K, reality is that this site does not have a page builder for an actual blog/journal. But let's see if I can make this close. You will have to email directly if you have a comment, and I can likely add them as needed. So let's give it a go ... Most recent post will be on top. FYI: I am never offended if you let me know of typos, so feel free to keep an eye open.
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3-27-09, Friday, 2:30 -- Going to visit Jack Babcock (For those who don't know, Jack is Canada's last WWI veteran - He is nearly 109 years old) next weekend to present him with the helmet from Sarnia FD, making him an honorary Chief. We want to get cards and messages to him from across North America to present as well.
Word is that Jack is finally slowing down a bit. We want to keep a smile on his face and let him know that we honestly do respect and will not forget our troops, our vets - Canadian & American ... ALL of them.
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3-26-09, Thursday, 6pm -- Visited our friends at Starbucks and Hooters today. Starbucks has been continuing their efforts for the troops by collecting more coffee for us to send out to the desert. Stopped by to get a couple pix of the great Baristas hard at work. They're always smiling, so getting good pix is never an issue.
Speaking of smiles, next stop was Hooters of Tacoma. The ladies were great this past weekend, coming out for the WTB Chili CookOff, representing for HeroToHero.US After all of their support, they had earned their coins, and I only had 2 on me at the event, so this was the trip to coin the last 4 girls. We didn't catch up with them all, but got a quick photo op while there. During the visit I happened to notice the motorcycles and black leather of a veterans riding club, so we got them in for their first official BadAss shot ... Pretty sure each of these guys has done this pose more than once - they were naturals, and good sports!
Thank you all for the suport and the smiles!
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3-24-09, Tuesday, 1am -- Wish sleep was something I was good at - at night anyway. Sigh. Anyone have any good remedies that don't involve pills?
We're still waiting for word of a new grandson for Kevin. Nothing yet? Really? Aw, c'mon.
My new plan calls for deep breaths and peace. The hard part of my month is over and it is time for organization before time starts slipping away again.
3-23-09, Monday, 8pm -- Humor is: 1. Funny, and 2. Makes you laugh ... Even if it is sarcastic and you are the target of the humor. Let's get back to the humor that makes people laugh. We are a morale campaign. I had my rant, and those that needed to read it, did. We need to get back on our road.
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3-21-09, Saturday, 9pm - Phoenix House 1st Annual Chili CookOff is now part of history. It was cold but cool out there today. We had some misgivings about doing this outdoors in March, and honestly it wasn't for the wussies - You had to be willing to do your cutting and cooking outside in mid to upper 40's with a chance of rain (last week predicted as snow showers) and to start that process in the cold wet dark of a new spring morning in the Pacific Northwet using car headlights as your light source til daybreak. Mind you I only heard about this part, because I was still sawing logs til after 8am ... Did you know if you get up this early the sun isn't in the middle of the sky? Seriously, who knew?!
By the time I got there, the esprit de corps was already obvious, especially between our team and the McChord AFB firefighters whose recipe boasted the secret ingredient of Metamucil, as they were making Colon-Friendly Chili.
Soldiers Angels had more meat in their recipe than anyone else and tried for the heat with their Molten Lava recipe - it had a kick, but also great flavor.
After beating up on the FLEX Team, they had to chicken - oops, I mean, pull out as they were on duty and very very afraid of us. Dang it, why do I keep doing that? Sigh. But they did manage to show up for the early part of the afternoon - you know, when the sun is where it belongs.
Our friends at Hooters of Tacoma played along with us for the day. Six of their lovelies showed up to help boost morale and share half off coupons with participants - They even had a surprise gift of a Wing Party for the overall winner. Very nice ladies! Of course they posed for lots of silly photos with the troops and firefighters, and just brought lots of smiles with them. They've been a great supporter of HeroToHero.US, and we know they love our troops! We coined the lasses today and you can expect to see more of them at any of our events as they want to get more involved as they are able. Thank you ladies - Thank you Hooters of Tacoma!
It was requested that we post the ingredients and side effects of our AMA Chili, and I will do that. For now it is time to try to get all this chili powder off my hands, and quit touching my eyes! Sheesh, I am smarter than this!
Oh, and with some inside help, we found the recipe for the FLEX Team's Porridge ... So sad, but luckily they are very cute! ( ;
... Even better, they are great sports!
I took many photos, as is my custom - And posted almost every one of them in our Photo Gallery - as is also my custom. You are welcome to cut and paste any photo you like. Be sure to link back to us if you post any on your sites. They are posted with the WTB pix and I have featured this album. Feel free to add comments.
3-20-09, Friday, 11pm - Today has been a blur of last minute stuff to do before the WTB Chili CookOff tomorrow. We had hoped to kick some serious FLEX Team hiney, but their team had to withdraw - Of course we know why - cuz we rule!!! Hehe
The shirts are enroute, or ready to be if you're in Canada, or the East Coast. We've heard lots of good things from all over North America. Lots of great responses for Team Canada and Kevin McHarg, who somehow managed to make a major stumbling block into a minor molehill and come out smiling. Kevin, that's cuz you're doing good things for - and with - good people ... Winning recipe!
On a more somber note, we received word from one of our favorite moms, Shawn Luke - Some of you will remember we did an Honor Coin for one of her USMC sons, Matt after he was seriously wounded in Iraq. He is now home and working toward just living a normal life like the rest of us, while his brother Devin is deployed again - This time aboard a ship, the USS New Orleans ...
Shawn woke to news stories of the collision between her son's ship and a U.S. nuclear sub today. 15 injuries - You can only imagine how this mother of one Purple Heart Marine Corps son reacts when she hears this news about her other Marine son. Fortunately, she writes that Devin is okay and no one on his ship was hurt. Our prayers go out to this family and to all of the families aboard both vessels - with special wishes for speedy recoveries to any of the personnel hurt in this event.
You guys, take care of each other! lj
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3-19-09, Thursday, 8pm - **At 5:34 AM Baghdad time on March 20, 2003 (9:34 p.m., March 19 EST) the military invasion of Iraq began.
Six years already - Unreal. But we're still here, and today the big day has dawned ... Today is the official start of the shipping of the shirts for the Triple Nickel. Trying to get about 20 departments to do the same thing at the same time might just not be the picnic you have imagined! LOL
Spent the afternoon over at TFD 10's, packing up all of their shirts with them. Karen Leming - as expected - did a great job getting over 100 shirts from our TFD heroes. There are sweatshirts and polos, and tees ... Both new & used. Some have lots of messages, others are bare, so there is something for everyone. And that is just one department! Shirts are coming from as far away as Soldotna, Alaska, all the way out to the Pentagon, down to West Palm Beach, Florida ... Considering we didn't have an actual PackOut, these guys really stepped up! *UPDATE: With 30 minutes to spare all of the shirts from TFD & H2H went in to the US Postal System just before midnight, 19 March 09
(Pictured below, Karen Leming, Jeff Bush & Jen Allred)
Before heading over to 10's, I stopped in at our local Starbucks in Lakewood to grab a few pix. 
They've introduced their new "VIA" coffee, and want to make sure that the troops get to try it as well. Starbucks everywhere I visit lately seem to be doing a drive to get this new product out to the troops. We're loving it, of course! Even in the bad economy, Starbucks is making sure we have coffee to ship out to the troops via (no pun intended) "Operation Caffeination".
<<Customers have begun writing messages on the bags of coffee, just like our first responders add messages on their hero shirts! Nice touch!
Stopped in to see Hooter's of Tacoma manager, Barry Murray, who is helping us out with this weekends big Chili CookOff for the wounded troops at Fort Lewis. Some of the ladies will be coming out for part of the day, to bring smiles and other goodies. Hooter's has been another strong supporter of HeroToHero.US and we give them a big salute, too! Coined Barry.
Thought I was done as I headed home to do some editing, when I noticed another one of our famous traffic jams down around the base on I-5 ... Traditionally, I would just turn up the Ron & Don Show and laugh while we all wait for the cars ahead of us to move. This time the jam-factor was a lil different and brought about more honks & waves. Luckily, my camera was on the seat next to me. Wish I could have just followed them for some really great shots!
Got home and found a cool video from Bobby Welch, of their band honoring the troops ... PFFNH Pipes and Drums at Manchester Monarchs Game 03-07-2009
For the sports fans following ... Today is the first Seattle Sounders game up at the stadium. GO SOUNDERS!
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3-18-09, Wednesday, 3pm - Okay, wide awake again. No I did not just wake up, lol. Sleep came after daylight, but the FedEx guy showed up right around noon and the noise woke me. So it's back to the grind. Let's see, today is finalizing everything for all of the heroes participating in the 555/Triple Nickel shipping. This was initially going to be a TFD shipment, but by the time we got over 300 requests, it was apparent that that was way too much for any one department - And when the final number was over 800 ... Well let's just say that we sooooo appreciate our North American Heroes! We had numerous local departments jump up for this one, almost chomping at the bit to get the shirts out. But we needed to make sure we had all of the shirts first.
Our deadline to begin shippng was chosen to mark another anniversary of the start of the Iraq War - Not honor it, but acknowledge it. Before all was said & done we had sent out an all call to some of our more supportive departments, and within 72 hours we had the last 300 we needed!
This is a historical shipment for HeroToHero.US - This is our last multi-agency shipment for our troops. We have just one more mass shipment that just made me laugh when I put them together ... The absolute final big shipment will be between the Hook-ers & the FOOLS - No kidding, but clean up those naughty minds, the B Company 1-214th Aviation Regiment "Hook-ers" are a CH47D Chinook Helicopter unit, and the FOOLS are our own Puget Sound FOOLS. C'mon, it's a morale campaign, we always try to go for a smile!
From here on, we go to the "One To One" version of the program. Troops will make a personal request for a hometown hero shirt, and we will facilitate that for them, then step out after getting it set up. Departments/first responders need to go fill out the PLEDGE form to help out - It's pretty darned easy now.
In the meantime, wanted to share with you the departments/first responders who stepped up for the 555 shipment , which starts out for the desert tomorrow!!! A huge salute and deeply felt "Thank you!" to each and every one of you who stepped up! *Main point of contacts for the department drives are named beside the department
- Tacoma FD, WA *Karen Leming
- McChord AFB Fire, WA *Tom Seymour
- Snoqualmie Fire, WA *Brian Busby
- Wildland Firefighter Foundation - Boise, ID *Vicky Minor
-Central Emergency Services, Soldotna, AK *Ben Simonds
- Maple Valley Fire, WA *Ryan Carpenter/James Morrow
- Escalon, CA *Joe Pelot/Cassidy Bohannon
- Pentagon Security Forces *Woody Kusse
- East Pierce Fire Rescue, WA *Nancy Keck/Erin Richardson
- Little Rock Fire, WA *Thomas Jenrette
- Hanford Fire, WA *Brad Jackson
- Tillamook Ambulance, OR *Mark Torrence
- Netarts FD, OR *Mark Torrence
- Garibaldi FD, OR *Mark Torrence
- Canadian First Responders, via Hero To Hero Team Canada *Kevin McHarg
- Boeing Fire Department, WA *Erve Monroe
- Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Station 33, FL *Jon Ferguson
- Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority - Local 3217 - *Karl Liedke
- Fairfax County Fire & Rescue - Local 2068- *John Niemiec & Joel Kobersteen
- Fairfax " Police Department - IUPA Local 5000 - *Brad Carruthers
- Washington DC Fire Department - IAFF Local 36 - *Walter Webb
- Prince Georges CO, MD - IAFF Local 1619 - *Mike Linynski
- Loudoun County Dept of Fire Rescue, VA - IAFF Local 3756 - *Nicole Hankin
- City of Fairfax Fire Dept, VA - IAFF Local 2702 - *Dwayne Harmann
- Stafford County Fire Department, VA - IAFF Local 4012 - *Mark Stone
- National Capital Area Federal Firefighters - Local F121 - *Greg Russell
- Charlottesville Fire Dept, VA - IAFF Local 2363 - *David Werner
- Arlington Fire Department, VA - IAFF Local 2800 - *Mike Staples
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***PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF I HAVE LEFT ANY 555 SHIPMENT PARTICIPATING DEPARTMENT, LOCAL, OR PERSON OFF THE LIST
3-18-09, Wednesday, 3am - Yes that does say 3am. I tend to be an insomniac over the past so many years, and do a lot of my work at night ... Which might clear up the whole "Liz doesn't do mornings" thing. Even on the tours, I would do the editing and journaling from the stops after the drive for the day. You know, I look back at the tours and wonder how we pulled those off - Those are some of the most amazing events and memories! It's almost dizzying to recall some of the things that happened. One of my goals in changing the program up is that there is an outside chance I will finally get all of the chaos in my life into some semblance of order.
I bring up the tours because this past month I've gotten more questions asking if we will resume them. Sadly, as of now, the answer is still no. But I'm trying to find a balance and a way to bring the program full circle. The tours began as an honor to our own family member, Sgt Jake Herring of Fort Lewis' 520th Inf, Strykers. Jake was our young cousin and was KIA in Iraq in April of 2004. He was a high school football captain. When he died they retired his jersey, #55. The same day we lost Jake we lost a supporter of our program, Tacoma Police Motorcycle Officer James Lewis.
Attending both of their memorials in the same day was beyond sad and the tour was a way of saying we would honor our Fallen, Wounded & their loved ones by visiting 55 hometowns across the country. I said I would drive this as long as I was physically able, and before we knew it 4 years had passed and we had navigated the equivalent of the circumference of the earth twice in this effort for our troops! I'm thinking, if I can't do the tour, I am gonna TRY to visit at least 55 cities each year ... Kind of keeping with the "One-to-One" theme we have going.
Recently I was able to get away for a few days - bound & determined to actually walk out on the glass SkyBridge before I had to do it in a Hoveround - And it was everything I hoped it would be! *I brought back a small token for both Kevin & Jules cuz I really doubt that either of them will ever take a step onto that thing!
But I couldn't resist stopping in at a fire house we were passing. And so it was, on the way to the Grand Canyon that I ended up at the Lake Mohave Ranchos Fire station in Dolan Springs, Arizona. 
This was reminiscent of the original tour stops ... Back in the day stops were often "no notice" and almost a drop in to find the biggest hearts who would be willing to step up to show their support for our troops deployed so far from home. These guys were great!
It was a very brief visit, as the park was gonna close at dusk and we had already lost an hour of sunlight when we changed the clocks back just after midnight. 
So I gave them the Reader's Digest version of the program, got them to join the ranks of BadAss Heroes, and coined them. 
Doing this visit I decided I wanted to try to do 55 of these again.
I left there remembering the rush we used to get during the visits - big & small. At one point I got a little cocky up on the Skybridge and felt like I could fly ... Don't need a Hoveround yet!!! 
Oh, and when they tell you to watch out for burros down there ... 
<< They're serious. I had rolled down the window to get a pic of the burros up ahead on the road when this character snuck up from the back side of the car for his close up. Very cool!
Thanks for the inspiration guys! lj
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3-17-09, Tuesday, 6pm -- Happy St Patrick's Day! And it doesn't matter if you're a pure blooded leprechaun or as Irish as my pub crawl name - Patty O'Furniture. The day started off more unusual than most.
My phone rang at oh-dark-thirty ... or on your clock ... 5:45 am!!! Sleepily answering it, I hear a male voice singing a great little Irish song to me. No "hello", no any identification at all.
I thought, oh great, one of the firefighters started celebrating early and found my number in the middle of their revelry. So I listened quietly, chuckling a little. As the song was nearing its end I looked at the contact screen and saw our Canadian buddy, WWII vet Jack Graham ... This guy is great! He is actually one of the two Jacks I have a bit of a crush on ... My older men! And they are both just the best guys in the world. I have one from WWI and one from WWII.
<< At the Sarnia Sting game honoring Canadian Vets for Remembrance Day 2008, with our own Canadian country crooner (& Hot ChaCha) Julian Austin. Julian had made him cry by playing a very touching song, so I did my part to make him smile by presenting him our coin.
Anyway, after such an illustrious start, it's kind of quiet on the homefront today. We just hit our 800 shirt target number for the Triple Nickel and they will begin shipping the day after tomorrow. This one's historical for us ... the last of the multi-agency mass shipments to the desert. We have one more unit to go - And it is already claimed by the Puget Sound FOOLS.
Then we go to the new "one-to-one" program. You'll be hearing more about it as we go, but if you like you can read about it on our Home page.
Next up is working on the upcoming Chili Cook Off with the WTB this weekend. This one could be interesting as the weather Gods are not cooperating. Hopefully they'll get wind of our request to hold off the cold, rain and snow 'til the next day ... This CookOff is not for wusses! This is outdoors with all of the cooking done on scene, starting at 7am!!! Yikes!
So there you have the first of our "blog" entries. Let's see if this is do-able. lj