Memorial Day - Carrington, ND

Carrington's Memorial Day Program starts this year at 11:00 a.m. at the cemetery with Todd Ingegretson (VFW Post #3524) presiding. In the event of rain, the program will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church. The Memorial Day address will be given by Chet Pollert, our State representative. KDAK will broadcast the ceremonies live. This is a program well worth attending in honor of our loved ones. After the ceremony, all participants are invited to a noon luncheon at the CrossRoads Golf Course (courtesy of the VFW Auxiliary).

Note: Did you know that the "National Moment of Remembrance" was created in 1997? 'Taps' is at 3 p.m. throughout America to honor the contributions of our dead soldiers. All Americans are encouraged to pay respect to them by keeping silent for one minute in their memory at 3:00 p.m.

Here are some of my favorite quotes:

"And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free, and I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me and I'll proudly stand next to him to defend her still today, 'cuz there ain't no doubt I love this land, god bless the USA." -Lee Greenwood

I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. -Albert Einstein

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. -John F. Kennedy

“Four things support the world: the learning of the wise, the justice of the great, the prayers of the good, and the valor of the brave” - Muhammad

“That's what it takes to be a hero, a little gem of innocence inside you that makes you want to believe that there still exists a right and wrong, that decency will somehow triumph in the end” - Lise Hand

"When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say, For Their Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today." - The Kohima Epitaph

The belief in the possibility of a short decisive war appears to be one of the most ancient and dangerous of human illusions.
- Robert Lynd

Carrington Calendar Contest

Here's your chance to have one of your Carrington photos in a 2011 Carrington Calendar. Sounds like a great idea from the Chamber of Commerce! Just adhere to the following rules:
1. The photo must be taken in the Carrington (Foster County) area.
2. It must depict something related to Carrington.
3. It must be at least 300 dpi quality and can be submitted electronically.
If you have questions, please contact Laurie Dietz at the Chamber office by phone (652-2524) or e-mail.

Here's an example of a photo that might go on a Carrington calendar: one of my own favorite Carrington pictures. Although, I think a more likely picture to be chosen would be one where you show children with Santa on a hayride at the Putnam House. YOU just might have that perfect December picture in your own collection!

Flooding Nashville (My Hometown)

Unlike the Fargo, Valley City and Jamestown floods last year, there was no chance for the people around Nashville to prepare for the torrents of rain that came down in just two days. Imagine being caught sitting in heavy work traffic while flood waters are rushing by and covering your car! We in Carrington may have problems with snow and freezing weather at times, but we are lucky not to be living in a flood zone or in the midst of tornado country or on a shaky earthquake fault.

If you have time, take a look at the pictures of my hometown in the video below... It's hard to look at these pictures because I've been to all these places and can't imagine the extent of the damage, even though I'm looking at it with my own eyes! For some reason, the news on TV didn't hit me as hard as this little video did. My brother Bill who still lives in the country outside Nashville said they had over 17 inches of rain in 48 hours. The bank behind his house turned into mud and slid down into his back yard. His wife was afraid that their house was going to slide off the hill where my father built it over 50 years ago. Thank goodness the house itself was built on solid ground! Even so, many of their newly planted flowers and young trees were washed away, and for the last week they have been working to clean up the damage.

While I'm feeling disgruntled with the hills of snow outside my door next winter, I want to pause for a moment, count my blessings, and thank God for allowing me to shovel snow off my sidewalk instead of having to shovel mud out of my house!