Nov 7, 2014: "To the right, ever to the right, never to the left, forever to the right!"No

The cold wind is blowing across the wide open terraces with the rows of white stones that top the undulating hills and give testament to the fallen men and women who have given their lives for their country. Remembrance poppies snuggle in lapels while icy sleet fights for purchase on the already wet cheeks of the family members who have come this dreary, early November afternoon. Everyone is there. Moms and Daddy, Brian, Mart, Trixie and their families as well as childhood friends, Larry and Terry Lynch. And then there is Bobby. Although he wears no rank insignia today, they have all come to witness the recognition of 1st Lieutenant Robert Belden today. Diana leans close and whispers to both Mart and Trixie. “I keep remembering the five little kids practicing their Jody calls and marching commands.” (Fade in. Five kids in white tee-shirts, blue jeans and white Keds tennis shoes.) Forward harch!

Hup two three four.

Hup two three four. You had a good home but you left

Your Right

You had a good home but you left

your right

Jody was there when you left

your right

your baby was there when you left

your right

Sound off

one two Sound off

three four Cadence Count

one two three four one

two

three four Fall In! Atten - shun! A bout Face! Leeeft Face Riiight Face (Fade out) Moms lookes over at the group and frowns as Trixie giggles at Diana's memory. Moms frown only made Trixie giggle more as she spoke of her own memory. “I remember how Bobby insisted on being the Drill Sergeant, and he didn’t put up with any stragglers from either set of twins." Mark groaned. “Yeah, I got so tired of watching Stargate with him because he always complained about the sloppy salute given by Kurt Russell in the movie. Every time, he would say, ‘I don’t care how depressed or disallusioned he was, there isn’t any honest to God career Colonel who would make such a sloppy salute.’ Brian interjected, “And it got even worse after they watched Renaissance Man and started copying all those cadence’s. I think my favorite was Hamlet’s Mama”. All the Bobwhites begin chanting together, “Hamlet's mama, she's a queen.

Buys it in the final scene.

Drinks a glass of funky wine.

Now she's Satan's valentine.” Diana said, “I never would have guessed that would drive Larry to study and then perform Shakespeare.” Dan broke in, “When Bobby got his first command, I wanted so badly to warn his platoon that he had been practicing drills since he was six years old.” Jim asked, “Why didn’t you?” Dan returned with a level look. “Are you kidding me? He scared me. He had grown to be two inches taller than I was and had more muscles than I ever got chopping wood. I had no doubt that if I told tales, he would assign me to KP and make it stick.” The sudden firing of a twenty-one gun salute at a nearby burial made the young mothers hurry to cover their children's ears and hug the little ones close. Then Moms twitched Brians sleeve. “You all need to settle down now. They are ready to start." The whole group drew in their breaths. They all stood a little bit straighter as if they were obeying their baby brothers long ago commands. They watched in awe as Robert Belden took his first turn as a Sentinel at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. As part of the Third United States Infantry Regiment or " Old Guard", he honored the fallen as only one soldier can do for another. Jody call - cadence rhythm used by soldiers to keep up speed and moral while marching distances. Stargate - No profit is being made from the mention of this movie or of the starring actor, Kurt Russell. Renaissance Man - No profit is being made from the mention of this movie.

Members of the Old Guard wear no ranking insignia so as to not outrank the unknown soldiers.

Prompt: Lather, Rinse, and Repeat.

Nellie Bean struggled in Trixie's arms and said, “Want to p'yay, want to p'yay in the water with Daddy.”

Dan looked at Trixie and grimaced. “Don’t you dare laugh. I am not sure why I got this job. I never had dogs when I was growing up, and it is is your almost-twin’s dog! By rights you should be the one down here bathing Yorick.”

Trixie cheerfully responded. “But I am not the one that agreed to dog-sit while they are visiting in Arizona, or that took that pup tramping around in the preserve and gave her the chance to find a nice little baby to take care of and play with.

How many times have you bathed her so far?”

Dan shrugged. “I think about four times. Lather, rinse, and repeat. Etcetera, Etcetera, Etcetera. Now that you have gotten back from the store, I can bathe her in the tomato juice and maybe she will finally stop smelling quite so much like skunk.”

Trixie laughed. “It really is too bad that Mart isn’t here. I would have loved to have seen him trying to get Yorick to drop the skunk kit before the real mama showed up. I swear, it really looked like Yorick thought she finally had a puppy to take care of.

Celebrate

It had been a long, hot, muggy, yet extremely fun day. The three generations of family which consisted of the senior citizens, the Bob-Whites, and the next generation had all enjoyed celebrating the Fourth of July with gossip, swimming, and food.   Now, the three generations were settling in at Sleepyside City Park on blankets and lawn chairs to enjoy the fireworks.

“Daddy, what are fireworks?” asked Joseph.  

Mart replied, “Fireworks are the result of pyrotechnics, which is the science of using materials capable of undergoing self-contained and self-sustained exothermic chemical reactions for the production of heat, light, gas, smoke and/or sound.”

Aunt Trixie interrupted Mart.  “Joseph, never mind your Daddy’s windbag explanation.  Fireworks are beautiful lights that are set off, sort of like when Daddy lights the bar-b-cue by flicking a lighter to light the fire to cook the meat.  But the lights of the fireworks are all different colors of the rainbow and all different designs like starbursts, streaks of light, and colored lightning.  Sometimes they sizzle like water on a hot skillet. Sometimes they dance along to the music that is played by the town band, and other times they boom like thunder to sound just like the noise the cannon on the courthouse square used to make.

Brian turned to Joseph.  “Joey, we celebrate the 4th of July because it is the anniversary of the day that the Declaration of Independence was signed back in 1776.”

Mart broke in saying, “Joe.  The most recognizable words from the Declaration of Independence are, We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Trixie added, “The fireworks are are always there to remind us of how hard we had to fight for our independence and freedom.

“Some of those same battles are still being fought today by men and women like your Uncle Brian, Uncle Dan, and your cousin, Hallie.  They guard our nation, and we honor them by celebrating our freedoms.”

Trixie stopped her narrative and pensively began rocking her daughter in her arms.  It had been many weeks since she had heard from Danny.  The last letter she had received had talked about some of the mysteries they had worked on when they were kids.  He didn’t have anything to say about the secret code they had found when the Bob-Whites were working on the antique show, but he had decorated the pages with the code characters around the border of the letter so that it looked like a funny kind of stationery.   Even though she herself had a high security clearance from working with the FBI, she knew that the censors still had to be careful about what information was left intact in letters home.  She still wasn’t sure whether she should be more worried about the fact that Daniel had circumvented the censors or about the mission about which he could give no information.  

Most letters from her husband were cut up like the old cards from player pianos.  But this last letter...it had very few cuts and was certainly homey and loving, but it was just different.  Maybe that is why she thought of trying to translate that old code.

The stick figures decorating the page borders had told a different story.  Without giving away any secrets, Danny had told her not to send anymore care packages for a while because he was going on a temporary duty assignment.  There was some risk involved, but it was necessary for the safety of the troops.

That was back just before Memorial Day.  Then, Flag Day on June 14 had come and gone and there were still no new letters.

When Hallie Belden had arrived on her doorstep last week, Trixie had nearly fainted in fear that she was about to receive notice that her husband was missing in action or dead.  Trixie could chuckle now about her greeting to her cousin.  “Hallie Belden, I don’t care if you are a chaplain.  You turn right around and go do your duty to some other family.  Don’t you come here and tell me that my husband won’t be coming home to me.”  

Trixie breathed a deep sigh.  It did take a while, but Hallie was finally able to convince me that she was on a normal leave and not here to make an announcement of loss.

Both Hallie and Brian had tried to use their connections as chaplain and doctor with the Red Cross, but they were unable to get access to any information about Daniel.

Trixie looked up to the skies and saw that it was finally dark enough for the fireworks, so she shifted Nellie Bean to make sure the two-year-old was awake enough to watch the show.  

The first display was an outline of the American flag, complete with a blue field of white stars and attached red and white stripes.

Hallie got Joe’s attention and said, “Did you know that the red, white and blue of the flag have special meanings?  Red is for valor and zeal.  White is for hope and cleanliness or life.  Blue -- the color of heaven -- is for reverence and loyalty.   I think the meanings behind the colors make our flag even more special than just as a symbol of our country.”

The family continued to watch the display and make frequent comments.

“Beautiful.”

“Oooo.”

“Aahhh.”

“Look at those reds and blues.  They are gorgeous!”

The family around her became very quiet as the show wound down to get ready for the grand finale. Trixie looked down at her daughter.  “Nellie Bean, don’t you think the fireworks are pretty?”

Daniella, a little sleepily, turned to her mommy and dutifully responded,  “Yes, Mommy.  They are buffalo.”  Then she lifted her arms to someone behind them.  Trixie didn’t give much thought to handing her daughter to a nearby relative until she heard a familiar chuckle that turned into an appreciative laugh.

Just as the town symphony began to play the William Tell Overture in tandem with the grand finale, Daniel, with his daughter in his arms, leaned over Trixie’s chair and, giving them both a big hug, said,  “Yes, Nellie Bean,  they are buffalo,  but not as buffalo as you and your mommy.  Happy Fourth of July!”

*buffalo was the way my own two year old daughter tried to say beautiful.

June 23, 2014: Delay or Delays.

“Uh, Trixie?”

“Yeah, Brian.  What is it?”,

“Uh, you know that I love Nellie Bean and think she is wonderful, right?”

“Yeah, you do your own fair share of spoiling her rotten.”

“Well...uhm  how do I say this without totally freaking you out?  Trixie, have you ever considered that Nellie Bean might have a speech delay?”

Trixie looked at Brian in shock.  “Speech delay?  What are you talking about, Brian.  Nellie Bean speaks very well for a two year old.”

“Now Trixie, don’t get upset with me.  I just think, well I wonder if she might have some sort of cognitive issue.   

While we were downtown today, we saw the busses.  But instead of saying, bus,  she was saying buzz, buzz.  Later, she kept pointing out more busses, but it really sounded like she was calling them magical school bus.  I kept repeating that to her, but she just shouted ‘No’ and said it all over again.”

Trixie started laughing.  She laughed so hard she cried, and then sat down heavily on the floor.

“Brian!  For a doctor, you sure don’t understand ‘little kid’ very well.

“What is the name of the bus that travels through Westchester County?”

Brian replied, “It is called the Bee-line bus, of course.”

“Uh huh.  And how to they spell the name?”

“B-E-E  L-I-N-E.  So?”

“B-E-E as in bumble bee.  And what do bumble bee’s say?

“Come on Brian.  Your face is turning a very pretty shade of red, so I think you know the answer.”

Brian wore an embarrassed grin as he said, “Buzz.  Bee’s say Buzz”

“Yes, they do.  I have been doing a lot of traveling with Nellie Bean by bus and rail.  For me, it is a lot easier to get around, when I don’t have to worry about finding a parking spot.  For Nellie Bean, it is a grand adventure.  Personally, I think my daughter is very smart to be saying, ‘buzz buzz’ for Buzz Bus or even Bee Bus.”

Brian laughed and then said, “But Trixie, what about ‘Magical School Bus’?  How could she have ever seen that program.  It went off the air years and years ago.”

Trixie answered, “Well, I happen to think that is even more brilliant.  ‘Magical School Bus, is actually Nellie speak for Metro Road bus.  She hears the announcements on both the bus and the train about ‘Metro Bus’ or ‘Metro Rail’. So now, anytime we are driving on the road through town, she will tell me when she sees the metro road bus.

“It was even more surprising the other day.  I told her we were driving to the grocery store for shopping.  When we got there, she announced, ‘Stop Requested’.

“No Brian.  Nellie Bean doesn’t have any speech delay, she is taking after Mart with the words, and after me with the clue associations, and after Honey with the confusing speech patterns.  Instead of Honey Speak,  we are now going to have to get used to Nellie Speak.”

Freedom Because of Memorial Day

Trixie breathed a deep sigh as she watched the mailman fill her mailbox. As she heard him drive away, she looked down at her sleeping daughter and assured herself that Nellie Bean was fast asleep.

“At least if I have a letter from Danny, she won’t be awake to see me cry over his words.”

She went outside and down the short driveway to the mailbox.  When she opened the lid of the mailbox, she saw several envelopes.  She hoped at least one of them was from Daniel, but any of them might also be from her brother Brian or from her cousin Hallie.  

As she shuffled through the mail, she saw an envelope with her husband’s distinctive handwriting.  She puckered her face in curiosity because she saw many small doodles of stick figures decorating the envelope as if it were an interesting piece of stationary.  

Trixie opened the letter and saw that there were not many redaction cutouts in today’s letter; however, the stationary, like the envelope, was decorated with doodles of stick figures.  The letter was a simple missive.  It told her of his love for both his wife and child.  He thanked her for the most recent pictures, expressing regret that he was unable to see so many of the important milestones that had changed so much of Danielle’s life since he last saw her as a small baby, and he teased her for recently coming up with the nickname of Nellie Bean.  He asked after all the family, but especially Uncle Bill and Jedidiah Maypenny, with a special request that she look in on both men often.  Finally, he made mention of the many memories they had made as teenagers when solving the riddles of the mysteries that she seemed to attract so effortlessly.  However, he never made mention of the mysterious code the Bob-Whites  found while working on the antique show.  That wasn’t so unusual, since he wasn’t even in Sleepyside when they found the code.

 

But of course, later, all the Bob-Whites memorized the whole code just in case they ever needed to use it again.  And now he had decorated the envelope and paper with the code doodles.

As an FBI agent herself, she knew that due to security issues, there was much that Danny was not allowed to tell her.  But his doodles intrigued her.  She wanted to see if, by chance, he had written a message to her in the doodles decorating the page.  Even though she had memorized the code so many years ago, she decided to find her old copy of the code found in the St. Nicholas magazine at the time of the antique show to make sure she decoded any message correctly.

Before Trixie could start working on solving her new puzzle, she received a telephone call from her cousin Hallie.  Hallie was a military chaplain, assigned to Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey.

“Trixie, can I lean on you and vent a minute?”

“Sure, Hallie.  What’s up?”

“I was out at a local store today, making arrangements for a food basket for a new widow.  I was standing behind two ladies who had full baskets of food, soda, and beer.  One of them turned to me and said, ‘The weather is looking really good.  Monday ought to be a spectacular Memorial Day.  I imagine the parks will be full to over-flowing with picnickers.  Looks like you are planning a celebration for a small platoon.  I hope you have a happy Memorial Day.'

“Trixie, I wanted so badly to tell that lady that Memorial Day isn’t a day of celebration!  It is a day of remembrance of all the men and women who have served this country, sometimes by paying with their very lives.  I probably would have  told her this, too, if I hadn’t been in uniform.”

Trixie broke in to stop her cousins rant. “Hallie, I understand your sentiment, but it is a day of celebration also.

“One of the most moving Memorial Day Presentations, was the one I attended with Dan shortly after he joined the service.  The service was held at 11.00 a.m.  During the presentation, the Base Commander explained that on the morning of Memorial Day, the United States flag is raised briskly to the top of the flag pole, and then solemnly lowered to half staff in memory of all the lives that have been lost.  It remains at half staff until noon, when it is raised to full staff to signify that those lost will always be remembered, but those who remain resolve not to let their sacrifice be in vain.  We celebrate that we are able to continue the fight for liberty and justice for all.”

Hallie sighed.  “That sounds like a wonderful presentation.  However, after getting the basket of food, when I got back to my quarters, I had a message from the Sleepyside Cemetery Caretaker.   He said that he was having trouble getting permission from the mayor to have a Memorial Day service at the city cemetery.”

Trixie sputtered, “What?”

Hallie continued.  “Don’t worry,  I have already fixed that glitch.  Thanks to all your mysteries when you were growing up, I have established contacts with Chief Molinson and Matt Wheeler.  I called both of them for help, and before I could finish unloading my car, the mayor was on the phone assuring me that, of course, Sleepyside will conduct a Memorial Day service.

“Trix, I do have a favor to ask, though.  Since Dan is so far away, it is unlikely that he will get leave to come home for the weekend.  I know you, and you are probably planning a very private weekend where  you and Nellie Bean will look at pictures and home movies of Dan, doing everything you can to make sure she will recognize him when he does come home.

“But, Trix, this new widow has no family anywhere nearby, and the funeral for her husband is scheduled at the National Cemetery in Albany.  I promised that I would be there with her and her children.  

“I was calling to ask you to represent me at the Sleepyside service.  Now, after hearing your explanation of that other Memorial Day service, I want you to be there more than ever, and incorporate the explanation of the flag ceremony.  Will you do this for me, please, Trixie?”

“Hallie, of course Danielle and I will be honored to represent both you and Dan at the services.  And I will do everything I can to make certain that the people of Sleepyside know what Memorial Day is supposed to mean.”

Later that evening, Trixie found her copy of the code and settled down to complete her transcription.  She was disappointed to discover that Dan had been sent on a temporary duty assignment.  He didn’t tell her where, of course, and she was proud that he had been selected, as it meant that his work would be beneficial to the troops, but she was frustrated that there was an element of risk, no matter how small.  

Then she remembered a poem by Kelly Strong that she had memorized years ago in school.

I watched the flag pass by one day.

It fluttered in the breeze…

...I wondered just how many times

That TAPS had meant "Amen,"

When a flag had draped a coffin

Of a brother or a friend…

Trixie thought of that poem and realized that everyone has to do their part, not only to remember the fallen of the past, but to also remember the servicemen and women who still fight today.

Because, of course, freedom isn’t free.

Thank you to my editors, Vivian and K.  They tried to teach me, really they did. However, any errors are, and always will remain, my own.

Also, parts of the poem by Kelly Strong, were used without permission but with great respect. Please read the poem in its entirety. Freedom Isn't Free

06/09/2014 re-write to add information about Memorial Day service.