DAY BEFORE THANKSGIVING

Dear Gabe,

So I'm wondering, are they giving you guys a nice dinner for Thanksgiving?  I hope so.  I'm going to have the girls do the turkey this year.  I really wasn't in the mood, but they need to learn to carry on the traditions.  Friday we'll do a deer roast to celebrate the harvest.  That is another tradition I want them to take with them.

Rocky has given her permission for you to smoke while you are there.  But she has a condition.  You cannot smoke a pack a day.  She has worked the math and determined that if you smoke a pack a day for a year, you will have 3 feet of tar in in your lungs.  Not a very nice picture huh?  3 feet of tar, that sounds really serious, so keep it to a minimum okay?

I keep thinking about your friend and his family.  Its bad enough to see the numbers of the casualties going up each day, but its heart breaking when the numbers aren't anonymous.  Each number reprepresents someone's son or daughter.  And in this case, a close friend. 

Dad will be sending you the name and number of an ex Scout.  The guy says that you should never hesitate to call him if you ever need to talk to someone whos been there, done that.  He'd love to talk with you.  Everyone is so proud of you and if you listen hard enough on a quiet moment you might hear all the prayers that are constantly being said for you and everyone there with you.

Take care my son.  Missing you, Loving you... Always,

Mom