Dear Military Service Member,

-
This essay can now be found in the 2012 edition of The Talking Stick. It received an honorable mention designation. I'm happy to have it there!

Comments

  1. Wild_BillDecember 21, 2011 at 12:18 PM

    A stunning and beautiful letter Emily. And what a perfect writing project for your students. Where were all the good writing teachers when I was learning to write. You are inspirational.

    Let me take the time to wish you and yours a wonderful Christmas and a beautiful year to come. I look forward to all your writings.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Emily BrisseDecember 21, 2011 at 12:28 PM

    Thank you, Bill. And Merry Christmas to you and your family, as well. Hope you get outside! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lisa GoyneDecember 21, 2011 at 12:51 PM

    Wow. That's all I can say right now except... I've got to read it again. What a letter.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Emily BrisseDecember 23, 2011 at 10:01 AM

    Thanks for reading, SPT. Happy holidays to you and your loved ones!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Minnesota Prairie RootsDecember 27, 2011 at 7:01 PM

    What a truly moving letter. And what a truly wonderful project for your students. Well done on both counts.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousDecember 28, 2011 at 9:05 AM

    Beautiful, beautiful writing, Emily. I've read it through twice now and it reads more and more like a song, a wondrous and keenly felt cadence celebrating all that it means to be who we are. You have a marvellous gift which I sincerely hope is being heard wide and far. An inspiration, a joy. Wishing you a lovely holiday season and an enriching coming year...

    ReplyDelete
  7. Emily BrisseDecember 28, 2011 at 9:44 AM

    Thank you, Audrey and Julian. The best part of this process was seeing the desire in my students to write their own thanks. I plan on doing it every Christmas.

    Happy holidays to you both!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Jeremy RaschickFebruary 5, 2012 at 4:58 AM

    Thank you for thinking of us. I know that it means a lot to any service member deployed to get letters for Christmas no matter where they come from. I'll share this on my Facebook so my friends from the service can see it too even though it's February. Hopefully they'll enjoy it as much as i have.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Emily BrisseFebruary 5, 2012 at 8:58 AM

    Jeremy, thank you so much for leaving a comment. I am thrilled--THRILLED--that this letter reached you. I suppose you were one of the exact people I wrote it for after all. Isn't it amazing how that happens?

    It is still a brown, warm winter here in Minnesota, although yesterday I woke up to such beautiful hoar frost I had to put on those winter boots and go for a walk. How about you? I still have the desire to imagine your surroundings.

    Sending heaps and heaps of appreciation for all you do.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Walk With Father NatureApril 2, 2012 at 7:24 PM

    Emily: Regarding your Dec. 21 post: Your writing is superb. I like your style; it's genuine, meaningful, and uniquely refreshing to read. I was in the Army '68-'71, and I appreciaate your apprciation for all who serve. The part "...in a way, you are walking that path for me" is how I currently feel about our people serving in Iraq, and Afganistan.
    Keep creating your best stuff!

    May I recommend Tim O'Brien, esp. The Things They Carried.

    Gratefully,

    Richard Havenga

    P.S. I just started my blog today, at age 64!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Emily BrisseApril 3, 2012 at 4:48 PM

    Thanks so much for the note, Richard. It's wonderful to find this letter reaching folks through online paths... you were who I wrote it for!

    And I love Tim O'Brien's work. I actually saw him speak a few years ago. If you liked TTTC, I bet you'd also dig "In The Lake of The Woods." Pretty intense read, but wow.

    Heading over to your blog now!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Kerri FarleyApril 23, 2012 at 6:39 PM

    This is so beautiful! As a Military Mother this means so much to me!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sliding Doors: One Last Glance Toward Europe

-
Image
We entered the Tube around 9:00 in the morning, a mass of noisy students and a few adults, taking up a section of platform. We had told the teens: "We'll start you on your journey, but you'll have to find your way back. Pay attention." The anxious ones stayed near us, the eager ones studied the green and red and blue and yellow lines on the wall map. "We'll need the Circle Line," one said, and after nodding, we passed the phrase among us like bread, or sweets, so when the train arrived, and the sliding doors opened, we all walked through them with enough nourishment and energy to know where we were going . Later, we stepped out of trams into the high Swiss landscape at Pfingstegg Station. After London, most of the kids didn't even look at the trail map. They just started up. One foot in front of the other, one sore-muscled groan after the other, a collection of revelations. We walked under rock ledges and over small streams.  We talked abo...
Read more