One Sweet Day, by Jamie Thomas-Cordes

I have been reading all the memories people have been sharing and one thing that alot of people seem to say is how they hadn't talked to Steve in years. But one thing that everyone seems to have in common is no matter if it was recently or if it had...
Continue reading
  1172 Views
  0 Comments
1172 Views
0 Comments

The Process of Losing, by Ursala Pierce Houser

Like so many others on here I wasn't a close friend of Steve's but I do remember that SMILE...I said a few words in my blog about him this week if anyone would like to take a look, sometimes it helps to read/hear another persons kind words in times like this...
Continue reading
  1045 Views
  0 Comments
1045 Views
0 Comments

Fallen Hero From AV, by Rachelle Herle

I've been reading through the comments and have yet to post because I haven't know quite what to say. I know how my heart feels right now. I met Steve in the 4th grade. Like all the other girls I had a crush on him too. He was my first crush....
Continue reading
  1092 Views
  0 Comments
1092 Views
0 Comments

High School Friend by Pamela Gana Huerta

My heart goes out to everyone today in Utah as well as those that couldnt be there (the funeral). Although I didnt know Steve as well as others. I do remember him at Piute and A.V. with his bright smile and helping hand in Piute Pals :) I feel lucky to...
Continue reading
  1014 Views
  0 Comments
1014 Views
0 Comments

I Know His Parents by Lisa Smedley Thomas

I did not know Steven but I know his parents and what a honor it was to attend his funeral.  What a true American Hero!   Also thank-you to all the men there that served with him.  What a beautiful tribute to Steven. I have a new respect for all men...
Continue reading
  1312 Views
  0 Comments
1312 Views
0 Comments

Deployed To Heaven by Hope Real

I posted a picture of Steve on my fb today and a friend commented and asked if he was deployed and said he was a very good looking man. I never looked at it this way before but I came to realize Steve isn't gone, he's just been deployed to heaven...
Continue reading
  1162 Views
  0 Comments
1162 Views
0 Comments

Steve's Greatest Legacy by Kevin Gearing Pickering

I think all agree, Steve’s greatest legacy is left as his children. Yes, it is hard for me to envision a soldier I would trust more, defending my freedom, than Steve. Nevertheless, even Steve would often share that his family was his ultimate priority. I love Steve and Michelle dearly; I...
Continue reading
  1254 Views
  0 Comments
1254 Views
0 Comments

Last Words To Me From My Brother, by Amy Redd Farris

Last Words To Me From My Brother, by Amy Redd Farris
I was thinking of Steve tonight (Sep 1, 2012) and the last few times I saw him. Just the week before he died was our parents 50th wedding anniversary party and I take comfort in the fact that one of the last things we said to each other was "I love...
Continue reading
  1150 Views
  0 Comments
1150 Views
0 Comments

Text from Steve by Torri Perkins

Something Steven texted me - Hey thanks for the kind words. I'm very happy that she has a friend as awesome as you. Just so you know, I appreciate you reaching out to me. I also thought you should know that Adalia is my queen, my lover, my best friend, my...
Continue reading
  1083 Views
  0 Comments
1083 Views
0 Comments

The Golden Oysters Of Chincoteague Bay

The Golden Oysters Of Chincoteague Bay
On the road…again! Afghanistan to Zambia Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek Discovering Chincoteague Bay February 2012 The future excites us and stirs our thoughts about what the next adventures will bring.  While many of the older Chronicles of a Footloose Forester were about memories captured from a distant...
Continue reading
  2099 Views
  0 Comments
2099 Views
0 Comments

I-ASK CLA Training & RootsTech 2012 - Part 2

I-ASK CLA Training & RootsTech 2012 - Part 2
On Friday afternoon and all day Saturday, Tom was training CLAs at our home.  It was a great experience to see how everything fits together as we embark on educating citizens of the urgent need to preserve the legacy of the 20th century before it is too late!  Further, making them...
Continue reading
  2518 Views
  4 Comments
2518 Views
4 Comments

Lost in Paris

I once learned a valuable lesson about travelling in a foreign country – always know where you are and where you are going. Seems obvious, I know, but it can be surprisingly easy to get lost. I was in my 20s when I went to Europe one October. My husband, Brian,...
Continue reading
  1416 Views
  3 Comments
1416 Views
3 Comments

Open Air Markets In Laos Are Exotic

Open Air Markets In Laos Are Exotic
  On the road…again! Afghanistan to Zambia Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek   L is for Laos Laos  is as exotic a country as most people will ever visit.  In the 1960s when the Footloose Forester  first visited, the market place reeked of the distinctive smell of marijuana...
Continue reading
  1762 Views
  0 Comments
1762 Views
0 Comments

On The Road.....Again! In Thailand and Laos

On The Road.....Again!  In Thailand and Laos
On the road…again! Afghanistan to Zambia Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek   T for Thailand Two weeks was the limit for a visa to Thailand, so the Footloose Forester too soon had to leave the vacation atmosphere of Bangkok and seek adventure elsewhere.  Vacation, yes, since eating good...
Continue reading
  4789 Views
  2 Comments
4789 Views
2 Comments

Muchas Monarcas!

Muchas Monarcas!
I love animals and I love to travel so when the opportunity to combine these passions presents itself, I rarely pass it up. That is how my husband, Mike, and I found ourselves at the top of a mountain in Mexico surrounded by millions of butterflies in the winter of 2008....
Continue reading
  1689 Views
  5 Comments
1689 Views
5 Comments

Father Built His Own Coffin

My father Ambrocio suffered from tuberculosis or consumption and malaria.  This disease was attributed to the lack of food and medicine during the World War II. Our town, Santa. Maria, Ilocos Sur in the Philippines was bombed soon after Pearl Harbor (early December 1941). The town was partly burned during the bombing, and further...
Continue reading
  1088 Views
  0 Comments
1088 Views
0 Comments

A Nobel Prize For Footloose Forester

        UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT MEMORANDUM DATE:                              1 April 92 REPLY TO ATTN OF:           Dick Pellek, REDSO/ESA Natural Resources Advisor SUBJECT:                     ...
Continue reading
  2740 Views
  0 Comments
2740 Views
0 Comments

Lesson from Bangkok Tourist Guide

My wife and I and my niece visited Bangkok, Thailand three years ago, and this, being our first trip, we joined a guided tour.  The country is predominantly Budhist and so was the guide. The city is beautiful but crowded. Naturally, the idea of reincarnation came up during conversations with our...
Continue reading
  1016 Views
  0 Comments
1016 Views
0 Comments

Angel in Seville

After much anticipation and planning we were leaving snowy Ohio to enjoy sunny Spain in January of 2005.  A special part of our good time on this trip was having our older son John to join us.  John, flying up from Nashville, met us in Philadelphia for the big hop over...
Continue reading
  1836 Views
  5 Comments
1836 Views
5 Comments

Growing Bamboo

Growing Bamboo
On the road…again! Afghanistan to Zambia Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek   Growing Bamboo Almost every time that he passed the dwarf bamboo thicket planted alongside his house in Pennsylvania, the Footloose Forester was reminded that bamboo was part of his family life. At one time or another,...
Continue reading
  2975 Views
  3 Comments
2975 Views
3 Comments