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2015 Life-changing events makes us try new things.

i can tell you loosing your life's partner is a staggering event.

i wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Getting through the holidaze, and it can still be sharp as a razor.

2019 5 years has passed, things have changed and not necessarily for the better.

I find myself in the staring roll of a movie i had a supporting roll in the 1st time around, 5 years ago almost to the day.

“There is nothing more exhilarating than to be shot at with no result.”

― Winston Churchill

been offline for much of October.

fighting Colon Cancer, in a fog.

like a bolt out of the blue it came.

two operations later and they got it.

6 weeks bedrest to try and regain some strength, and i start chemo.

CHEMO.........it's everything it's cracked up to be.

National Geographics January '20 edition, has an article entitled, "Scientists are Unraveling the Mysteries of Pain."

" It’s not uncommon for cancer patients experiencing severe, unrelenting pain after chemotherapy to opt out of treatment in favor of the ultimate salve of dying."

One evil unleashed to fight another evil, with the human as collateral damage.........

Living for spring, when chemo ends, and the big question can be answered, am i clear?

2020 My final infusion was 14FEB20, dealing with the fallout now. The Oxy seeems to be the worst of causing a reaction.

OF ALL THE TITLES, DECORATIONS, POSITIONS,AND LABELS, THIS ONE WILLBE THE MOST POIGNIENT.......

CANCER SURVIVOR

There's no way i could possibly thank my new girlfriend, Linda, enough for her help. I'd have ended up in custodial care or assisted living without her tireless efforts..... And my son Tony for being there when i needed him, getting the house ready so i could get around while i was limited to a walker. Him bringing my grandchildren by to perk up my spirits.

2021 I'll be back, and when i am-- I'M BACK! a little weaker than before, a lot more rules for living i've gotta pay attention to, but staying above the grass is a great thing!

Working for Huntington Ingalls Industries-Technical Services Division, at the recently acquired Hydroid, underwater robotics subsidiary, on Cape Cod.

2021 Back in the ring. Sepsis strikes! Been flat on my back for 8 daze. Home now, bedrest for 3 weeks. I'm going claw my way back to work and health damned it!

2023 HII Job review, 1st week of March, AOK, small payraise.

2nd week of March, skip-level meeting, 'Your position has been eliminated.'

Looking for new employment....like too many others in IT.

Depends on how bad corporate America pursues bottom-fishing,age-ism, and the flooded IT infrastructure employment market, on top of the layoff sunami.Add to that 'ghost jons' to further drive out any interest in job-hunting....

The layoff sunami, the graphic is from before the 19K from Accenture.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/what-are-ghost-jobs-and-why-are-they-everywhere-now/435666

https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/feature/Ghost-jobs-explained-Everything-you-need-to-know

https://fortune.com/2023/03/22/ghost-jobs-companies-posting-fake-listings/ar.

For so many now, the retirement outlook is bleak. The massive hit everyone's taken to their 401k's, coupled with 'Biden-flation'

That picture of retirement as an oasis to catch up on the thousands of extra hours worked, that were really wasted, is a mirage.

That paltry social security COLA was completely eaten up by march, and the powers that be say next year's will be smaller.

Go to the range? Ammo is 4x what it should be & was.

That boat i dreamed of? Sunk by the Global Warming Cult, and the Biden/demshevik economy.

Going to pro'bly sell the Grand National, and my Lionel collection.

Living expenses computed & planned out at $2900 a month? NOW $4200 AND CLIMBING.

https://www.linkedin.com/news/story/retirement-outlook-hits-11-year-low-5652452/

I am NOT on Twitter or Facebook.

I am on LinkedIn.com Togetherweserved.com and Military.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kjbergstrom

It doesn't cost any extra to be polite.

I SUPPORT VETERANS FOR CHANGE

Please prey for Jim Davis, who runs 'Veterans For Change', who is undergoing his own fight for life against cancer.

http://www.veterans-for-change.org/

Some unfinished business, this happened just before i got hammered by cancer.......

A Cold Warrior Who Fought The Good Fight

i 1st met Tad when i went 'dirty' for a team recon of my father's family's former area, Silesia well back in the 70's.

He was a Polish 'ZOMO' their KGB, considered completely reliable by the Soviets.

But he was working for US! He was my contact. His family was from Bielsko-Biala, near Krakau.

He was a bear of a man with a spirit, sense of humor & fair play that matched his gargantuan size.

Tad fled his homeland just before Jaruzelski declared marshal law in '81.

The rumors were, the Soviets were going to act unless Jaruzelski did, and he knew they'd finally catchup with him.

Tad had planned it all, he had a new wife & daughter & they would flee on the last Chopin Express from Krakau to Vienna just before the plug got pulled. He came alone, in the breach his wife wouldn't leave her family. I had to fly to Vienna to 'vet' him for the company.

Tad ended up here, and joined the Boston Police, rising to Lt and retiring in '15 with 30 years service. He returned to Poland after the end of the cold war as a tourist several times. Helped me find some of my family's lost heritage. His nephew tracked down my mother's family's centuries old homestead in Milejewo/Trunz. The plans we had of exploring our respective heritages once i retired.... Tad's father had come from Chojnice/Koenitz. Never really talked to his sons about the war years or his background. Tad found out well after the fact he had significant german blood, quite a shock, considering the cold war propaganda & feelings. And not an isolated occurrence. When my wife passed, Tad was going through a messy divorce with his then american wife. He ended up staying with me till he got an apartment of his own. I truly enjoyed the company.

Tad had journeyed home to see his mother in '16, she was still around, reasonably healthy & lucid, and had been born when Bielsko-Biala was a part of Austria. He found it alot cheaper living there than here & ended up staying for several long stints after he buried his mother. Tad also reconciled with his daughter.

Tadeusz Rekowski, suffered a stroke, and was taken off life support by his daughter.

She emailed me at the time. I can get through some conversational polish, but it was just too tough.

You'll never have to look over your shoulder again buddy.

MASTNEY MASTNEY!!

Visitor Counter added 16APR20

CANCER SURVIVOR

8 SIMULTANEOUS IV'S

ONSET SUNSET 6NOV19

CANCER SURVIVOR

1/3

MEMORIAL DAY

LOSSES IN VIETNAM, IN '75
YEAH, WE HAD 'EM

MEMORIAL DAY , it's more than just a cookout.

if you have served, and you have not seen this movie, you need to.

if you have not served, and wondered, what is Memorial Day for, this is why.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1694118/

~~~~

Most of us who return come back with a heavy dose of survivor’s guilt. As I got older, I realized I was not so much afraid of dying, as I was of not being remembered. We owe it to those guys who never came back to tell their stories and make sure they are never forgotten.

The Prussians called it 'Schwartgenoss' - Comrades of the sword. Understand the greater meaning of the special connection between warriors which is stronger than steel or family. It’s all about the binding promises and sacred oaths that superceeds everything else in life....and beyond.

One battle buddy of mine said even death doesn't break this bond.

From one veteran to another, your sacrifices and service are appreciated, welcome home.

If you have not served, Listen to their stories and let them introduce you to the ghosts that haunt them and the memories of those friends they left behind. Maybe then you’ll come to understand.

~~~~~

Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest by Stephen E. Ambrose

its out on DVD, the book is relatively short.

Tony got me the DVD set a couple years ago, my father & i sat & watched together, he'd lived the life too.

~~~~~

Having been banned in Germany for being anti-German, burned by the Nazi's for being pacifist, and banned in other countries for being pro-German, setting off a storm of controversy, Erich Maria Remarque's masterpiece, All Quiet on the Western Front, survived to become the most famous novel of World War I. One in every four German males aged 17 through 55 perished. Remarque gave voice to a generation that was destroyed by the war, even the ones that might have escaped its shells and bullets.

"These voices, these quiet words, these footsteps in the trench behind me at a bound from the terrible loneliness and fear of death by which i have almost been destroyed. They are more to me than life, these voices, they are more than motherliness and more than fear, they are the strongest, most comforting thing there is anywhere, they are the voices of my comrades...I am no longer a shuddering speck of existence, alone in the darkness; - I belong to them and they to me; we all share the same fear and the same life, we are nearer than lovers, in a simpler, a harder way; I could bury my face in them, in these voices, these words that have saved me and will stand by me....It is a great brotherhood, which adds something of the good-fellowship of the folk-song, of the feeling of solidarity of convicts, and of the desperate loyalty to one another of men condemned to death, to a condition of life arising out of the midst of danger, out of the tension and forlornness of death."

--Erich Maria Remarque

--All Quiet on the Western Front

Says something of the comrades of the sword......Schwartgenoss.

If you don't understand it, you weren't there.

If you were, then you do.

~~~~~

We who are home, now, we have Veterans Day.

Memorial Day, is for those gentle heroes who didn't make it home.

They remain forever young in our memories.

They gave up all of their tomorrows for us.

"If you are able, save for them a place inside of you and save one backward glance when you are leaving for the places they can no longer go.

Be not ashamed to say you loved them, though you may or may not have always. Take what they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own.

And in that time when men decide and feel safe to call the war insane, take one moment to embrace those gentle heroes you left behind."

Major Michael Davis O'Donnell

1 January 1970

1st Cav

Dak To, Vietnam

Major "O-D" did not come home.

MIA 24 March 1970

status changed to KIA February 7, 1978

remains never recovered

~~~~~

BAND OF BROTHERS

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;

For he to-day that sheds his blood with me

Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,

This day shall gentle his condition:

And gentlemen in England now a-bed

Shall think themselves accursed they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks that fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day."

-Prince Hal

From Shakespear's

King Henry V

St Crispen's Day

6600 English Bowman, Sergeants-at-arms, and Knights, the remnants of a far larger army, decimated by years of campaigning, faced 30,000+ French Knights and footsoldiers at a place called Agincourt, where they all fully expected to die.....

https://youtu.be/s1Ulz-Qwnx8

~~~~~

Thank You for your service

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2L3skZ7FEw&feature=youtu.be

I'm an American Soldier

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSCaAx4cs3w

All gave some......Some gave all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydWhRObVxrM

~~~~~

"Just Remember Us, and why we died...... Remember Us.

We died for the citizens of our country; we died for our women and children."

--Leonidas, King of the Spartans

~~~~~

Joe Galloway, why Vietnam still matters

"What was constant was the danger all around, and the bonds that tied the young GI to a few comrades close around him. His life was in their hands. Nothing else mattered, no one else mattered. All differences- of race, class, religion, region, education- were simply set aside or ignored. The odds against survival in combat were too great to permit artificial differences to get in the way."

IN MEMORIAM

CAPTAIN JEANNEMARIE LAMBERT RN

1960-2015

Won her battle with cancer.

just before 1900 17MAY15.

Surrounded by family.

Rest in peace my darling.

Till we meet again.

She was the best thing to ever happen to me.

Jean made home the sweetest spot on earth.

Jean's favorite expression was-

SWEAT DRIES.

BLOOD CLOTS.

BONES HEAL.

SUCK IT UP PRINCESS!

Jeannemarie Bacon

Jeannemarie (Lambert) Bacon, age 54, of Holbrook, passed on May 17, 2015 at MGH after a brief illness. She was born on Dec. 16, 1960. She is a graduate of NQHS class of 1979. ..... She had been employed by Fallon Ambulance Company for the last 25 years where she began as an EMT and currently worked as an office manager. She was also working at the Castle supporting at risk minors as an RN nurse since 2012......She is known for her amazing heart, selflessness and love of volunteering for several charities, Helping Hands, Breast Cancer awareness and the Pan Mass Challenge was her favorite which she gave over 13 years of service.

Burial in Pine Hill Cemetery, Quincy.

Published in The Patriot Ledger from May 20 to May 21, 2015

I made an honest woman of her, near the end. We connected late in life, i was almost 40, a confirmed bachelor, and had never really known true love. I lost my best friend, lover, confidant, & number 1 fan.

Jeannemarie Bacon and Kurt Bergstrom

May 5, 2015

Massachusetts General Hospital Chapel

Chaplain the Reverend Katrina Scott officiating

It is a great joy and honor to be asked to officiate Jeannemarie and Kurt's wedding this afternoon. We are here to celebrate and to witness the marriage of two special friends. More than a ceremony, this is a significant moment of celebration and personal commitment. Marriage is an act as ancient as the history of the human race and as new as each morning, for it speaks of the past and the future, of the life of the individual and the existence of the community. The essence of this commitment is the taking of another person in their entirety, as a companion, lover and friend. It is a decision not entered into lightly, but with great consideration, devotion and respect. Today we celebrate Jeannemarie and Kurt's intention to join their lives together forever.

Marriage is a relationship embodying all the warm and precious values that grow out of human companionship and love. We enter it joyfully and in the knowledge that love is both our highest achievement and life's most precious gift. From this day forward you will continue to support one another while at the same time your love for each other will give you strength for whatever lies ahead. Companionship is a continuous and central part of what two people who love each other share. You, Jeanne and Kurt, are two such people; it is with deep love and commitment that you join each other in marriage.

The joining of two people is also the union of two hearts; marriage stands as a lattice, a structure with openings that allow for continued growth as well as support. By entering into marriage you declare you have chosen to be together, to allow the presence of another human being to enhance who you are, now and always.

[TONY]

A Reading from the Apostle Paul's Letter to the Corinthians:

If I could speak in any language but didn't love others, I would only be making meaningless noise like a loud gong or a clanging cymbal.

If I knew all the mysteries of the future and knew everything about everything, but didn't love others, what good would I be?

And if I could speak to a mountain and make it move, without love I would be no good to anybody.

If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn't love others, I would be of no value whatsoever.

Love is patient and kind.

Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.

Love does not demand its own way.

Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged.

It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.

Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Love will last forever. There are three things that will endure - faith, hope, and love -

and the greatest of these is love.

Vows:

Please repeat after me...

I, Jeannemarie, take you Kurt,

To be my husband and my partner in life.

You are the light of my life.

I will continue to cherish our friendship and love today and tomorrow.

I will trust you and honor you.

I will laugh with you and cry with you.

I will continue to love you faithfully through the best and the worst,

Through the difficult and the easy.

Whatever may come I will still be there.

As I have given you my hand to hold so I give you my life to keep, for here and hereafter.

I, Kurt, take you Jeannemarie,

To be my wife and my partner in life.

You are the light of my life.

I will continue to cherish our friendship and love today and tomorrow.

I will trust you and honor you.

I will laugh with you and cry with you.

I will continue to love you faithfully through the best and the worst,

Through the difficult and the easy.

Whaevert may come I will still be there.

As I have given you my hand to hold so I give you my life to keep, for here and hereafter.

Jeannemarie, having promised your love and commitment, do you take Kurt to be your husband?

I do.

Will you continue to commit your love to him, embracing all joys and sorrows, all triumphs and hardships?

Jeannemarie: I will.

Kurt, having promised your love and commitment, do you take Jeannemarie to be your wife?

Kurt: I do.

Will you continue to commit your love to her, embracing all joys and sorrows, all triumphs and hardships?

Kurt: I will.

Kurt never knew what unconditional love was until he met you Jeanne. You are a blessing from God and brought together like two leaves in a tempest and then separated by the same tempest.

This is not the end; you will always be a part of each other, no matter what.

[ROBBIE]

Meditation by Martin Luther

This life therefore is not righteousness

but growth in righteousness

Not health but healing,

Not being but becoming

Not rest but exercise.

We are not yet what we shall be

but we are growing toward it.

The process is not yet finished

but it is going on,

This is not the end

but it is the road.

All does not yet gleam in glory

but all is being purified.

Rings:

The ring is a symbol of unity in which your lives are now joined in one unbroken circle. May this ring always remind you of the promises you made to each other today.

Kurt, take this ring, place it on Jeanne's finger and repeat after me:

With this ring, I thee wed.

Jeannemarie and Kurt, may you always have in your hearts the love you feel today. May this union of two hearts be forever blessed.

Pronouncement:

In the sight of God and family, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Kurt, you may now kiss your bride.

Witnesses-

Anthony Bacon

Jodie Wilson

"THE CREW"
Robbie Mikayla Jeanne Bridget Tony

A favorite of Jean's.
Sunrise over Onset.

1/1

Ben, Maggie, Savannah

Why Life is still worth living

IN MEMORIAM AGAIN

My Dad, broke four ribs getting dressed for my wife's funeral. It was a horrendous slog of 18 months before he finally passed. He had been in remarkably good health up to then.