Magical Moment 185, "Groundhog Day"

At a lovely picnic area on the small Army base of Fort Dix, you’ll find well-landscaped grass, a sparkling pond, and lots and lots of groundhogs. My husband’s Reserve unit held a family picnic today after a Change of Command ceremony, to which I hesitantly attended. Big social gatherings, plus people I don’t know, equals some anxiety for me. Plus I still feel weird being a new civilian around military. This morning at the ceremony, I snapped to attention when the General entered the parade field, then quickly looked over my shoulder to see if anyone noticed the Army spouse in flip flops and a sundress make a fool out of herself.

At the picnic area, I soon found myself relaxed as I walked Joy around the pond. That was when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye scurrying across the ground, then got very excited when I realized it was too large to be a squirrel and too small to be a dog. I inched closer to examine the critter. It was one of about 10 groundhogs I would see throughout the day.

Joy was too oblivious to notice the groundhog. She was determined to re-create a game from home where she chases her leash around a tree trunk that happens to be the exact circumference at which Joy always sees the end of her leash, but can never catch it. I pried her away from the tree to show her the ground hog, and after much directing, she finally took notice.

I unhooked the leash from her collar and watched her take off like a rocket towards the groundhog. It was a new creature, different from her regular squirrels and pigeons in our backyard. And she was shocked when she actually caught up to the running, waddling little guy. Suddenly, she had no idea what to do. Her perplexed expression lasted only a second though, and the groundhog slipped into one of its dozens of holes in the ground. Joy spent the next few minutes sniffing and digging at every hole in the area.

Watching Joy today tear across the wide-open lawn without care or thought made me smile. I caught myself wishing I was a child and could do the same thing without others staring in wonder, or without injuring myself. Instead, I ate my grilled hot dog and potato salad, and enjoyed this beautiful summer afternoon dubbed, “family day.” But for us, it was groundhog day.

Magical Moment 625, "Thailand - the Elephants"

Needless to say, my favorite part of our Thailand vacation, was our week long volunteering at Elephant Nature Park ! The logging industry was banned in Thailand in 1989, leaving thousands of elephants unemployed. These elephants are now used for tourism. You may have heard of elephant shows featuring the animals playing soccer or painting pictures with their trunks. They are no doubt amazing to watch, but the sad truth is that these elephants have gone through a series of torture and abuse to "break their spirit" by their trainers. This short clip is very hard to watch, but it will give you an idea of what the elephants in captivity in the country of Thailand go through. The only elephants in Thailand who do not endure this, are the very few baby elephants who are first generation born in "safe captivity" at places like Elephant Nature Park. Every other elephant at this park has been brutally abused. Some have been blinded by their owners, le

Magical Moment 620, "Lilac Garden"

Eddie and I visited the Lilac Gardens at Ringwood Manor in New Jersey, a pristine and beautiful state park with 8 species of lilacs and several varieties within. We went on a rainy afternoon, which turned out perfect because the rain stopped for us when we got there, and began again as soon as we left. It also decorated the plants with gorgeous rain drops, adding to their beauty. And now for a quick game of "Where's Elizabeth?" And "Where's Eddie?" ~~Have a great weekend! ~~

Magical Moment 280, "The Eleventh Hour"

The Veterans Day Parade, NYC On July 29, 2001 , five exceptional men were honored by the President of the United States for their remarkable military service. They were involved in a top secret mission that required unfathomable intelligence and as a result, literally won a battle which was instrumental in winning the war. Not the war that was happening in 2001, not even the Gulf War. It was World War II, and they were the Navajo Code Talkers who were largely responsible for winning the bloody battle of Okinawa. The only problem with the ceremony was that just 5 remained of the original 29. Our country was too late in thanking the other 24, and nearly too late in thanking those 5 men. On March 10, 2010, three hundred women won the Congressional Gold medal for their outstanding war service. Unfortunately, 800 received the award posthumously. These were the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) of World War II, who devoted themselves to flying military aircraft like the B-26 and B-

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