Friday Night Writes

Welcome to the first edition of Friday Night Writes. A couple of things to blog about tonight.

Our Family's Greatest Generationer

 A proud Army Air Corps Pilot

Some of you may already know my father-in-law was a bomber pilot in World War II. He is an amazing man -- so kind and loving. And, as I have learned about his wartime experiences, I've come to recognize that he is also a very brave and humble man.

These pages from a family scrapbook will help us remember the past year's tributes and honors which include going on an honor flight to the WWII Memorial in DC, riding in a B17, talking to local high school students, and participating in a panel of war veterans. 

Our Family Scrapbook

While I usually put titles on the left side, the two pictures on that page

were so perfect that I just had to lead with those. The right page is one big pocket

to include additional newspaper clippings and photos of his trip to DC and school visit.

My father-in-law is standing in front of the B17 that he rode in from Dayton to Columbus,

holding a photo of his flight crew. This photo that graced the front page of The Columbus Dispatch captured a glorious moment on a gorgeous fall day.

This photo graced the front page of the local Suburban News paper. Its caption refers to the

onlookers as "admirers". The admirers on the left are actually a neighbor and his son and my hubby is on the right. Interestingly enough, my husband teaches American  History but had heard almost nothing about his dad's experiences until a post-flight interview after his arrival in Columbus.

A clipping showing the B17 touching down at Bolton Field.

A memento of an Honor Flight that will be long remembered...

While at the memorial, the veterans were greeted by Senator Bob Dole, who makes it a point to meet most all of the Honor Flight honorees. Upon returning to Columbus, each veteran received a packet of cards and letters from employees of Nationwide Insurance (a sponsor of Central Ohio Honor Flights) and local school children. One letter from a high school freshman touched my father-in-law so much that he contacted her teacher so that he could mail a reply to her. The pride my father-in-law took in these cards and letters is what made me realize I need to make Any Hero cards.

I am so happy and thankful that my father-in-law has experienced such a wonderful year. But, his military service is only a small part of what makes him so special. The love and devotion he showed to my mother-in-law during the final years of her life ... well, there just aren't words. Tom Brokaw got it right -- the Greatest Generation indeed.

OWH Cards

I only managed a couple of cards this week. Both were made from remnants of my Kaiser Secret Bird Society paper. Unfortunately, I struggled with a third card -- actually for a couple of nights -- but just never got it quite right. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a few more made this weekend.

Both cards are tri-folds  :)

 News from the Homestead

Two points worth noting:

• The scrapbook pics were taken with our new digital camera and uploaded to a laptop! You have no idea what an accomplishment this is for us tech-challenged folks. Thanks to Yolanda for her vote of confidence!
• All of the photos in this post have watermarks -- another huge accomplishment! Thanks to Julie for her recommendation to use http://www.picmarkr.com/.
• The one downside of these techie accomplishments was fewer made cards...  Let's hope I get lots better at all of this!

Well, this post ended up being a little longer than I had planned. Sorry about that. 

Thanks for stopping by. And, with the crazy weather going on, hope everyone is okay. Be safe!