Poem: "Virtual Relationships and The Emptiness of Modern Life"

Have we become separates.

Divided while yet together.

Distant and impersonal.

Is there no time?

Is there no interest?

An existence without substance.

Veiled in shadows of relationship.  

No connections of value.

No connections of love.

Who are we?

What are we?

Electronic messages without faces.

A  host of people but not one true bond.

Intimacy without being intimate.

Loveless and sterile.


Do we know anything about each other?

Do we know nothing about each other?

Relationships so Shallow, hollow, and empty

No real feelings, just words on a screen

 

Poem written by Mark R. Day 1/19/2014

Message: "2013 Christmas Message to the 2nd Military District"

Brothers and families of the Second Military District,

     In this season of peace and joy, I am strengthened by the many acts of love and charity which are carried out without fanfare or notoriety.    Christmas is about our collective ability to share, to love, and to be loved.   In the story of the Grinch who stole Christmas; the Hoo’s welcome Christmas morning, in spite of having lost all the material goods they coveted, with the following tune Fah who for-aze! Fah who for-aze! Dah who dor-aze! Dah who dor-aze! Welcome Christmas, Welcome Christmas, Come this way! Come this way! Fah who for-aze! Fah who for-aze! Dah who dor-aze! Dah who dor-aze! Welcome Christmas, Welcome Christmas, Christmas Day.    These somewhat nonsensical words are the perfect expression of the true sense Christmas has in our lives throughout the years.  Christmas is the song we annually raise up and sing in an effort to renew our spirits and pronounce our faith in humanity.  In the celebration of Christmas we are reminded that there is a redemptive power, which can heal and renew our spirits as we watch Christmas stories such as “The Christmas Carol” or The Bells of St. Mary’s.  Christmas reminds us of our commitment to our fellow man and our challenge to eliminate ignorance and want.

     Our Civil War ancestors understood the true meaning of Christmas.   Soldiers far from home and hearth celebrated four Christmas Days in the far flung outpost and encampments of the Union Army.  I often am overcome by the strength they possessed and the dedication it took.  For the soldiers Christmas would have been bereft of the material things that many hold dear today.  My own experiences with Christmas in the service, during the 1^st Persian Gulf War, are still a powerful reminder of how simple things like a box of cookies or that stale but wonderful apple sauce cake; were the perfect gift because they were filled with the love of family.

     The second stanza of the Hoo’s Christmas song says, “Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome Fah who rah-moose Fah who rah-moose Welcome, Welcome,  Welcome, Welcome Dah who dah-moose Dah who dah-moose Christmas day is in our grasp Christmas day is in our grasp So long as we have hands to clasp So long as we have hands to clasp”   It is my sincere hope that, in this joyous Christmas season, each of you will be clasped in the arms of your friends and family  and that, you may find the opportunity to clasp your fellow man in your own. 

May this be the year we truly realize peace on Earth and good Will to man. 

In Fraternity, Charity, and Loyalty

Mark R. Day, Lt. Colonel

Commander 2^nd Military District

Speech: "Graveside Service Honoring George Washington Meals"

We are gathered to honor the life of George Washington Meals, a soldier of the American Civil War, however in the larger sense we are also honoring the legacy of an American family.   The progenitors of George Washington meals were among the first settlers of our nation.  In the Mid-Eighteenth Century Samuel Meals, George’s Great Grandfather came to Pennsylvania, from the German Rhineland, seeking the opportunity to enjoy a new life and following the American Revolution the Meals family grew and prospered.  Ultimately the family established itself in Adams County near the town of Gettysburg were George Washington Meal’s father Gabriel founded a monument works and George was born in 1840.  While, I have no direct evidence of it, patriotism and love of country must have been taught in the Meals home for Gabriel Meal’s children were staunch patriots.  In the nations hour of need George and his brother William both served in the Union Army and patriotism in the Meals family was not limited to the men but also ran deep in the character of the women of the family.  George’s sister Lydia bravely confronted Confederate soldiers who had plundered her home during the early stages of the Battle of Gettysburg and was only constrained, from pummeling the confederate soldiers verbally, by the insistence of her mother to be quiet.  

Today we specifically stand upon this sacred site to honor George Washington Meals, who served with Battery F, 4th United States Artillery.  His unit saw many battles, but most significantly he was present at the battle of Gettysburg in 1863 where he stood on his own families land and saw action repelling Pickett’s Charge on July 3rd 1863. While we can never know his thoughts at that moment, I believe he undoubtedly understood the meaning of the situation.  He was defending his home and the fate of the nation was hung in the balance.  Only victory would be a sufficient outcome and so he persevered and gave his all to achieve it.

Now on behalf of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, I publicly thank the George Washington Meals and his entire family for their dedication to our nation and I am honored to stand at the graveside of a soldier, a patriot, an American to whom we owe thanks for his service to preserve the Union in its darkest hour.   

 

Letter to the Editor: "Council making big mistake on tourism"

     The recent events surrounding Lynchburg City Council, the local tourism board and the Lynchburg Regional Chamber of Commerce nothing less than tragic for the hundreds of businesses and thousands of individuals who rely on tourism in the greater Lynchburg region for their economic viability.

     To say that the majority of council members, supporting the dissolution of the current tourism board and the discontinuance of the cities contract with the chamber, are short-sighted and have undercut the city’s ability to advertise and promote itself is an understatement. In Charlottesville and Roanoke, they are cheering the unprecedented destruction of Virginia’s most honored and awarded tourism program, and these cities are looking to capitalize on Lynchburg’s mistake.

     Whatever the proprietary and budgetary reasons were, for City Council’s hostile takeover of tourism promotion in Lynchburg, they could not have outweighed valuable and productive work that had been accomplished by the chamber and the its staff over many years.  Irreplaceable personal contacts, award-winning programs and a highly respected reputation throughout the state have been thrown over in a coup d’état by an oligarchy comprised of politicians who have an agenda to obtain total control over decision-making regarding tourism.  For those who believe that government is best able to manage tourism rather than an outside agency, whose soul purpose is the promotion of business, I would ask, do you really think that is the best way to go? The tourism industry in Lynchburg will become yet another victim of bureaucratic tomfoolery, and it will become mired in the debate over resources and budgets, which will debilitate and stagnate economic recovery in Central Virginia.


MARK R. DAY
Lynchburg

Letter: Veteran's Day Message to the Second Military District, SVR

Commander Second Military District, SVR

Major Mark R. Day

104 Mullbury Place, Lynchburg, VA 24502

 

Brothers,

     On Monday the 11th of November,  our nation will once again honor the memory of the veterans who have served in its defense.  On Veterans Day 1961 then President John F. Kennedy made the following comments, "I do not believe that any nation in the history of the world has buried its soldiers father from its native soil than we Americans - or buried them closer to the towns in which they grew up."  After reading that short statement, I paused to think and realize that America's veterans have indeed shed their blood on their native soil and  every continent or ocean.  Beginning with the soldiers and sailors of the Revolutionary War and right up to our current operations in Afghanistan,  our nation has relied on its sons and daughters to offer themselves, their  families, and their treasure in sacrifice to the aims  of Freedom and Liberty  throughout the world.  

     This veterans Day, as we go about the normal chores and duties of home and work, let us remember that our world remains filled with tension and conflict.  America will always have need of Sons and daughters who are willing to commit to securing the freedom of our people.   Veterans Day must  never cease to be the day and time when we stand arm to arm and rank to rank in  a salute to those we owe such an immense debt of gratitude because:

They answered the call to duty

They left their homes to fight

They served with courage and honor

They held back the black veil of night

We owe them our deepest gratitude

We should honor them with our praise

They stood the watch in darkness

They are the bulwark of freedom and truth

Their nobility the light of hope in the midst of crisis

Their lives a testimony to Liberty's dream

     May the Lord God Bless the men and women who have served and who are serving even now.  May he protect them and deliver those who serve in far off places back to their loved ones.  Remember the Veterans on Veterans Day and all the days of the year " lest we forget"  the debt we owe to them.

In Fraternity, Charity, and Loyalty

Mark R. Day

Commander Second Military District



Poem: "A Poem for America's Veterans"

They answered the call to duty

They left their homes to fight

They served with courage and honor

They held back the black veil of night

We owe them our deepest gratitude

We should honor them with our praise

They stood the watch in darkness

They are the bulwark of freedom and truth

Their nobility the light of hope in the midst of crisis

Their lives a testimony to Liberty's dream

 

 

Written by Mark R. Day 11-3-13, Copyright by Mark R. Day 11-3-13, all rights reserved.

Poem: "The Invisible Host"

 

Silent always silent, but close within their  arms.

The hidden host is with us through every trial and storm

Though invisible to the eye, they live within our hearts

A memory of joyous moments and loving days gone by

They have made the transformation and prepare a place of joy.

They provide a strength that upholds us and fill our hearts with love.

So take the time to listen and remember to let them touch your soul.

Written by Mark R. Day 11-3-13 Copyright by Mark R. Day 11-3-13, all rights reserved

One of a series of poems inspired by the sermons of Rev. William Montgomery, Pastor of Heritage United Methodist Church, Lynchburg, Va during the summer and fall of 2013.