The Eagle and the Cat

On January 22, 1997 our farm house built in 1901 caught fire and burnt to the ground. We relocated to a home about 14 miles away as we waited for spring and the chance to rebuild. After working at the elementary school I would drive to the farm and do the pruning of all of the apple trees. On most days Marily's cat would follow me out into the orchard. As I pruned she would hunt mice and depending on the weather, lay in the sun. As she was a barn cat I didn't really have to worry about her.

One day as I arrived at the farm the snow was blowing and the wind made it almost impossible to see. Pulling into the drive way I didn't see the cat and thought she was waiting for me in the barn, where I kept my coveralls and tools. She wasn't in the barn either so I just went to work in the orchard. i could only work a couple of hours because of the wind and snow. I cut the pruning time short and decided to head for home. Pulling out of the drive way I saw Marily's cat lying dead in the ditch on the opposite side of the road. With the snow blowing I decided that i would take care of the cat the next day. With the four or five cars that traveled the road I wondered how she got hit.

The next day I headed to the farm with the plan of taking care of the cat. As I approached the farm I began looking for the cat. I pulled my truck over near the drive and intended to get out and find the cat. As I was ready to get out a full grown male Bald Eagle came up out of the ditch with the cat in it's claws. The Eagle, with Marily's cat held fast, landed in the field about a hundred yards away. Waiting for the Eagle was his life partner. The circle of life moved on.

My Father's Quest for Freedom

During the second world war my Grandmother Galloway prayed as five of her sons fought the axis powers. My father and an uncle fought in the Pacific and three other uncles fought in Europe. Everyone came home safe, but not sound. My father suffered cerebral malaria and the after effects for many years. In all of my growing up years he never really talked much about, "The War". But, I do remember the one time he talked about some of the events that took place. In the jungles of New Guinea more than 7000 men in his division died of disease or combat. He never talked about the enemy and how they butchered soldiers and innocent civilians.

Later I studied the archives and journals of the Red Arrow Division and began to understand the cost of freedom. The cost that my father and others like him paid for my freedom. In the next decade the men of the Greatest Generation will have for the most part passed on to eternity. Now the ideals and vision that thousands upon thousands of men, and women, fought and died for will pass on with them, unless. Unless freedom loving people that really understand the vision and passion of our founding heroes take a stand.

Today the government is planning on telling you what you must purchase, or be fined. They are going to control how much carbon dioxide is released, don't exhale too much. Lawmakers want gps devices installed in autos to check mileage and routes that are heavily traveled. They could even check to see if you attend a Tea Party. It won't be long and this will no longer be the land of, The Pilgrims Pride. Today we must be serious about the ballot box, for I fear that if we are not than the bullet box may be next. God help us and our land.