200th Post - I Love Celebrating Milestones

Yesterday's post, Final Salute, was the 200th post on LifePrints. I think that's a noteworthy milestone. I'm proud of myself. Two hundred times I've searched and found positive stories to share with you. I think that is an accomplishment.

With that said, I'll be taking the rest of the week off. I'm headed cross country to be in a wedding. Not just any wedding but the wedding of someone very close to me. She's weathered a great deal of heartache and the happiness she's found is well deserved. I'd say it's the result of many prayers.

I'm not one of those people who think that someone else can make you happy. It can't. If you don't want to be happy you never will. But finding another person of like mind, a person who adores you and loves to make you smile - that's definitely a gift from God that should be cherished and nurtured - and, of course, the by product of such a gift is happiness for those willing to open their hearts.

I'd say that the bride at this wedding has an open heart and she is basking in the glow of this new found love. Can't wait to see her and meet this special man. See everyone next week. If it's okay with my special friend I might even post a few photos from the occasion. What could be more positive than a post about LOVE!

I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend. Spread some love and peace in your lives. Take care of yourself and love one another - that should be easy.

Final Salute - A Story Of UnFinished Lives

He is the troop nobody wants to see, carrying a message that no military family ever wants to hear. It begins with a knock at the door. “The curtains pull away. They come to the door. And they know. They always know,” said Lt. Colonel Steve Beck.

Lt. Colonel Steve Beck knows grief and will carry its images in his heart forever. He is a Marine causality assistants calls officer. It's his job to notify the families of fallen soldiers that their loved one is dead. But it's more than that. This unassuming man willingly becomes the object of their anger and eventually their source of strength.

These moving photos are from the photo essay and story Final Salute that ran in the Rocky Mountain News on November 11, 2005. Reporter, Jim Sheeler and photographer, Todd Heisler shadowed Lt. Colonel Beck for one year before writing the piece for the Rocky Mountain News. Later the essay was turned into a book published by Penguin Press.

Heisler won Pulitzer prizes for his photos of Lt. Colonel Beck holding Katherine Cathey, the pregnant wife of a fallen solider and of the arrival of Cathey's remains at the airport.

This is a very emotional story. I heard it on NPR on Memorial Day. I cried so hard I had to turn the station. Even researching the material for this article was painful. If this is what I experienced just hearing their stories, I can only imagine how the grieving families feel.

Final Salute is a very important book. Everyone should read it or at least read the full essay and watch the slide show. As Americans, we should be fully aware of the consequences of war before supporting our government in any such action.

Lt. Colonel Beck is a hero and a saint on Earth. When asked how he felt about his job he said it is an honor above all others. In my book, Lt. Colonel Beck and all those like him are men above all others. I honor him during this week of remembrance.

Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper - Keeping Watch Over Our Water Supply

The picture below is of Lake Sidney Lanier, a man-made lake in North Georgia that is the main water source for more than 3 million residents of Atlanta and the outlying suburbs (not to mention parts of Alabama and Florida). This picture was take during the 1980's when the water level was at capacity.

The next photo was taken of the same section of the lake in October of 2007. What was once a quiet swimming cove is quickly becoming a meadow.

While lack of rainfall is the immediate problem, the underlying culprit is more profound: a water supply that cannot keep pace with a rapidly expanding population. Lake Lanier was constructed in the 1950's at the headwaters of the Chattahoochee and Chestatee Rivers to prevent flooding. The Buford Dam which holds back the waters and forms the lake has produced more than 96 million dollars in electricity since the plant went on line in the late 1950's.

Currently Georgia, Alabama and Florida are locked in a battle over this dwindling water source. Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper is helping to lead the way to resolution and responsible use. The advocacy group sponsors events on the river to raise awareness about the problems of overuse.

Since 1994, UCR has reached tens of thousands of school-aged children through their Riverkeeper Youth Programs to promote an ethic of stewardship of rivers, lakes and streams. Students have gained a greater appreciation of their natural surroundings and have become more knowledgeable about water resources by participating in these programs.

The UCR serves as a watchdog organization to ensure that water conservation legislation is foremost in the state government's mind. The group sponsors river and lake cleanups and a floating classroom (glass bottom boat) that's educated more than 10,000 students about the importance of clean water and environmental stewardship.

I'd like to say thank you to Riverkeeper. This story has personal significance for me because I grew up on the banks of Lake Lanier and my grandfather's homestead lies beneath its waters at Holiday Marina in Buford, GA. North Georgia is facing a serious problem of water depletion. I applaud the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper for working so hard to preserve this resource for generations to come.

UCR's website is filled with helpful information and programs for people who live in this area. Georgia residents use 10 percent more water per capita than the national average. If you are part of this community, please read the water saving tips and ways to help compiled by the UCR.