Memorial Day... It's Not About Picnics

Christmas... it's not about Santa Claus, but to too many folks, that what it seems to be.

Easter... it's not about the Easter Bunny, but to too many folks, that what it seems to be.

Christmas is about the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ, and Easter is about His rebirth through His resurrection. I don't claim to be the most Christlike person that ever walked the planet, but I thank our heavenly father God for Him, his birth, and his ultimate act of love toward us otherwise unworthy creatures.

Now let's talk about Memorial Day...

To too many folks in this great nation, Memorial Day simply seems to be the first "official weekend" of the summer where everyone packs the family and the trip gear in the car and goes out of town for the weekend.

I don't knock that aspect, but just like Christmas and Easter, we tend to treat it in a somewhat selfish way instead of remembering what the holiday is truly about.

Memorial Day is about selfless sacrifice. Over the 230 years this great republic has existed, thousands of military personnel had given their lives on battlefields both here and abroad so that we, the American people, can go out and celebrate our holidays and enjoy the freedoms we have (as opposed to too many other nations who live under tyrannical dictatorships).

Tomorrow, Mary and I will be going to Roswell, Georgia, for its annual Memorial Day celebration at their city hall. We will not be "just observers", but instead, we will be helping with the hospitality suite that the Roswell Visitors Bureau and their local Rotary Clubs set up as a small token of appreciation to all our veterans and current military personnel. There will be a solemn service at the "Faces of War" monument honoring the sacrifices of those brave people who paid the ultimate price for our freedoms... their lives. For more info about the Roswell celebration, please click here.

Finally, I thank God that I live in a free nation and for the sacrifices that our military personnel have made (and continue to make) on our behalf, and I urge you to keep that thought in mind as you celebrate Memorial Day with your family and friends.

God bless America, God bless our troops, and God bless you and yours!!!

Have a happy and safe Memorial Day.

We've Been Mentioned On The Louie Report

Dear Readers,

Just a quick blog to let you know that LouieWilliamsJr.com ("Me Gotta Blog Now") has been mentioned on The Louie Report blogsite (www.louielouie.net/blog), run by Eric Predoehl.

All is well here in "LouieLand" and we're getting ready to go to a church chicken barbecue and then down to Gwinnett County to see my folks (Linda and Louie Sr.), my sister/brother-in-law/niece, and my sister-in-law/nephew. My little brother,Lt. Commander Chris, is out to sea on a sub somewhere in the Pacific helping keep this great nation free. God bless Chris and all our military personnel who make mucho sacrfices so for this great nation we call the USA.

Thanks to Eric for the plug, thanks again to Chris and all our military personnel, and thanks to you for reading.

Me gotta go now!!! :)

New North Georgia Alumni Website

Dear Fellow North Georgia Alums,

I am happy to announce that our beloved North Georgia's alumni website is back and better than ever. Please click here to see it.

You may have just heard about my blogsite from the most recent Alumni Bulletin you received in the mail. If so, and if this your first time to visit, then thanks and please do so often.

And now, here's what's happening right now in our lives...

MS Walk In Marietta

This past weekend in downtown Marietta, Georgia, my wife Mary and I participated in the MS Walk to help raise funds and find a cure for Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

Her friend and former co-worker Laura suffers from a rare form of MS that is slowly but surely robbing her of strength as the days and months go by.

I am thankful that I have gotten to know Laura and her husband Tony and I cherish the friendship we all share. It is for that reason (among others) that I would like to see MS cured within our lifetime.

For more information on MS and how you can help, please visit www.nmss.org.

Hammin' It Up Again

For nearly 19 years, I have held an Amateur (Ham) Radio Service license (callsign KC4AZO).

Last Friday at Ham Radio Outlet in Doraville, I bought a 2m (VHF) handie-talkie and started dabbling on the airwaves again. I'm even exploring the possibility of volunteering with the Amateur Radio Emergency Service as a way to help my community in times of disaster.

Years ago, I did some HF (shortwave) work and earned awards for contacting hams in each of the 50 states, plus hams on every continent (including Antarctica). I still have my old HF rig in the basement and I've even contemplated taking it up to my in-laws' farm in Chattooga County and setting up a "shack" there. Like anything else, it's the matter of finding the time to do it.

Several celebrities are also "hams". Please click here to see for yourself.

If you would like to learn more about the Amateur Radio Service, visit the American Radio Relay League's website at www.arrl.org.

Toastmasters

Mary and I are both enjoying a much-needed break from Toastmasters state-level leadership positions, Mary having been our statewide club extension chairperson and me being the Immediate Past Georgia District Governor.

Right now, we are active in our local chapter near our house, where Mary is the Vice President of Education and I am the Secretary/Treasurer.

If you'd like to learn more about Toastmasters and how it can help you just as it did me, then please visit their website at www.toastmasters.org.

Lions Club

Since 2001, I've been a member of the world's largest service organization, Lions International.

In 1917, a Chicago-area businessman named Melvin Jones, along with several colleagues, formed an organization dedicated to helping those in need.

Eventually, after Helen Keller's address to their 1925 convention in Ohio, Lions decided to change their charitable focus on helping the blind.

Right now, I am serving my fellow Lions as Assistant Secretary of our local chapter.

If you wish to learn more about Lions, then please visit their website at www.lionsclubs.org.

BTW, if it weren't for a fellow Toastmaster, I would likely have not joined. :)

Again, regardless of whether this is your first visit, or one of many to my blogsite, thank you very much for visiting and please do so often.

While you're at it, please feel free to e-mail me at louie at louiewilliamsjr dot com.

73 DE KC4AZO! :)

P.S. Depending on our schedule, Mary and I may "pop in" during Parents-Alumni Weekend.

Shawn Mullins and Cynthia McKinney

First of all, we here at LouieWilliamsJr.com congratulate fellow North Georgia alum Shawn Mullins on the release of both his new album "9th Ward Pickin Parlor" and the updated website.

Tonight, I took the opportunity to check it out, plus preview his new tunes, and boy, does he "keep it real", y'all!!! :)

Here's a picture of Shawn and me taken at the NGC Alumni House during Parents-Alumni Weekend 2001...

Shawn, if you read this blog, please know that your music is appreciated and we all look forward to seeing even more. Thanks for "keepin' it real".

Finally, I just got to get this off my chest...

Cynthia McKinney, the biggest whiner in Congress, is yet again showing her arrogant, whiney, and "they hate me because I'm black" self.

What makes Ms. McKinney think that she can assault a law officer who is simply trying to protect the people in the Capitol (including herself) from those who wish to harm them? As long as there are politicians like her who feel that they are above the law, nothing, absolutely nothing, will ever truly get accomplished in this nation.

I would like to thank Ms. McKinney for one thing, however... the opportunity to vote against her when I lived in her congressional district... and I'm dang proud of the fact that I did so!!!

Now, I am not a racist individual and I truly believe that we all are brothers and sisters in His eyes, but it steams me to no end when self-serving people like Ms. McKinney waste our tax dollars spending more time whining and moaning than actually working for the American people.

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest, thanks for reading, and please do so often.

Buck Owens and Tim Garrett

It's been awhile since I've posted a blog here, so here goes...

On Saturday, March 25, 2006, the world lost one of country's most "real" entertainers, Buck Owens. He died of heart failure at his home in Bakersfield, California.

Most of you probably know him more as the co-host of the cornball country comedy series "Hee-Haw" (a duty he shared with Roy Clark), but he was more into "keepin' it real" as far as the music was concerned. In fact, he preferred to call his music "American" instead of "country", and his sound was known as "The Bakersfield Sound".

Furthermore, Owens was not enamored with the Nashville establishment, which, to this day, seems to produce way too many "cookie-cutter" artists. In spite of his disdain for Nashville, he was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1996.

His influence would spread to artists such as Dwight Yoakam, who got together with Owens in 1988 and recorded Owens's 1972 song "Streets of Bakersfield". Like Owens, Yoakam, too, was not a fan of the Nashville establishment.

To read more, please click here for the article from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Admittedly, it wasn't until years later that I started listening to some of Owens's material. Of all his songs, my favorite would have to be "Act Naturally" (co-written by the late Johnny Russell, who was a longtime Grand Ole Opry fixture in his own right). Not only did Owens record this song, but The Beatles also did (with Ringo Starr as lead vocals). Furthermore, Ringo and Owens (a self-professed Beatles fan) would unite in the recording studio in 1989 and rerecord "Act Naturally" as a duet.

Mr. Owens, thanks for sharing your musical gift with the world and may you rest in His eternal peace.

And finally, here's a "shout-out" to fellow 1986 NGC alum Dr. Tim Garrett, who is this year's "Young Alumnus" award winner. Way to go, Tim!!! :)

Hopefully, Mary and I will be able to make an appearance during Parents-Alumni Weekend.

That's it for now, y'all. Thanks for reading and please do so often.

P.S. Please feel free to e-mail me. My address is louie at louiewilliamsjr dot com.

New Frappr! Map For North Georgia Alums

Dear Fellow North Georgia Alums,

You are cordially invited to "map" yourself on the North Georgia College "Frappr!" Map, created by yours truly for the benefit and enjoyment of fellow alums of both North Georgia College (NGC) and North Georgia College and State University (NGCSU).

Please click here to go to the map.

NOTE: This venture is neither endorsed by, nor affiliated with either NGCSU or the NGCSU Alumni Association.

Thanks for visiting and putting yourself on the map. Y'all come back now, y'hear! :)

My Gomerly Thoughts

Dear Reader,

On the last blog, I posted a short skit based on my "gomerly" inspiration.

According to a post on the TV Shows on DVD website, the classic military sitcom "Gomer Pyle, USMC", should soon be released on DVD. Please click here for the article. It will be a definite "must add" to our DVD collection.

From 2000-2002, TV Land had "Gomer" reruns in its lineup and boy, did I enjoy seeing them just as I did when I was a young'un back in Snellville. In some ways, it reminded me of my days at NGC as a young cadet, but most of all, it was good clean fun to see ol' Gomer (Jim Nabors) drive Sergeant Carter (played by the late Frank Sutton) up the wall. I wish there were more shows like that today.

If I could remake "Gomer" into a feature film, then I would probably cast R. Lee Ermey ("The Gunney" from "Mail Call" and "Full Metal Jacket") as Carter. As for Gomer, however, I'm not sure whom I'd cast... but then again, perhaps we should leave that show alone since Nabors was, is, and always will be "Gomer", just like the late Bob Denver was "Gilligan". Most movies based on TV shows aren't that great, anyway, IMHO.

Last June, while my wife Mary and I were in Birmingham, Alabama, for the Southeast regional Toastmasters conference, we took some time to travel down US 280 (known as "Jim Nabors Highway" in Talladega County) to pay homage to ol' Gomer. Here' s a picture she took of me next to the sign:

Louie on US 280/231 southbound just inside of Talladega County, AL. (Photo taken by Mary.)

Jim Nabors was born and raised in Sylacauga, which is just a little further south of this point on US 280. His official website is JimNabors.com.

For more about "Gomer Pyle, USMC", please click here.

Finally, here's a link to the "Gomer" theme song.

That's all the "gomerly" thoughts I have for now. Thanks for visiting and y'all come back now, y'hear!!! :)