HI! I’m so excited to be a new Fox here! I hope you are all going to enjoy my input here as much as I enjoy posting it!
So, on my first outing here, we are talking on our thoughts about living in a free nation. I’ve never given much thought to that, but I can say that on many occasions I have thought about how happy I am to live in this free nation of ours. Albeit, there have been times I have wondered just how “free” this nation of ours truly is, but it is nice to be able to go where I want and do what I want, whenever I want.
My first thoughts and memories about the Fourth of July are all about Rodeos and Carnivals and family picnics and such like that. I guess that was all about celebrating our lives in a free country.
I am an adventurous soul at times. See, I’ve never been lost; it’s just those who are with me who get lost until I find them again. LOL! On that note, I suppose I’ll tell you about my visit to my son in Germany while he was stationed at an Army Post there. He had occasion at that time to remind me I was not free to just wander around wherever I wanted.
Not to say anything bad about Germany. I LOVED my visit to that beautiful country. All through my visit to Europe I was shown how alike we all are, regardless of where we live. I felt at home and was just my happy, carefree, exploratory self, until I visited Camp Dachau with my daughter-in-law and later learned (in no uncertain terms) from my son who is an ARMY Officer, that not everyone over there liked Americans. Sure, I had heard that there were people in other countries who felt that way about Americans, but promptly forgot it. I was on vacation seeing new things!
What had I done, you ask? Well, like I said, we were at Camp Dachau with a tour group, and while I was exploring and seeing new things, my tour group got lost! I knew where I was all the time, so I knew I wasn’t lost. My daughter-in-law was really MAD when I happened upon my tour group again. It seems they had all been looking all over for me!
When we got home that day and she told my son what had happened; I heard about it from him! How that little story ties in here is how I don’t need to especially worry about wandering around historical landmarks too much, here. Looking back over it, I guess maybe my little story had nothing to do with living in a free country, except the freedom to go where I want, might tie it in somehow. Sorry about that little tangent I ran off on.
Always before I’ve felt good about living in a free nation like ours, because I didn’t need to worry about someone knocking on my door one night to get me for some reason or another. I’ve always felt very secure here, until 911. But we’re still free!
I’ll try to do better with my next post.
Janette
Angela Schroeder
Patricia Kiyono
Elaine Cantrell
Jeff Salter
Joselyn
Tonette Joyce
Four Foxes, One Hound 
Very nice,Janette! I am so pleased that you are here and felt like jumping right in!(I have not taken a breath this week to think of mine for Friday.).
I can imagine taking time to look things over carefully and getting lost.So often, tours zip you through so fast you don’t have time to see details and what is most interesting to YOU.I seldom take a tour.
[Aside, people used to tell me that being a mother was the hardest job, but I have found being a mother-in-law to be much harder…and now the part of ex-mother-in-law is a real test.]
Welcome to the blog!
LikeLike
Thanks for the read and the welcome, Tonette! I like to jump right in bc if I don’t, my true nature of being a procrastinator might take over.
I suppose being so curious about things is part of being a writer, hmm? I generally like to take my own little private tours, too, but my daughter-in law and I took a lot of Army sponsored tours while I was there. Dollar-wise, it made sense. And I only got in trouble, once! LOL!
I am real excited about being the Tuesday Fox and look forward to getting to know the rest of you (and that hound) better! I look forward to reading what you think of, on Friday! Til next Tuesday…
LikeLike
Janette,
Your name sounds almost like my maternal grandmother (she was Jeanette). Sounds like you have some exciting stories to tell, too!
Best wishes on your being one of the foxes on here. Have fun! 🙂
LikeLike
Congratulations, a Tuesday Fox will fit right in for you.
LikeLike
Welcome aboard, Janette.
Glad you were able to get the column working so quickly. In my first week, I think I had to post one word at a time! LOL
I haven’t had many occasions where I’ve gotten lost. But there have been times I’ve followed bad instructions and never gotten to where I was supposed to be. That’s kinda the same thing, but I figure it’s not my fault. Ha.
I spent a year in Greenland, which is “owned” by Denmark. At my military base, there were perhaps 500 military and about 3 times as many Danish civilians. So, in other words, the Danes ran everything.
I figured out pretty quickly that if the military guys tried to throw their weight around and act like they owned the place, the Danes could grind things to a halt.
So I treated them with respect and gratitude — both sincere — and almost all of them treated me very well. I even learned a few words and phrases in Danish.
Had a good friend named Ole F.K. Jensen while I was there. He worked in the base photo Lab.
Which is all to say, I’m sure many of the Danes resented many of the Americans … and that was reinforced by those military guys who needed to be big shots. But I think when the Americans tried and the Danes tried to get along … it worked out very well.
LikeLike
Welcome to our new “Tuesday Fox”. Great to have you here !
Apologies that your son thought that Americans are resented in Germany, but I hope my Monday post sheds some light on that. Glad you liked your stay in Germany, despite it all!
LikeLike
Thanks for the read and comment, Bethany! A lot of people try to spell my name as your grandmother did, but it’s not spelled that way. My parents gave me and my sister relatively common names, but with a different spelling. Whereas my name is JA instead of JEA, my sister’s name is Shelia, not Sheila.
Thanks, Lavada! I know I’m going to have a LOT of FUN here!
Thanks for the first day welcome, Jeff! (You Hound Dog, you.) I know how military folk can be sometimes. LOL! But isn’t Europe a beautiful place?!
Thanks for the welcome, Iris! I read your Monday post and enjoyed it. My son has a military mind-set, mind you. It’s not that he definitively thought Americans were resented by All in Germany, he just told me there were some out there who did not like Americans, which I am sure can be said of a lot of places, even here! (Besides, I guess he and my d-I-l were worried about me) IMAGINE THAT! LOL! I thought about you as I was writing and did not want to say anything offensive. I’m sorry if I did. Like I said, everyone I ran into over there in Europe were really good people, even when my tour group got lost! 🙂
LikeLike
Oh gosh, no … I’m not easily offended, unless you don’t like my crooked nose, which is located slightly more to the left of my face – THAN I might bring out some cursing words 😉
LOL, Naaa, all good! Of course we all see things differently and that’s what makes life challenging and interesting.
LikeLike
Hi, Janette. So glad to hear you’ve joined 4F1H. I popped over to your website. I love your banner pic and your tagline is wonderfully evocative.
LikeLike
You are so right, Iris! Just think what a boring world it would be if we were all the same! I’m happy no unintended offense was taken. 🙂 It is so easy to have your words come out different, here on the internet, than is intended!
Thanks, Laurie! As I’ve said, I am so excited and happy to be here! Thanks for your compliments on my website, too, but I feel I must take issue with you, my dear friend, on that. It’s been there for several years (3?) and this is the FIRST time you have paid any attention to my banner and tagline? I know you’ve been there bc you’ve left comments for me…
LikeLike