Life events and the twisted thoughts they cause.

 
Good Morning Campers! It has been nine months since my last blog, so I guess it 's time to birth this baby!

Because of circumstances beyond my control, I have not been blogging as much as I should have -- many things have happened in the last nine months -- some good, some bad, some ugly.

The good -- The Step-Son come home from Iraq in one piece! Sound of wind and limb, as the British are so fond of saying.

The bad -- My Father passed away last month -- I am now an orphan.

The step-son came home! He made it through his one-year deployment in Iraq. Today he was "officially" welcomed back by the governor who told the soldiers that "Heroes are not the politicians, they are not the Police and Firefighters, they are YOU!" As soon as they were dismissed, the scene looked like an Ant-pile that had been stepped upon. Many Desert-Camo-Clad folks running hither and yon for the exit! Gee, wonder why guys and gals that had just been through a war wouldn't want to sit in a stuffy auditorium listening to a politician, some guy from the VFW or some general tell them that they are heroes? Any idea? At least their return was a happy event (mixed with sorrow for those who came home in a flag-draped coffin). Nothing like their Fathers and Grandfathers who came home from Vietnam only to be spat upon and called baby killers. At least we can now separate the soldiers from the war -- and it is a war.

My Father passed away last month. I thought the old man was going to out live me! That he was too mean to die. He didn't and he wasn't. I don't have time to get deep in this -- more on this later. It will be a chance to let you know (if you haven't been through something like this) what you might be in for -- and why petty little things that we all fight about and keep us apart are, in the end, not worth anything! Because some day it will be too late to say "I'm sorry." I got my chance -- you might not. My Father went from a "healthy" 82 year old man to death in five days.

If you're reading this, get off line and call your folks! Some day you'll wish with all your might, and be ready to give everything you own, for a chance to talk to your folks one more time! More on this later.

Movies I have seen lately (remember where I am -- we don't get anything but Hollywood fare here) Poseidon and M.I.3.

Quicky reviews (although you all have probably seen them already) Poseidon -- not bad -- not as good as the original (even with Shelley Winter's underpants) but a decent remake. The special effects were outstanding, but the stunts were not as good (they didn't even come close to the great guy falling onto the stained-glass ceiling stunt.)

M.I.3. -- Good Action Movie -- Lousy Mission Impossible Movie. Granted, I have the misfortune of having watched Mission Impossible first run on television years ago. What was so cool about MI was watching the IM Force mess with the bad guy's minds so the bad guys screwed themselves! This movie -- lots of action, lots of stunts, lots of cool gizmos -- but more like an American James Bond than a Mission Impossible. If you're looking for things blowing up, lots of slam-bang action, and a twist in the plot that's some what mild (if you're observant you'll see it coming. If you're not, then you'll say "gee -- where the heck did THAT come from -- and why did they do it in the first place?) then see this movie. You'll be one of the few.

This time around, The Da-Vinci Code! For no other reason than to see what the hype is all about.

Well, that's about all for now -- look for some dark posting in this space soon -- and some more lighter fare as time and computer access permits.

BLOG OUT!

posted by Eric at 4:28 PM

 
BLOG IN!

It's Katrina plus three weeks and we're still picking up the pieces around here. In "The Friendly City" we lost power for 23 hours and 42 minutes, and yes I was counting! At least I didn't have to go to work -- I couldn't have made it in anyway. Too many trees. By the time Katrina made it up here she was down to weak Cat. 2 storm and became a Cat. 1 over top of us. The center did pass over my place, but by that time the eye had closed so all we knew of the center's passage was a sudden shift in wind direction. We lost power, but no trees. TONS of branches, and leaves but we faired quite well at our place -- by the standards of looking at the coast.

However Katrina didn't spare me any grief -- Mobile Bay (where I kept my boat) suffered a 28 feet storm surge! The marina where I kept my boat is flat gone! When the state finally opened the roads to allow us to go down to Mobile, (on Labor Day) I went down to find my boat. I downloaded the NOAA pictures taken of damage from the air to find where my boat MIGHT BE -- and it still took over an hour of walking to find her. She was pretty badly beaten up. So much so that she will be scrapped. What hurts is had I been aboard her when the storm surge took her, I would have survived. Her outer hull and everything on deck is cut, gouged, twisted and broken. Everything inside her was just fine! NOTHING inside the boat was damaged. But everything outside and everything connected to everything outside is either destroyed or gone.

HEY OPRAH! I'M A VICTIM OF KATRINA TOO! HOW ABOUT PAYING TO FIX MY BOAT?! I'LL EVEN CRY ON CAMERA FOR YOU!

I guess when you look at the faces of despair from the coast and New Orleans the loss of a boat isn't even on the radar compared to what those folks are going through. However, I still have one question for the people in New Orleans that I haven't had answered yet -- YOU HAD FIVE DAYS WARNING! TWO DAYS AFTER IT WAS CONFIRMED THAT KATRINA WAS HEADING YOUR WAY! WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU LEAVE? Geez, it's a freaking Cat. 5 Hurricane! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? I'm sorry, that's not PC, but I drove 468 miles in one day to get down to Mobile to prepare the boat for the winds and a 12 foot storm surge. The winds in Mobile weren't as bad as Ivan, but the storm surge is what got her -- but I digress -- why didn't you (if you didn't have a car) get on to your Mayor and say "Hey dude -- see all those buses there, take them to the poor neighborhoods and load us on them!" If a 16 year old boy can steal a school bus, load up 60 strangers and drive them to Houston, then why couldn't the city of New Orleans take the initiative?

Those that got out are returning to find utter devastation. This is going to take a while to fix, and maybe we'll never be the same after this. But at least in Mississippi, after a couple of looters were shot, there wasn't the pure animalistic orgy of violence you saw (and maybe heard about) that you saw in NO. Folks shot looters and left them on the side of the street with their ill gotten booty in their hands. The message got through pretty darn quick.

NOW we have another Hurricane (Rita) heading into the Gulf. Once there, she'll hit all that warm Gulf water that blew Katrina into a monster! Rita will explode too! Where is she going? In a few days we'll have the answer! Hopefully she'll miss us and go straight into an uninhabited part of the mountains of Mexico. Now if she hits NO, then we'll know that the only thing left to do is flood the city and make it into an underwater park!

One other thing, screw all those "good Christians" who prayed for NO to be destroyed by their god. If that's the god they pray to, then they haven't been studying their New Testament close enough. But then again, isn't that the function of religion? To give folks another reason to look down on others and feel good about it?

BLOG OUT!
posted by Eric at 2:59 PM

 
BLOG IN!

WAITING FOR KATRINA!


posted by Eric at 8:46 PM

 
BLOG IN!

Just wanted to put in a plug for my heroes at NASA -- TWO THUMBS, AND TWO BIG TOES UP -- AND A HELL YEAH! Well done all! Finally we are back in space, and warts and all. And NOBODY ELSE in the world can do this like we can!

And before you start thinking about all the money spent on NASA and what else could be done with it, remember this -- some day in the distant future -- we as the human race will have to leave this third rock from the Sun. Someday our Sun will run out of fuel and explode. And if we haven't left, we will cease to exist. There is no way for us to prevent this from eventually happening. Sure, we have maybe a billion years or so to wait, but the clock is ticking. Some one has to go first -- and those should be the world's best and brightest riding the American Shuttle! We should go to the Moon, then to Mars and then to the stars! There is a big universe out there, and we need to head out to explore the "other" final frontier -- (someday we will conquer and live in the Oceans -- that will leave space.

Speaking of the oceans, those seven Russian Submariners (BTW it's pronounced SUB - MARE-IN-ERS. Not SUB MAR-EEN-ERS -- I wish the TV types would figure this out.) are out and free and alive! For the first time, the Russians and the British and the Americans worked together to save people trapped under the water! I can only hope this means the Cold War is finally, truly, over! Sure, all countries have their secrets, and their own navies -- but when human lives are at stake, and there is no state of war between the countries, why can't we all just get along? Kudos to all involved in the rescue! You are also our heroes!

Even in these days of war and hatred and fear -- all these people give me hope that although there is evil in the world, good people can and do prevail! THANK YOU ALL!

BLOG OUT!
posted by Eric at 6:14 PM

 
Blog On!

I was talking back to the night the other night (shameless plug for radio show). I was thinking about choices. Not choices like whether to have the turkey or shrimp plate, but those huge choices we make at different times in our lives. Those once-in-a-lifetime choices that we have that once made; can never be taken back and our lives are forever different from that point on.

I am talking about "should I start this new career or keep doing what I am doing?" "Should I marry this person or this other person." "Should I move 500 miles for a sure thing or stay where I am and hope for something that MIGHT improve soon?" "Should I spend the night with this interesting person or go home to my boring partner?" (These are example only, by the way -- I'm not telling what my choices were.)

In my short time on this third rock from the Sun, I can count four choices I have made that changed everything. Those choices that, once made, changed the course of my life's journey and sent me in a totally new direction -- two in ways I had never even considered.

I am where I am because I made two choices twenty five years ago. I was talking back to the night listening to a local radio station playing "Classic oldies from the 80's!" CLASSIC!? OLDIES!? THAT'S THE TOPIC FOR ANOTHER RANT!

Anyway, this particular song comes on the radio -- a not played much anymore hit from the Doobie Brothers called "What a Fool Believes." That song means much to me, because it was the first HIT I played on the radio at my first radio job back in October of 1979. Since music was a huge part of my life then, many memories good and bad are related to music that was playing at the time something happened, or right before or right after. (Like Leif Garret's I was made for Dancing played when I got my first speeding ticket.)

So while that song took me back to that Saturday night in 1979, I thought how far I had come since I was that 16 year old kid, who just bought his first car (a 1973 Dodge Dart) who had the GREATEST part time job ever! While my friends were flipping burgers or working in construction or roofing, I was sitting in nice cool air conditioning for 12 hours playing records while talking trash to the audience AND GETTING PAID FOR IT!

I contrasted that kid and his dreams with who I am now -- I am in a part of the country I never considered living in, doing something that was so far out of my life plans it wasn't part of my consciousness -- and I actually like it! But I digress.........

How I got here is a direct result of two decisions I made back in the 80's. One in 1985, and another in 1989. After those choices were made, there was no way I could have changed my life path. It was almost pre-ordained that I get here. If I had made another choice, I would have been a major-market dee-jay by now rather than being a college professor. What am I saying, I WAS a major-market dee-jay (#4 in Nashville, TN my last book on a giant killer out-of-market station.)

The funny thing is, I can't remember what made me pick the path I chose. The people I was close to at the time are no longer a part of my life. I haven't heard from any of them in years. The person I was married to, then divorced, and the ladies I lived with during the period are no where near me. I got one Christmas card from one of them in 1991, and nothing since then. Things are so much different than they were it's downright SCARY!

So here I lie, in the dark, wondering how the heck I got here. And I wonder how different I would be and how different life would have been had I taken the other path. And sad in the knowledge that I'll never know how much different things could have been. I can imagine how things might be -- but when I embarked on this life path what I imagined at the time has NOTHING to do with today's reality.

I am sure you, dear reader, have made similar life choices that -- at the time -- may not have seemed like that big of a deal (two of my choices didn't seem all that huge at the time) but since you made your choice -- everything's different. Maybe better -- maybe worse -- maybe just different. One night when you can't sleep, try this -- go back and see where your life path forked and how you decided which path to take -- and how that made all the difference (okay, Robert Frost said it first -- but he is right.) I can guarantee that when that song comes on the radio, you'll sit in amazement where you have been, where you are, and where you hope to be. However, heed these words -- where you are in the next twenty years may just be somewhere you can't now even consider. Boy will you have stories to tell! BLOG OUT!
posted by Eric at 11:10 AM

 
HAPPY MONDAY! Okay, that's an oxymoron if I've ever heard one!

As we enter the final week of Summer School, I can only say HOO-RAY! Summer School is like real school, only it's not real school. We do one semester in one month. ARRRGH!

I am now three days behind where I am supposed to be. The majority of my class is composed of "The Bridge Program". Some program, paid for by federal funds (yep, your taxes at work) that serves as a "Bridge" from High School to College for students who may not be "ready" for the university. And how do they get ready? By taking four days off to take a trip to Gatlenburg Tennessee! Gee, I wish I could get a trip to Gatlenburg at taxpayer's expense! I should just flunk them all out of general principles -- "Welcome to college, kids!" But Nah, then I'd be labeled insensitive and racist. In higher ed., those labels are a career-killer! So rather than put my career in jeopardy, I'll just watch the other 1/3rd of my class get screwed -- "welcome to real life, kids!"

Heard from the step-son yesterday -- it's hotter than hell, the fleas are unstoppable and the spiders are badass! These camel spiders are the size of your foot, and if you see one, it will turn and run away. But as soon as you turn your back, the spider comes after YOU! Badass mother-lovers, those spiders are! So the next package we send him will have to contain bug-killer. Maybe even DDT! Because spiders like this will drink up RAID and look at you and laugh. "What, is this the best you have?" "I drink this shit for Breakfast!" Badass spiders!

The powers that be are finally letting them shoot back at the SOB's that crawl up to the berm and fire blindly at their FOB with AK-47's. About damn time! Look, I'm talking about an FOB (Forward Operating Base) manned by US Marines and US Army Combat Soldiers. We're talking about Gung-Ho Marines and Hard Core Soldiers here! So you're asking 18, 19,20+ year old men, 8,000 miles from home, being eaten alive by sand fleas, in 140+ degree daytime heat to sit there and do nothing while an ENEMY shoots at them? The step-son mans a tower with another soldier with their M-16's, plus two machine guns with plenty of ammunition -- trained to fight and kill the enemy -- and you say "Guys, now don't you shoot at those poor little insurgents -- unless they are stupid enough to actually try to cut through the wire." Yeah, right. He didn't say but I am speculating that one of those blind shots got a little too close for comfort to someone with brass on their shoulders. "Hey, I almost got hit -- KILL THE BASTARDS!"

Second job for the step-son -- checking cars for IED's. That gains him an extra $2,200 per month -- and gains his mother something else to worry about. Basically, him and other soldiers man a check-point and stop every car, take everyone out of the vehicle, and hand search it for weapons and Improvised Explosive Devices. He didn't say what he was supposed to do if he actually FOUND one -- maybe he didn't want his mother to know.

Funny how your perspective changes when a loved-one is over there -- before, when we heard about a soldier losing his life in Iraq we felt sad and empathic for the soldier's family. NOW the first thing we think of is "well, the step-son isn't there -- THANK GOD". Then we feel for the families. I just hope that all this blood and treasure we have expended in Iraq and Afganistan is worth it. That what ever comes out of all this mess when it ends (and someday it all will end) will be better for the US and the rest of the world -- not to mention the Iraqi people. Speaking of which, another of the step-son's jobs is supervising a work-crew made up of Iraqi men as they load trucks and head out to re-build infrastructure or new schools or something to benefit the population. And one thing he has discovered, is they are pretty much like us! They have many of the same problems we have, and many of the same worries that we do. Even in a Muslim country, 8,000 from the US, one can find commonalities with the locals. It is truly a small world.

I mentioned Afganistan, but I haven't been totally forthcoming about my ties there. Somewhere in Afganistan, I have a nephew -- Master Sergeant, US Army Special Forces -- out there hunting for Osama Bin Laden. He has just started his fourth tour. He HAD to do two but he volunteered for the rest of them. Why? Because of 9/11. He didn't know anyone in the twin towers, nor on Flight 93. None of his friends were involved in any of the search and rescue efforts. No he volunteered because he was PISSED! These (insert appropriate, politically incorrect labels for Arab Terrorists) came into HIS country, in HIS house and killed HIS people! That can't go unanswered! Plus, he was one of the soldiers that got to see the flag that was flying over the World Trade Center when the twin towers collapsed -- the one the Firemen were saluting at ground zero. After that, he knew his job was to find that (insert appropriate politically incorrect terms for Arab Terrorists) and bring him in. His orders are to bring him in alive if at all possible -- but the orders are not specific as to what condition OBL will be in when they turn him over.

NEWS COMMENT: Dude that got 15 months and a dishonorable discharge and lost his rank for not returning with his unit to Iraq when they were re-deployed -- he should be thankful it's 2005. 60 years ago, he would have been shot as a deserter.

Anyone besides me think that "The search for Natalie" has gone on too long? Or could care less about who or what Brad Pitt is humping this week? This year's summer movies were the worst ever? That neither Simpson sister has ANY talent that didn't come out of a voice synthiser? Doesn't care what Scott Peterson has to say about ANYTHING? That pedophiles should be shot on sight? Their bodies dumped into the nearest landfill? And their families billed for the shooter's time and ammunition? That Jane Fonda should just go away? Or, yeah, $2.38 for a gallon of gas SUCKS -- but no one's come up with a better way to power my car? Give me that -- and you're my hero!

Wrapping this up for now -- I remain your humble typist of aimless, time wasting tripe.

BLOG OUT!
posted by Eric at 11:35 AM

 
I got your Blog -- right here!

We heard from the step-son this morning. He was shot at for the first time yesterday. One person crawled up behind a berm outside the fence surrounding the base where he is stationed, held an AK-47 above the top of the berm and fired eight or ten shots into the camp. All the step-son could see from his tower were two hands and the rifle. Dude wasn't aiming at anything, he was just shooting random shots at the camp. He missed everything. AND the step-son and his partner in the tower could not shoot back. Orders are, "Don't shoot unless you can identify your target." Two hands over the top of a hill is not an identifiable target. The only other time he can shoot is if someone actually touches the fence surrounding the camp OR throws something over the fence OR can positively identify the person as an attacker. In other words, you can't defend yourself unless the other guy shoots first! That truly SUCKS!

It's been hot here in the US -- a terrible heat wave sweeping across the nation. But if you think YOU have it bad, here's the weather conditions for Iraq yesterday -- high 140 degrees F. No rain, and IF there is a breeze, it fills the air with powered dust that sticks to everything! If you are outside in the heat, and you're a US soldier, you are wearing your long sleeved and long pants BDU's. That is so your body armor and your Kevlar helmet won't rub your skin raw as you move. And you wear that for your two shifts a day, 6 hours on, 6 off, 6 on, 6 off, repeat.

Some general says that by the middle on next year, we can start drawing down our numbers of forces in Iraq as the Iraqis take over their own protection. That would be a good thing.

On other topics, Summer School is in full swing here at the little university where I teach. I have 29 students in one class, mostly made up of Freshmen and High School students taking college level courses before high school graduation. In my class, I have several young women with children. Remember, we're talking unmarried young women just out of high school that have babies. One, in particular has TWO CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF THREE AND SHE GRADUATED LAST MAY! Okay, I can see one as an unplanned pregnancy or a mistake. But TWO? Didn't you learn the first time to keep your legs together? Or at least try BIRTH CONTROL? Any men in the picture? Hell, no! Why? Because "I's don't wants them around." Okay -- so if these guys are so bad, why did you fuck them in the first place? One 19 year old in the class (unmarried) just discovered she's pregnant. When she announced it to the class (another thing these girls do) the other students said "That's great! That's so wonderful!" "Is the baby's Daddy involved?" "No", she replied -- "I broke up with him last week." (sigh)

When the first bombs went off in the London tubes, we talked about them in class. Two international students, who had been in London either living there or visiting asked me what stations were involved. At the time, one of the stations believed to be involved was Paddington station. Of course the international students were concerned as they remembered the sights and sounds of the London Underground around Paddington station. But one American student added this little gem to the discussion "Awwww, Paddington -- like the bear." We're truly living in Hell.

Other than these little bits of fluff, not much happening that's worth talking about -- other than the summer movie season SUCKS this year. Note to Hollywood -- how about some CREATIVITY?! It's scary when one of the top movies in the nation is a documentary about Penguins made for about 1/4th the cost of another summer blockbuster.

More to come later -- thanks for reading and stay tuned. BLOG OUT!

posted by Eric at 11:24 AM