Magical Moment 463, "Booyah!"

I love this video!

It's a "Booyah!" moment. And it reminded me of my own booyah moment...

Years ago, back when I was an eager, young ROTC cadet, I competed in an event called the German Armed Forces Badge of Merit Proficiency. The competition consisted of 7 physical challenges over the course of 3 days. At the end, depending on your score, you qualified for either the Gold, Silver, Bronze, or no badge.

There were over 60 soldiers competing and only a handful of them were females. I was the only female from my school to attend. On the first day, I came across 2 active duty Army captains. Like most young, females in the military, they found me to be an easy and visible target. And like most young, naive females, I said nothing as they took their shots.

They made light of the challenging physical activities and teased, "Why did we bother to prepare if they have females competing? This should be the easiest thing we've ever done. What a joke." Etc. Since I had been preparing for the competition, I began to think how unfair it was that I had to work so hard to complete the tasks, and they could do them apparently without trying. And then proceed to boast and rub it in my face simply to promote their own egos. They're boastful and disrespectful attitude was nonstop for the first few days.

The final event was the 15 to 18 mile ruck march (15 for females and 18 for males. I did the entire 18 so I could finish with my comrades). This was done with weapons and in full combat gear, a total of about 60 pounds of extra weight. I had been mentally and physically preparing for this event, ruck marching all over my hometown for the last few weeks (quite a sight in Lincoln, NE).

The route layout was simple, half way out, turn around, and come back. I felt good and strong when I began the march. I was able to run most of the entire first half. Even when I dropped to a fast walk, I felt like I still had the strength of steal. I stayed in the top 5 five for the entire duration of the march.

I reached the halfway point and turned back for the last leg towards the finish. And after a few miles, I saw those two Army captains. They were miles from reaching the halfway point which I had already left in my dust. It took a long time for us to cross paths on the straight, long road. But I watched their faces the entire time we inched closer to each other. One made eye contact with me, then quickly turned away. For them, it was a very long "awkward moment." I savored the steps it took me to pass them. No words were exchanged. It was their turn to stay quiet and just "take it." I was one of only 4 females who qualified for the Gold badge. The 2 captains earned the Silver. And though I kept my mouth shut, I was thinkin, "BOOYAH!"

"The Four Golden Girls"
I wish I knew the names of the 3 women to the left, but sadly we never kept in touch.

**I regret to inform you, that the above video was staged!!! My heart sank when I found out, but at least it inspired my post for today!!!

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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