Special Summer Edition 2009

Celebrating Independence Day

At our annual 4th of July barbeque by the pool area, I asked a few of our residents what the 4th of July means to them. The following photos and comments are some of their answers I received.

Selma Kron

Sahli and Case Edwards

"Thank you to the people who have served our country. Some of us do not realize the sacrifice they have made," commented Salhi. Her father was wounded and could not serve in the army. Instead he took care of the altimeters in airplanes and took no salary. Case commented that "freedom isn’t free."

 

Ida Rafail and Ginny Wirtanen

This holiday makes us realize that we don’t appreciate what we have. In the VA hospitals the veterans don’t get nearly the praise they deserve. "This is a day to celebrate independence and freedom," commented Ida. I came here from Egypt where we didn’t have freedom of speech. We have it here. We had to learn to keep our mouths shut and not say anything. But we in the United States take our freedom of speech for granted."

 

 

 

 

Joel and Joyce Marsh and Family

"It is a celebration of freedom and democracy. It is a time to enjoy family and reflect on how lucky we are. It is also a time to celebrate Joel’s birthday. He was 70 years young yesterday, " said proud wife and mother, Joyce.

John and Fay Pavlopoulos

"I’m so happy I didn’t miss the boat when I came to this country," chuckled John. We are proud to be Americans- and also Republicans."

Angelo Horiatis, Paula Darmes, Fay Pavlopoulos and Mania Boutzikas.

Angelo recently bought 1104 S and is one of our new residents. Paula is glad to be an American living in freedom, independence and prosperity. "Although we came from our beautiful country, Greece, we are blessed to live here. God bless America."

John Pavlopoulos Sulo Jamoules and Katie Diaka

Sulo commented, "I’m the only one who put the American flag outside. Everyone should do that and be proud to wave the flag. I came here from Greece, and my children were born here. We love America as well as Greece."

Dan and Donna Caldon with Dan’s mother, Florence

Dan proudly stated, " It’s the day that commemorates freedom of our government and the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. It also is the birth of our nation, and we celebrate it with fireworks. Since we’ve been at war, people focus on our troops and think about them. What they are doing is insuring our liberty."

 

Rueben and Susie Mills, 604W with guests, Bob and Sally Brown, Amanda Marion and Ross Sims

It means I’m proud to be an American. It reminds us of our freedom and makes us glad to live in America. We’re appreciating our service men more than during the Vietnam War. It’s not as politically correct as in the past because of the way the pendulum swings. People are critical of our country and not focusing on the good skills that still exist. We need to honor our founding fathers and their intent.

Tim Hatfield with Linda Hasucka and Kim Schumacher

Tim is visiting Florida only for a week while his wife is in Kansas City. He commented that July 4th is a celebration of summer, the country’s birthday and independence. "It gives us the freedom to be with our loved ones and friends. Tim remarked that in growing up his father used to say, "A fool and his money are far apart and you should never buy fireworks."

Retired Army Major General David Stallings with wife Patty and children, Ryan and Brittany

Dave sat back in his chair and reflected about the day of independence and said,

"I think of my comrades of the Vietnam War with whom I served a lot, and now I think of the young men and women in Afghanistan and Iraq. They are clearly in harm’s way. They are very special Americans. We owe them a lot of gratitude. Because of their long deployments of 15 months tours of duty and having to go back and forth to the battle field, I don’t see how their families can tolerate these hardships. There are a lot of soldiers who are being treated with psychological problems and have been greatly affected by these wars. It is one of the real burdens that they are carrying.

The current generation is spared of the generation that preceded them. They are all volunteers. Most of us are not touched by the wars. The root cause is the volunteer force.

"If I were king" all men and women who reach 18 years would either serve in the military or dedicate themselves to do good work with low pay, for example, working in hospitals, volunteering overseas, or Habitat for Humanity.

In summary, this holiday is a remembrance of my comrades.

Retired Lieutenant Colonel Harry George

When asked what Independence day means to him, he smiled and answered, "eating hot dogs and meeting friends is the immediate pleasure of the day. I had a birthday a couple of days ago, just before Joel Marsh. I’ve been around a long time - 89 years.

When I look at our nation that we live in, darn it, I’m a real patriot. I think of all the great men who preceded me and was prompted to go into the army air force. We did what we were trained to do during WWll and hoped to survive, and if we did we were most fortunate.

I remained in the service for 23 years because it was a good life. I was trained to salute the flag and respect the military. To this day I visit Mc Dill Air Force Base every 10 days.

My 5 children were born all over the world. When I left the air force, I taught history at St. Petersburg N.E. High School. Being an American history teacher, I think of the happy things that happened to us and the sad things in other parts of the world, the killings that are going on in the middle east today.

Now when I sit on my terrace looking out at my grande view of the beautiful landscape and sunsets I feel that this is what independence means to me. I’m very proud of our government and its people."