Gonna Get IN The Bag

My daughter made the mistake of putting her bag on the ground.

Cooper has this thing with bags, coats, towels...

So the game here is...

Cooper in the bag.  

And Yes, he did get all the way in.

Baskin Robins For Everyone

Sometimes Cooper gets a whole cup of ice cream...

Other times he gets a big spoon full.

He doesn't care.  As long as EVERYONE gets some.

Cooper and the Beagle

Sometimes when we're shopping we see other dogs that Cooper really wants to meet.

Most meetings are the two dogs circling each other and sniffing butts.

When it's right, sometimes we get some great pictures.

And the other dog likes to get up on the bike with Cooper.

I wish I could remember the name of this dog.  

She was so cute.

  

Got out of her harness a couple times... kept her owner on his toes.

M*A*S*H* 4077

We went to a military store a few towns over.

Right out front there was a little helicopter

You know I couldn't resist taking pictures of Cooper on this helicopter... especially since it said M*A*S*H* 4077 on it. 

I love that show.

Mansfield POW/MIA Chair Dedication

This was an honor to do.

We were cold.

  

Cooper shivered so I had to dress him in his snow suit with his raid gear over that...

But we got to ride out on the track of the Mansfield High School track before a football game.  

We were part of a ceremony to unveil a POW/MIA chair in the bleachers by the field.

The more chairs there are, the more children will ask their parents why they are there.  

This will cause our future Americans understand the price some pay for our freedom.

It's such an honor to be able to do things like this.

Here is a little video(click) of us being escorted onto the track.

Cooper's Hawk

This is a strange coincidence.  Cooper has always gone by the last name "Hawk", his Daddy's last name.  

Click here to learn about a Cooper's Hawk.

Coins Left On Grave Stones

Sometimes I find something that I didn't write that I want to post on my blog.

 This is a gesture that touches my heart.

And pictures of stones that touch my life.

Here is something most people don't know...

While visiting some cemeteries you may notice that headstones marking certain graves have coins on them, left by previous visitors to the grave.

These coins have distinct meanings when left on the headstones of those who gave their life while serving in America's military, and these meanings vary depending on the denomination of coin.

A coin left on a headstone or at the grave site is meant as a message to the deceased soldier's family that someone else has visited the grave to pay respect. Leaving a penny at the grave means simply that you visited.

A nickel indicates that you and the deceased trained at boot camp together, while a dime means you served with him in some capacity. By leaving a quarter at the grave, you are telling the family that you were with the solider when he was killed.

According to tradition, the money left at graves in national cemeteries and state veterans cemeteries is eventually collected, and the funds are put toward maintaining the cemetery or paying burial costs for indigent veterans.

In the US, this practice became common during the Vietnam war, due to the political divide in the country over the war; leaving a coin was seen as a more practical way to communicate that you had visited the grave than contacting the soldier's family, which could devolve into an uncomfortable argument over politics relating to the war.

Some Vietnam veterans would leave coins as a "down payment" to buy their fallen comrades a beer or play a hand of cards when they would finally be reunited.

The tradition of leaving coins on the headstones of military men and women can be traced to as far back as the Roman Empire.

Bourne Pics I Found On The Web

These are pictures of us, Patriot Riders Of America, MA Ch 5, at Bourne National Cemetery last year.

We were placing flags on the grave markers of our honored veterans.

These pictures were taken almost one year ago...

So flags could fly on every grave for Veteran's Day.

We would be back in one week to pick them all up again so grounds keepers could do their jobs.

This movement was established by one man.

Paul Monti.  

Father of Jared Monti, a decorated war hero.  

Inspiration for the song by Lee Brice "I Drive Your Truck"(click).

It's an honor to be one of his volunteers.