Yesteryear

I received this in an email today and wish the author's name was included so we could thank him or her:


Long ago and far away, in a land that time forgot,
Before the days of Dylan, or the dawn of Camelot.
There lived a Race of innocents, and they were you and me,

For Ike was in the White House in that Land where we were born,
Where navels were for oranges, and Peyton Place was porn.

We learned to gut a muffler, we washed our hair at dawn,
We spread our crinolines to dry in circles on the lawn.

We longed for love and romance, and waited for our Prince,
And Eddie Fisher married Liz, and no one's seen him since.

We danced to 'Little Darlin,' and sang to 'Stagger Lee'
And cried for Buddy Holly in the Land That Made Me Me.

Only girls wore earrings then, and 3 was one too many,
And only boys wore flat-top cuts, except for Jean McKinney.

And only in our wildest dreams did we expect to see
A boy named George with Lipstick, in the Land That Made Me Me.

We fell for Frankie Avalon, Annette was oh, so nice,
And when they made a movie, they never made it twice.

We didn't have a Star Trek Five, or Psycho Two and Three,
Or Rocky-Rambo Twenty in the Land That Made Me Me.

Miss Kitty had a heart of gold, and Chester had a limp,
And Reagan was a Democrat whose co-star was a chimp.

We had a Mr. Wizard, but not a Mr. T,
And Oprah couldn't talk, yet, in the Land That Made Me Me.

We had our share of heroes, we never thought they'd go,
At least not Bobby Darin, or Marilyn Monroe.

For youth was still eternal, and life was yet to be,
And Elvis was forever in the Land That Made me Me.

We'd never seen the rock band that was Grateful to be Dead,
And Airplanes weren't named Jefferson, and Zeppelins were not Led.

And Beatles lived in gardens then, and Monkeys lived in trees,
Madonna was a virgin in the Land That Made Me Me.

We'd never heard of microwaves, or telephones in cars,
And babies might be bottle-fed, but they weren't grown in jars.

And pumping iron got wrinkles out, and 'gay' meant fancy-free,
And dorms were never coed in the Land That Made Me Me.


We hadn't seen enough of jets to talk about the lag,
And microchips were what was left at the bottom of the bag.

And Hardware was a box of nails, and bytes came from a flea,
And rocket ships were fiction in the Land That Made Me Me.

Buicks came with portholes, and side shows came with freaks,
And bathing suits came big enough to cover both your cheeks.

And Coke came just in bottles, and skirts below the knee,
And Castro came to power near the Land That Made Me Me.

We had no Crest with Fluoride, we had no Hill Street Blues,
We had no patterned pantyhose or Lipton herbal tea
Or prime-time ads for condoms in the Land That Made Me Me.

There were no golden arches, no Perrier to chill,
And fish were not called Wanda, and cats were not called Bill.

And middle-aged was 35 and old was 43,
And ancient were our parents in the Land That Made Me Me.

But all things have a season, or so we've heard them say,
And now instead of Maybelline we swear by Retin-A.

They send us invitations to join AARP,
We've come a long way, baby, from the Land That Made Me Me.

So now we face a brave new world in slightly larger jeans,
And wonder why they're using smaller print in magazines.

And we tell our children's children of the way it used to be,
Long ago and far away in the Land That Made Me Me.

Memorial Day Poppy

"In Flanders Fields" written by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae of the Canadian Forces

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Each year around Memorial Day, Veterans of Foreign Wars members and American Legion Auxiliary volunteers distribute millions of bright red poppies in exchange for contributions to assist disabled and hospitalized veterans. The program provides multiple benefits to the veterans and to the community. The hospitalized veterans who make the flowers are able to earn a small wage, which helps to supplement their incomes and makes them feel more self-sufficient. The physical and mental activity provides many therapeutic benefits as well. Donations are used exclusively to assist and support veterans and their families. The poppy also reminds the community of the past sacrifices and continuing needs of our veterans. The poppy has become a nationally known and recognized symbol of sacrifice and is worn to honor the men and women who served and died for their country in all wars.

For a history on The Poppy and more information,
visit the website at http://www.cal-mum.com:80/poppy.htm

Stardust Radio Live On Memorial Day

Bringing News Home From Our Deployed Troops
Sending Voices of Support from Home To Our Troops

Memorial Day In Waterloo, New York
Stardust Radio Network is proud to bring two of the network’s regular shows together in a special effort to reach across the globe from Waterloo, NY to the MidEast on this Memorial Day weekend, so that Americans at home can speak directly with deployed troops and express appreciation to these military members for their service. Hosts Gene Simes and Jere Berry of the VFVC show will be on the ground in Waterloo, NY while hosts Judi & Jeff of the United We Roll World Tour Show will be on the phone from the studios in Iowa and Florida, arranging the connections with our troops a world away. The broadcast of this event can be heard in the park in Waterloo, NY and on Stardust Radio at www.stardustradio.com or locally in Riverside, Iowa on 1690AM. This special broadcast on Stardust Radio will begin at 10:30am Eastern time / 9:30am Central time on Saturday 5/24/08 and again on Sunday 5/25/08.
*Tune in every Tuesday between 2pm and 4pm Central time for the United We Roll World Tour Show to hear interviews with our deployed military members and real news both from and about our Heroes of Freedom, their families & Veterans. Call in toll free 877-213-4329.

Memorial Day With ARMAD & Stardust Radio
On Saturday 5/24, ARMAD (www.armad.net) will hold their annual Military Appreciation Day from 10am to 4pm Eastern time. This has become a very big event in Indiana and has sister groups that have sprung up around the country. This event will be attended by military units in addition to many civilian officials, celebrities, community members, families and media. Amateur Radio Operators will be setup to send messages around the world, including to/from troops and families. Stardust Radio is participating this year through the addition of a Chat Star room for ARMAD. This will allow family members and/or troops who can not physically attend the event in Indiana, to still attend thru Chat Star and to give messages for the radio operators to send on to troops around the world.

Operation Comfort Provides Trained Counselors To Troops & Families Free of Charge

A group of trained mental health professionals and therapists are gathering under the group name of Operation Comfort to offer free help to our troops and families as stated below. For more information, visit the Operation Comfort website at www.operationcomfort.com

Our mission is to create a nationwide network of mental health providers and agencies to donate their services, free of charge, to family members who have a loved one serving in the Middle East.

Our sole purpose is to provide emotional and psychological support to military families, regardless of ethnic background, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, economic status, or political stance.

Operation Comfort will allow therapists the opportunity to be of service to a population in great need of support. At this time, the families of soldiers are a unique and diverse community, all struggling with similar concerns, anxieties, and life stressors. Operation Comfort is an inclusive organization of psychologists, marriage and family therapists, licensed professional counselors, and social workers, all of whom are donating their time and expertise to provide meaning, understanding, and comfort. Therapists and family members alike, are invited to participate in this collaborative effort to maintain community and connection in this time of uncertainty and heartache.

Phase One has been the creation of a network to assist families in uniform cope and manage their lives more effectively.

Phase Two is our commitment to continue working, free of charge, with our troops and their families throughout this process of reintegrating into their communities and homes. There is pending legislation to support our troops with homecoming parades, but the reality is that many returning soldiers will be dealing with issues stemming from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Operation Comfort will provide individual psychotherapy, marital counseling, critical debriefing and family therapy for military families.

Listen Live To Shows On Stardust Radio Through Your Computer

Enjoy live shows on Stardust Radio with your computer. Consider joining Chat Star and using all the features it offers.

How To listen to Stardust Radio:

Go to our website at www.stardustradio.com

1) Simple Audio - If you do not have Live 365 radio, you can go to the upper right corner on the main page where the photo of the microphone is and click on the statement below it if you have realplayer or Winamp.

2) Simple Audio with Live 365 - If you have a membership with Live 365 Radio or would like to try it, you can click on the Listen button

3) Interactive Chat Star Auditorium - If you wish to join the Virtual Auditorium during the live airing of United We Roll World Tour, scroll down a short way until you see the gold and white box labeled "Chat Star". Click on that box and you will see two boxes - one for members to click and one for non-members to click. If you are a member, click on the member box to enter Chat Star.

If you are a non-member, click on the non-member box. You will see a box to click on for a very short download (this is a safe download and is for the software to use the room, only). You will then be asked to give a login name and password. Once you have done this, you will enter the Chat Star Community.

The rooms for the various shows and Chat Star members are listed on the left side. Click on the Room Name (United We Roll World Tour, SVR, etc.) and you will be brought into the room as a participant.
NOTE: The virtual auditorium is only active during the live show hours.

You can interact with the hosts and other participants by typing your questions/comments into the communication screen. To do this, place your cursor into the narrow rectangular box located about midway on the screen. (Three boxes are on one side for typed communications - top is for all communications, middle is your box to type your comments, bottom is to list all attendants in the auditorium. Type your comment(s) into your middle rectangular box, then hit enter to move your comment into the top communication screen. The other side has one large box for videos and photos.

The mic is usually not active during a show. This feature is generally used when the room is being used for a meeting, seminar or such that requires more voice communications among the participants and leaders.

We hope you enjoy the show! Please feel free to sign our guest book on our website. Your feedback is very important to us.

As a reminder, taped versions of our shows are on our website for approximately 30 days after the live air date and they can also be downloaded.

Stardust Radio Brings News From Our Deployed Troops Weekly

The United We Roll World Tour Show on Stardust Radio has been hosting interviews with our deployed troops on a weekly basis and has had to shift the start time of the show from 3pm Central to 2pm Central to assist in the time difference between the US and the MidEast. In some cases, the show has also been extended to accomodate the number and/or length of the interviews for that week. An example of the show content is listed below.

This live show is scheduled to air on Tuesday afternoons from 2pm - 4pm Central time. The taped version of the show is then broadcast again the following Thursday evening and Saturday morning. It is also placed on the Stardust Radio website at www.stardustradio.com for approximately 30 days for listening and downloading.


STARDUST RADIO
UNITED WE ROLL WORLD TOUR SHOW
TUESDAY 5/13/08

If you have been listening to our show lately, you are aware that our interviews with deployed members have increased in numbers to the point that we have had to change the start time of our show from 3:00pm to 2:00pm Central time. This makes it easier for some of our deployed members to handle the time difference from the MidEast to the USA and it gives us plenty of time to extend the show if we have several interviews as has been the case with some shows.

On April 22nd, we announced the news that One Million air sorties had been flown in the Global War on Terrorism. In that show, we had interviews with pilots of a C-130, a B-1 Bomber, a U-2 and an A-10 “Warthog”. The following show we talked with the ground crews for each of these planes and what it took to keep them in the air. On May 6th, we talked with Lt Col Brill, an Air Force pilot who had just reached 6,000 hours of flight time in the F-16 fighter jet. And that is just the last couple of weeks. We have brought stories such as a young Iraqi boy who was badly burned in a kitchen fire, but the efforts of deployed Americans brought him to the USA where he is undergoing treatments in a Shriners’ Hospital and so many more stories and news.

As we are in the midst of May – the official Military Appreciation Month – there is not a better time to talk about the many kinds of support for our troops and today we will be talking with members who are deployed specifically to provide support to other deployed men and women.

We will be hearing first from Army Chaplain (CPT) Javon Seaborn - who is currently deployed in the Mideast and who is reaching us through our connection with DVIDSHub.net. As a Chaplain, his responsibility is not only to support the religious care of our troops, but also to offer personal care and counseling as well as to help with overall morale & welfare.

Then we will change forces from Army to Air Force as we will be talking with another deployed member who is also very involved in the support of our troops’ morale through faith and counseling – we will be joined by
Rabbi (CPT.) Raphael Berdugo

Next, we will shift our tone a bit as we talk to some Air Force Band members whose job it is to bring entertainment and smiles to our deployed men and women, who certainly deserve some time to relax and enjoy themselves in the company of these extremely talented and versatile musicians and vocalists.

We encourage each and every American to take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way to thank a military member, to stand up and speak out for the support of our military members & Veterans – not just during the month of May – but every day of every month throughout the year. And we ask you all to please take note of any military families in your neighborhood who may have a deployed member and to stop by to say Hi – to offer a helping hand if one is needed in any way – and to let the family know that their neighbors are eager to help, eager to support and appreciate all that the family & their loved one do on behalf of our freedom.

Thank You! God Bless Our Troops! God Bless America!

Sen Akaka On VA Employee Suggestion To Misdiagnose PTSD

AKAKA CALLS VA EMPLOYEE’S SUGGESTION TO MISDIAGNOSE VETERANS DISTURBING AND DISAPPOINTING
Calls for Inspector General investigation and renewed guidelines for PTSD

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), Chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, issued the following statement this morning regarding an email sent by a Department of Veterans Affairs employee suggesting that in order to save time and resources, VA should avoid diagnosing veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The email was sent by a mental health professional at the Temple, Texas Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and suggested that the facility’s mental health staff should stop diagnosing veterans with PTSD.

“This incident is both disturbing and disappointing, and provides further evidence that VA’s mental health program requires significant attention,” said Akaka. “I have asked VA’s Inspector General to review diagnosis patterns at the facility involved as well as any benefits decisions based on diagnoses from that facility. I am also calling on VA Secretary Peake to provide renewed guidelines to all VA field offices on the proper diagnosis and treatment of PTSD and on handling claims for compensation for PTSD.”

Psychological war wounds are difficult to diagnose and harder still to heal, but they are no less real than any other service-connected injury,” added Akaka, who is working with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to bring S. 2162, the bipartisan Veterans’ Mental Health and Other Care Improvements Act of 2008, to the Senate floor for a vote. “I continue to be concerned that VA’s mental health system is unprepared for the rising demands placed on the system by both younger and older veterans. I will keep working to improve standards and funding for veterans’ mental health care.”