Monday, November 30, 2009

Holiday Poem from Iraq

As a former Marine, I receive a lot of patriotic emails. This one seemed especially poignant for the season we've entered. It also captures an essence of family legacy and tradition that is so central to the work we do at Priceless Legacy.

A Different Christmas Poem


The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear..
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas my 'Gram will always remember."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.."
" So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."



LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum, Iraq

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Old Testament Wisdom on Thanksgiving

And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.


Malachi 4:6 (the last line of the Old Testament)

Thursday, November 19, 2009

HealthyLife Radio Interview

Please listen to my radio interview with Dr. Ed Poole of HealthyLife.net Radio.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

New Product: The Personal Biography for $299


We have a new product called the Personal Biography. Retailing for only $299, it is a truly affordable personal history product that even your most stubborn clients can afford.

It takes a one hour phone interview (using a standard questionnaire) and up to 15 photographs and turns it into a simple but elegantly beautiful 8" x 8" hardcover book.

All production and interviewing is done from the central Priceless Legacy office. Client/subjects may review and revise their draft once. Layout choices are left to the company and the designs are much simplified.

This product answers the hole in our lineup for those who want a high quality, yet simple and affordable alternative to what we now call the Deluxe Life Story package.

Extra copies will cost $59.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Take the Priceless Legacy Customer Survey

Please take the new Priceless Legacy Customer Survey. Takes less than 5 minutes.

Thanks!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Happy Birthday Marines




Happy Birthday Marines!

When it comes to organizations that appreciate heritage and the infinite collective value of individual life story narratives, it is hard to beat the US Marine Corps. I am proud to have served and on this 234th anniversary of the Marine Corps founding, I salute all who have, will or are serving our nation.


The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps!


Eleanor Roosevelt, 1945

Monday, November 9, 2009

Pioneer on Aging Studies has died

As director of the Center on Aging, Health and Humanities at George Washington University, Dr. Gene Cohen wrote about that "'summing up' phase of life that he said emerges most often from our late sixties into our eighties or beyond. In this phase, says Cohen, people are reexamining and assessing their lives, looking back not only at what happened but at what they learned from it. As 'keepers-of-the-culture, people who reach this phase begin to share their lessons and fortunes through autobiography and personal story telling, philanthropy, community activism, volunteerism and other forms of giving back.' They are also often motivated to develop creative new strategies for dealing with 'unresolved conflicts and unfinished business.'
...

"Although some aspects of brain function decline with age, writes Cohen, the 'older brain is more resilient, adaptable, and capable than we thought.'
When we’re young, for example, we tend to favor one side of the brain over the other. In the second half of life we tend to integrate the hemispheres, essentially 'moving to all-wheel drive.' Autobiography, because it engages both sides of the brain, is like 'chocolate for the brain,' says Cohen.
Moreover, as we age, we have a stronger impulse to tell our life story. We may not tell that story any better than a younger person would, but we are more motivated to do so—not only because storytelling and reminiscence are part of the natural work of elders, but also because they 'become appealing ways of giving back—sharing what we have learned.' "

That's from McNees, The Beneficial Effects of Life Story and Legacy Activities (published in The Journal of Geriatric Care Management)

You can read Cohen's book,* **The Mature Mind: The Positive Power of the Aging Brain. *Also available, free, online: Cohen, Gene D. “Ongoing Psychological Growth with Aging: Autobiography and The Summing Up Phase.” *International Reminiscence and Life Review Conference 2007: Selected Conference Papers and
Proceedings* (November 15-16, 2007, San Francisco, CA), pp* 33-39*.
Available free online at

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

How to Retain Clients Who Can't Afford You

Dan Curtis is a very thoughtful personal historian who works in British Columbia. His blog is a great source of insights into the personal historian profession. Today's blog entry is about Retaining Clients Who Can't Afford You. I recommend the read.