Is the sleeping soldier Jason?

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2007/09/10/damon.iraq.life.soldiers.cnn

The family is split on this one. Some of us don't think it's Jason. Others of us are questioning it. And then there are those of us that think we know it's Jason. Do you suppose it's possible that those of us who think we KNOW it's Jason are those of us who are missing him the most? What do you think?

Guten Tag, mein lieber Vetter! Ganz schön liebe Grüsse aus Hamburg!

Howdy Jas - one could mistake me for shy, huh?!

It's your cous, Shane, writing a blog for the first time. How are ya, mate? Over a month ago I went to the post office to send you a package using the address that your mom had given out but I wasn't sure if it was a U.S. address or an Iraqi address because the postal code and such was so odd - and I guess the german postal worker hadn't seen a lot of mail for U.S. soldiers in Iraq :) because she was clueless as well. I later spoke with Aunt Sandra about it and me writing U.S.A. at the bottom was the correct thing to do. Hope you got it, basically! I'm officially a Hamburger - that's what they call people who live in Hamburg. Just got here 5 days ago. All of my stuff is still in storage, thus quite far from settled, but the new apartment is wunderbar and it will all happen in due time. Hamburg is right on the Elbe river and has a huge harbour - a seagull flew by the apartment window yesterday! Up until this point, though, I've not had time to explore -we've been sitting with our heads buried in binders of music singing 8 hours a day - sometimes altogether, sometimes men and women separate from one another - just a typical workweek of learning 30+ new songs and at the end of the week feeling like you've sung yourself inside out. You know: Intestines like silly string on all the high notes with ah-vowels..but it still sounds nice somehow. Yes - just a typical workweek, indeed. So, I'm going to now try attaching some Fotos of me in some costumes from 'Die Schöne und das Biest' (Beauty/Beast) that make me look extra...what's the word?...well heterosexually macho for sure, that's a given, of course...it IS Disney, after all...and NOBODY looks queer doing DISNEY! I vas eh sving in ze prodooction und zerefore have plehed all zeese pahts inclooding ze beest - ja ja zat is me :) ...And no lie: It was hot in the summer and I was outside at the stage door with the tissue box make-up on in a wig cap and picked up a girl's phone number. Pinnacle of my career. Have a real laugh, J, on my account. It's OK - I can handle it. Love you, buddy. Hang in there. Shaner

Not you on T.V.

Bummer. We heard that it wasn't you on T.V. It was just our wishful thinking. The really bad part is that we heard that you haven't even slept in a cot for quite some time. No one said that serving for the U.S. was going to be easy, but I hate that you are going for so long without sleep and when you do get some rest, it's on the ground. I know how much you've always loved your bed - (you get that from your mom). When you come home - you'll have clean sheets, a soft mattress, and time to sleep!!

I'm trying to help Shane figure out how to post to this. He wants to add some pictures - and maybe you'll get some R&R in Germany and you can visit him. Love you! Take care.
M'Liss

Was that you?

Jason - We thought we saw you on television today!!! We've gone online to look again, (CNN - "A Day in the Life"or something like that)and we think it's you. It's hard to tell without that "Jason Smile" - but we hope it's you because we need to see your face...and also, you were getting some sleep. We think and pray for you daily, and can't wait until you get home.
Love you, M'Liss and the boys

Boy am I missing ya'll big time today! I might need to come to Austin for Labor Day weekend. So who has the prettiest sisters in the whole wide world? I do, I do! Jason-I'm missing you bunches and I'm counting down! I can't wait. I'm planning on being there when you get home-I'll stay with you in Austin or we can drive back to Baton Rouge if you are wanting to stay with me still. I now know what grandmaw means when she says, "I need the real thing" because I do. I'm going to upload you a picture of my car. You are gonna love it. Remember, I'm fine-I'm a York and you know it takes alot to knock us down! Love the UT stuff-Go Longhorns! Missing my Texas crew. I love ya'll-Tara

Jason, you've been gone too long :-(

Jason, we miss you. You've been out there too long this time. I hope you see this post soon..in the meantime WE LOVE YOU...WE MISS YOU...AND WE ARE PRAYING FOR YOUR SAFE RETURN TO POST. Looking forward to hearing from you soon. Love you MOM.

A Message From Aunt Glenda, Anna, and Elisianna

DuPont and His PaPa just a swinging

Well, I did it! Actually Kaleigh did it. Here are a couple of the pictures I wanted to upload last week. As I get more, I'll add. We're thinking of you Jase!

Love and Miss you - Stay Strong!

Michelle and DuPont

DuPont24 Energy Drink

Tricia's First Post

Oh my goodness! Y'all have no idea how long it took me to get into this thing! Now let's see how long it takes me to upload pictures! This is Jason's Aunt Tricia contributing. Jason, we love and miss you and have you in our prayers every day and every night. Andrew is getting antsy and if he doesn't get a job soon - I may ship him off to you myself! The girls are doing well. Kaleigh starts highschool in a couple of weeks, and made the JV Volleyball team - one of only 3 Fish to make it! She's been quite the traveler this summer going to Oklahoma, Colorado, and Padre Island. Ashley's still busy with soccer, and your Uncle Mike and I are just busy with all their schedules. I'll see if I can include some pics for you without locking up the whole blog!

Know this - we love you, we miss you, and think of you often. Not a day goes by that I don't share something or mention your name!

Love ya!

Recent Pictures of Jason

Can you see the UT bandana?

This is the guy we all know and love so much! We miss you Jason!

Jason, who are the two soldiers to your left? Gramelspacher and French?
He looks tired...but oh so good!

Jason- pics of the boys

We can't wait for you to come home!!!

July 2007 - It works! - My first real post

I DID IT!! You should know that it's around 1:00 in the morning, and I'm upstairs in the computer room (otherwise known as "the scary room" since it's so messy - Jason - think Drew's bedroom and you'll know how messy it is). Anyway, I'm up here dancing and singing "I am woman, hear me roar." Good thing you all missed it.

O.K. - I lied - pictures will have to come later - when I've figured out how to upload them here. But just to catch you up on things here Jason:
Josh just started a new job at Omni Bank - I'm not exactly sure what he does yet, (something with financing) but he is really loving the "banker's hours." We babysit his "baby" Maddy. She's a miniature fox terrier and precious.
Shane is still in Berlin. His final performance of "Beauty and the Beast" (except it's title is really in German and I can't spell it) will be in September. Then he will move to Hamburg. He has been cast in a new musical called "I've never been to New York"(except it's in German, too). It's World Premier will be in January (I think?) He'll be in that until 2009 (I think) so he'll get his lifetime Visa which he is very excited about. He'll also be in the original cast recording so he'll receive royalties for singing.
Drew is working for Gray Wolf Drilling as a roughneck. He is working 7 on and 7 off. He says the work is hard, but the money is good. The company has a deal with A&M that would allow him to work his 7, and go to school the other 7. He said he may consider that after he's been working for around a year. He and Kelsey are back together. She's the one that he's dated on and off again since high school and the one who came with him to Aunt Sandra's.
Brett, Marnee, and Bri are fine. Brett is still rockin' and rollin' with Rat Ranch - in fact, he's in Austin this weekend. Hopefully, you can go see him when you get home. Marnee is considering working independently as a physical therapist, and Brianne starts 5th grade next year.
Mom and Dad are doing good. Dad is gaining strength a little at a time. He has an appointment in August and if he's strong enough, they'll schedule what we hope will be his final surgery. His prostate cancer is gone.
I've taken this year (and maybe longer) off from school and will be consulting full time. I'll have to be gone when I travel, but when I'm here (which is quite a bit) I'll be able to pitch in and help. I won't tell you about all the boring, small town jobs that I'll have - I'll just mention the cooler ones --like Las Vegas, Napa Valley, and Hawaii!!! I've got lots of handouts and Powerpoints to prepare for this job - in fact, I've got two that I've got to finish tonight (oops, this morning), so I'm signing off.

We all love you and miss you. We are so proud of you and are anxious to have you home. I pray for you and your buddies every single day. I'll write more (and add pictures) when I can. Love You!

July 2007 - Just tryin' it out

I have no clue if this will work or not. Jason (and my guys) don't laugh. I am so technologically challenged!!! Anyway, I'm just clicking on buttons to see if they work. Once I figure this out, then I'll try to upload some pictures so you can see what everyone is doing.

Kenny takes Patrick on a fishing trip for the day

Kenny bought Patrick a fishing trip for Christmas and they finally found the time to do some fishing on Sunday of last week. Patrick invited a guy he has been friends with since high school to join them. Kenny was up by 4 AM and the boys were out of there by 5 AM. It sounds like they had a lot of fun and caught a bunch of trout. Here are a few pics from the fishing trip.

A good time was had by all

Happy Birthday Grandma

Grandma turned 69 this year. Her birthday was actually Saturday, July 21st, but her birthday celebration was delayed until I returned from Houston on Sunday. I brought home Lasagna and salad from Cielo's and a chocolate fudge birthday cake. She received presents and cards in celebration. She is stutting in her new summer pajama's, robe and slippers. They didn't really come from Victoria Secrets but the box was pretty.

She looks pretty darn good for a Sr. Citizen...doesn't she.

Jason's Long Lost Cousins

This weekend we didn't have plans to see the grand babies so I called my cousin Bill who lives in Houston in hopes of introducing Kenny to Bill Grover and his wife Linda. To my surprise I found out Bill's brother Ken had recently moved from Wisconsin to Houston and Bill's son Daniel had just moved with his new wife Rochele from San Diego, California to Houston this week. Bill and his wife Linda were planning a family get together with Daniel, Rochele and Daniel's new inlaws at the house. Here are a few pics we took. Jason...in this picture is Bill Grover on my left and to my right is Ken Grover. They are two sons of my Aunt Betty's (one of PaPa's sisters). Ken and Bill would be 2nd cousins to you.

From left to right...me, Ken, Bill, Daniel, Rochele, Gary, and Trevor. Daniel and Gary would be something like 3rd cousins to you. Trevor is Linda Grover's grandson. Maybe you will be able to meet this part of your family when you get your two week leave in January. They are a lot like the rest of our family....good people full of fun! :-)

Kenny and Daniel's brother Gary. Gary is about 22. He lives in Wimberly.

Care Package From The Gandys - July 18, 2007

We sent off another package on Wednesday, the care package includes Nascar Race #6 from Chicago, wipes, beef sticks, peppered beef jerky, Ike & Mikes, Hot Tamales, Sports Illustrated, handisnaks, blistex, hand sanitizer, propel drink mix powders, Article from Jeff Gordon's web page. A package was sent last week with wipes, hand lotion, soap, beef jerky, peanuts, pringles, starburst, razor, gold fish, mouth wash, deodorant, gold bond body powder, toe nail clippers and Nascar Race #5.

Care Package from Home

Today I got a care package in the mail to Jason. It contains come individual packages of Pringles, some mixed nuts, some candy, a Lake Travis View, and a police baton. Also enclosed in the package is a letter from your mom and a 20 dollar bill to help pay for those precious cell phone minutes. I just wish there was something we could do to improve the phone service so we can have a more productive conversation. It seems as though we spend most of our time saying..."can you hear me now". But that's o.k. It just sounds so good to hear your voice. It always provides me with a sigh of relief. I love you Jason. Stay strong, healthy and safe. We are looking forward to your 2-week leave....whenever that is.

Looking Back One Year AgoToday

I was looking at some of Jason's pictures and where he spent July 4th last year - Lake Travis - with all his friends on a boat. They were all having such a great time. It is hard for me to imagine he is spending this July 4 in a war zone fighting every day for our freedoms. I know he would prefer to be here with family & friends (even though they have closed Lake Travis) but I'm so very proud of him and all the other men and women that are over there.











We all take everything so for granted but after I talk to Jason, either by phone or internet, I count my blessings. When I saw Jas on the webcam he looked wonderful to me, extremely tired, but I saw that great smile I absolutely love. However, I have to admit, it was when he saw Dupont. He loves that dog. He was in combat gear and it brought the reality of what they all are facing each & every day right up in my face. They were in blackout mode and he was waiting for the order to go out again. I sometimes feel very ashamed it took me having a loved one facing what he does on a daily basis to make me realize what each and everyone of them are sacrificing for us. None of them had to, they all volunteered for this. We need to pray for all of them every day and hold on to them in our hearts. I love you so much, Jas, and I'm so proud of you.

Independence Day in America

For most Americans, today is just another holiday in which we do not have to go to work. It's a day in which our plans evolve around having fun with our families and our friends with plenty of food and drinks for everyone. It's a day for fun in the sun. However, most American's fail to take a moment on this day to reflect on the reasons we enjoy this day in our history. It's because of our brave soldiers that Americans are free to practice the religion of our choice, or not. And to have the freedom to speak our minds, or not. It's because of our brave soldiers that Americans can feel safe to walk thru each day without fear. I hope that each of you take a moment sometime today to count your blessings and pray for all the brave soldiers around the world who are committed to fighting this war against terrorism.

Greg And His Crew

Greg brought his girls to visit for a week or so. The girls thought they were going to be able to meet up with Kaleigh and Ashley, but that didn't work out. They ended up staying a couple of days and then went home when Greg had to go back. They decided maybe they would try to hook again with the cousins on some other week before school starts. TOO BAD...SO SAD! :-(

The Lake is flooding this summer. We had to use the aluminum boat just to get us over to the walkway that leads to the marina. Can you believe that? In the boat is Greg, Brittani and Darian, Greg's friend Summer in the red cap and her son Ethan.
The marina was closed due to the flooding conditions so after getting my boat in the water and starting up only to find out someone had decided to syphon ALL of the gas out of my boat we had to put it all back up and head back up the hill. Luckily enough, we ran into the manager and he opened up and let us put some gas in the boat so the kids could get a glimpse of the lake before heading home. Another adventure on the lake...got to have at least one every summer, right! :-)

Greg and Brittani

Darian, Greg's Friend Summer and her son Ethan

Daniell's House will probably get flooded within a few days

Care Package from Jason's Aunt Pam

Jason's Aunt Pam and her friend Patti got a care package in the mail to Jason on Tuesday, June 26th. It has candy, cheese crackers, bandanas, ace bandage (for his wrists and ankles), deodorant, foot powder, athlete's foot cream, shoe inserts, moist wipes, hand sanitizer, peanuts, and jerky, just to name some of the contents. They even included a San Antonio Spurs championship T-Shirt in there for him!

Also, quite a few of the folks from Pam's office have contributed $$ so she bought a stash of stuff to send to him over time.

Thank you so much Pam and Patti.

Care Package from Michelle's Granny

Barbara Gandy copied a Nascar race to a DVD that was run yesterday June 24th and it will be going into the mail tomorrow.

Donations from Kenny's Family

Today I deposited a check from Kenny's mom and sister (Margie and Sandy) into Jason's debit account. Thank you so much for your support of Jason during this time. I'm sure he appreciates knowing he has plenty of family and friends supporting him here at home.

Care Packages/Donations

Jason's Grandma sent a care package today. It has Starbursts and Skittles, beef jerky, a toothbrush, travel size Dove soap, Old Spice deodorant (I hope he can use the deodorant...it's probably scented), 4 travel size Gold Bond foot powder, a couple of travel size shampoos, 1 Cutter's insect repellant wipes, and probably a couple of other things that I don't recall right now.

I also deposited two checks made out to Jason into the debit account he is using to purchase the things he needs while serving in Iraq. On behalf of Jason, I'd like to say "thank you very much" to his Aunt Patricia and my friend and co-worker at the Department of Veteran's Affairs, John.

Care Package From the Gandy's

On June 19th Joni Gandy indicated she had subscribed to Sports Illustrated and the Stuff magazine and she will be sending them to Jason as soon as she receives them. Barbara Gandy ordered another magazine called Scene and it is a weekly magazine on Stock Car Racing that gives results of the races. They also printed out some articles from the past two week races, Jeff Gordon won week before last race so they printed out pictures and article.

PaPa Turns 70 on Flag Day

Today is PaPa's 70th birthday. Jared brought Tara and their kids, Jay Leigh and Grahm to spend the week. Michael and Patricia brought their girls, Kaleigh and Ashley, to bond with their big sister. The kids had a big time celebrating PaPa's birthday...they cooked dinner and baked a birthday cake for him. We all had fun. Talk about some good cooks...we sure did have some!

Some more pics of the Big B'day Party

Grahm, Tara, PaPa and Jay Leigh

Andrew and PaPa

Michelle Graduates from High School Today

Congratulations to Michelle on job well done! Jason's Grandma and his mom drove to Huntsville to attend the graduation ceremony. It was a rainy day overhead but lot's of sunshine was radiating from the graduate. Michelle's Grandparents, her mother, a Great Aunt and her boyfriend Jessie were also cheering from the stands as she crossed over the stage to recieve her diploma. After the ceremony we all went back to Michelle's house for some great food, a graduation cake, and of course there were the graduation presents to mark this accomplishment on her big day.

More pics on Graduation Day