Not a shifty Character at all...

"Shifty" By Chuck Yeager 

Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy  

Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st  

Airborne Infantry.  If you've seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the  

History Channel, you know Shifty.  His character appears in all 10  

episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them.   


I met Shifty in the  Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn't  

know who he was at the time.  I just saw an elderly gentleman having  

trouble reading his ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was  

at the right gate, and noticed the "Screaming Eagle," the symbol of  

the 101st Airborne, on his hat.   

Making conversation, I asked him if he d been in the 101st Airborne  

or if his son was serving.  He said quietly that he had been in the  

101st.  I thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served,  

and how many jumps he made.   

Quietly and humbly, he said "Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so,  

and was in until sometime in 1945 ... " at which point my heart  

skipped. 


At that point, again, very humbly, he said "I made the 5 training  

jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into  Normandy . . .  do you know  

where  Normandy is?"  At this point my heart stopped. 

I told him "yes, I know exactly where  Normandy is, and I know what  

D-Day was."  At that point he said "I also made a second jump into  

Holland , into  Arnhem ."  I was standing with a genuine war hero ...   

and then I realized that it was June,  just after the anniversary of  

D-Day.   

I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from  France , and he said  

"Yes...  And it ' s real sad because, these days, so few of the guys are  

left, and those that are, lots of them can't make the trip."  My heart  

was in my throat and I didn't know what to say. 



I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in  

Coach while I was in First Class.  I sent the flight attendant back to  

get him and said that I wanted to switch seats.  When Shifty came  

forward, I got up out of the seat and told him I wanted him to have  

it, that I'd take his in coach. 


He said "No, son, you enjoy that seat.  Just knowing that there are  

still some who remember what we did and who still care is enough to  

make an old man very happy."  His eyes were filling up as he said it.  

And mine are brimming up now as I write this. 



Shifty died on Jan. l7 after fighting cancer. 


There was no parade. 

No big event in  Staples   Center . 

No wall to wall back to back 24x7 news coverage. 

No weeping fans on television. 

And that's not right!! 


Let's give Shifty his own Memorial Service, online, in our own quiet way. 

Please forward this email to everyone you know.  Especially to the veterans.   

Rest in peace, Shifty.   

Chuck Yeager, Maj Gen. [ret.] 

The Only Flag That Doesn't Fly

Between the fields where the  flag is planted, there are 9+ miles of flower fields that go all the way  to the ocean. The flowers are grown by seed companies. It's a beautiful place, close to Vandenberg AFB. Check out the dimensions of the flag. The  Floral Flag is 740 feet long and 390 feet wide and maintains the proper  Flag dimensions, as described in Executive Order #10834. This Flag is 6.65  acres and is the first Floral Flag to be planted with 5 pointed Stars,  comprised of White Larkspur. Each Star is 24 feet in diameter; each Stripe  is 30 feet wide. This Flag is estimated to contain more than 400,000  Larkspur plants, with 4-5 flower stems each, for a total of more than 2  million flowers. 
Aerial photo courtesy of Bill  Morson 

Once Enemies...now friends?

Jerusalem (CNN) -- Aya Abu Mouwais, a 3-year-old who lives in the West Bank, can barely walk or talk because of a failing kidney and liver. For much of her life, the Palestinian child has needed dialysis to survive.
Thankfully, an Israeli man has been able to help her get the treatment she so desperately requires.
More than 500 times in the past two years, Yuval Roth and his volunteers have driven Aya and her mother roundtrip from a checkpoint near the West Bank border to Rambam Medical Center, which is an hour away in Haifa, Israel.
"What Yuval has done, no one else has done," said Aya's mother, Suhair. "He is day by day helping us to get her to the hospital. I'm not allowed to drive an Israeli car, so if not for Yuval, we wouldn't be able to transport her. I thank him."
Leaving the West Bank is the only way Aya's family can get dialysis. For one thing, medical facilities are limited in the territory.
"In the Palestinian Authority, it's very expensive to get health care, and most of the people cannot afford it," Roth said.
It's also expensive to make the trip to Israeli hospitals. Although the Palestinian Authority allows sick children and adults to leave the West Bank for treatment, Palestinians are not allowed to drive past the checkpoints. To get to Israeli hospitals, they'd have to take a taxi, which would cost at least $90 each way.
Fortunately, there is Roth and his organization, Derech Hachlama ("On the Road to Recovery"). Since 2006, Roth and his team of volunteers have been giving Palestinians a lifeline.
"The volunteers are driving at least five days a week," said Roth, a 55-year-old carpenter and professional juggler from Pardes Hanna, Israel. "Some (drive) in the morning to drop off patients, and others come in the evening to take them back. That makes the whole thing easy, since they can still go to work and don't have to spend the whole day."

The price of the conflict is a lot more than the price of making peace.
--CNN Hero Yuval Roth

For Roth, the transportation service is a way to recover from personal tragedy. In 1993, his brother Udi was kidnapped and killed by members of Hamas. After his loss, Roth found a way to channel his anger into peace.
"I heard an interview on Israeli radio with a man who lost his son in the same way that I lost my brother," Roth said. "After the interview, I called him ... and he said he had an idea to establish a group to encourage dialogue between bereaved families from both sides, Israelis and Palestinians."
Roth joined the group, called Parents Circle - Families Forum, and befriended many Palestinians. All shared a surprisingly common need: transportation access to Israeli health-care facilities.
"One day, (a program participant) called and told me his brother might have a brain tumor. He had an appointment at Rambam hospital but no way to go," Roth said. "He asked if I could drive him, and I agreed it would be no problem."
That first call for help was more than four years ago. As word of Roth's generosity spread, transportation demands grew, and Roth began to recruit his friends as driver-volunteers.
Today, Roth's group has grown to 200 volunteers. Transport coordination efforts are run entirely by Roth, who spends many hours on his cell phone inquiring about the location of volunteers and Palestinian families. Each volunteer maintains his or her own vehicle, but Roth helps cover gasoline costs with donation money he has received.
Do you know a hero? Nominations are open for 2011 CNN Heroes
Even though differences exist, including some language barriers, Roth believes that the program helps Israelis and Palestinians learn from and respect each other.
"When we are coming to pick up the sick kids, the (Palestinian and Israeli) checkpoint managers help us a lot," Roth said. "It makes our life and their life a lot easier. I think Palestinian families trust me also because I'm coming as one of them. I feel like they are my family or my friends."
Roth's group has driven an estimated 90,000 kilometers (about 55,000 miles) in 2010 alone. He says they have helped hundreds of Palestinians get access to health care.
"I lost my brother, but I didn't lose my head," Roth said. "This activity gives me an essence for life. I have learned the price of the conflict is a lot more than the price of making peace. We are all human beings."

Want to get involved? E-mail On the Road to Recovery at roadtorecovery10@gmail.com for more information.

Valentine's Day isn't just for Couples!

Unlike most people, Valentine's Day for me isn't a day for couples only, but a day for my whole family.  I guess our tradition of having a "family" valentine dinner started because we didn't have a lot of money to go out to dinner as a couple.  So we stayed home.  Our children were included.  It has been over 15 years since we started that tradition and our children love it.  It is a time for us to take the phone off the hook, shut the blinds, and enjoy an evening with our children.  We start with the much anticipated candlelight dinner and after dessert we open the valentine box where every person has written a special valentine to each member of the family.  My husband usually reads them and starts to get weepy and then the flood gates are opened and soon we are all teary.  It is such a wonderful time for our family to feel the love that we have for one another.  I have 7 binders that sit on the bookshelf through the month of February that contains valentines that each member of the family has received through the years.  It is fun for the kids to sit down and read the wonderful words that their parents and siblings have expressed to them over the years.  I LOVE Valentine's Day.

HOLD ON...Don't Lose HOPE:)

I feel like we are on the edge of a precipice and that we are heading into unknown, but not untraveled territory.  We NEED to hear your good news.  Please tell your family and friends to share any good news that we all need to hear.  Email@ goodforglenn@yahoo.com