The staff and I are hunkered in the bunker at Raabe Ranch. The Babe is talking to the workers, and we’re on our way to new flooring in the kitchen, entry, and both bathrooms upstairs. It will be quite a project, and I’m glad we hired it out. Twenty years ago, or even ten years ago, we would have done it ourselves. Yes, we’re both handy. But not at 68 and 70. We now leave it to the professionals. We’re good to pay someone. They can fix their boo-boos much quicker than we amateurs can.
Speaking of amateurs, I committed a boo-boo yesterday. I said you could share my blog posts on Instagram and Twitter. Not true. Instagram isn’t a possibility at all. But you can share these on Facebook and Instagram. Sharing is good, if you read a post that you like, love, or otherwise. If I write something you want to share, please, share away. There, I printed a correction, so we’re good, right? I’m learning these things as we go along, so thanks for bearing with me. As I’ve said before, I’m not too old, and it’s not too late!
I’m grateful to get to learn these new social media platforms. I love Facebook, but it doesn’t reach the demographic I need to reach. I think my book, “The Freeing of Katie Fitzgibbons” is a tale that young women without much support in their lives could definitely relate to. Older women who have lived a life without support can certainly relate to it; and those who went for broke and defeated the odds of success will certainly relate to Katie. There are many Katies in the world, and they can succeed at making their decisions and steering their lives in a much different direction.
In my volunteering at the VFW Post 2503, in addition to office tasks, I am their webmaster for site maintenance, and administrator on their Facebook page. They are great tools to get the word out to the members and friends about events, sharing information where Veterans can go for help, and where Veterans may gather for fun and recreation with other like minded people. I love the camaraderie among the men and women. Regardless of branch of service, they treat each other as brothers and sisters. Yes, there is a lot of joking Army vs. Navy, vs. Air Force, vs. Marines, vs. Coast Guard, etc., it’s all in good fun. We have yet to meet anyone from the Space Force.
One way to try and reach out to our younger Veterans of Foreign Wars is to become visible on Twitter and Instagram. I am working on setting up a presence for the Post on both of those. What is shared on Facebook will be shared across Twitter, and photos will all be shared on Instagram. The younger veterans need to have their place at our tables. They need to establish their network of friends and give back as the older folks have done.
That said, the challenge is to be grateful of the contributions of the older folks. The Post would certainly not have survived all these years (over 80!) if no one cared about it. We have one WWII Purple Heart member still living, and his health doesn’t permit him to come up and join us anymore. We miss him. He is a dear, sweet man. He also had to be a badass soldier. His Purple Heart was awarded for Anazio. 29,200 combat casualties were suffered by the Allied Soldiers. 4,400 dead, 18,000 wounded and 6,800 missing or captured.
The Battle of Anzio was critical in the outcome of WWII. Why? While the Germans were occupied to the south with Italy, the Allied forces were able to penetrate and enter France under a little campaign called D Day. Perhaps you’ve heard of it. Terrible losses of men and equipment. But General George S. Patton, God Bless his salty soul, led men like my father and our members, to put the Germans where they belonged. Lesser men would have given up. Thank God they didn’t.
As we go forward, honoring those who built the Post we’re trying to keep vital, we need to seek out those Veterans, men and women, who have fought a desert war with people who live in terrible conditions. The desert is as stark as the Vietnam jungles were overgrown. Extreme conditions and an enemy that hides, morphs, and smiles at you while trying to beat you gets into your head after awhile. We want to honor the next generation of heroes. We need to tell them we’re grateful to them for keeping our freedoms intact. Do you have any suggestions for us?
As I prepare to have a staff meeting with the girls (Lexie and Goldie) about their whining, think for a moment about those people who secured our freedoms through the ages. Thank a Vet today. And tomorrow. It’s a beautiful thing for them. And it will be for you, too.
P.S. The dogs are whining 1 – They want to know what all the noise is upstairs, and 2 – They hate when the Babe leaves us. I do too, but we’ll survive. They don’t know that. I played some Chicago music (First Album), and as the horns took over, they sat down and were quiet for a few minutes. Time to turn the music up! Have a fabulous day. I will see you back here tomorrow. Thanks for reading. Be safe. Take Care. Give care.
Kathy Raabe 