So glad to hear you're well Doc and hows your wife doing.

Thinking of you

x

You are one 'Up-&-At-Em,' young man, Z.

Wonderful to hear from you.

Hugs & Kisses

Emmi xxxx

I hope and pray you will remain safe while you are away, and that you will return home safe and well.  I hope you get some rest and feel rejuvenated really soon.

Love,

Minty.

Dear  Z,

Hahahahahaha!!!!!!!!! WTF - indeed!!

You are gorgeous, and just what I need to brighten my day.

Be safe, be strong and get home safely.

Emmi xxx

Wickedly smiles... never thought I would see the day- something would do "YOU" in. WTF, its never over

Be safe- (((((Hugs&LoveAcrossTheMiles)))))

[Trials n Temptations]

Good To See you Z,

I nearly slopped coffee over my lap when I read that you're in Sth Korea.!!

You must be doing well because you're sounding all gruff and grumpy!!

Wishing you a safe and speedy return home.

Emmi xxx

Hey Dr. Z,

Sorry to hear about your dad, it sounds like he was a good man. 

I've heard about that kimchee - sounds gross.

[dropsofjupiter]

Don't hate:

American food is slamming!

wow korea! that's exciting...in  a way loool.

haha that's so tru. chinese people are like a stick, flat on both sides. haha i shouldn't say that since i am half chinese...but i am not that flat...so i can gossip about them..haha

have fun!

((hugs))

consider it done...

Wonderful tribute to your father!.

Thanks and, Big Hugs!!

Emmi

[Ryene]

What a moving tribute to your father.  God bless you and your family.

oh my...im soo dearly ssorry.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

If it's one think i believe is that where-ever they are right now, there isn't any pain and struggles for them.

I hope all is well!

My sympathies to you and your family in your Dad's passing....

Your thoughts about mending bridges was full of as much wisdom as I have ever found in such a warning; your Father did leave a legacy.

Michael

My sympathies Z.  But you dad left behind a great legacy on this planet....you...

sorry to hear about your dad. i know how it can be. my grandma (who was like my mother) had about 7 strokes in 1 1/2 yrs. She passed away in november. I know how hard it is...but sometimes i believe that up there is the best place for them. The pain goes. My gran knew us...but wasn;t living in the present. I hope your dad either gets better....or doesn't suffer for long. And no i don't wish for your dad to die...but if he's suffering, it's better in heaven for him.

Good luck, best wishes...and you and your family are in my prayers and thoughts.

TY for the update... I missed your entries and was sorry to hear the bad news about your father... thanks for the reminder message about grabbing onto life...carpe diem... and know I will be keeping you and your family in my thoughts... Hugs, Gon ^..^

 Your words of wisdom, made me cry...

 'About the past' - the way I see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it.

Oh no, Z.  This is just tragic.  I am so sorry for you and your family, and your poor dad, who is so confused.  My heart is heavy with this news.  It was a horrible, rotten thing to happen.  I have often heard of men getting hit on the head and thinking they are still in the war, but I didn't think it really happened.  I am soooo sorry, Z.  I will step up my prayers for you, your family and your dear dad.  I pray for God's will in this situation.

Love and hugs,

Minty.

My thoughts are with you Z.  And as always, your closing advice fits all!  Best wishes for the coming days..

Lori

Saw this on a friends blog and thought you (and any like-minded others that you know) may appreciate the sentiment. Have a wonderful Xmas Doc.

A Different Christmas Poem

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 daughter beside me, angelic 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 and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"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."

PLEASE, Would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our U.S. Service men and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.

LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Iraq 

its been a long time for myself too on here. I dont get a chance to get on much, i am glad to hear youre doing so well though. Keep it up! we want you around as long as possible!

Happy Holidays to you also, merry christmas, happy new year (in case i dont make it back on to comment before then).

Hey Doc,  Congrats!! keep it up!! really good to hear from you again!! I hope you have a great Christmas and New Year's also!!

it's good to hear from you!! good luck with your job...

  Hullo Z 

 I always knew you'd be back, NOT AT ALL like a bad penny, more like the recurring refrain of a favourite song.

That's scary, that over 600 folk have been laid off, from a total of just over 700 people .... but as  I think about it, that's the ebb and flow of life, the ocean. economies, and even families. I guess companies function the same way.

I for one am pleased that you're still around, and I hope it'll be for a long time yet!

Emmi

[Ryene]

   Hi  Z,

Just checking to see that you're OK!~

Miss hearing from you.

Emmi                                                          

Oh, I just love that song.  I used to sing it in my shows, a loooong time ago.

With regard to leaving the entry posted or removing it, please leave it.  It is really good and it is so true.  You said it out of love and concern for others, and that comes through in your writing.  It might just "speak" to someone who needs guidance. 

Some women are in bad, destructive, abusive relationships that can't be fixed, but others are simply in need of the maturity that they should have had on the day they got married.  Commitment is not a word that many married couples fully understand.  It took Hubby and I a while to fully get it, and now that we have, we are happy and at peace with each other, and with ourselves.

God bless you, dear Z.  Thanks for the thought-provoking entry.

Love,

Minty.

Leave it, Doc. 

And thanks for the words of wisdom to my friend....and your withholding of words to me....I love ya.

Leave the post!!!!!!!  Unfortunately, the ones that need it probably won't see it (they are too busy whining about their sucky lives) and the ones that do see it and AGREE with you really proabably don't need it!  Can you just paste this entry on several diariasts (sp)sites??????        aw

Hi Z,

Leave this post please; so many people need this kind of straight shooting talk, me included.

Thank you - hope you and yours are  well

Emmi

Thank you SOOOO much for including a pic.  You ole silly!!!  No-one would get sick from looking at your pic!!!!  It's a great picture!!  You look very distinguished and wise, but I knew that already.

I hope that new laptop of yours is a good 'un!

May God bless you and yours,

Minty.

Dearest Z,

I'm so sorry to learn that you had such an unhappy Father's Day, and that things are not good between you and your father at the moment.  You did the right thing in taking him to the hospital.  I am so sorry that he is so unwell.

I had a TIA a couple of years ago.  It only lasted an hour, but it was terrifying.  I felt that I was having a stroke.  Nothing I read or looked at made sense to me, and I couldn't string a sentence together with any success.  I was all there, mentally, but I couldn't make myself understood or make any sense of what I was reading, because I was writing emails when it struck.  I wasn't frightened when it happened, but afterwards, I wondered if it was going to happen again and if I was going to remain that way.  I went to the mirror to check for slackness in the muscles in my face, but all was normal.  An MRI scan revealed the truth a month later.  I had not had a stroke, so it must have been a TIA.

Know that my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family at this difficult time.

Love,

Minty.

spend as much time with your folks as you can and say eveything you need to..........

Thinking of you Doc

Hugs

Izzy

xxx

Our thoughts & prayers are with You & Your family.

~tight hugs~

gosh sorry to hear about ur father....same thing here happened tomy grandma about...1 yr 6 mnths now..she's been living which i am grateful, but she can't do much for herself nor others. i suppose that's life...one minute healthy, the next everything's gone!

best wishes to ur dad and ur family!

Hugs to you Z,

Your siblings and you have been so fortunate to have your father still with you, all these years. I was 19 when my dad passed away, and it's difficult to live without a daddy - when one is only just striking out into the world. I will continue to hold you in my heart during this difficult time.

Love

Emmi

Writing in here is a form of exorcism for me and it's just a bonus if someone comments......

Hugs Doc

Izzy

xxx

Hey DrZ. 

Glad to see that you are still posting.  Miss you on Xanga!

[dropsofjupiter]

My diary is private because it's for me. I think that's something that often gets lost in translation as people post pictures for comments.

Anyway, nice entry.
               Have a good one.

I just wanted to clarify something I said in my last comment.  I said that comfort figures in my life far more than it ever has.  Well, by that, I meant comfort, as opposed to the latest fashion.  There is no sense in wearing the tightest, sexiest jeans and the highest heels when you are dying from stomach pains and bunions.  If a fashion doesn't flatter me or if it is uncomfortable, it has no place in my wardrobe.

Minty.

What an awesome entry, Doc. Such wisdom!

I used to try to be something or someone I wasn't, and I was miserable, but now, I am the real me and I have never b