Mama Always ~ L.A. Brown, Author

They say that if you stop learning, then that is the time you may as well say your goodbyes. Of course, that's my version of it, but it was Albert Einstein who said it before me. Smart man, and it was proven with a Nobel Prize in 1921. So far, learning is still part of my daily life, so perhaps I'm still good, eh? What I learned in the last few years, is that sometimes something that we take as tradition isn't necessarily correct. Take Memorial Day, for instance. I've always known its about the Military who had fallen in previous wars or skirmishes, but I also have learned, just here lately, that the men and women of our Military would rather you remember those who are gone on this day and not the ones who are still living. Makes sense. After all, Memorial means to remember. Remember who left behind family, friends and the "Life of Riley," as it were, to go to foreign lands.  It means to remember how they put their lives on the line to ensure that the United...

...and since it's still not quite over, I don't doubt that there are still a few surprises waiting around the corner. I must admit, when we came into this year, all I was really expecting was my new baby granddaughter who was due in March, right around her sister's first birthday. Soooo, little Cutie Patootie made us wait an entire week for her arrival, which pretty much means that we have been suckered into being at her whim probably for the rest of our lives. All she has to do is bat those baby browns, turn up the side of her mouth ever so slightly and I'm giving away the farm. Sis has that ability, too, but she doesn't have it quite down pat as the Little One. I'm doomed to be a pauper. Of course, the first statement is just a bit misleading, because as some of you may know, we were also fostering a soldier's dog until we could get her home to Korea. With a lot of help from friends and United Airlines, Angel got home to her family in February. That wa...

As we come into the 2012 celebration of Memorial Day, I wonder how many of us actually stop to remember someone who served in our Armed Forces during any of the wars in our lifetimes. Today, I actually did. You see, I have several members of my family who served during World War II; Korea; Vietnam and now Afghanistan and Iraq wars. I fully intended to stand up in church today representing my Son-in-Law, Stephen, who is a Marine and has served both in Iraq and Afghanistan. Today was bittersweet and difficult. Last night, my Father-in-Law, MSGT Howard T. Brown went to be with the Lord, and today's service was difficult to sit through, to worship through without breaking down in tears. MSGT Brown was born in New Hampshire and lost his parents when he was just a child. He was raised by his Grandmother who was raised in the late 1800's and raised her grandson in like manner. He grew up into adulthood with the common sense that came from that era, and probably, I'm guessing, g...