The Marine
It is the Marine, not the reporter,
Who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the Marine, not the poet,
Who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the Marine, not the campus organizer,
Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the Marine, not the lawyer,
Who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the Marine who salutes the flag,
Serves under the flag,
Whose coffin is draped by the flag.
And, it is a very special Marine whom we honor this evening.
I found this poem online & added the last line to it for our old neighbor & friend, Mike Arnold, who will be officially retiring from the USMC in August. The above poem was at the "sign-in table" for his retirement party last weekend at Il Fornaio in Irvine. Mike's wife - my good friend, Stacey, asked me to help her with the planning, decorating & arrangements for his retirement party. And, of course I was more than happy to help out in any way I could. For all that Mike has done - serving in both Kuwait & Iraq, the least I could do was throw together some invitations & handle some decorations. It's just an honor to have him and Stacey as our good friends.
Mike & Stacey had about 100 guests and were able to rent out the entire back of Il Fornaio for the event. With a DJ set up and a special designated area for all the kids to dance & run around in, complete with three babysitters, the evening was primed for everyone to have a great time... And, everyone did! The centerpieces for the party were comprised of 3 wine bottles put together. I made posies of roses, purple statice & purple misty blue to put in the centers of the bottles and we tied a big yellow bow at the top of each. Stacey had taken the back labels off of the wine bottles, and I made new labels for them with the USMC seal and Mike's name & official retirement date on them. The bottles and flower posies doubled as both centerpieces and party favors!
It is the Marine, not the reporter,
Who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the Marine, not the poet,
Who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the Marine, not the campus organizer,
Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the Marine, not the lawyer,
Who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the Marine who salutes the flag,
Serves under the flag,
Whose coffin is draped by the flag.
And, it is a very special Marine whom we honor this evening.
I found this poem online & added the last line to it for our old neighbor & friend, Mike Arnold, who will be officially retiring from the USMC in August. The above poem was at the "sign-in table" for his retirement party last weekend at Il Fornaio in Irvine. Mike's wife - my good friend, Stacey, asked me to help her with the planning, decorating & arrangements for his retirement party. And, of course I was more than happy to help out in any way I could. For all that Mike has done - serving in both Kuwait & Iraq, the least I could do was throw together some invitations & handle some decorations. It's just an honor to have him and Stacey as our good friends.
Mike & Stacey had about 100 guests and were able to rent out the entire back of Il Fornaio for the event. With a DJ set up and a special designated area for all the kids to dance & run around in, complete with three babysitters, the evening was primed for everyone to have a great time... And, everyone did! The centerpieces for the party were comprised of 3 wine bottles put together. I made posies of roses, purple statice & purple misty blue to put in the centers of the bottles and we tied a big yellow bow at the top of each. Stacey had taken the back labels off of the wine bottles, and I made new labels for them with the USMC seal and Mike's name & official retirement date on them. The bottles and flower posies doubled as both centerpieces and party favors!
I was so glad that everything turned out beautifully for Mike's special day because he (and Stacey) really deserved to have a day of recognition for all they've sacrificed for us to be able to have all the liberties that we so often take for granted.
So... from me to all of our troops & veterans - THANK YOU SO MUCH for all you do & all you've done!! God Bless You for your bravery & courage! Lord only knows where we'd be without you!!
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