turkey? football? arguing family members? In one day as we all gather for Thanksgiving we should remember that no matter why we are there (aunt betty’s or grandma fran’s) we should appreciate the fact that we are here. Be thankful we are living our lives.

This year there will be many families celebrating the holiday for the first time without a loved one. It will be hard on them. I know of two families out there who will I’m sure be surrounded by loved ones, but thinking of the person they lost.

Yesterday, I attended a tree and bench dedication ceremony of Roxana educator Debra Ochs who died Jan. 8. There were dozens of people who loved her in attendance and they will most likely be thinking of her tomorrow. It nearly broke my heart to see her little girl and husband wearing matching Nike “Live Strong” T-shirts. I know they are coping, but you can tell sadness remains.

I also know that Otto Rice’s family will be missing him. I knew Otto personally and sometimes it hard to believe he’s gone. He died on Sept. 18. I keep thinking as I sit at a Wood River City Council meeting he will come walking through the door. The last place I spoke to him was at a meeting.

Both Debra and Otto were wonderful people that impacted the lives of everyone they knew and we should all be so thankful for having known them.

During the past 24 hours I’ve watched countless commercials advertising the big day — Black Friday. Some of the businesses are advertising their deals for the sale and others are just telling us to be there as early as 4 a.m.

Well I don’t know about you, but if I am required to get up at that time I may as well stay up. Since I don’t have a small child anymore there is no reason why I need to get up before the crack of dawn so I don’t plan on it. However, I did learn that the best deals for electronics will be after Dec. 10.

Since the economy has been a little bleak I know people are looking for the best buys out there. I know I am. My son is easy to buy for, but the things he wants cost more so he gets less. I don’t mind the things he wants because I know I am contributing toward his future.

Cole hopes to one day major in music. Since marching band season ended he took part in the symphonic orchestra and is also in jazz band, pep band and symphonic band. He really prefers the jazz and pep band because he gets to play his bass.

On Dec. 11 Alton High School will hold its winter band concert and Cole will get to perform for the first time in front of audience on his bass. What he told me he is really looking forward to it because his dad will be there and this is the first time in his life that he knows his dad is proud of him.

When Cole was younger his dad wanted him to play sports, however he didn’t follow that path. His interest was in music, but it wasn’t until last year when I purchased him his first bass that he really started to shine. He put away the video games and stopped watching TV and now spends the majority of his time learning and listening to music. It’s also the first time his father realized that his passion and so he bought him a new bass at the start of the school year.

So when I say that Cole’s gifts cost more you understand. He doesn’t get much, but I do want to make sure he has a Merry Christmas so when store’s doors open Friday the one place I know I will go shopping is Guitar Center.

So are you ready for the sounds of shopping?

I wanted to post a picture of my baby just because he’s so cute

I’m not quite ready. But then again I’m never ready for all the CHEER that comes with it.

Oh, don’t get me wrong I actually like Thanksgiving, it’s the only holiday that people get together for the sole purpose of eating. It’s the other holiday, the one in 30 days that I really want to pull my hair out.

This weekend I went shopping with my family. Yikes. I’m so not ready. I guess because I was already tired of the crowds and its not even Black Friday yet. I pretty much know what I plan on getting everyone this year and now all I have to do is wait for the best buys to come out. I only need to buy for my son, my parents and my niece and nephew. It’s not really that many people.

I’m looking forward to Thursday spending time with family and all the goodies I can eat. So tell me do you have any big plans for T-Day? Any special recipes that you would like to share? One of my easy recipes, along with other writers will be out in newest edition of flaire for women on-line Monday or in The Telegraph on Friday. Check it out.

Do you ever get one of those headaches when you’re trying to do something and it takes way longer than you want it too?

Well today I started uploading our Fab Femmes episodes to You Tube so that you can access our past episode more easily. Jill and I have so much fun shooting them that we want to share with others outside our area.

It may take me a few days, but soon you will be able to view the past six months of our show. Tell us what you like or don’t like about it. Women we want to know. You can also visit our MySpace page too.

Oh my day was eventful Thursday. I took my son to get his driver’s permit. He drove us home and although he’s driven in the country before, this trip was a new experience for him and me. I think I’m going to need a whole lot of patience during the next year.

Following our short jaunt home I was off again to meet with some co-workers to wish a colleague goodbye. After 10 years at The Telegraph Corey Stulce is leaving to move to San Fransisco. We started at Fast Eddies for food, moved to Mac’s for $1 bottles of beer and then finished at Bubby & Sissy’s for Karaoke. Here is Corey’s last performance.

Check out the latest Fab Femmes video.

If you haven’t thanked a Veteran yet today then you should.

When most people think of veterans they think about the men who have served this country. I don’t know why, but so many people associate being a veteran with being a man and they couldn’t be more wrong.

Women have been serving in the military since the Revolutionary War. The first American female soldier was Deborah Sampson of Massachusetts. She enlisted in the Continental Army under the name of “Robert Shurtlief”. She served for three years and was wounded twice; she even cut a musket ball out of her own thigh so no doctor would find out she was a woman. Her secret wasn’t discovered until after the war and even then George Washington gave her an honorable discharge.

Sarah Rosetta Wakeman enlisted under the alias of Pvt. Lyons Wakeman during the Civil War. She served with the Union troops and her complete letters describing her experience were reproduced in the book, “An Uncommon Soldier: The Civil War Letters of Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, alias Pvt. Lyons Wakeman, 153rd Regiment, New York State Volunteers, 1862-1864.”

The Woman’s Army Auxiliary Corps was established in 1941. However, political pressures stalled the waylaid attempts to create more roles for women in the American Armed Forces. Women saw combat during World War II, first as nurses in the Pearl Harbor then in July 1943 a bill was signed removing ‘auxiliary’ from the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, making it an official part of the regular army. WAC’s were in the Pacific and in Europe. The Woman’s Naval Reserve and Marine Corps Women’s Reserve were also created during this time.

There were 350,000 American women who served during World War II; 67 Army nurses and 16 Navy nurses were captured and spent three years as Japanese prisoners of war; 16 were killed in action;and in total, they received more than 1,500 medals, citations and commendations.

Virginia Hall received the second-highest combat award — the Distinguished Service Cross — for action behind enemy lines in France.

Following WW II the vast majority of women who served returned to civilian life. The Women’s Armed Services Act of 1948, also known as Law 625, was signed by President Truman, allowing women to serve in the armed forces in fully integrated units. The WAC remained a separate unit.

During the Korean War many women served in the Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals, with women serving in Korea numbering 120,000 during the conflict. Records regarding American women serving in the Vietnam War are vague. However, it is recorded that 600 women served in the country as part of the Air Force, along with 500 members of the WAC, and over 6000 medical personnel and support staff.

As you can see women have been serving this country formed. They’ve been involved in every conflict this country has been a part of and will continue to be. The biggest change is that women’s roles are different. No longer are they delegated to being nurses, but they serve on combat ships and fly aircraft. Although they are still not aloud to serve on submarines or in elite military units, I believe in time it will happen.

So next time you hear the word Veteran, don’t think of only the men who served think of all the women who have or are currently serving like SFC Kristin Williamson Rodriguez, a 1989 Jersey Community High School graduate, who is currently in Afghanistan.

For those of you who didn’t know I’m a U.S. Army Veteran. I served with the 266th Theater Finance Command in Heidelberg, Germany during the early 1990s. Although I didn’t serve directly in Desert Storm, I did serve as support to hundreds of troops from USAREUR or United States Army, Europe. I proudly served and if given the chance I would do it all over again.

I had the pleasure of meeting the President-elect four years ago when he was at a dinner I attended.

It was also during a time that the only people who had heard of the former Chicago state senator were from Illinois. The dinner was just after he’d won the primary in the race for the U.S. Senate seat.

State Sen. William Haine, D-Alton, introduced him.

“The hallmark of Barack Obama is he is unfailingly courteous,” Haine said.

I will agree. Upon meeting him, shaking his hand and sharing a few words I knew that he was a charismatic man who would go far. Not because he was a politician, but because he was a man genuinely concerned about people.

Barack said he understood the skepticism that people had about him.

“I had no money, no organization,” Obama said. “Who was going to vote for me? As an underdog I had to listen more carefully and what I found out is that there is a common set of values everyone shares.”

Those are the quotes from Obama’s speech that he gave that night.

Obama said politicians have mutual obligations to look out for the vulnerable in society such as the elderly, disabled and children and to work toward everyone getting an education, affordable health care and being employed. During his campaign he worked diligently in trying to bring the public voice to the forefront of the election and he succeeded. From the time he launched his bid for senate until the time he started on the path to the White House his vision never changed.

He was Illinois’ little secret until he spoke at the Democratic National Convention and then the rest of the country got to see what all the hype was about.

I’ve met a lot of people through my work, but it will actually be nice to say I’ve had dinner with the President of the United States — even if it was with hundreds of other people. I still got to meet him.

Well it’s finally here — Election Day. I am so thrilled, not because we will find out who wins what race, but mainly so I don’t have to watch anymore commercials about politicians that are in Missouri. Since we are a bordering state there is nothing that gives me a headache more than watching the political banter that has nothing to do with the elected offices for which I cast my vote.

It seems that there are the rare commercials about Illinois candidates, but for the most part there are none. To me nothing is worst than negative campaigning. I would rather see a candidate talk about what he or she plans to do or has done and if they are the incumbent focus on issues at hand. I think this is where local politics can really be exciting (not that the presidential campaign isn’t) but it’s always interesting to watch someone who’s never held a public office or let alone attended a meeting run for a position with basically no knowledge of what the office they are seeking is all about.

It’s sad really. Politics is a complex business and anyone who runs for office should have at least a general understanding of how its run. Knowing how to play the game is part of the process. It’s kind of like Hollywood, why else would you need all the flashy commercials these days to get you message to the masses. It’s easier to speak to every household than knock on doors — that would take work.

I’m excited about Election day because for me it’s like a holiday. There is something about participating in the process and realizing that each vote does count. It’s a freedom like no other. To actually help decide who will serve the community and country.

I’ve been casting a ballot the past 21 years. I even voted absentee when I was stationed in Germany during the 1992 Presidential election. .

Although politics were discussed in my house growing up, the emphasis was placed more on the actual act of voting than the political candidates who should or shouldn’t be elected into office. So I bid adieu to the commercials and campaign ads and welcome the “I voted” stickers that will be worn around town. I’m wearing mine because I’m a proud registered voter.