June 9, 2008

• Edit:
  Will is at it again.....
  This time it is CLOSE-UPs
  You can vote HERE. 
  They post them Monday after noon EST.

  
  This past weekend was our annual WWII event...the one where the Yankee Lady shows up and makes our knees weak.......
  It was the most horrible hot and HUMID Saturday and Sunday...ugh....make-up melting off the over made up gals and sweat being dumped out of helmets.      But that sure did not stop the crowds.  And for the first time in a long time, it did not rain..which I am not sure if that is good or bad...rain might have been a great relief.  But we got what we got and we made the best of it. 
  I only went out one of the days this year and had the great privilege of meeting Evangeline Coeyman, 2nd Lt. U.S. Army Medical Corps and then hearing her speak for over an hour about her experiences during the war.  You can read her story here.
  Her field hospital followed the 90th Infantry Division which was Patton's army.  She went through four campaigns and helped liberate two concentration camps at the end of the war.  I was fascinated by her story.   She asked me if I was a nurse....I AM...right???...because I am a mom!!!  Just ask my son....I have even done surgery on him.  I got almost all the pieces of coal out of his knee once. 
  I had to tell her that I began in nursing school but switched to special education after a year.  Wound healing did not agree with me....but I have had my share of experiences as a mom.  She was okay with that and signed one of her pictures for me anyway.  

  
  

  
  Evangeline Coeyman
  

  Then I met a woman who wrote a book through interviewing women concerning their experiences during the war.  The biggest section in the book is families...homefront etc..
  I am looking forward to sitting down and digesting all these stories.  The book is called: "We Knew We Were AT WAR Women Remember World War II"  by Margaret Hewitt George
  She's got a blog....  www.worldwariiwoman.com
  and a website  www.peggeorge.com
  I kind of sort of have the feeling feminism might play a role in this book...underlying tune...but won't know for sure until I read it.  I prefer to call it War Time "Pitch-in-inism" instead of feminism.  
  War times have sure changed if you compare the uniting of the country during WWII to what is going on today.......I think this was the catalyst that inspired her to write this book.

  Last but not least....I finally found a dress I can wear next year to help serve meals with my daughter and our friends T and L.   My husband and son and daughter worked their tails off this weekend helping T and L in their reconstruction of a Guadalcanal snack bar.   I helped a little bit behind the scenes this year by ironing Will's uniform and hemming up slacks and buying 40 pounds of potatoes....that was a lot of potatoes...they weighed....hmmm..well they weighed 40 pounds! 
  Back to the dress.....I got a bargain....it has some flaws...was marked down and then when I said I'll take it she brought the price down some more.  One odd button...Oooooooo....does any one else LOVE to go through the button tin???!!!!  I find the greatest pleasure going through our giant button tin.  I love collecting old buttons too.  So....you know, there HAS to be a matching button in there.  I Just know it.  Red...it is a cute red button.  The dress is red and white checks...little checks and it just so happens that Elisabeth had made me a retro 40's apron that will match...it does match....I am almost all set.  I can hardly wait until next year.  

  Photos forth coming....

  Now pester my kids to tell you all about the big bike restoration project...Will should tell it.  Elisabeth inspired us and Will pulled us through and Grandpa J (our adopted grandpa) helped us put it all back together again (with humor.)    I could not be prouder of  them for what they did...the nearly impossible.

  
  

  
  

  • 1:14 pm
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