The Essential Holiday - Revisited!

The essential holiday is Memorial Day because the people and deeds Memorial Day commemorates there would be no other Patriotic, National American holidays.

Heroes are no braver than ordinary citizens, but they are brave for five minutes longer - even to the point of dying.

“The Soldier is also a citizen. In fact, the highest obligation and most solemn duty of citizenship are bearing arms for one’s country while the greatest act of patriotism is laying down one’s life for its sake.”

"Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by those individuals who will freely struggle in the cause of freedom." 

On the final Monday

Of the warming, blooming month of May

Many will pause, and some will recall

Those who ultimately gave their all

This is fitting, and this is proper

And we owe them time; we owe them honor

For the fallen brave do not truly die

No matter how long and peacefully they lie

So long as there are some who don’t forget

To make a payment on this solemn debt

For glory illuminates the soldier’s grave

And beauty will ever cherish the brave.

Let them sleep in quiet rest.

They, our bravest and our best

They fought the fight and bore the scars

All glory is indeed theirs, and the duty surely is ours.

No matter how many years have passed

We must remember to the last

They died for us and for this land

So, we could in this moment stand

And with loud voices raise a cheer

For those who faced and conquered fear

Oh, time and weather kindly spare

These fallen heroes who did dare

To die and leave all us to live on free

And the banner we unfurl over thee.

All honor be thine through future days

Let scrolls and pillars speak fulsome praise

And cruel neglect must never claim the dead

Who bravely fought and ultimately shed

Blood and summoned tears and words to say

Thanks on this - the Essential Holiday!

Photo Credit: https://youtu.be/yqOaOwIeP58

Larry Conley

28 May 2018 

We live in freedom today because brave Americans before us were willing to 'Die Young.' 

America - the Inclusively Beautiful

America, in the 21st century, is more a mosaic than a melting pot. We no longer try [officially] to submerge or suppress diversity. Therefore, America is still beautiful, but the hymn needs updating. With the emergence of Resident Rump and the Neoconfederate RepubliCON Party, it is even more important and more urgent that We, the People, rise to the challenge and make our precepts and our practice fully worthy of our nation’s highest and best ideals!

O beautiful for glorious themes

Our history’s refrain,

Despite so many tragedies,

We strive ever to attain.

America! America!

Truth shed Its grace on thee,

And seed your lands with helping hands

From sea to shining sea.

O beautiful for heroes proved

In liberating strife,

Who more than self their country loved,

And mercy more than life.

America! America!

May Truth thy goals refine

Until all success be nobleness,

And every gain sublime.

O beautiful for heroic deeds

Where stunning valor shines,

A testament to freedom’s needs,

That stirs our hearts and minds.

America! America!

Truth mend thine every flaw

Infuse thy soul with self-control,

Thy liberty with law.

O beautiful for glory told

Of valiant battles fought

When patriots from days of old

Risked all and asked for naught.

America! America!

Truth shed Its grace on thee,

Until selfish gain will no more stain

The banner of the free.

O beautiful for Patriots’ dream

That sees beyond the years

Thine iridescent cities gleam

Undimmed by human tears

America! America!

Truth shed Its grace on thee,

And seed your lands with helping hands

From sea to shining sea.

Photo credit: https://kennethcummings.wordpress.com/tag/egalitarianism/

Unchained Fervency

Oh, our Knights

Our heroes

We've hungered for your launch

A long, trying time

That time went by so slowly

And we had to do so much

Now you brilliantly shine!

We want the Cup

We need the Cup

Please bring the Cup to LV!

Fearsome struggles grow ceaselessly, relentlessly

With each series comes new heights of intensity

And, our fervor rises with cries, "This must be, this will be

The Cup is coming home to LV!

Oh, our Knights

Our heroes

We've hungered for your launch

A long, trying time

The time went by so slowly

And we had to do so much

Let your courage shine!

We want the Cup

We need the Cup

Please bring the Cup to LV!

Larry Conley

https://youtu.be/q_x2fbWNxFE

Photo Credit: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DdkQcTJXUAQzyN7.jpg

These Knights

These Knights are born to valor.

Their hearts know only excellence.

Their sticks defeat their antagonists.

Their skills sustain their quest.

Their words speak only commitment.

Their speed undoes their rivals.

Photo credit: http://thebookofagustin.com/NHL-Vegas-Golden-Knights

Fourteen Patriotic Precepts

Practice rather than preach. Make of your life an affirmation, defined by your ideals, not the negation of others. Dare to the level of your capability then go beyond to a higher level.

Alexander Haig

Principled American patriots believe:

1. Every person is born fully and equally human.

2. As human beings, all persons, by nature, have inherent and equal rights.

3. Humans create governments to respect, protect, and secure the natural rights shared by all.

4. Proper governance must ensure the full and equal protection of due process of law for all citizens.

5. The privileges, immunities, civil rights, and civil liberties of any American must rightfully extend to every American.

6. No official at any level of American governance may rightfully disparage, diminish, or damage the equal privileges, immunities, civil rights, and civil liberties of any American.

7. We will never make America a fully great place for anyone to live until we make it a genuinely good place for everybody to live.

8. Americans share a duty to preserve, protect, and defend our Constitution and conduct their civic lives in true and active allegiance to it.

9. Though no one American can do everything necessary realize all of America’s ideals, all Americans must do everything we can to help our nation live out the true meaning of its creed.

10. No American of age must be impaired or impeded in the exercise of their voting rights.

11. The just powers of governments throughout America come from the consent of the citizens.

12. Every American of age has a fundamental civic duty to exercise the franchise, and failure to do so is a dereliction of duty.

13. Americans who refuse to participate in the voting process corrode the social contract and fray the ties that bind America into one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

14. As Americans, we inherited a treasure trove of high and benign ideals. Honor binds all of us to defend these treasures resolutely and deploy them wisely for the benefit of our compatriots, our posterity, and our planet.  

Photo credit:  https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinvrpvacKcBu8jLHWXRfXixsJQ1HTY713A7lJZGV9Vv4iPak3uvjv6YrRPMxroaaYeW7d71mmrBjAeMe5XC2Li7PGYaZhaUjDva2j0sWzKdq1-45MuQUSMLutSTeAudkO_6LdAstvTXOn2/s1600/HRC-Stand-Up.jpg

The First Time

On your own at the start of the season

Bright lights shined on the league’s latest move

Players thought about teams they had come from

And believed they all had much to prove

Beginnings always inspire dreamers

Spirits soar, and hopes abound

But it's hard to rise to the challenge

Especially the first time around

But the dreams we've dreamed lately

Aren’t going up in flame

It seems they’re turning out

More so with every game

So, get out on the iceway

And show us another sign

And take it to the limit

Now on the very first time

Don’t waste any time seeking payback

Invest all you can in the climb

If it all comes together tomorrow

How your pride and glory will shine!

And as you're fighting for your future

Though many don’t seem to care

So, you kick down the door

Breakthrough anyway and anywhere

You have so much to believe in

So, you keep coming back,

Goons and bullies can’t beat you

Or throw you off track

So, get out on the iceway

As you’ve done every time

And charge through every limit

Now, it’s all on the line

In the final parts of this struggle

No matter the score

Never give up on your brothers

 Keep fighting on even stronger than before

So, get out on the iceway

Finish this story with rhythm and rhyme

Take it to the limit

Win the Cup the very first time!

Photo credit - http://www.azquotes.com/quote/882846

“With Open Arms”

We asked plenty of questions

And you never lied

Now, despite the harsh disappointment  

We stand firmly by your side

We'll be forever grateful,

For your spirit and skill

Though it ended too soon

This season provided many a thrill

The Threepeat situation

Has happened four times before

And no previous team

Got beyond the Round-2 exit door

The Stanley Cup is a stern master

That poses hardships and harms

So, rest and heal in the summer

And, we’ll welcome you back with open arms

Let go of wounded pride

Recover from every physical pain

Then, recharge, renew, and return

To playing your beautiful game

Love and loyalty still stand

They’ll remain vibrant and strong

For although you’re down for a moment

 We know you won’t be for long

I have nothing but words

To take last night’s sting away

Please take them to heart

And return with vigor on Opening Day

Whatever fate throws at you

Hear this message above the blaring alarms

When you get back to the Burgh,

We'll all welcome you back “With Open Arms!”

Photo Credit: http://www.thepinsta.com/434-best-images-about-pittsburgh-penguins-i-like-my-men_cLMj6OpWAXAURlltIhWhlufsjuhEze9BZBDBih2VkkILrLAYTADhfp8Fb9Jia2vKeCiI4Qgq49ntfgZFcg3dvQ/Xp1FLqzirWjSetDHU7tfY4d6MwT7Zqrmh9i98nTJYcnMCtTnAgyp9oxWEFtDJrFLp5yF0fmtNvN4GtQxxRsEsTFP90*fsNe6BDvjAgFXW2qoz7m2cabjodXyUizG3Wwv94IUG0tVr%7CfAik2Zg84r13%7C1IdyAz4RMqTkrJO1te8Q/

Game 6 - Penguins - Do or Die!

Got no good news to offer, nor magic words to say

For sure the spot we’re in now, can’t just be wished away

It's what we earned for playing less than a sixty-minute game

If we want to carry on, we can’t rely on our past fame

We got to change the way we’re doing what we do

And we’ll all need to get on board to make it through

It's do or die, we got to turn the trend around

It is no lie; we're wounded and, we're almost down

It's do or die; we got to learn and pull together

There’s no escape hatch here, no easy path to breaking clear

The stuff we need to do falls on the entire crew,

And can’t be done by just a few

There are no quick solutions; there’ll be no easy game

Waiting until the next one would be folly and a shame

Come on you Pittsburgh warriors, fight as you’ve never fought before

The way ahead looms before us, so let’s kick down the door

We got to raise our game and ferociously compete

And do whatever it takes until victory's complete

It's do or die, we got to turn the trend around

It is no lie, if we don’t we're going down

It's do or die; we got to learn and pull together

There’ll be no sorcery done to gain victory

There's just speed, skill, and bravery

To keep us rolling along the road to three

Photo Credit: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/262194009526555742/

Champions Do Come Through!

Morning after morning another challenge comes up

In the next game that must be won

Nothing much has changed at all

But a lot remains to be done

Folks who doubt our quest for ‘threedom.’

Have never grasped what’s demonstrably true

 We’ve been down this path before, and

Champions do come through!

None can buy the spirit that fills our heart

No one has done what we’ve had to do

Pain and fatigue, we’ve conquered before

And we will beat them this time too

Everyone knows we've paid our dues

And we’ve deposited more than we’ve withdrawn

So in our quest for a third Stanley Cup

We will keep on keeping on

The only back-to-back under the salary cap

And the first since 1997-1998

We will not turn around

Because a three-peat will not wait

We’ll drive ourselves to enormous lengths

We’ll suck it up and dig truly deep

Although at times we may bend a bit

We’ve made a vow that we will keep

So, now we’ve come to a crucial time

Against a recurrent and familiar foe

The Capitals have tried to play rough

And now it’s their time to go

We’ll take them down in game five

And we’ll finish them off in game six

All the while, Tom Wilson will sit

He won’t get to play more dirty tricks

Some may worry we’ve lost something

Some may think another team’s time is due

But we know how to get it done, and

 Champions do come through!

We’ll keep on striding along the road

Showing skill, spirit and courage too

We will persist in playing the speed game, and

Champions do come through!

Photo credit: http://www.latimes.com/resizer/MkvcUJYrOFwB-GWwddlURu3ffUg=/1400x0/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-tronc.s3.amazonaws.com/public/FKKBD3HEYZHCHATMB3VVMOOL7Q.jpg

12:25 on 5 May 2018

It's Rising Time!

Oh, it’s Rising Time again, you know we need to.

I can see that ain’t no way stare in your eyes

And I can tell by the way things have been going

That there is no doubt tonight

It’s Rising Time!

It is said that struggle

Makes the victory sweeter

And that defeats only make

One’s will to win stronger,

Or, troubles just make commitment grow.

But our drive to succeed can’t get any stronger

Because we are going for

Three Cups in a row!

Pundits claim some new team is better,

Cause that happened so many times before,

But as sure as we’re on the ice this evening,

Rising Time starts when the puck hits the rink's floor!

Oh, it’s Rising Time again, and we 3elieve you!

I can sense the steely resolve that fills your souls.

Sid, Jake, and Patric are going to lead you;

Gino, Phil, Kris, and Connor will come through too.

When you take to the ice this evening,

You’ll show the hockey world

It’s Rising Time!

Photo credit - https://www.nhl.com/penguins/news/guentzel-crosby-and-hornqvist-producing-at-impressive-rate/c-298313394