Sitting here reflecting on what this weekend means. For most people, its free time away from the job and a chance for them to catch their breath from work. For those of us who wear a uniform for a living, its much the same. We get a 4 day weekend, most go camping and fishing or what have you. But, the actual day of memory...well i think we spend it a little different. I like to think that we all take a moment, if not more then one, to think of those we have lost. Whether its watching the President laying a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier, or visiting the local cemetary nearest whatever camp we are currently living near or just raising a toast to our fallen comrades, parent, grandparent, friends, or just those men and women who have paid the final price for the freedom that this great nation enjoys.
This weekend is more meaningful this year for me. If you have read my last couple posts, then you know about the 5 men i have known that have given their lives while in service for their country. Been thinking of how i can honor their memory in the best way. Went on a "heros and harleys" ride today. The local dealer sponsered a ride, bout a 100 of us went on it. Good cause so no issues with paying for it. Planning on going to church tomorrow. Not sure, though, if it is to kinda check in with God or to check on my boys and see if He will let me know how they are doing. Just gonna hope the preacher knows what he is talking about.
Also going to reflect on what my Gpa meant to me while i am at it. He was in WWII. I was just about the only one he would really tell any stories to (as far as i know). I sure do cherish those memories, and now, after being in combat, know why he wasn't able to share some of his experiances with people who hadnt gone through at least the training. Its not that most people wouldnt be able to deal with what he went through, but just having the basic understanding of how the training and the feelings would be. Anyway, its a special memory for me on memorial day.
Well, i hope all of you have a great weekend. I would like to ask that you take a moment on memorial day to thank a veteran or think of someone who has served and say a silent thank you.
Happy memorial day.
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Saturday, May 21, 2005
another one
well, just got in from the woods. Took a shower, now deciding if i want to cook something or just go for a ride and get something to eat. Trouble is the fact that it is somewhere around 100 degrees outside. So, sounds like something in tonight.
Gettin ready to watch the race. Its sad that i let nascar take up my sat night. But it could be worse, could be hanging out in the bars or something.
Had a long feeling time out in the woods. It was only 6 days, but it felt like about 2 weeks. Learned alot while i was out there, but i think i taught even more. Hopefully they will use some of the things i helped them identify that were shortcomings.
Went to the local harley dealer and got the coin they were giving out for us military people. They were handing them out today, but since i wasnt coming out of the woods until today, i begged and pleaded. Course, i think i already wrote about that. LOL
Just finished The Count of Monte Cristo. Yeah, the book. It is filled with passion, greed, murder, love and adventure. Wow, a very very good book. Highly recommended.
Well, time to rummage through the fridge and see whats there. Not much else to say for today.
Gettin ready to watch the race. Its sad that i let nascar take up my sat night. But it could be worse, could be hanging out in the bars or something.
Had a long feeling time out in the woods. It was only 6 days, but it felt like about 2 weeks. Learned alot while i was out there, but i think i taught even more. Hopefully they will use some of the things i helped them identify that were shortcomings.
Went to the local harley dealer and got the coin they were giving out for us military people. They were handing them out today, but since i wasnt coming out of the woods until today, i begged and pleaded. Course, i think i already wrote about that. LOL
Just finished The Count of Monte Cristo. Yeah, the book. It is filled with passion, greed, murder, love and adventure. Wow, a very very good book. Highly recommended.
Well, time to rummage through the fridge and see whats there. Not much else to say for today.
Friday, May 20, 2005
20APR05
Got the new Dierks Bentley album the other day. The whole thing is good from start to finish. Of course, my favorite song would be "lot of leaving left to do". Particularly the line "Guess the Lord made me hard to handle, so lovin me might be a long shot gamble, so before you go and turn me on, be sure you can turn me loose, cuz i still got a lot of leavin left to do". A friend of mine told me that would she heard this song the first time, she thought of me. Not sure if that is such a good thing....
Was looking at the website for my old unit. Lot of pictures on there of where they are. Sure is good to look through there and see some of the old faces. Sometimes i wish i was there with them, but duty called me somewhere else.
Geez, my house needs a good cleaning from top to bottom. But since i am rushing outa here all the time, its somewhat hard to do. Maybe i should thumb through the yellow pages and see what i can find...this is the south after all. I bet i could find someone who is willing to come in here....or i could just sacrifice some of my harley ridin time....NAHHHH
well, this is a short one...back to the grindstone...gotta go back out in the woods...one of these days im gonna get an office job.....and be bored outa my mind and probably go nuts...
Was looking at the website for my old unit. Lot of pictures on there of where they are. Sure is good to look through there and see some of the old faces. Sometimes i wish i was there with them, but duty called me somewhere else.
Geez, my house needs a good cleaning from top to bottom. But since i am rushing outa here all the time, its somewhat hard to do. Maybe i should thumb through the yellow pages and see what i can find...this is the south after all. I bet i could find someone who is willing to come in here....or i could just sacrifice some of my harley ridin time....NAHHHH
well, this is a short one...back to the grindstone...gotta go back out in the woods...one of these days im gonna get an office job.....and be bored outa my mind and probably go nuts...
Thursday, May 19, 2005
thursday
spent waaayyy tooooo much money today at the den of satan (walmart). bought a new digital camera. The one that spent most of the year with me in Iraq decided it didnt want to work anymore. So i bought a sony cybershot. Its similar to the ones we use at work so at least i know somewhat how to use it. So now i can catch lifes interesting views with both my 35mm and my digital. So be looking for really boring pictures from me in your emails. (if i know you anyway)
Have had the opportunity to spend the past few days with an Australian army guy. Great guy. I hooked him up at the harley shop in alexandria. Seems they are going to give away coins this saturday and since i will be out in the woods then, i got the chance to go there (snuck away is more like it) and begged and pleaded with the owner and manager that since he is only here for a couple more days, then we need to get them early...seems that when i bat my eyes and plead, it works! (course, could have been the dirty, disheveled, stinky large man growling at them too)
He then gave me one of the badges that says "the australian army". Very kind of him. That is something neat about the military. We seem to attach great significance to a coin, or shiny little trinket. Course i know its more then that, its the gesture and good will behind it. Added it to my board that has pics of me all over the world and my little other trinkets.
Im up for reenlistment. Which means i would sign MORE of my life away to the United States Army. But since at my current rank, i get no options (station of choice, monetary bonus, etc), its somewhat of a hard decision. Of course, its somewhat hard to give up after 15 1/2 years if i were to get out, since i could retire 4 1/2 years later. I have just over a year to make my decision, so i have a little time.
well, time to hit the rack and get ready to play army guy tomorrow.
Later
Have had the opportunity to spend the past few days with an Australian army guy. Great guy. I hooked him up at the harley shop in alexandria. Seems they are going to give away coins this saturday and since i will be out in the woods then, i got the chance to go there (snuck away is more like it) and begged and pleaded with the owner and manager that since he is only here for a couple more days, then we need to get them early...seems that when i bat my eyes and plead, it works! (course, could have been the dirty, disheveled, stinky large man growling at them too)
He then gave me one of the badges that says "the australian army". Very kind of him. That is something neat about the military. We seem to attach great significance to a coin, or shiny little trinket. Course i know its more then that, its the gesture and good will behind it. Added it to my board that has pics of me all over the world and my little other trinkets.
Im up for reenlistment. Which means i would sign MORE of my life away to the United States Army. But since at my current rank, i get no options (station of choice, monetary bonus, etc), its somewhat of a hard decision. Of course, its somewhat hard to give up after 15 1/2 years if i were to get out, since i could retire 4 1/2 years later. I have just over a year to make my decision, so i have a little time.
well, time to hit the rack and get ready to play army guy tomorrow.
Later
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
early morning (again)
well, its 520 am, tuesday and most likely wont be back until fri, possibly sat.
Nothing really new to add. Got home yesterday and really felt like going for a ride. So i cranked up the ol' harley (almost 4500 miles on her) and went.....to walmart.....for film. But the weather was nice and it got me out of here for about an hour or so.
Tried to stick a picture on here last night, i only succeeded in erasing everything i had written. Still learning this dang thing, but i will get a picture stuck on here.
There is a kid here for training, that i had last seen while i was in california, doing much of the same thing i do here. That was about 5 years ago, and before that, i was in alaska with him, up until 1996. Great kid...when he saw me, he came up and gave me a hug, and we sat and talked for about an hour. Just swapping war stories and lies. Well, he is going to get his war stories. I hope the Big Man takes care of him and all these kids.
Anyway, time for me to go earn my paycheck.....Hope this finds you and your loved ones doing well.
Nothing really new to add. Got home yesterday and really felt like going for a ride. So i cranked up the ol' harley (almost 4500 miles on her) and went.....to walmart.....for film. But the weather was nice and it got me out of here for about an hour or so.
Tried to stick a picture on here last night, i only succeeded in erasing everything i had written. Still learning this dang thing, but i will get a picture stuck on here.
There is a kid here for training, that i had last seen while i was in california, doing much of the same thing i do here. That was about 5 years ago, and before that, i was in alaska with him, up until 1996. Great kid...when he saw me, he came up and gave me a hug, and we sat and talked for about an hour. Just swapping war stories and lies. Well, he is going to get his war stories. I hope the Big Man takes care of him and all these kids.
Anyway, time for me to go earn my paycheck.....Hope this finds you and your loved ones doing well.
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
lost friends
this dang war has cost america some of its finest sons and daughters. im not gonna expound on the whole thing of "how many nobel prize winners or doctors or such great people have been lost?" thing. I myself have lost 4 people i considered friends.
First one was Justin Hebert. A just turned 20 year old, full of life paratrooper that jumped into iraq with us. He had an italian girlfriend and was looking forward to spending time with her when we got back. Everyday he would ask me..."when we going home sergeant?" i told him (after about a week of this) "when i tell you to pack your bags and get on the bird!" When he was killed, i encountered one of the hardest things i have ever had to do, tell my team we had lost one of us. 2 of the kids had just arrived within 2-3 weeks before. I think it shook them up very bad. The rest of the team took it well, considering.
David Bernstein was are XO. His little crappy room was next to mine in the school we had occupied. Spent many an hour just sittin and talking to him. Best memory of him was one night when the mad mortarman had flung some more rounds at us, and there he is, wearing his helmet, t-shirt, shorts and shoes carrying his rifle, and saying "dammit, a man cant even take a s**t around here!" i was almost crying i was laughing so hard.
Micheal Yazinski was our battalion commo guy before he went up to brigade. I lost touch with him before we went to iraq, and then found out the news he was electrocuted standing up an antenna once we got back.
David Rice. one hell of a kid. always, like myself, struggling with his weight. We had dubbed him "our fat little buddy". Always ready to knock himself out trying to do the right thing. Spent the whole year with us and then shipped out to another unit. Just found out he was killed in Baghdad in a grenade attack last week. Still somewhat hard to believe. Im gonna miss him.
There was another kid, john hart, that was in my company that got killed the same night as david bernstein, but i barely knew him. he had only been there about 2 months.
Never really thought i would have to go through this, course, never thought i would jump into a foreign country with the intention of fighting either.
I hope you fallen paratroopers are resting easy in the harness. God bless your families.
First one was Justin Hebert. A just turned 20 year old, full of life paratrooper that jumped into iraq with us. He had an italian girlfriend and was looking forward to spending time with her when we got back. Everyday he would ask me..."when we going home sergeant?" i told him (after about a week of this) "when i tell you to pack your bags and get on the bird!" When he was killed, i encountered one of the hardest things i have ever had to do, tell my team we had lost one of us. 2 of the kids had just arrived within 2-3 weeks before. I think it shook them up very bad. The rest of the team took it well, considering.
David Bernstein was are XO. His little crappy room was next to mine in the school we had occupied. Spent many an hour just sittin and talking to him. Best memory of him was one night when the mad mortarman had flung some more rounds at us, and there he is, wearing his helmet, t-shirt, shorts and shoes carrying his rifle, and saying "dammit, a man cant even take a s**t around here!" i was almost crying i was laughing so hard.
Micheal Yazinski was our battalion commo guy before he went up to brigade. I lost touch with him before we went to iraq, and then found out the news he was electrocuted standing up an antenna once we got back.
David Rice. one hell of a kid. always, like myself, struggling with his weight. We had dubbed him "our fat little buddy". Always ready to knock himself out trying to do the right thing. Spent the whole year with us and then shipped out to another unit. Just found out he was killed in Baghdad in a grenade attack last week. Still somewhat hard to believe. Im gonna miss him.
There was another kid, john hart, that was in my company that got killed the same night as david bernstein, but i barely knew him. he had only been there about 2 months.
Never really thought i would have to go through this, course, never thought i would jump into a foreign country with the intention of fighting either.
I hope you fallen paratroopers are resting easy in the harness. God bless your families.
Monday, May 09, 2005
early morning before coffee
Nothing really new to divulge here. I need to make the coffee, yet i lack the motivation to get outa this chair and do that. This chair seems to have some gravitational pull to it that doesnt allow me to get my butt out of it. And of course, here on the desk is the tvremotes, so i can actually not have to leave the desk to do anything really. As long as i can get the dominos pizza guy to bring it into the house.......
Really really wanted to go for a nice long harley ride yesterday. The weather here was, of course, completely not agreeing. It didnt make up its mind to rain until 7 pm, but i think that was only because it got tired of waiting for me to roll out the bike and try and get in some riding. Yes, they make rainsuits, but since i'm not allowed to get all the cool tattoos, then im not gonna be that much of a hard-core biker. Rain? ok, takin the pinto!
Been reading some of the news coming out of iraq. How do the bad guys keep recruiting the car bombers? "abdul, here is 30 dollars, drive this car to this building and push this button" "whats that do?" " It will scatter...candy to all the people!" "Oh joy, can i have some?"
Im hoping that soon they will have used up all the dummies for that, but sadly, i think im wrong.
Anyway, back to work today, and not too thrilled to go in. But since they wont pay me money to sit here in this chair, i am forced to put on the monkey suit and head into "THE OFFICE"
Oh, i think i hear the gurgle of the coffee maker....the sweet morning nectar is finally ready, so maybe i wont threaten the little lady at the store over a custard filled maple bar......
Really really wanted to go for a nice long harley ride yesterday. The weather here was, of course, completely not agreeing. It didnt make up its mind to rain until 7 pm, but i think that was only because it got tired of waiting for me to roll out the bike and try and get in some riding. Yes, they make rainsuits, but since i'm not allowed to get all the cool tattoos, then im not gonna be that much of a hard-core biker. Rain? ok, takin the pinto!
Been reading some of the news coming out of iraq. How do the bad guys keep recruiting the car bombers? "abdul, here is 30 dollars, drive this car to this building and push this button" "whats that do?" " It will scatter...candy to all the people!" "Oh joy, can i have some?"
Im hoping that soon they will have used up all the dummies for that, but sadly, i think im wrong.
Anyway, back to work today, and not too thrilled to go in. But since they wont pay me money to sit here in this chair, i am forced to put on the monkey suit and head into "THE OFFICE"
Oh, i think i hear the gurgle of the coffee maker....the sweet morning nectar is finally ready, so maybe i wont threaten the little lady at the store over a custard filled maple bar......
Sunday, May 08, 2005
first thoughts
Its mothers day. The day to reflect on your mother and tell her how wonderful she has been to you. To thank her for birthing you into this wonderful, weird world. She can remove blood from your new white shirt, make you a meatloaf that makes your knees weak, and embarrass you in front of your friends, but never explain just why your terrified of clowns.
At what point does mom realize that she has gotten older? Is it when the hand painted cards are replaced by the hallmarked version of happiness? When the cards are now addressed "To Grandma"? Do you ever wonder if "mommie dearest" ever received a card? (that she didnt have to beat her child to get of course)
Why isnt there specials here in the local bar on mothers day? This is the south after all. You would think that here in the local drinking establishments there would be signs for "2 beers for a dollar for mothers!" or such wonderful deals as "half price lap dances for moms" and im sure the dj's reminded all the patrons to "tip the ladies well, its almost mothers day!"
Just how does one go about calling your ex-wife and wishing HER a happy mothers day? The urge to add another word to the end of mother is very strong, but may end the phone call without being able to talk to my offspring. And that of course, would end up with me going and trying to find mother day specials at the local watering hole (2 fer 1 on pigs feet!).
Well, time to call dear old mom and tell her i love her. Of course, this is hoping i dont call her and wake her up first.
At what point does mom realize that she has gotten older? Is it when the hand painted cards are replaced by the hallmarked version of happiness? When the cards are now addressed "To Grandma"? Do you ever wonder if "mommie dearest" ever received a card? (that she didnt have to beat her child to get of course)
Why isnt there specials here in the local bar on mothers day? This is the south after all. You would think that here in the local drinking establishments there would be signs for "2 beers for a dollar for mothers!" or such wonderful deals as "half price lap dances for moms" and im sure the dj's reminded all the patrons to "tip the ladies well, its almost mothers day!"
Just how does one go about calling your ex-wife and wishing HER a happy mothers day? The urge to add another word to the end of mother is very strong, but may end the phone call without being able to talk to my offspring. And that of course, would end up with me going and trying to find mother day specials at the local watering hole (2 fer 1 on pigs feet!).
Well, time to call dear old mom and tell her i love her. Of course, this is hoping i dont call her and wake her up first.
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