MWSA: Military Writers Society of America

This past week end we were able to attend the Military Writers Society of America Conference in Orlando, FL. The beautiful weather was just the beginning of an enjoyable time. As a board member, Eddie was asked to be the MC for the Saturday banquet and the Auctioneer for the Sunday auction AND I was given the title of SGT Major! Yes....they needed and wanted someone a "bit" bossy...or maybe it was just someone who could get things done! I was in charge of making things flow as scheduled.

We were able to spend time with old friends we met before and made some new and wonderful friends. In the next few blogs I will be telling some of the events of the conference.

I'd like to start with something very special that was sent to us by someone we met at the conference...Mike Mullins. Many emails have been heating up the Internet since the conference...all of us still talking about the week end. In one of those emails we received a beautiful gift from Mike: The email subject line read "a little thing I did"



Beesley

Face like a hawk;
Eyes that blaze and leave no doubt;
The man is what you see, no other way…
God gave him more
Than ever He took that day.

Beesley lost much when he met Betty then.
Flesh and bone disappeared
In war’s whirlwind.
Eddie stands tall, taller than you and I.
His feet don’t touch the ground;
His head doesn’t reach the sky.

It wasn’t so good at first.
He couldn’t accept his gift of life.
Then he met the angel
Who was to become his wedded wife.
Now they do God’s work,
Reaching out to wounded and maimed GIs.

He writes, he preaches, he changes lives…
He gives them hope by example
And shows them strength here on earth,
Sharing her smiles and dimples.
Years ago his legs went to heaven,
Beesley will join them in God’s own time.


Mike Mullins, 11/12/09

Michael D. "Moon" Mullins, author of "Vietnam in Verse, poetry for beer drinkers." "ViV" won the Gold Medal for poetry, 2007, from the Military Writers Society of America (MWSA). The book is available on line from on-line Amazon, B&N, and B-a-M book stores.It is available as an audio-book from the author. Please contact me at this e-mail address; mullins.m.1@comcast.net or via land mail at POB 456 Windfall, In. 46076.Vietnam Veteran, Delta 3/7, 199th Light Infantry, '68-'69. Vice President of the MWSA. One dollar from either version goes to the Wounded Warrior Project.

WHEW! NEVER had a poem written for us before! AND wanted to share it...
We met other wonderful folks and will have more stories to tell in the coming days....like Chris Martini and the film he let us view...Richard Lowry and the film he showed stirring up some memories...AND meeting a special lady and her husband....the sister of CPL Daniel Duffy.

Connie Beesley