Heroes: Past and Present

The first hero in my life was my grandfather, Domingo F. Mont, when I was two years old - he rescued me and spent the rest of his life teaching me, by example, about honesty, hard work, faith in God and love of our great Country, the USA.

The other heroes that I have been blessed to have in my life were my two fathers-in-law.



 Frank Burnside, he was a Navy man. He was a wonderful man, who I loved very much. I remember shortly before he died he was in Oregon, and he called me just to see how the boys and I were doing and to say that he loved us. I will always hold that moment close to my heart.

Ray Andrews, he was in both the Navy and Army (he fought in two wars).  I loved and respected them both.  My father and three of his brothers were Army men.   

My father, Felix Alonso Alicea. He and his brothers were in the Army.  I didn't know my dad very well, but I know that he was a hard worker who fought to defend our County.






My husband, Ray, was in the Marines. Ray was my "knight in shining armor" at a time that I really needed one! He is still serving his Country, he volunteers at the VA. 

Rays best friend, Tom Clemence, Army, fought in Viet Nam.

His other good friend, Larry Jensen was in the Army, Larry died in Viet Nam.

My brothers-in-law: Gary Burnside, Army; Gary Hesprich, Air Force; Dave Ballard, Navy retired.

My son Cal Burnside, was in the Marines.   After serving four years, he was scheduled to come home, it was a New Year's Eve and we were so happy that he was finally coming home.  We were waiting for him to let us know when his plane would arrive - instead he called to say that he was being sent to Saudi Arabia,  First Battalion First Marines, in Desert Storm, and that he wouldn't be coming home.  It was a frightening time, we didn't hear from him for almost two months, but he found a phone booth in the middle of the desert and called me at work to let me know that he was alive, he couldn't tell us where he was, it was the start of that war and not even the news media was there.  I still have every letter he sent me, every gift from different parts of the world and a tape recording he and his platoon made for Ray and I.  I remember constantly watching CNN, hoping to get a glimpse of him, just to know that, that day, he was safe - but I never did.  When our sons and daughters are in harms way, far from home, there are no words to describe the feelings that a parent feels until their child is back at home, safe. 

  

   Cal's brothers Jeremy Burnside, Marines;     Eric Burnside, Army stationed in Iraq.

Then there are the young men and women that I went to school with, many who joined the armed services and  quickly became heroes  serving our country during the Viet Nam War:  Al Ciezki, Pat Ryan and countless others, some who never came back, or who were left scarred and changed forever.  We all have names that we can add to our lists, we all have heroes. 

There are countless stories of heroism that occurred on 9/11, the day that our country was attacked by terrorists and the Twin Towers came down.   That was the day  we all realized that we were not immune from evil and terrorism and that firemen, policemen, rescue workers and everyday citizens were also the best of heroes.   Ours is still the greatest country - God Bless America and God Bless all of our service men and women.

Days Gone By

Growing up in Milwaukee in the 60s   was ..... fun and interesting. Girls

really did go around with curlers and matching scarves EVERYWHERE! Unlike now, we wouldn't be caught dead in curlers, the few that actually use curlers!  Big hair was really in too, the bigger the better, looking back now, it's kind of scary!! 

So's this picture!

Mini skirts, paisley anything, skinny pants - sounds like today - hmm, I wonder if the poodle skirt will be coming back anytime soon. 

  

My friends older sisters wore poodle skirts, they were really popular back then too.  Here's a replica of a  poodle skirt that I made - especially to go to a sock hop with Ray, - speaking of "Sock Hops" whatever happended to them?!  They were so much fun!  Our friend Pam would find out where the Sock Hops were going to be and we'd go with her and Tom, Paul and Hilda and Lene and Gary.

I remember my first lipstick, my best friend Bonnie's older sister gave each of us one of her old lipsticks.  After that we were hooked!  We went to Woolworth's Drugstore (where we bought just about everything!) and we both bought "Pink Posey" lipsticks. Of course, I had to rub mine off before I got home from school.  Another thing we would get every week at Woolworth's was a list of the most popular songs - it changed weekly - and we HAD to know if our favorite songs made the chart.  I remember "Slam Books", a book full of personal questions, like, what's your favorite dance, color, song?  No one knew who's answer was written down because we all used "code" numbers; mine was always #16, which was marked either at the beginning or end of the book - how secretative was that!  But it was fun and we were all so cool, and to us anyone over 21 was "old"! 

There were four of us, we were girlfriends, which meant we shared everything from clothes and lipsticks (we didn't wear make-up)  to secrets and boys and we were  inseperable. Those were fun times and looking back, everything seemed so innocent.  We'd go to school dances, movies, hang out at each other's homes and at Kozy Park.  Of course I was the one that had to be in by dark, so we made the most of our time - those were the "good old days"!

The worse thing I can remember, was when our President, John F. Kennedy, was killed.  I don't think any of us will ever forget where we were that day.  Our little group of friends were on the school playground and I remember we all cried.  After that the world changed for us.  The four of us remained good friends through high school, and then we went our separate ways, except for Bonnie and I - in spite of a few years of separation, we're still the best of friends.

Brothers



Two brothers, two years apart. Both so smart and talented in their own ways. Through the years they played and fought, sometimes loving each, other times hating each other - but always brothers and let no one hurt the other one!

The stories are endless! One day they tried to cut each others hair, one ended up with a bald spot! But no worry, the quick fix before mom got home from work was to use black liquid shoe polish. Of course, being “mom” I never was supposed to find out, right?

Another day I came home from work, Dean runs out of the bathroom, “Mom, look what I did!” I was very afraid, but with young boys, you have to be brave and strong, so I said, “Show me what you did.” Out of the bathroom comes Cal, his beautiful black hair was now two-toned, parted down the middle, one half was black and the other was a bleached blonde!! We didn’t change our plans to go out to dinner that night, after all, what’s done is done. At the restaurant Cal asks, “Why is everybody staring at me?” My husband Ray, trying not to let him see the hidden smile said, “I don’t know Cal, are you sure they’re staring at you?”

No matter what life brings, the bonds of family are always strong, they keep bringing us back to each other.

Wheels

The wheels turn, constant, flowing

The rhythm of motion keeps me going

I sense you far behind me

But this isn’t a race

Not accelerating or slowing

Just keeping my pace

The wheels keep turning, gripping, traction

Steadfast, forward, no distraction

Come up beside me, We should share this ride

Let it be like the past, When we journeyed side by side

The wheels keep turning, continuous rotation

Every turn an achievement, domination

Did I hear you call out for me?

Or was the voice in my head

I turned back hoping to see you closer

But you had slipped further away instead

The wheels keep turning, emotionless, relentless

Gaining new momentum, faster, restless

Again I gaze over my shoulder

I can barely see you so far away

Why won’t you ride with me

Have I failed you in some way?

The wheels keep turning, animal like ferocity

Power, fury, gaining velocity

I look back again

Your no where to be seen

I feel betrayed, alone

What does this all mean?

But the wheels keep turning

Promising never to cease

Driving me onward

No hope for release

　
Poem By Cal

　

Dreams Eventually Do Come True

When I was young I had many dreams as to what I was going to do when I grew up. One of my first dreams was that I was going to move to Africa, and be the Queen of the Jungle. I planned to ride on elephants, play with tigers and climb trees with monkeys. Of course in this jungle there were no bugs or snakes or any other creepy things. Then I got a little older and my dream was to become a ballerina, one who sang opera. So I would go around everywhere, on my toes, singing at the top of my lungs - my wonderful grandparents, who raised me, were very tolerant! Then as I got older, I decided I was going to be an airline stewardess, this dream didn’t last long since I’ve always been afraid of heights. And then I found out that I really loved children and teaching - and that was my best dream, to be a teacher. At that point in time it was impossible for me to attain my dream, and as we so often do, we forget or leave our dreams behind.

When our first granddaughter Jessica was born, a beautiful baby with tons of dark hair, never did I think that this wonderful little girl would have my same dream (not the jungle Queen, ballerina or stewardess) to some day be a teacher. As the years went by, the beautiful little girl grew into a caring young woman who worked faithfully at achieving her dream and never gave up. I am so happy and proud of our Jesse, she’s a natural-born teacher who loves the children entrusted into her care. God has blessed our world with one more good teacher who is also a good example of what a young woman can be if she works hard and follows her dreams.

Prayers Answered, Miracles and Faithful Friends

Did you ever wake up happy, thinking that you had your day all planned out, and then something horrible and unexpected happens. Well, that was my day on January 31, 2011.
My husband and I were “dog-sitting” our granddog Sargeant for a few days. He is a fawn colored, two year old Boxer who is very friendly and good natured. This particular day, Sarge, as we lovingly call him, decided to hop the fence and go on an adventure, little did he know that one of the biggest snow storms to hit Milwaukee in years was on its way - he lost his way in the middle of the blizzard, couldn’t find his way back home and was gone for over 60 hours. Now anyone who has a loving pet knows that they're part of our family.
My husband and grandchildren spent hours looking everywhere for him; we his immediate family and other family members and friends were in constant prayer for his safe return. We all hoped that a kind person or family had taken him in and he was safe and warm from the storm.
His friend, Brown, who is a beautiful Chocolate Lab was on his daily walk with his owner Dirk. They came to a hill and Brown took off running, something he never does, Dirk kept calling him but Brown kept running - Dirk ran after him, and there was Sargeant, weak and starving, laying under a brush trying to keep warm at the bottom of the hill where no one could have seen him. Dirk carried Sarge and he and Brown took him home, fed him and then called us, his family. We truly believe, and are convinced, that because of all the prayer, God performed a miracle and a faithful friend found his buddy and saved his life. We are forever grateful for the answer to prayer and to Brown and Dirk.


-Lucy