Before They Go

Saying for the day-There are some people to whom we owe a debt so large we can never repay it.

My friend Ralph forwarded this to me. It made me think so I thought I would share it with you.

The elderly parking lot attendant wasn't in a good mood!

Neither was Sam Bierstock. It was around 1 a.m., and Bierstock, a Delray Beach, Fla. , eye doctor, business consultant, corporate speaker and musician, was bone tired after appearing at an event.

He pulled up in his car, and the parking attendant began to speak. "I took two bullets for this country and look what I'm doing," he said bitterly.

At first, Bierstock didn't know what to say to the World War II veteran. But he rolled down his window and told the man, "Really, from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you."

Then the old soldier began to cry.

"That really got to me," Bierstock says.

Cut to today.

Bierstock, 58, and John Melnick, 54, of Pompano Beach - a member of Bierstock's band, Dr. Sam and the Managed Care Band - have written a song inspired by that old soldier in the airport parking lot. The mournful "Before You Go" does more than salute those who fought in WWII. It encourages people to go out of their way to thank the aging warriors before they die.

"If we had lost that particular war, our whole way of life would have been shot," says Bierstock, who plays harmonica. "The WW II soldiers are now dying at the rate of about 2,000 every day. I thought we needed to thank them."

The song is striking a chord. Within four days of Bierstock placing it on the Web, the song and accompanying photo essay have bounced around nine countries, producing tears and heartfelt thanks from veterans, their sons and daughters and grandchildren.
"It made me cry," wrote one veteran's son. Another sent an e-mail saying that only after his father consumed several glasses of wine would he discuss "the unspeakable horrors" he and other soldiers had witnessed in places such as Anzio, Iwo Jima, Bataan and Omaha Beach. "I can never thank them enough," the son wrote. "Thank you for thinking about them."

Bierstock and Melnick thought about shipping it off to a professional singer, maybe a Lee Greenwood type, but because time was running out for so many veterans, they decided it was best to release it quickly, for free, on the Web. They've sent the song to Sen. John McCain and others in Washington. Already they have been invited to perform it in Houston for a Veterans Day tribute - this after just a few days on the Web. They hope every veteran in America gets a chance to hear it.


GOD BLESS every EVERY veteran...
and THANK you to those of you veterans who may receive this !

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO HEAR THE SONG AND SEE THE PICTURES:

Before They Go

####News from Pigeon Falls-The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal. The only man from Pigeon Falls to ever make the cover of Time Magazine is coming home for the big snowmobile race. Well he is coming not so much for the race but to visit his Aunt Emma Castle and to get some rest. Dr. Jonathan J. Castle , world’s greatest detective is tired. His last case ,The Stop Sign was Green, was difficult and exhausting. So he is going to fly into Iron Mountain and take the train to Pigeon Falls. But first he has to give a lecture on modern police work at a symposium in Dallas. After which he flies to New York to be given the key to the city by the Mayor for his brilliant work there.
Tommy TK and Tommy PK ( the Pastor’s Kid )as well as the other Tommy’s in the Tommy club are all excited. Dr. Castle is their hero. They see him as a cross between Sherlock Holmes and Monk. They know all the details of every big case he has ever worked on. Down to the very last Tommy they want to be detectives when they grow up. Their club house which used to be a chicken coop on Tommy FK‘s ( the farmer’s kid) farm is filled with pictures including the Time Magazine cover.
The Tommy club, you remember , was founded , when the kids discovered that there were so many Tommys in their age group. Only Tommys can belong. There is one girl. Her name is Tammy but they decided that was close enough to Tommy and she is really smart.
Petrovich says that as he was looking for the driblet about the old lady having a child he came across a short driblet that might apply to Pigeon Falls. It is driblet 132 and he will post it to his website as soon as he gets the time.
****

Today's Link-Noble Eagle- A Rough Military Blog
It was a very good day. I visited all my links. I worked at bringing the link list up to date. Betty went to Bible Study. Then I worked on the elf tale for Thursday and it is coming along. My oxygen levels were great all day. Betty voted on her way home from Bible study but I won't say who she voted for. I listed five more items on eBay. I will be so glad when the last item is listed.
Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA