Today is Veterans Day and we should all be thankful for them.

Several days ago, I wrote a blog about the battle at Omaha Beach in Normandy France. What many people forget is that America was fighting two wars at the same time. We were fighting the Germans in Europe and Japan in the Pacific. Our troops were stretched all over the world trying to Save America.

Two years (exactly) before the battle at Omaha beach was the battle at Midway. As the Battle at Omaha Beach was the turning point in the European war against Germany, the battle at Midway was the turning point in the war in the Pacific against Japan. Midway island is located between Japan and Hawaii, much closer to Hawaii than it is to Japan. As you know Japan had already attacked Pearl Harbor (6 months earlier) and their plan was to take ownership and control of all the Pacific region.  If anyone thinks that their desire for control would have stopped with the pacific, simply does not understand history or the mindset of a dictator. Japan wanted to control the world from the west.

Simply put, if we had lost the battle of Midway and given Japan ownership and control of the island, we would have lost the Hawaiian Islands and then would eventually be defending the west coast of the United States. Much like the battle at Omaha beach, if we had lost Midway, we most likely would have lost America. So, the stakes in the battle was for the life, land and liberty of America.

The battle took place between June 4^th and June 7^th, 1942. Combined casualties between America and Japan were 3,364. Additionally, there was great loss of naval ships, planes, aircraft carriers, equipment and personnel. America prevailed in the battle and pushed the Japanese control back to Tokyo and retained control of the pacific.

In our personal life there are things we need to do and then there are things we must do. In the course of history, the battles at Midway and Omaha Beach were battles that America had to win. So today, wherever you are, if you see a veteran, thank them and this Thanksgiving, remember the veterans that gave their life so we could have a chance to live ours. KT

Even though the title of this blog is how to train a dog, I have no idea how. I have a little fat dog (Sheltie) that I love more than I have ever loved an animal, but I can’t train him to do anything. I have watched videos about how to train a dog to fetch, heel, shake hands etc. and he just looks at me like I don’t know what I am talking about. He is with me all the time at home and sits beside my chair at night always waiting for some attention or a scrap of food.

When he was a puppy, he was wild. Because we live in a neighborhood, I couldn’t let him out in the yard without supervision. I didn’t love the idea of putting on clothes, shoes and a coat to walk him every morning so I hammered a steel stake near the front door so when he was little I would just loop his leash on that stake so he could do his business each morning and evening and I wouldn’t have to stay out with him when it was cold. By doing that, he learned to stay close to the house so now he just goes out by himself and stays close to the front of the house and sits on the porch until I come and get him.

One thing he does that tickles me is in the morning when I let him out, he will look back to see if I am watching. If he knows I am not watching, he will pee right in front of the door but if he looks back and sees me watching he will go to the flower bed or the grass. This morning we played this watching game and I decided I might buy one of those training collars that give him a little shock. I thought instead of putting the collar around his neck I might just attached it his little private part. Ha. I bet that would take care of the problem.

So, my dog has a vocabulary of about eight words like eat, bed, sit, stay etc. and he doesn’t do any other tricks like fancy dogs, but I love the little fellow. KT

There is an old Baptist hymn named, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. The earliest memory I have of the song was one summer when I was at my Granny Bell’s house (my mother’s mother) and I was probably 6 or 7 years old. She took me to Peach Orchard Baptist church for bible school. I remember it just like it was yesterday, her standing beside me singing this song and holding the hymnal so I could see the words. I remember her voice and her very presence at that moment and every time I hear the song, I think of her. Granny Bell died young at 63 of a heart condition in 1975.

The song depicts a person asking for streams of mercy to never cease and for the lord to tune his heart to sing his praise. It speaks of his redeeming love. In verse four it says, O to grace how great a debtor, daily I’m constrained to be, let thy goodness like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee. What incredible lyrics.

The point is you never know what a simple memory will mean to your children and grandchildren. We get caught up in the hurry of life and don’t realize what little moments mean. This story of my grandmother is a good example. She took the time to be with me that day when she probably had many other more important things to do but it was that moment that stays with me today. She was a dear sweet woman and loved her family with all her heart. KT