THE HERO’S STANCE AT ANZIO Blog Post 8 of 11 “Rat-a-tat-tat” the German machine guns blasted, their bullets plucking the barren dirt all around him. Intrepidly, he reached his first quest - the enemy's nest. He was outnumbered by six against his lone soul, odds clearly not in his favor. Yet he bravely handled his charge and boldly hurled four grenades into their trench. With a loud deafening explosion, he heard the sound of success as his ammo hit their mark. When the smoke cleared, two enemy soldiers lay dead, the other four captured and marched back to his unit’s foxhole. He was now out of ammunition having used the last four of his Army issued grenades. Spotting a cache of the enemy’s grenades, a German “potato masher,” he quickly seized this horde and continued on his valiant mission. Laden with the weight of ammunition and his rifle, he continued across the forsaken field, wiggling his body forward, crawling, crawling driven by the importance of h
Boston has it right, instead of taking a knee all 5 sports teams joined together at Fenway Park last week to unite in stopping racism. They are taking a pro-active approach to open the conversation up rather than a demonstrative pose of disrespecting our flag and the men and women of our country who have fought for its freedoms, some paying with their lives. Instead of pridefully taking a knee at a major sporting event for the media spotlight, they fostered meaningful conversation on this tense subject. So to all you who continue to seek the spotlight at public events why not voice your real concern on this issue by following Boston and hosting a community event to start the conversation and healing on racism. End the violence and be the solution not the pollution.
ReplyDelete“A man who is good enough to shed his blood for the country is good enough to be given a square deal afterward. More than that no man is entitled to, and less than that no man shall have.”
ReplyDeleteSpeech by Thomas Jefferson at the Lincoln monument, Springfield, Illinois, June 4, 1903.
Massachusetts has long taken to heart the message of President Jefferson. In 1861 our great state initiated M.G.L. Chapter 115 immediately following the Revolutionary War. It is the only state in the U.S. to provide this type of benefit to honorably discharged service members. This prestigious legislation of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts assists veterans (both living and deceased), and their dependents with access to every federal, state and local veteran benefits and service. Chapter 115 provides eligible veterans with financial, medical, educational, employment, to name a few of the most esteemed programs offered in the whole United States. No other state takes the service of these brave men and women to their country more serious than the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Chapter 115 requires that every city and town will have a VSO (Veterans Service Officer) available to assist its veterans with these benefits.
Some of these benefits include Vocational Rehab of which I am enrolled in at the age of 60. No matter what the age of the veteran is, Massachusetts has your back!
As mentioned in my prior post, Massachusetts is the only state in the union to provide unparalled benefits to its veteran in the form of M.G.L. Chapter 115. Massachusetts provides financial, food, shelter, clothing, fuel, healthcare, education, training/retraining and counseling to its “eligible” veterans and their families.
ReplyDeleteWho is an “eligible” veteran? They are:
• Those men and women who have served 90 days of active duty with at least 1 day being during war/conflict.
• Service men and woman who have served a minimum of 180 days of active duty, not including training days.
• National Guard/Reservists who have been activated for a minimum of 180 days.
The family members of the eligible veterans are also entitled to Chapter 115 benefits IF they:
• A spouse, widow or widower
• Dependent parent of the veteran for a minimum of 5-years prior to the veteran’s” war time” service.
• A child of the veteran up to the age of 19 OR 24 if that child is enrolled in an accredited college.
• A child who has suffered (prior to the age of 18) mental and/or physical disability making them unable to support themselves.
In Massachusetts, the buck DOSEN” T stop here as the Commonwealth is continually appraising what it can do to help those who serve. In addition to providing the unions only Chapter 115 benefits to its veteran population, Massachusetts also has a Governor’s Advisory Council on Veteran Services whereby they review and assess state and federal statutes and program that related to veterans in the areas of healthcare, education, housing, outreach, training and retraining. The Lieutenant Governor is the chairperson of this board.
A Massachusetts eligible veterans is classified as an "honorably discharged" service member.
ReplyDeleteBended Knees
ReplyDeleteBy Natalee Webb
June 14, 1777, our flag first flew
We added stars as our states grew
Soaring overhead, our red, white and blue
Your bended knees we defend
When Civil War threatened its destruction
Old Glory’s fight, still held our conviction
Soldiers die from war’s affliction
Your bended knees we defend
By law our symbol flies 24 seven
Upon places for those in heaven
Our flags defense, their lives given
Your bended knees we defend
Over our port of entry and in DC
Our symbol flies for all to see
One nation, our flag flies free
Your bended knees we defend
WWI, WWII and Korea, we took our stand
Fighting for freedoms in these foreign lands
Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan
We are your freedom’s guardsman
Defending lands, from coast to coast
The unwelcomed Vietnam Vet, hurt us most
Your bended knees we defend
Returning from Vietnam, on us you spat
The orders we took, did not warrant that
It was for our country, we went to bat
Your bended knees we defend
As an un-united nation, we brawl
In protest, while playing ball
Contempt for our flag, dishonors us all
Those bended knees, disrespect us
Your politics, protests and knees we defend
Our nation’s unrest, is lack of honor we contend
It’s the American Flag of freedom to you we extend
For God, country and family – Amen
This is part one of a two part blog post dealing with service dogs. In recent years the use of service dogs as become a familiar sight. Yet many people do not know what a service dog is and because of the negative publicity associated with refusing a service dog's presence, people are afraid to ask. It appears no one knows what is fact and what is fiction.
ReplyDeleteWhen you google "service dog" you will be diverted to a host of sites that offer service dog products and registries. Yet registration of a service dog is not required according to the ADA (American Disabilities Act). Anyone can peruse these sites and purchase a collar, emblem or ID card denoting that their dog is a service animal and viola, the have an authentic service animal. This is so far from the truth and disheartening for the rightful service dog owners.
The ADA defines a service dog as an animal that is individually TRAINED to do WORK or perform TASKs for a person with a DISABILITY. These include guide dogs for the blind, the hearing impaired, to pull a wheelchair bound person, detect an oncoming seizure, to remind the disabled to take their medication and for the sufferer of PTSD. It is not a comfort animal, those are termed "therapy dogs" and are not covered under the protections of the ADA.
The sites that you are directed to when googling a service dog are as numerous as the dollars they garner. Some sites advertise them as the "US Service Dog Registry" or "US Service Dog" they look genuine and as if they are a government site. Yet they all house products for sale. Between 5 to $120 to purchase "service dog kits" which contain collars, ID cards, emblems and leashes.
It is very disheartening when a true owner of a service dog encounters a dog that is obviously not a viable service dog due to its lack of training. It disrespects the ADA intent of a service animal.
How do you tell the difference between a true service dog and one that has just simply slapped a purchased collar onto their dog? Well the ADA has definitive measures for this. 1. A service dog must be controlled at all times, it can not be aggressive, threatening or barking. A service dog must be able to perform a task for the benefit of the owner. Simply petting the dog for comfort does not qualify it as one.
What can a person or business owner do when encountering dogs that are obviously not trained? They can ask the owner to leave if the dog is unruly, threatening or barking. They can ask the owner what WORK or TASK has the dog been trained to do. If the dog is not house broken, it is not a service dog.
There has been some talk in recent years of actually creating a registry or license ship of service animals. Not for profit making as the internet sites do, but to weed out those that are either not eligibly under the ADA guidelines for such an animal or to eliminate those dogs that are not properly trained. As one who has had their dog extensively trained, I believe this would be a move forward to alleviate the current negative perception of service animals and to give the ADA disabled person and their highly trained animals more credence.
In my last post I discussed Service Dogs and the ADA requirements for having one. This post will center on why I got my Service Dog, Tasha and what she has done for me.
ReplyDeleteIn 2012 my clinician at the VA Hospital advised me that a service dog may help my PTSD symptoms. At the time I was isolating, not going outside or being social. I had high anxiety, panic attacks, high blood pressure and the worst, recurring nightmares that would give me night sweats and very limited sleeping hours. My introverted self often kept me reclusive. I did not drive, the VA transported me whenever I had a medical appointment. I did not venture out for groceries, Stop & Shop’s Pea Pod service took care of that need. I had my own laundromat. I could find no reason for me to be outside. Basically, PTSD had taken over my life.
When my doctor suggested I have a dog I was hesitant at first as I was not prone to having a dog in my world. I adored cats but dogs? They were an animal I had no great desire to own. After much discussion I agreed to give it a whirl.
My computer was my world so naturally I went on line to search for an appropriate dog that would fill the ADA requirements as well as mine. As I was not a great dog lover I wanted a small, non-shedding puppy. In adhering to ADA requirements, I needed to find a dog that was intelligent, social and not a barker. So I turned to the computer to search for my do-it-all canine which turned out to be a momentous task. Finding a small dog that did not bark, was easy to train and that suited me, seemed almost impossible. I searched for months on various breeds that filled all my stringent requirements.
In one of my web searches months later, I found the International Kennel Club’s breed of a Russian Toy, the Tvetsnay Bolonka whose characteristics matched my lengthy checklist of what I wanted in a pet. Finally, I found the one dog that I could live with. But it took several weeks longer for me to find a breeder and I then had to go on a waiting list for an actual, live dog.
In April of 2013, my dog arrived. A small cute black bombshell whose eyes could melt the meanest of hearts. From the moment I picked her up, joy started returning to my life. In six months she lowered my blood pressure and eased some of my nightmares. I started becoming social again. I had to take the pup for walks, to the vet and to training. Soon I was shopping at stores with her and enjoying a whole new world.
Prior to Tasha, I had been in a bubble, a lonely world cloistered to me. Alive but unconnected to life, being there but not really seeing the world around me or living in it. I remember clearly the day my bubble burst. I had been in a Lowe’s store buying plants and a woman came up to me to say how adorable Tasha was, asking what kind of dog was she. Being in my former reclusive state, I habitually started to withdraw away from her. But then it happened, I stopped in my tracks and gave her the spiel on my foreign aid, Tasha. It was only fitting that I proudly informed the woman about who and what Tasha was, and yes, she is quite adorable.
From that day forward I reintegrated into the world. I felt people weren’t looking at me, they were looking at my dog and the anxiety was off me. I could relax and let my guard down. It was safe, I could breath, I was alive.
Aside from physically helping my symptoms, Tasha has improved my social status. I am an entirely different person from what I once was. I am now able to handle crowds and strangers and am attending University. The act of me taking care of Tasha through the normal duties of a dog owner such as walking, feeding and nurturing has, and continues to, change my life.
PTSD has lessened its grip on me through the aid of a service dog.