Let's tell happy stories for NightTrain!!!

[Bouncy Ball]

Ok? Post your happiest, mushiest, nicest stories here.

Here's mine from just today. I was signing my 10 year old daughter's school work and I saw that she had her dad's business card in her book bag. I took it out and saw that she had drawn a heart around his name and wrote "Daddy" above his name. I asked her why she had it and she said "I always want to keep him close to me."

She also carries his old dog tags on her keychain. She says they bring her luck.

I got a valentine from her today, along with a very wet kiss. She kissed my cheek so hard, she nearly knocked my glasses off.

So what's yours? They obviously don't have to involve kids!

(Edited to take out the space in NightTrain.)

[Bouncy Ball]

1. Aw, come on, guys, I know you've got them!

There's good in the world! Share it!

[DS1]

2. The day I got my DD214, one of the happiest days of my life.

Not that he'd know anything about that :eyes:

[Bouncy Ball]

4. That is a wonderful day, isn't it?

I agree.

[DS1]

16. It was one of the most humid days in Hawaii in recorded history.

I could feel the sweat running down my legs from my thick wool cammies *they last longer, so we have to buy them less often, and unlike the Army, Marines pay for their own uniforms*. I got my papers, ran/skipped my way back to my barracks, packed up my shit, listened to all the lifers telling me how much I'd miss life in 'the corps', told them they were full of shit, they didn't believe me, I didn't care. I was finally out, 4 long, painful years of being an automaton were over.

Then my buddy threw a party for me, I got to tour a nuclear sub since he had a lot of contacts in the Navy, got to climb up the conning tower, point and laugh at all the guys that ~weren't~ getting "out" at midnight, pickup truck "surfed" my way to Honolulu International Airport, drank some more, was asked for a speech, mumbled something before a Flight Attendant told my buddy that if I kept it up any longer I'd be banned from the flight, and then felt the bottom of his boot on my back as he kicked me down the ramp towards the plane. Got my seat, realized I'd been upgraded to business class, drunk off my ass, felt up the hot chick next to me, realised she didn't appreciate being felt up, passed out. Woke up a free man.

Never again. Never freakin again. I'll lop off body parts before being suckered into that scam again.

[Bouncy Ball]

19. "realized she didn't appreciate being felt up..."

LMAO. You were acting mostly the way my husband did almost all the time when he was a GI.

He got a couple of re-enlistment bonuses, one was quite a bit of money, about a grand. He CASHED the check and spent the entire thing in a bar.

Damn.

He thinks about those days and just shakes his head. He can't even remember getting the scar on his forehead, just above his eyebrow. Or getting the stitches he woke up with.

Hawaii, though, that's cool.

I take it you didn't like the Marines? LOL

[DS1]

21. Heh, I liked it now and then

but mostly, I saw it for what it was. My favorite story was when the base MPs were short people, and the base commander sent out a request for the best three Marines from each unit. I ended up on that list, listening to a Colonel talk about how kickass we were, because OUR CO had sent the most "useless" ( his words ) Marines instead. Now, one of them was my good friend Marc, who is currently designing the next Mars Rover, and is also figuring out how to make diamond-coating gears that last forever, for both space exploration uses and medical uses such as artificial hips. I went on to write the first internet procurement software, with bidding, pricing, auctioning, etc, but hey, we didn't "conform".

I still did like shooting things, I was actually pretty damn good at it, and trained a shitload of others to hit their mark with an M16 or M9 Pistol, or anything else. ;)

[driver8]

24. When I got out, I was in the middle of the Persian Gulf.

I was stationed on an aircraft carrier and we were in the Gulf. I remember going up to the flight deck that day and the water was smooth as silk -- not a ripple or a wave to be seen. My last memory of my ship is being catapulted off of it in an airplane. We flew to Bahrain where we spent a couple of days and then on to Philadelphia for discharge!!

[driver8]

12. One of my favorite days, too!!

We used to say, "All I want from the Navy is my DD214!"
What a glorious day!

[DS1]

20. Yeah, it's a sequence of events I'll never forget

even the part where some of my buddies ripped off my boots and in a suddenly-made-up ceremony, threw them into the ocean. :D

I missed them because they were my best pair of broken-in boots, but like then, I don't care.

[Bouncy Ball]

3. Ooo I thought of another good one.

One year, when I was teaching the Holocaust/Ann Frank unit, my students and I talked about how this happened in large part because people turned a blind eye and said "it's none of my business."

We talked about that theme for several days. Then one day my lunch class came back all trying to tell me something at once.

It seems a sixth grade girl was sitting at her table in the cafeteria, alone, just crying her eyes out. They were all telling me VERY indignantly how NO ONE, not even an adult, was going over to see what was wrong. Inspired by our talks, seven of them went over (how overwhelming! LOL!) to find out what was wrong and help her if they could. Turns out she had just found out that morning that her older brother had been killed in a car accident (why was she in school, I wondered?). They put their arms around her, offered her their lunches, anything to comfort her.

Well, guess what? They GOT IN TROUBLE for leaving their table. But they spoke up and explained what they were doing and one particularly articulate girl told the principal "When you turn your back on other people, everyone is alone."

Oh God, that ripped my heart out. I'm tearing up just remembering it. I taught the sweetest (and some of the poorest) middle school kids in the world. I am certain reading about Ann Frank had a lasting impact on their lives.

[progmom]

5. Here are some quotes from my kid (almost 3 yrs old)

Tonight he looked at me and said: "Mama, you know what? I think it's a really good idea to have a friend just like you."

Last week he said: "Mama, you know what? You're so good! You're so good...in my life!"

...and last year, when he was almost-two, I took him (and his dad) on a bizness trip to NY. We ended up at The Jazz Standard with a bunch of execs from the Blue Note label - they were kind enough to invite the husband and kid along, and get special permission from the management to smuggle in a not-quite-two-year-old.

About halfway through the set, he stands up in his seat and says: "Bebop!!!" I was a proud mama.

[Bouncy Ball]

6. As well you should be! Damn!

Great kid!!!!

[SW FL Dem]

7. My 13 year old son told me I needed a neck rub today

He knew I wasn't feeling well and he knows that I love neck rubs. How many teenagers are sensitive to their mom's needs. I got goosebumps, which to me is a good thing.

[Bouncy Ball]

10. What a great kid!!!!

I've always believed teenagers are FAR better than society gives them credit for being.

[Elidor]

8. Once upon a time, there was a republican president…

He lied to the american people and harrassed his enemies and preyed on dissenters and pursued a reckless, conservative agenda with no regard for truth or decency.

He resigned from office and died in disgrace, the most visible national failure of his era. :)

That makes me feel all warm and fuzzy all over.

[Bouncy Ball]

9. Darn I thought you were going to say

he was sent to federal prison for the rest of his life for crimes of aggression and lying under oath and became the bitch of a guy named Ray John.

[EC]

11. everyday is a nice day, because I realize I raised a wonderful

caring Daughter, she calls me everyday, something I can't even force myself to do for my own Mother.

[Bouncy Ball]

18. Awwwww. You done good.

That's so cool. I hope my daughter does that, too. We are super close.

[AmandaRuth]

13. ok. about 8 years ago, when I still lived in the city

I was very sad and depressed because of a friend who passed, way way too young. I was sitting out on my porch crying, and one of the neighborhood kids (who was all of 5) brought over a popsicle to me, and he said in this tiny earnest voice, that popsicles always made him feel better, and he wanted me to feel better. It was such a sweet thing, and not prompted by any adult. He was a little boy named Anthony and I will never forget that.

[Bouncy Ball]

15. THAT is a cool story.

I wish we could all stay the way we were as kids. VERY young kids. Before any of us had hatred institutionalized into us.

There would be no bush. Not the way he is, anyway.

[driver8]

14. I have a three year old daughter in pre-school...

I work evenings, so a lot of times I pick her up from school. Usually it is just her and I and we have these great little conversations (she is very precocious).

Anyhow, on Tuesday my wife picked her up instead of me. When they got home my wife said to me, "Leah was very upset that you were not there to pick her up. She said, 'I want Daddy to pick me up!' ".

I have to say, that made me feel very good.

[Bouncy Ball]

17. Those are cool moments.

And you'll have so many more with her.

Funny, when my duaghter was younger, she really wasn't into my husband too much. I mean she always loved him and would tackle each other and tickle and scream and yell with laughter, but she was always a "momma's girl."

However, I've noticed she's really drawn to him in the last year or two. That's made him so happy. She loves to go to computer stores with him, or the Movie Trading Company. Or sometimes they'll just go out for pancakes together.

(Sshhhh, but girls rock!)

[driver8]

25. When my daughter was about 18 months old...

...she and I flew from California to Texas for a family reunion. My wife was pregnant with our second child and could not fly. My wife told me that "not a lot of dads would do that".

We had a great time and my family enjoyed seeing my daughter. When I am running errands around town I often take my daughter with me. She is great company and always entertaining.

[Lisa]

22. the hitch-hiking rooster!

I heard this from my friend Kinga last week. Last summer, I tested my new tabletop incubator by hatching some chicken eggs. I gave 5 of the chicks to Kinga, so they could live on her farm. She wasn't due to come to town for 3 weeks, so in the meantime the chickens lived with me. I'd let them sit in my lap (on an old towel, in case of "accidents") and we'd watch Jon Stewart's show together. Eventually they got so big that they couldn't all fit in my lap, and would fall off and squabble for the comfiest places, but by then Kinga showed up to collect them.

Kinga's 3 kids proceeded to spoil them rotten. The chicks followed the kids everywhere -- perched all over them -- begged to be picked up and cuddled. They have had chicks on the farm before, but the mother hens always kept careful watch on them and didn't let the children play with them. There are 2 roosters and 3 hens, who will probably start laying eggs soon ... anyway, they are still very friendly and Kinga noticed that one of the roosters is out on the grass next to the lane whenever she comes home from work. She pulled over and opened the door of the truck, to yell at him to stay back from the road -- and what should he do but come running over and jump onto the seat next to her! When she drives up to the house, he waits until she opens the door for him, then hops out and goes under the porch (a favorite chicken hangout). This has happened several times in the past month.

[SammyWinstonJack]

23. My good day

I took my Yorkie girl to the groomer and she was so happy as she always is to see other people! And while I was waiting to pay for her grooming, I saw a lady with four Yorkies in a shopping cart! I was in love! LOL Yorkies are my favorite special doggies! Aw the simple pleasures in life.