As the holiday weekend approaches it make me wonder about "Independence Day". You always hear people ask "What are you doing for the fourth?"
One of the most important days in the history of this country has just turned into a number. You never hear someone say "Merry 25th" or "what are your plans for the 25th?" And have no doubt July 4th is one of the most important days in the history of the United States.
Some others come to mind; July 20th(moon landing), June 6th(D Day), September 11th 2001(terrorist attacks for those who may have forgot), April 9th 1865(Lee surrenders), January 14th 1972(first episode of Sanford and Son) just to name a few.
You have to give Independence Day its props. This always reminds me of one July 4, I mean one Independence Day many years ago when a friend of mine showed up to help me get ready for the first of many Independence Day parties. It was late in the morning and he walked in my front door laughing. as he was holding a Hardee's cup he told me of his drive thru experience. This was the old Hardee's on the corner of Charles and 10th. After ordering he proceeded to the window where he wished the young girl a happy Independence Day. She said thank you. He then asked her what did Independence Day mean to her. Her reply, "Ya know Geor Washenton an shit."
I erupted in laughter, still do to this day.
So keep the meaning for this important day in mind, pass on what it really means, not what the hippie teacher said in the movie Dazed and Confused. ".....that a bunch of rich, slave owning, white men didn't want to pay their taxes."
Happy Independence Day.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Who loves you baby?
In the past few days I have been talking to my friend Watson about a rafting trip that we took over twenty years ago. We have discussed the possibility of a reunion trip. I do not know if this will happen, probably not but it has sure stirred up some memories. Our week in the mountains was beyond fun but there were a few moments where I realized that God loves me and looked out for me and my friends.
The line up was Watson Sutton, Brad Pollock, Darryl Tyndall, Mike Stainback, Warren Dubose, and myself. Warren's grandmother was kind enough to let us stay in her families' cabin just outside Franklin NC. All of us had hung out a lot that summer and we were all going off to college. I know Mike was already in college but someone had to buy the beer.
Now I had never been rafting before or sense, for a reason. And I think none of the rest of the group had any rafting experience either. The smartest thing we did was to get our feet wet(insert rim shot here) on the Nantahala River. That was more like an angry creek. I could write forever how beautiful it was but that is not why I am writing.
We stopped at a store to get breakfast and found out through a conversation with the owner that he also rented rafts, first problem solved. So we tied it on the back of Brad's Toyota and off we went. Technically it was a roomy four man raft that we managed to fit six people in and two coolers of beer.
We had a ball and the only "rapid" we encountered was at the end of the trip. There was a footbridge right after the spot where you were supposed to pull off to the side. We missed that spot. Warren, Mike, and Darryl bailed out. Still laughing at the sight of Warren trying to hold a raft that was full of three guys and rain water, oh yeah, it had started raining.
Hanging from the bridge and from ropes across the river were these sticks. Well not knowing what they were for Watson, Brad and myself kept laughing. I then noticed the look of horror on the faces of the people eating at the restaurant on the river bank. I then noticed a man scaling down the river bank carrying a rope gun. Then I heard people yelling for us to grab the sticks.
I stood and grabbed the last stick, no joke. We spun around and Watson hopped out and was in knee deep water. Crisis averted.
Drying off by the restaurant, rope gun man walked up and began to cuss us out, we were still laughing. "Ride down that road about a hundred yards and see if you think it's still funny." He said. So we got in the car and drove a bit and got out. Many years ago the Army Corps of Engineers had dynamited the river and it dropped like over fifty feet, maybe farther, and there were jagged rocks at the bottom.
We stood there for a few minutes, silent. Then with the swagger that all of us had at eighteen, hell I was still seventeen at the time, someone said, "We could have made it."
Erupting in laughter we turned to go home. That was the beginning of the week.
The line up was Watson Sutton, Brad Pollock, Darryl Tyndall, Mike Stainback, Warren Dubose, and myself. Warren's grandmother was kind enough to let us stay in her families' cabin just outside Franklin NC. All of us had hung out a lot that summer and we were all going off to college. I know Mike was already in college but someone had to buy the beer.
Now I had never been rafting before or sense, for a reason. And I think none of the rest of the group had any rafting experience either. The smartest thing we did was to get our feet wet(insert rim shot here) on the Nantahala River. That was more like an angry creek. I could write forever how beautiful it was but that is not why I am writing.
We stopped at a store to get breakfast and found out through a conversation with the owner that he also rented rafts, first problem solved. So we tied it on the back of Brad's Toyota and off we went. Technically it was a roomy four man raft that we managed to fit six people in and two coolers of beer.
We had a ball and the only "rapid" we encountered was at the end of the trip. There was a footbridge right after the spot where you were supposed to pull off to the side. We missed that spot. Warren, Mike, and Darryl bailed out. Still laughing at the sight of Warren trying to hold a raft that was full of three guys and rain water, oh yeah, it had started raining.
Hanging from the bridge and from ropes across the river were these sticks. Well not knowing what they were for Watson, Brad and myself kept laughing. I then noticed the look of horror on the faces of the people eating at the restaurant on the river bank. I then noticed a man scaling down the river bank carrying a rope gun. Then I heard people yelling for us to grab the sticks.
I stood and grabbed the last stick, no joke. We spun around and Watson hopped out and was in knee deep water. Crisis averted.
Drying off by the restaurant, rope gun man walked up and began to cuss us out, we were still laughing. "Ride down that road about a hundred yards and see if you think it's still funny." He said. So we got in the car and drove a bit and got out. Many years ago the Army Corps of Engineers had dynamited the river and it dropped like over fifty feet, maybe farther, and there were jagged rocks at the bottom.
We stood there for a few minutes, silent. Then with the swagger that all of us had at eighteen, hell I was still seventeen at the time, someone said, "We could have made it."
Erupting in laughter we turned to go home. That was the beginning of the week.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Operation Downfall
I am guessing that most of you have never heard of this. I was aware of what it was but never knew the name. After watching some of the D Day commemoration activities this weekend and then a documentary on Pearl Harbor Saturday night......Okay, yes I watched a documentary on a Saturday night! This put me in mind of a few things.
Some of you may not know about Operation Overlord, it was the name of the invasion of France, D Day. Operation Downfall was the name of the invasion of the islands of Japan. Just to give it some prospective, the number of troops and support personnel for D-Day was around 300,000. The number called for to take Japan was around 4.5 million.
US casualties were estimated as high a a million, Japanese casualties would have been much, much more. Japan was training its civilians, including children to fight to the death, encouraging them to commit suicide rather than surrender.
The documentary, giving all sides, suggested that the United States decision to drop the A bomb was retaliation for Pearl Harbor. That decision, in my opinion served two purposes, the first and most important was to save American lives. For example, preparations were being made for this invasion. One of these preparations was the minting of Purple Heart medals. So many were minted that we are still using those medals today. And unless there is another wide scale conventional ground war we may never run out.
Second, because we knew that the Japanese would not surrender from our countless battles like Iwo Jima and Guadacanal, we were going to have to break this army's spirit, take them out of that frame of mind. How do you truly defeat an enemy that will not surrender? An enemy that thinks it is divine to kill themselves while killing their enemy. You, unfortunately, have to convince that enemy that you have the means and the will to completely erase their existence from the face of the earth.
Before anyone launches themselves from their seats remember the one thing that has bothered me since I was old enough to understand history; we had to drop that bomb twice. Japan decided not to surrender after the first one.
The use of those bombs were indeed a tragedy but necessary. In comparison, the Japanese civilians that died during those bombings and afterwards is nothing compared to those who would have died had we invaded.
The only alternative I could think of was to detonate the bomb on a remote island in front of Japanese generals, but because they did not surrender after the first bomb it would not have worked.
Ask a veteran who was in or on their way to the Pacific during 1945 if they think we should have used it, veterans like my grandfather. They were the ones who would have paid the price. Ask them quickly though, their numbers get smaller every day, D Day was 65 years ago. I don't know about you but I am glad there is only one invasion ceremony.
Some of you may not know about Operation Overlord, it was the name of the invasion of France, D Day. Operation Downfall was the name of the invasion of the islands of Japan. Just to give it some prospective, the number of troops and support personnel for D-Day was around 300,000. The number called for to take Japan was around 4.5 million.
US casualties were estimated as high a a million, Japanese casualties would have been much, much more. Japan was training its civilians, including children to fight to the death, encouraging them to commit suicide rather than surrender.
The documentary, giving all sides, suggested that the United States decision to drop the A bomb was retaliation for Pearl Harbor. That decision, in my opinion served two purposes, the first and most important was to save American lives. For example, preparations were being made for this invasion. One of these preparations was the minting of Purple Heart medals. So many were minted that we are still using those medals today. And unless there is another wide scale conventional ground war we may never run out.
Second, because we knew that the Japanese would not surrender from our countless battles like Iwo Jima and Guadacanal, we were going to have to break this army's spirit, take them out of that frame of mind. How do you truly defeat an enemy that will not surrender? An enemy that thinks it is divine to kill themselves while killing their enemy. You, unfortunately, have to convince that enemy that you have the means and the will to completely erase their existence from the face of the earth.
Before anyone launches themselves from their seats remember the one thing that has bothered me since I was old enough to understand history; we had to drop that bomb twice. Japan decided not to surrender after the first one.
The use of those bombs were indeed a tragedy but necessary. In comparison, the Japanese civilians that died during those bombings and afterwards is nothing compared to those who would have died had we invaded.
The only alternative I could think of was to detonate the bomb on a remote island in front of Japanese generals, but because they did not surrender after the first bomb it would not have worked.
Ask a veteran who was in or on their way to the Pacific during 1945 if they think we should have used it, veterans like my grandfather. They were the ones who would have paid the price. Ask them quickly though, their numbers get smaller every day, D Day was 65 years ago. I don't know about you but I am glad there is only one invasion ceremony.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Still Bangin'
I will go completely off the reservation this time and tell you about a documentary I watched last night. It was about Iron Maiden, Flight 666, I think was the title. I have never been anything but a casual fan, ever since I was a little freaked out at Jeff Becker's house in high school, their mascot Eddie, always gave me the creeps. You can find their music sprinkled on my I Pod but that is about it. After watching this very good documentary, wow, is what I am left with.
I think it is good for Americans to see things outside the box of this country. This documentary crew follows the band, who were big when I was in high school by the way, on their world tour that started in India and ended in Toronto. 45 days, like 23 shows and over 50,000 miles traveled. The two coolest aspects of pulling this off, Iron Maiden has their own plane, a 757 named "Ed Force One", and the lead singer, Bruce Dickinson, is the pilot. And it is not like he is in the cockpit wearing a sleeveless t shirt and spandex, he is wearing a captain's uniform, shoulder boards and a tie.
When you see a band and it's influence it has around the world that is when you see something you are familiar with from the eyes of others in other countries. Massive crowds that seemed to get bigger the farther south they traveled in South America. The crowd was so big in Bogota it was a little scary.
Then there is the fact that these guys are not that much younger than my parents and the crowds seem to be very young. And it is not because their music has ever changed. Now I do remember them catching a little flack for the Somewhere in Time album, but these guys go just as hard as they did 30 years ago, good for them. If you have even the slightest knowledge of this band, check out this movie, I think the dvd is out on Tuesday the 9th.
I think it is good for Americans to see things outside the box of this country. This documentary crew follows the band, who were big when I was in high school by the way, on their world tour that started in India and ended in Toronto. 45 days, like 23 shows and over 50,000 miles traveled. The two coolest aspects of pulling this off, Iron Maiden has their own plane, a 757 named "Ed Force One", and the lead singer, Bruce Dickinson, is the pilot. And it is not like he is in the cockpit wearing a sleeveless t shirt and spandex, he is wearing a captain's uniform, shoulder boards and a tie.
When you see a band and it's influence it has around the world that is when you see something you are familiar with from the eyes of others in other countries. Massive crowds that seemed to get bigger the farther south they traveled in South America. The crowd was so big in Bogota it was a little scary.
Then there is the fact that these guys are not that much younger than my parents and the crowds seem to be very young. And it is not because their music has ever changed. Now I do remember them catching a little flack for the Somewhere in Time album, but these guys go just as hard as they did 30 years ago, good for them. If you have even the slightest knowledge of this band, check out this movie, I think the dvd is out on Tuesday the 9th.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
What's the difference
Well good old MSNBC is at it again, in my nightly flipping, I was caught by hearing the phrase "domestic terrorism." So against my better judgement I watched a few minutes and learned what they were talking about. The were referring to the guy who killed the abortion doctor this weekend. Now as I have stated before I think abortion is wrong but so is what this guy did. And I have no problem with anyone referring to this guy and the ultra right wing groups that support this behavior as terrorists. My first question after hearing relentless dribble from this network and others is why do they refer to the prisoners at Gitmo as "detainees"???? Also the same day they reported the story about the guy that was arrested for killing a soldier and wounding another at a recruiting office. He was never referred to as a terrorist, in fact the only time the word terrorist was used was when they said he was being charged with committing a terrorist act.
Every movement has its fringe elements and the pro lifers did themselves harm by not aggressively denouncing this doctor's murder. But for this kooky network to aggressively label this guy as a terrorist and not do the same to others that are more worthy of the name only adds to my belief that MSNBC is a joke.
Thank goodness I am one of the tens of people watching.
Every movement has its fringe elements and the pro lifers did themselves harm by not aggressively denouncing this doctor's murder. But for this kooky network to aggressively label this guy as a terrorist and not do the same to others that are more worthy of the name only adds to my belief that MSNBC is a joke.
Thank goodness I am one of the tens of people watching.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Ugly Business
A recent response to my first few posts suggested that I scrap the serious stuff and stick with the funny stuff, so I will try to be more funny about serious topics.
After watching the news in the past few weeks I am left with a question. When did everyone get so upset about torturing terrorists? It is like we just discovered what was going on, are you kidding me? We have known since September the 12th 2001 that we were strong-arming these guys for information. Now the opinion seems to be, thanks to no small part by the liberal media, that torture is wrong. Do you expect me to believe that any normal person would not pull out the bucket of water if they thought that they could save lives by preventing attacks. Of course you would, you would make Jack Bauer look like a Sunday school teacher. And water boarding?? This is like torture-lite, did anyone see what they did to Leonardo Dicaprio at the end of Body of Lies, or Mel Gibson in Payback, now that is torture. We all saw the picture of the guy that looked like Ron Jeremy. It looks like they started on him by pushing his body through the neck hole of his shirt. And the look on his face, he knew what was coming and so did we, no one spoke up then.
But now that the old administration is out let the piling on begin, but there is one thing we can count on just as sure as the sun rising in the morning, let a politician talk long enough and they will tell you that feet are an acquired taste. Nancy Pelosi can tell you that, the CIA lied to her, why just her? She expects us to believe this? Don't get me wrong, the CIA does lie and I hope they are good at it, but only to the bad guys. Tie someone to a chair and listen to her talk, they will be begging to be water boarded. Oh and by the way, how about the unknown numbers that were sent to other countries to be interrogated, like Egypt, where there are no rules. I don't hear anyone crying for them and I'm sure more than a few of that bunch redefined suffering.
The bottom line is that this is all a dirty business, it was possible that our leaders know more than we did, and that is fine with me, I have enough stuff to worry about. And after the past few days it seems like someone else now knows what some may not have. These are extreme people that are devoted to their beliefs, some of those beliefs include killing all of those who do not think, feel, or pray the same way they do. Maybe that is the reason that the President decided not to release the pictures, maybe this is the reason that the camp at Gitmo will stay open a little longer.
Call me crazy but I expect my government to protect me and the did for seven years after 9/11, so be it if had to do some bad things to some bad people keep this country safe.
This is an ugly business, unfortunately we can not stop until they do. Just remember one thing, they started it.
After watching the news in the past few weeks I am left with a question. When did everyone get so upset about torturing terrorists? It is like we just discovered what was going on, are you kidding me? We have known since September the 12th 2001 that we were strong-arming these guys for information. Now the opinion seems to be, thanks to no small part by the liberal media, that torture is wrong. Do you expect me to believe that any normal person would not pull out the bucket of water if they thought that they could save lives by preventing attacks. Of course you would, you would make Jack Bauer look like a Sunday school teacher. And water boarding?? This is like torture-lite, did anyone see what they did to Leonardo Dicaprio at the end of Body of Lies, or Mel Gibson in Payback, now that is torture. We all saw the picture of the guy that looked like Ron Jeremy. It looks like they started on him by pushing his body through the neck hole of his shirt. And the look on his face, he knew what was coming and so did we, no one spoke up then.
But now that the old administration is out let the piling on begin, but there is one thing we can count on just as sure as the sun rising in the morning, let a politician talk long enough and they will tell you that feet are an acquired taste. Nancy Pelosi can tell you that, the CIA lied to her, why just her? She expects us to believe this? Don't get me wrong, the CIA does lie and I hope they are good at it, but only to the bad guys. Tie someone to a chair and listen to her talk, they will be begging to be water boarded. Oh and by the way, how about the unknown numbers that were sent to other countries to be interrogated, like Egypt, where there are no rules. I don't hear anyone crying for them and I'm sure more than a few of that bunch redefined suffering.
The bottom line is that this is all a dirty business, it was possible that our leaders know more than we did, and that is fine with me, I have enough stuff to worry about. And after the past few days it seems like someone else now knows what some may not have. These are extreme people that are devoted to their beliefs, some of those beliefs include killing all of those who do not think, feel, or pray the same way they do. Maybe that is the reason that the President decided not to release the pictures, maybe this is the reason that the camp at Gitmo will stay open a little longer.
Call me crazy but I expect my government to protect me and the did for seven years after 9/11, so be it if had to do some bad things to some bad people keep this country safe.
This is an ugly business, unfortunately we can not stop until they do. Just remember one thing, they started it.
Friday, May 8, 2009
The Question
God looks down on humanity, humanity looks back, just staring up at a light in the sky. Oh, by the way it is Judgement Day. What do you think his question will be? Will it be just one?
What will be the straw that breaks the camel's back? I have often thought of this scenario, sometimes out loud with friends, mostly to myself after reading some story or seeing something on television. It sends me back to a conversation I had with my grandfather after September 11th, you remember that day don't you. If you watch the news these days you may wonder if it ever happened. (Getting off on a tangent alert)
We talked about the fear that everyone felt the day of the attack, mostly because no one knew what was going on and if we still need to be worried. My grandfather said, and he is a man of very few words, "We need to be worried about when God is gonna put a stop to it."
Now before I go any farther, I believe in God. I believe in heaven therefore I believe in hell, one cannot exist without the other. After taking some EMT classes I have learned how the human body works. I'm not just talking about the "this bone is connected to this bone" song or the "pump" song that Potsy sang about on Happy Days. (I think that was post Jump the Shark) I am talking about how the human body functions down to the cellular level. I'm sorry folks but there has to be something divine in that.
So I guess this is the round about way of asking the question that bothers me the most when I think of our society, Why haven't we taken care of our children?
I think about this when I read the story of the toddler that had to have her leg amputated because the person watching her tied a rope around her leg to keep her from moving around. Or when a mother puts her kids in a car and rolls it into a lake because she is afraid her new boyfriend might break up with her. I could go on forever and I am sure that some of you can think of worse. The countless kidnappings and rapes and murders of what I think is our most valuable natural resource. Look at it like this, children are the only assurance that our species will survive, what have we done to protect it?
I also think that you absolutely can not have this conversation without addressing the white elephant in the room, abortion. My view on abortion was a solid pro choice for a long time. After the Lacey Peterson case my thoughts changed. Here was a guy charged for two murders, that child's life was terminated early, what was the difference? I could not come up with one. When did children become so disposable?
Stick with me, there were over one million abortions in the US last year, there were over 20,000 adopted foreign children brought back to the US last year. See where I'm going. The issue of abortion has not changed and will not for some time, I don't care which side is trying to scare the hell out of you. If we turned all that energy and money towards bringing these numbers together, would that not be a solution to a problem. Now there will have to be people a lot smarter than me to figure it out but I DO know that it a shame that so many United States citizens have to go overseas to find a baby. Is it me or does it seem easier to get an abortion than to adopt a child? Shouldn't it be the other way around? I think we need to attack this from a different direction. I am kind of flying in the dark here, but are there incentives for women that decide to give their baby up for adoption? If not then there should be.
I know I have opened a can of worms here but after you talk to someone who has been through this and they say, "you have to jump through more hoops to adopt a dog than you do to have an abortion," then something is just a little more than askew. There just seems to me that there is a solution that could satisfy everyone, maybe it is time to try. I am certainly not judging anyone here, that happens later.
My only experience with children is from being the "cool uncle", but all of has a chance to be a positive influence on everyone, especially the ones that need it the most, the children. They are just looking for some guidance and in the lack of positive guidance they will take whatever is in front of them.
I don't know, will that be the question, will we even get a question? I believe in getting credit for trying, I guess I'm saying that from a distance it doesn't look like we are.
What will be the straw that breaks the camel's back? I have often thought of this scenario, sometimes out loud with friends, mostly to myself after reading some story or seeing something on television. It sends me back to a conversation I had with my grandfather after September 11th, you remember that day don't you. If you watch the news these days you may wonder if it ever happened. (Getting off on a tangent alert)
We talked about the fear that everyone felt the day of the attack, mostly because no one knew what was going on and if we still need to be worried. My grandfather said, and he is a man of very few words, "We need to be worried about when God is gonna put a stop to it."
Now before I go any farther, I believe in God. I believe in heaven therefore I believe in hell, one cannot exist without the other. After taking some EMT classes I have learned how the human body works. I'm not just talking about the "this bone is connected to this bone" song or the "pump" song that Potsy sang about on Happy Days. (I think that was post Jump the Shark) I am talking about how the human body functions down to the cellular level. I'm sorry folks but there has to be something divine in that.
So I guess this is the round about way of asking the question that bothers me the most when I think of our society, Why haven't we taken care of our children?
I think about this when I read the story of the toddler that had to have her leg amputated because the person watching her tied a rope around her leg to keep her from moving around. Or when a mother puts her kids in a car and rolls it into a lake because she is afraid her new boyfriend might break up with her. I could go on forever and I am sure that some of you can think of worse. The countless kidnappings and rapes and murders of what I think is our most valuable natural resource. Look at it like this, children are the only assurance that our species will survive, what have we done to protect it?
I also think that you absolutely can not have this conversation without addressing the white elephant in the room, abortion. My view on abortion was a solid pro choice for a long time. After the Lacey Peterson case my thoughts changed. Here was a guy charged for two murders, that child's life was terminated early, what was the difference? I could not come up with one. When did children become so disposable?
Stick with me, there were over one million abortions in the US last year, there were over 20,000 adopted foreign children brought back to the US last year. See where I'm going. The issue of abortion has not changed and will not for some time, I don't care which side is trying to scare the hell out of you. If we turned all that energy and money towards bringing these numbers together, would that not be a solution to a problem. Now there will have to be people a lot smarter than me to figure it out but I DO know that it a shame that so many United States citizens have to go overseas to find a baby. Is it me or does it seem easier to get an abortion than to adopt a child? Shouldn't it be the other way around? I think we need to attack this from a different direction. I am kind of flying in the dark here, but are there incentives for women that decide to give their baby up for adoption? If not then there should be.
I know I have opened a can of worms here but after you talk to someone who has been through this and they say, "you have to jump through more hoops to adopt a dog than you do to have an abortion," then something is just a little more than askew. There just seems to me that there is a solution that could satisfy everyone, maybe it is time to try. I am certainly not judging anyone here, that happens later.
My only experience with children is from being the "cool uncle", but all of has a chance to be a positive influence on everyone, especially the ones that need it the most, the children. They are just looking for some guidance and in the lack of positive guidance they will take whatever is in front of them.
I don't know, will that be the question, will we even get a question? I believe in getting credit for trying, I guess I'm saying that from a distance it doesn't look like we are.
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