 Thank you all for your support over the past year. There will not be a January issue. I would like to give the people that help put this publication together, a well deserved pat on the back, and a month off from writing. The Metro will resume in February. I hope all of our readers and writers have a joyous holiday season. Due to some health issues, I have had some time to reflect on my life recently and I realize that I am a lucky guy. A very lucky man indeed! Did you ever give a gift to someone, only to hear them say that they already have one? I am so lucky! The best present I could ever receive this holiday season, I already have, and the best gift I could think of giving, I already have given as well. I have a great wife who loves me, 3 boys that I couldn't be any prouder of, a nice house, a good job, some great friends, some great memories from my past, and more importantly, many dreams for the future. I realize that I don't have control of everything in my life, including my health and what the future has in store for me, but the one thing I can control is the gift of myself to the people I love. I know it is important always, but especially during the Christmas season, to spend as much time as possible with the ones you love, and who love you. Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, sometimes we pour ourselves more into work than into our own family, an unwise investment indeed, don't you think? Some of my best childhood memories stem from the holiday season, and all include my brothers, my mom and dad. From sitting around the TV watching Christmas specials, to the Christmas parties in our basement, and making the rounds with mom and dad. I remember helping mom to trim the tree and seeing the outdoor decorations go up. Hearing Dad sing "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas" at the first sign of snow, and listening to Mom play Christmas songs on the piano especially "Something Barked On Christmas Morning", when Jerry would make the barking sound right on cue. I remember Christmas Eve, driving to Grandma's house, and seeing the white tree in the front window illuminated with a rotating color spotlight. I remember opening presents from Uncle Jack with all my cousins there. I remember the ride home, and Dad would always tune to CKLW, the radio station that reported seeing Santa's sleigh. (that is when I knew I could breathe a sigh of relief that Santa was really coming). And of course... Christmas morning... the very very VERY best day of the year. Margaret and I have tried to spend as much time as possible with our kids, especially during Christmas. We think it is very important to carry on some of the old traditions, and we created some new ones. I hope that Chris, Brad, and Austin, as well as all of my family and friends, remember them fondly, and keep up the spirit of Christmas every day of their lives and live each day to the fullest. Remember, you are helping to create some great memories in someone else's life. My final thought I leave is a little poem based loosely on "T'was The Night Before Christmas" story. Hopefully, you enjoy it, and hopefully you will keep our service men and women in your prayers this holiday season. Merry Christmas
-Kelly 
TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My sons asleep in their beds, peaceful in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream. | 
| | . | . | 
| The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up with poise,
Standing watch over me, my wife and my boys.
"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!" | | . | . |
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile. | 
| | . | . | Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall." | 
|
| . | . | 
| "So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us." |
GOD BLESS OUR SOLDIERS & GOD BLESS AMERICA! 
|
