In My Own Words

We’ve received three Christmas cards so far – one from a retired Army SSgt we adopted while she was deployed to Iraq, and the other two from troops who are currently deployed. All three are proudly displayed on the mantel above the fireplace, of course, and will be added to the collection of cards, letters, and e-mails in 3-ring binders on the shelf above my computer.

What’s really neat is that the Soldier we got the Christmas card from in yesterday’s mail sent an e-mail this morning – they just got the two Christmas care packages we’d sent (one for males, one for females) and wanted to thank us. There’s a photo of their group attached to the e-mail, so naturally I printed it out and am adding it to the Wall of Fame.

I’ve used MotoMail for quite awhile to send letters to the Marines we adopt. It’s a great resource for someone who writes a lot of letters, because the service is free – no stamps to buy. I know 44-cents doesn’t sound like a lot, but I’ve sent over 600 MotoMail letters, and that’s over $264 I didn’t have to spend on stamps. I’ve always lamented the fact that it was only available for Marines, because I write a lot of letters to Army, Navy, and Air Force folks, too (the majority to Army).

Well, as of December 1, there is now Hooah Mail, which is for Army personnel deployed to Afghanistan. Guess who now has an account at http://www. HooahMail.us ? LOL! Yep, that would be me… Since it’s so new, they’re still working on getting all the APO addresses added, so not all of my troops have it available yet, but I’ve got 11 who do have access to HooahMail service, and they’re in my online address book. I’ve written to three of them so far – supposedly they get your letter within 24 to 48 hours after you submit it, which beats the dickens out of 10 days to 2 weeks for a snail mail. Gotta love modern technology!

Thanks for stopping by and reading my chit-chat. Feel free to comment whenever the mood strikes you. I appreciate your input!