Tag: pride

To the heroes, and to the perished. I remember you.

On By AngeliaIn Life is what you make it.19 Comments

Ten years ago today, I remembered where I was, and what I was doing.

I remembered the fear.

I remembered the love uniting us – one nation under God.

But mostly, I remember the patriotism of the strong, and the brave. Lives were lost, and lives were saved.

I may not have pictures of the memorials (how I wish I could be there!). But I do have some poignant images of our freedom and the price we have paid.

My heart moves for all of America; for every hero, every survivor, and every loved one.

Prayers to you all.

    America (My Country, ‘Tis of Thee)
    Commonly referred to as America
    by Rev. Samuel F. Smith

    My country, ’tis of Thee,
    Sweet Land of Liberty
    Of thee I sing;
    Land where my fathers died,
    Land of the pilgrims’ pride,
    From every mountain side
    Let Freedom ring.

    National Cemetary Point Loma

    Wreath Rose at the National Cemetary

    My native country, thee,
    Land of the noble free,
    Thy name I love;
    I love thy rocks and rills,
    Thy woods and templed hills,
    My heart with rapture thrills
    Like that above.

    Point Loma, National Cemetary

    Let music swell the breeze,
    And ring from all the trees
    Sweet Freedom’s song;
    Let mortal tongues awake;
    Let all that breathe partake;
    Let rocks their silence break,
    The sound prolong.

    National Cemetary

    Daisy at the National Cemetary

    Our fathers’ God to Thee,
    Author of Liberty,
    To thee we sing,
    Long may our land be bright
    With Freedom’s holy light,
    Protect us by thy might
    Great God, our King.

    National Cemetary

    Flower from the grounds of the National Cemetary

    Our glorious Land to-day,
    ‘Neath Education’s sway,
    Soars upward still.
    Its hills of learning fair,
    Whose bounties all may share,
    Behold them everywhere
    On vale and hill!

    Hillside National Cemetary in Point Loma

    FLowers on the ground of the National Cemetary

    Thy safeguard, Liberty,
    The school shall ever be,
    Our Nation’s pride!
    No tyrant hand shall smite,
    While with encircling might
    All here are taught the Right
    With Truth allied.

    Headstones at the National Cemetary

    Memorial Flower at the National Cemetary

    Beneath Heaven’s gracious will
    The stars of progress still
    Our course do sway;
    In unity sublime
    To broader heights we climb,
    Triumphant over Time,
    God speeds our way!

    View from the National Cemetary

    Memorial Rose on a grave

    Grand birthright of our sires,
    Our altars and our fires
    Keep we still pure!
    Our starry flag unfurled,
    The hope of all the world,
    In peace and light impearled,
    God hold secure!

Plaque at the National Cemetery

Never Forget.

*All photographs taken in Point Loma, California at the National Cemetery.


In Remembrance of 9/11

On By AngeliaIn Life is what you make it.17 Comments

Nine years ago today, I remembered where I was, and what I was doing.

I remembered the fear.

I remembered the love uniting us – one nation under God.

But mostly, I remember the patriotism of the strong, and the brave. Lives were lost, and lives were saved.

To the heros, and to the perished. I remember you.



    Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
    What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?
    Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thru the perilous fight,
    O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
    And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
    Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
    O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
    O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?



    On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
    Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
    What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
    As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
    Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
    In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream:
    Tis the star-spangled banner: O, long may it wave
    O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!



    And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
    That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion
    A home and a country should leave us no more?
    Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
    No refuge could save the hireling and slave
    From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave:
    And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
    O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.



    O, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand,
    Between their loved home and the war’s desolation!
    Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n-rescued land
    Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
    Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
    And this be our motto: “In God is our trust”
    And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
    O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

(Composed by Francis Scott Key, “In Defense of Fort McHenry” in September 1814. Congress proclaimed it the U.S. National Anthem in 1931 — history follows.)

Never Forget.

*Photographs taken in Arlington, Texas, on this day, in remembrance of September 11th.

My Wishes for You

On By AngeliaIn In my heart forever & ever, Love and Light, Timeless Treasures54 Comments

I got a card from my mother that I have kept for over four years now. It’s been on my fridge the last three. I read it every so often to remember what those words meant to me at the time. How they still resound meaning after all these years. I guess we all have a card like that.

The card poem came at a time, I really didn’t believe in myself, or in my dreams. I was hopeless and resigned. In fact, nothing I did would have mattered. I was as far down the pit of despair as you could go – trapped with no way out. But this card, it sparked a shining hope in my heart. The words lifted my spirit, and I began to dream and seek.

It stayed tucked in my car visor for a long time. No one knew what it meant to me. Only I could open the glow of a new life and seek it’s warmth, it’s growth, knowing it was more than just a card, but a proclamation of what lay inside me.

As my daughter approaches her sixteenth birth year in May. I’d like to dedicate this poem to her. My daughter, I wish for you to dream. I wish for your soul to soar. May you always be bright with the beauty of the world God has made for you. May you always know the awes of your heart and follow them true.

My Wishes for You
a special poem on your birthday by Emily Matthews.

I wish these things for you –
to be in love with life each day,

To keep your sense of wonder
and ability to play,

To always pay attention
to the dreams within your heart,

And always have
the faith to try
or make
a brand-new start….

I wish for you a world of joy
to share and pass along,

The gift of those
who make you laugh
and keep you going strong,

The knowledge
that there’s meaning
in the things you choose to do,

And the certainty
you’re cared about
for simply being you.

Everything that will make you happy,
everything that will keep you feeling fulfilled and in love with life – that’s what I wish for you on your birthday and always

My card was signed,
We love you and are so very proud of you.
Mom and Carl

The last thing I deserved in the midst of the mess my life was called – was pride. But man how it changed me just knowing it, hearing it, and feeling it. Mom, you may never know what a difference that made to me. You have always been there no matter what, but somehow you knew just what I needed to hear, to get me out of the rut. THANK YOU. I can only pray the gift is passed on, right when she needs it.