MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- How many people can finish the words to "Yankee Doodle Dandy?" Does anyone know what the song means?
Who cares?
San Diego native Joyce Belle Edelbrock cares and wanted to put those questions to rest with her book, "Freedom for Ever," which she hopes to send to tens of thousands of deployed Marines.
She hopes service members there will get as much from reading the book as she did writing it.
"The Friday after Sept. 11, I went to the beach and watched the waves roll over the sand, pushing up white foam, and I started to think about the Star "Spangled Banner."
"But I realized I didn't know the second verse," said the well-traveled author and publisher. "So, I went home to find out and decided to write a book about many patriotic themes. It was a healing process."
The compilation answers questions about many patriotic songs. Writing it deepened Edelbrock's sense of patriotism, she said.
Although the book helped her cope with the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., she didn't really know what to do with it.
"I put it on a shelf and said it's time would come," said Edelbrock, a former military wife who lives in San Diego. "I heard stories of kids sending Valentines to the troops, and knew that that is what I should do."
Sending paperback books to so many troops is expensive not something Edelbrock can afford.
So she'll pay for the mailings through proceeds from book sales. For every book sold, one will be sent to a Marine overseas.
The 100-page book costs $7.95 plus shipping and handling. The price will cover the cost of two books one for the purchaser and one for a Marine, Edelbrock said.
"When people order a book, I ask them to write a note for the Marine, which I will send with the book," she said.
The book contains not only song lyrics, but famous and not-so-famous quotes.
"There are quotes by Oprah Winfrey, Ben Franklin and hockey great Wayne Gretzky," who said, You will always miss 100 percent of the shots that you don't take.
To order the book, e-mail Edelbrock at joyce belle@aol.com or visit either of her Web sites www.joycebelle.com or www.richworldpublishing.com.