guns and you can contribute to the world. Sounds like a win win to me.

 

Something I read a few days ago is so true, who knows how many wars didn't happen because of the mighty peacetime military we have. Thank you, current service members and all veterans, for that powerful deterrent. And Happy Veterans Day.

 

Ron Scarbro November 7, 2023

 

COLLATERAL DAMAGE

Watching the news out of the Middle East has been heartbreaking. I was recently watching a video of people trying to get out of Gaza and saw little children running for safety. That is sad as well as heartbreaking. It is even more sad for the people of Israel. They have suffered pain and death from the unprovoked attack by Hamas. 

 

Israel has said that they are fed up with the insurgence of the thugs and criminals known as Hamas and will probably eliminate them from the earth. Being the cowards that they are, they hide behind women and children. They set up their weaponry in schools and hospitals. In so doing, they put thousands of innocent people at risk. They don't care.

 

Let's be clear. There is no Palestine. There are many people who claim to be Palestinians. They actually are itinerant Arabs looking for a home. The area they have selected for a homeland is actually Israel and has been Israel for thousands of years. They have been tolerated since Israel became a country. 

 

The problem is simple. Hamas, under the ruse of protecting Palestine, is actually putting all the residents of Gaza at risk. That risk is only going to increase. Hamas is going to be eliminated, and soon. 

 

Another problem is the liberals in this country all seem to be antisemitic. Shame on the student groups at Harvard and other so-called progressive schools. You obviously don't have a clue of how the real world functions. You would do well to pay attention to what is really going on and not just what the antisemitic liberal media and some of your professors are spewing. 

 

We are told that in any shooting war there is going to be "collateral damage." Hmmm. Sounds like a lot of death and destruction to me. When babies and their mothers are butchered, it isn't just collateral damage. It is murder pure and simple. 

 

When is the Arab world going to realize that they will never defeat Israel? Israel and her people are protected by none other than Almighty God. We also assist in that protection.

 

There has been talk about a two-state solution. The problem with that solution is the fact that Hamas and Hezbollah, with the financial assistance of Iran, want to kill every Jew on the planet. They are committed to that end. Therefore, any peace will only happen when these maniacs are gone. You cannot negotiate with evil. You cannot trust evil. When you confront evil, you must just kill it. 

 

Netanyahu has said if Hamas laid down their weapons, there would be peace. If Israel laid down their weapons, they would be wiped out. That makes it crystal clear. Under the present situation, peace can only happen if Hamas is gone. 

 

Ron Scarbro October 24, 2023

 

WE ARE A BLESSED NATION

It's been a very interesting few days. Our Congress has been behaving like a kindergarten class. As a matter of fact, their behavior is worse than an average group of children.

 

It all reminds me of back when I was a child, I used to play marbles. The rules were simple. You drew a circle on the ground and put your marbles in the middle of the circle. From outside the circle you shot your taw, your shooter, and tried to knock the other people’s marbles out. When you did, you kept them. We called that playing for keeps. By the way, my mother didn't approve of playing for keeps, but that's another story. Anyway, I remember once my opposition player wanted to change the rules. I objected. Well, he picked up his marbles and went home. Sound familiar?

 

A group of conservative Members wanted the entire Congress to agree to their program, and when they didn't, the petulant Congressmen decided they would create havoc. And they did. Their actions cost the House Speaker his job. It is similar to taking your marbles and going home.

 

This world and this country need adults in charge. Today Israel is under a terrorist attack from Hamas. The whole world needs sound, solid leadership from us.

 

The news today is that Israel has hit the Gaza Strip hard. So hard that they may not survive. Their electricity has been cut off and no food or water is allowed in.

 

Of course Hamas is going to retaliate. Their forces in Lebanon have now fired missiles on Israel. The Lebanese would do well to read Genesis chapter 12 verses 1 through 3. God warns nations not to mess with Israel. If they do, it won't end well for them. 

 

We and the free world will come to Israel's aid. Our problem is we have an idiot in the White House. It is going to take a strong Congressional action to deal with this. Sooner or later we will show up. Israel is our strongest ally in the Middle East and we need them. 

 

We are a blessed nation. We have an obligation to protect Israel. It is a part of our debt for being the blessed nation that we are. 

 

The time has long passed for talk. The time has passed for deliberation. It is time for action. We need to help Israel eliminate Hamas from the face of the earth. We and they have put up with this for too long. 

 

Our Congress needs to get off their pompous rear ends, elect a new Speaker, and make sure Israel is secure. 

 

Ron Scarbro October 10, 2023