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Verse/Poems
 
 
 
     
 
TITLE
AUTHOR
POSTED
"OLD GEEZERS"
unknown
25 AUG 2001
"THE MILITARY AVIATOR"
Charlie Block
23 May 2004
     
 
     
 

"OLD GEEZERS"

"Geezers" are easy to spot; this is slang for an old man.  But, at sporting events, during the playing of the National Anthem, they hold their caps over their hearts and sing without embarrassment.  They know the words and believe in them.  They remember World War I, the Depression, World War II, Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, Normandy and Hitler.  They remember the Atomic Age, the Korean War, The Cold War, the Jet Age and the Moon Landing, not to mention Vietnam.

If you bump into a "Geezer" on the sidewalk, he'll apologize, pass a Geezer on the street, he'll nod, or tip his cap to a lady.  "Geezers" trust strangers and are courtly to women.  They hold the door for the next person and always when walking, make sure the lady is on the inside for protection. 

"Geezers" get embarrassed if someone curses in front of women and children and they don't like violence and filth on TV and in movies.  "Geezers" have moral courage.  "Geezers" seldom brag unless it's about the grandchildren in Little League or music recitals. 

This country needs "Geezers" with their decent values and common sense.  We need them now more than ever.  It's the "Geezers" who know our great country is protected, not by politicians or police, but by the young men and women in the military serving their country in foreign lands, just as they did, without a thought except to do a good job, the best you can and to get home to loved ones. 

Thank God for "OLD GEEZERS."

- submitted by Larry Groah        

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"THE MILITARY AVIATOR"

I think I've known a million lads,
Who say they love the sky;
Who'd all be aviators,
And not afraid to fly!

For Duty, Honor, Country,
Their courage I admire!
But it takes more than courage, son,
To get to be a flyer.

When you are only twelve years old
Of course you want to fly!
and tho' you know not what is Death,
You're not afraid to die.

But of the million, more or less,
All must have perfect eyes;
So only half a million now,
Can dream of future skies.

Then comes high school, science, math;
Some choose the easy way:
Football, cars, and dating girls;
Teen pleasures hold their sway.

And of the quarter million left,
One half go on to schools;
The other half will dream and drift,
And never learn the rules.

Now comes the day of testing,
Eight hours of Stanine Hell;
On every subject known to man,
Four-fifths will not do well.

The one in five who pass this test
Apply for flying schools,
The Application Boards will now
Eliminate the fools.

Then comes two days of nakedness,
Flight Surgeons poke and prod;
To pass this Flying Physical
One needs to be a God!

And now, five hundred lucky souls
Will start their Pre-Flight days;
Endure demerits, hunger, cold,
As upper classmen haze.

One-half survive this mental game,
And go to Primary schools,
But only half will hack the course,
Move on to Basic rules.

Two hundred fifty now will try
To pass those Basic tests;
Formation flight soon separates,
The "tiger" from the rest.

One hundred twenty-five will then
Pin on those pilot wings;
The best become 'Top Gun' jocks;
The rest fly other things.

Some will die while learning those
Essential combat skills;
Some will die in combat,
Some will score their "kills."

But they have learned a lesson,
Sometimes lost on you and me;
We must always fight for Freedom,
Because Freedom's never free!

He's a knight in shining armor,
That the ! cruel tyrants fear;
He's that deadly drop of venom
On the tip of Freedom's spear.

Engaging him in battle is a course
That only fools would choose;
He's the world's fiercest warrior,
For he has the most to lose.

So when you see that aviator,
Standing at the bar;
Taking out the garbage,
Or tuning up his car.

You'd best walk up and offer him
Your thanks, extend your hand;
He's that rare "one in a million"
Who Protects this sacred land.

- submitted by Charlie Block        

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