tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22991905785419704492024-03-05T00:36:47.924-05:00SixtySomthingSixtySomthinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07117246219064001202noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299190578541970449.post-54851830300842430482018-09-04T23:52:00.001-04:002019-02-21T01:44:20.414-05:00Not the John McCain you have been listening to.<p>There are some facts. I was a flight student at NAS Meridian, MS when Lt. John McCain was a flight instructor. By that time, he had destroyed two American air craft, an A-1 "Spad" and a T-2 "Buckeye. He was reported to have been reckless and careless when he was strapped into an aircraft. (No fear of losing his wings or an Article 32 or a DD with a daddy and grand daddy being CINCPAC) . He had a reputation at Meridian of being a womanizer which might put into questions his head work qualities considering that most of the women on the base were student wives. This portion of his character was reinforced when he divorced,within months of his return to the world, the woman who had waited for him his entire stay in the Hilton .When faced with the choice between loyalty and money, he took the cash and married someone else. So much for a moral compass. As far as I am concerned, he can never be forgiven for his lack of support and outright marginalization of his Party"s candidate and his President. Three final comments? 1. He was at his most childish petulance when he refused to allow the President and Sarah Palin to attend his funeral..2. His politics were not only unsupportive of the President they were not conservative Republican values and Party Platform. 3. I would not be surprised if he was not breaking some ROE that put him into harms way and got his butt shot down. The President made a tasteless and unworthy remark regarding the shoot down of Lt. McCain. But, again, he shows his petulance by a dramatic thumbs down on the floor of the senate killing a bill wanted by the President. He was no republican, he was not non partisan, he was disloyal to his wife and his President. With the exception of his reported heroic behavior while in captivity, I find nothing that makes him standout in any way from the other 99 petulant , egotistical, greedy and corrupt senators of the US Senate.</p>SixtySomthinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07117246219064001202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299190578541970449.post-69181428335515585062018-08-06T00:07:00.001-04:002018-08-06T00:07:20.823-04:00Actions for the Appointment of Judge Kavanaugh<p>Jack: I am afraid that I take exception to your para: Below are my comments to a proposed article by Jack Divine<p>“Bottom Line: Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination to SCOTUS should be acted upon forthwith-and every senator’s vote should be based on his or her assessment of the merits of Kavanaugh’s candidacy, not on partisan pressures or presumptions about the position he might take on some future case.<p>This Supreme nominee is far to important to be left to the whims and corruption of any single or group of Senators. I believe that counting on Senators to assess the merits of Kavanaughs’s candidacy in this environment is a fools errand and you are no fool. They have not a single reason, other than a toddlers wailing for more milk. not to give the President what he wants. The dems want to play hard ball, then lets roll up our sleeves. No rules here, only results. Lets awaken a little Lyndon Johnson today.<p>Have the President put pressure on the President of the Senate and force him to announce that any Senator of any standing, select or special committees who votes against the Presidents choice for the Supreme Court will be permanently without a committee job of any kind the following day. There will be plenty of peers who would love to see this happen. Given the FBI’s penchant for partisan investigations, put the FBI on it and make careers swing in the event of failure. As for O'Connell turn his career upside down to make this work.<p>It all seems so surreal does it not. At this point, I would not give two cents for the moral high ground because I believe that Kavanaugh’s appointment is pivotal to the survival of this nation. The Dems want the head of our President on a stick. They have called for torching the White House with him in it. ( By the way, where in the hell is the SS.) They have marginalized his presidency, they have abused and threatened his family, they have forced his cabinet members out of public eating places because they were members of the cabinet, they have authored and pressed a baseless case of collusion with a foreign nation to rig a federal election. He has suffered the personal slings and arrows of the Ranking Member of the Senate on numerous occasion on the floor of the Senate.<p>So now the gloves should come off. He is the most powerful man in the world let us see him use some of it. Not for revenge, although that would be justified. Never in the history of this Nation has a President been so vilified every day of his tenure. He must do something to keep the court from becoming a tool for the conversion of the Constitution to a Communist Manifesto. The goal here is to WIN. Winning in this fight is the ultimate goal. Need to lie or ruin a career and you, generic you, lack the stones, get some from Obama. I have not seen a body count of the number of military officers he ruined during his tour. Some deserved it, most did not and the stakes were never that high.<p>This is heavy stuff, but I fear for our Nation. I fought for this country and this threat to the Nation needs a harsh political resolution.</p>SixtySomthinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07117246219064001202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299190578541970449.post-18779190265250591272018-08-05T00:00:00.001-04:002018-08-05T00:00:17.865-04:00THE CONTROLS ARE FREE<p>Saturday, August 3, 2013<p><b></b><p><b>The Controls are Free</b><p>"The controls are free. The wings are down and locked. The trim is set two down, zero and zero. The flaps are coming to one half. All the lights on the telepanel are out. The hook is up, my harness is locked, check yours, I am ready to go."<p>An act of professionalism, I suppose, but it is much more . This take off checklist, for the F-4 Phantom aircraft, is the stuff of gods and princes. It is the preamble to a declaration of intense sensory stimulation, fear pushed to the back of the conscious mind by superb training and a personal ego fulfillment unknown to most.<p>The preflight walk around the aircraft is often done without enthusiasm and excitement. In ever way and every day to "kick the tire and light the fire", will prove the old saw, "there are old and there are bold pilots, but there are no old and bold pilots". Your life hangs on the sleeve of the Reaper if you repeatedly show a lack of discipline that results in a sloppy and mindless rote performance.<p>Every input to the flight controls on the ground and in the air must be smooth but deliberate. I was taught that most inputs to the stick and throttle would require at least one if not more inputs to the throttle or stick in the opposite direction with one half the amplitude of the first input. Smooth is required at all times, but is especially important for aerial refueling, formation flying and recovering aboard the ship.<p>Like most professions, flying fighter aircraft is either an event that goes as planned or is an event that does not. The trick here is to ensure that you are not the primary reason for an unplanned event. In its most severe manifestation, an unplanned event that causes you to exit the aircraft before it successfully lands and comes to a full stop on all three landing gear is unseemly, unprofessional but most of all, really looks bad. Most fighter pilots would rather die than look bad. Looking bad is prevented by proper prior planning and skillful execution.<p>Even if you do all the things that are required and expected of you, it is still possible for you to lose control of your environment and have to eject from the aircraft. When this happens, you must, like getting bucked by a Brahma, immediately get right back on and finish the ride.<p>There are dozens of stories that course through my memory at present, but I will share only two.<p>The first story takes place in Kingsville, TX and on the USS Lexington sailing off the coast of the Florida Keys qualifying prospective Naval Aviators aboard this old but reliable ship of the line.<p>For weeks, we have been conducting FMLPs (Field Mirror Landing Practice) at outlying fields. We are flying a minimum of two sorties per day at remote fields scattered across the entire east Texas badlands and perhaps more sorties depending on the time of year and the amount of light available. We are in the hands of qualified experts referred to as LSOs. An LSO is a Landing Signals Officer and he expects and gets your undivided attention for every touch and go.<p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8Q_BmIVL-iw/W2Z2Qah3tDI/AAAAAAAAHIc/nFM72pI-YgUivzgga9QM6-yiEDnWhzKxQCHMYCw/s1600-h/clip_image002%255B3%255D"><img width="190" height="244" title="clip_image002" style="margin: 0px; display: inline; background-image: none;" alt="clip_image002" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-H-jJTRw2MxA/W2Z2QvpwIFI/AAAAAAAAHIg/ZCyk9dpB6zUIMoItBBCQBDFlM9V7lbkfQCHMYCw/clip_image002_thumb?imgmax=800" border="0" hspace="12"></a><p>Here is the object of all the training. This is the picture you want to see. In this picture please note the mirror to the left of the landing area. It looks like its floating in the water. (Look at the close up of the mirror nearby.) In this picture, you see the mirror that is reflecting a light in front of it that projects the light out to infinity at a give angle in reference to the landing area. This beam of light is referred to as the glide slope and it is the optimum flight path of the aircraft all the way to touch down. In the picture, this light looks like an orange dot right in line with the two sets of green lights. The green lights represent the deck of the carrier. Just to the right and left of the mirror are a row of red "wave off" lights. If your approach to the carrier is hosed or the deck of the carrier is not clear, the LSO will command over the radio, "wave off, wave off" at the same time he will turn on the wave off lights by depressing a switch on the "pickle button" (see photo of me with the device in my hand and a cable going to the mirror). A wave off command over the radio or the illumination of the reds lights is mandatory. The pilot must wave off. There are absolutely no exceptions.<p>There are two other issues. The aircraft must be exactly on speed and lined up with the centerline of the landing area.<p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-J9wjeVAaY18/W2Z2RGCkb6I/AAAAAAAAHIk/eF3SwMSpnhMuIDoJghyCAEzx96b8siCnwCHMYCw/s1600-h/clip_image004%255B3%255D"><img width="244" height="159" title="clip_image004" style="margin: 0px; display: inline; background-image: none;" alt="clip_image004" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0dCkszjvm3w/W2Z2RdhRLSI/AAAAAAAAHIo/lGhT6iNd4ogIwGOr8WOXZQm31Td2M7_QwCHMYCw/clip_image004_thumb?imgmax=800" border="0" hspace="12"></a><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Om7tmIUerhM/W2Z2R6g1k1I/AAAAAAAAHIs/d3r7wZhYlVAvFXEpoGG46Z4ePaAIoF-5QCHMYCw/s1600-h/clip_image006%255B3%255D"><img width="244" height="146" title="clip_image006" style="margin: 0px; display: inline; background-image: none;" alt="clip_image006" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Vnjft_tmGbE/W2Z2STET6CI/AAAAAAAAHIw/WnDcDTZzIVA-aQW5qAHWPF9YmefS5iyygCHMYCw/clip_image006_thumb?imgmax=800" border="0" hspace="12"></a><p>We practice for weeks getting to see a sight picture like the one above and practice until we do it right every single time. This is show time. This is the time to man up. All the bragging, bravado, and BS comes to a halt here. You can kill yourself and lots of other people on the carrier if you screw the pooch. It is an unforgiving environment and you can lose your wings and your career right now. Looking bad is a sign of failure and it is not tolerated. There is no, I repeat, no aviation task so demanding as a night carrier landing when the weather is dog poop and there is no beach that you can bingo (low gas) to.<p>During the Viet Nam war, a study was made of an A-4 squadron aboard ship who were flying daily sorties over Hanoi and Haiphong (the worlds highest concentration of anti aircraft weapons in the history of aviation at any time before, during or since). The study showed that the breathing and heart rates of the pilots were at their highest when the pilots lowered their landing gear and tail hooks to land on the ship. If you have not gotten the picture that this is serious business then you have not been paying attention.<p>Like most of the students, I am spun up. I am afraid. Really afraid. Not afraid of the physical dangers associated with executing the landings and catapult shots, I am terrified of screwing the pooch.<p>Every possible problem has been briefed a dozen times and the carrier procedures have been drilled into us for so long we know no other world. We have no families and no other distractions to interfere with the focus we need to successfully navigate this right of passage in Naval Aviation.<p>With this intro, my first story starts.<p>I am in a flight of five F-9Fs lead by an instructor who guides the flight just to the <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-onqOAF7tzjM/W2Z2S7DNaSI/AAAAAAAAHI0/VNbLm4CUqhoVYSswg4fhejpvmLh5cMoSwCHMYCw/s1600-h/clip_image008%255B3%255D"><img width="192" height="138" title="clip_image008" style="margin: 0px; display: inline; background-image: none;" alt="clip_image008" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vLTVGthp_j4/W2Z2TaNCq7I/AAAAAAAAHI4/cYyc743cHE0ySG_UpWH9liIJENIQDYW9QCHMYCw/clip_image008_thumb?imgmax=800" border="0" hspace="12"></a>left of the carrier at about 800 feet. The plan calls for us to make a hard left turn (break) to generate separation between the aircraft, lower the gear and flaps and make four touch and go's then make six arrested landing and six catapult take offs.<p>For reason that remain a mystery to me, when I reach the place where I report my gear and flaps down with a fuel state, the LSO commands, "lower your hook for a full stop landing". NO,NO,NO this is not according to plan. My heart jumps into my throat and I start the process of lowering the hook while at the same time beginning to make my approach to the boat. In most aircraft, lowering the hook is a matter of touching one handle and pushing it down. Not the Cougar. The hook handle is on the right side of the cockpit extending from the instrument panel. You must grasp a "T" handle and ratchet the hook out and down by pulling on the "T" handle at least six times. Keep in mind, I am trying to accomplish the hardest task in aviation. While I am trying, I must let go of the stick with my right hand, grasp it with my left, give a couple of pulls on the hook handle and then reverse the process so I can make a power correction with my left hand. I play this dance two or three times and I finally get the hook down but as I roll out into the groove, I am way too low. I am three quarters of a mile from the end of the ship (Spud locker) when the LSO tells me to wave off. I apply full power and wait for the old engine to do its thing. I have the air craft wings level at optimum climb speed and my eyes are level with the deck of the carrier with me climbing very slowly. I am waiting for the LSO to tell me eject but I barely clear the spud locker and engage the "1" wire. I am safely aboard but scared to death. Every thing I had been briefed on is out the window. The plane handlers do not taxi me to the bow for a CAT shot but push me backwards toward the edge of the carrier. My tail assembly is hanging over the edge of the carrier with the motor still running as the deck apes chain me down to the USS Lexington, plug a fuel hose into my jet and I wait and watch. I watch as my entire team qualifies aboard the ship and then heads back to Texas for beer and back slapping. Not me, I am still chained to the deck.<p>But life is getting ready to get interesting. Over the 1MC (PA system) and over the radio, an announcement that the ship is changing its Foxtrot Corpen. Until five minutes ago, I did not know what this expression literally stood for. Thank you Google. The Foxtrot Corpen is the carrier's heading for optimum flight operations. So I hear this command and at the same time look at my right three o'clock and see an aircraft being man handled by about 20 able bodied seamen as they push the plane onto the forward starboard elevator to bring it to the flight deck. At the same time the captain brings the ship hard port and the boat, believe it or not, heels over to the starboard so much that the aircraft being pushed onto the elevator is picking up speed because of the ships angle. I was not kidding about the ship listing during a hard turn.<p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZWdF7VLPZxI/W2Z2TlH9w6I/AAAAAAAAHI8/PC_ycbw5GqwKLcpDnpbr2zlTJOBo5yD3ACHMYCw/s1600-h/clip_image010%255B3%255D"><img width="244" height="176" title="clip_image010" style="display: inline; background-image: none;" alt="clip_image010" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3UXwmDmqfoA/W2Z2UIMAgKI/AAAAAAAAHJA/3ZQV4BzBIX0SsBDJWE3Ni_men7fjnkjlACHMYCw/clip_image010_thumb?imgmax=800" border="0"></a>The plane captains and deck apes start throwing chocks under the wheels to stop its movement toward the edge of the elevator and the waiting abyss of the Gulf of Mexico. I recognize the pilot who is doing his best on the breaks but is much more interested in getting unstrapped from the jet. The sailors are successful in getting chocks under both main landing gear at the same time. But fate will not be denied. As the Cougar comes to a stop, the angle of the ship and the jets momentum combine to cause the nose to pitch up. On land this would not be a problem because the tail would hit the ground and issue over. Not here. There is nothing below the tail of this jet and the aircraft continues to pitch nose up until it falls off the elevator. The pilot is a blur of motion and I get just one look into his face and all I can see in his bulging eyes is justifiable fear!<p>The Cougar almost completes a back flip before it hits the water. I am dumb struck. It must be having a dream. This is no dream. The aircraft does not float for a minute. I can still see the tail as it passed behind my tail. I snatch my head to the left and the plane is gone. The aircraft, replaced by a churning mass of bubbles which makes the water white. God only knows how, but the pilot pops to the surface like a wine bottle cork with his Mae West fully inflated. He has a big smile on his face until he sees the side of the still turning ship headed right at him. He rolls on to his stomach and begins a crawl that any Australian would be proud to claim. There is a roll of water that is proceeding the ship as it slides through the water and acts like a wave from the North Shore and surfs the pilot until the boat finally passes him and rolls him like a toy in the turbulence behind the ship.<p>The pilot is picked up by one of the ships SAR helos, returns to the carrier, the pilot is removed, with no injuries, to the Quacks dispensary and is given the traditional measure of grog. He takes a shower, gets a clean set of skivies and flight suit, briefs his return to Kingsville, signs for an A/C and launches into the setting sun. I, on the other hand, am still chained to the deck.<p>The air boss finally gets his stuff together and after many calls from me asking for a status, I am taxied to the CAT fired into space, trap five more times and then fly home by myself arriving after dark with no one to celebrate my accomplishment. I go by the club, but all have departed. I go home to my loving bride who makes up for my disappointment by emoting an attitude of cheerful adoration that I really don't deserve but love just the same.<p>Story number two.<p>While stationed in Chu Lai, Viet Nam in 1969, my RIO (Radar Intercept Officer) and I were chosen to fly one of our jets to Cubi Point Naval Air Station in Subic Bay in the Philippines for salt water corrosion wash down. This was a sought after boondoggle because you got to stay in the BOQ, talk to round eyes (Caucasian women), get a Cubi Special (A couple of different kinds of rum and some kind of fruit juice mixer), a Cubi Dog (A foot long with all the trimmings.), your boots polished, a hair cut, a shave, a mustache trim, a shampoo, a neck and shoulder massage, a short nap all for $2.25. We goofed off a lot, but we mostly sat around the pool, drank Cubi Specials and ate Cubi Dogs until we fell asleep and napped for a couple of hours.<p>An afternoon shower, clean skivies and flight suit and off to the Cubi O'Club for dinner and drinks. Mostly drinks.<p>I no longer remember why, but I was forced to fly my jet back to Chu Lai without my RIO. In my entire career, this was the only time I was asked by competent authority to do this.<p>We tied all the rear seats harness straps together so they could not get caught in anything during the one hour flight back to Chu Lai.<p>I got air borne late in the afternoon and when I reached 30,000 feet or so, I noted that the sun, setting precisely on my line of flight had only a sliver of sun left before disappearing over the horizon. As far as I could see, the evening sky was on fire with lots of high altitude cirrus clouds used to spray lavender, burnt orange and flame red across the firmament. <p>There have many times when the sights and wonders of the sky have been breathtaking and moving. Yet, they seemed a fleeting moment and left my immediate memory with little in the way of poetic verse to articulate how the senses are translated by our intellect into moments of self awareness and appreciation for the bounty that fills our days. For the most part, I chalk this up to limited life experiences. In my current dotage of 71, almost all visions I experience end up with some kind of cerebral artistic display. This is particularly bizarre since I have zero artistic abilities.<p>How do you describe our sun? In this episode, the sun I see is not really the sun's location. The sun is already below the horizon but its rays are bent by our atmosphere with two results. First, the light rays, bent by the atmosphere, are also passing through a planet sized prism which changes the colors to something different form what is actually being emitted by this small star. The atmosphere also makes the object look just slightly out of focus. The impact is to make the sun appear to have softer lines and the light is diffused enough to look right at it with my visor down. I find it queer that I had a desire to look directly into the center of this Hydrogen fire as if there were some cosmic secret to be gleaned from it's core.<p>I do not know what airspeed at 30,000 feet comes close to the speed of the rotation of the earth at the equator, but what ever it is, the sun stayed precisely where it was on the horizon from take off to a descent to landing. I had more than an hour to view this spectacle of nature and gather a meaning of some kind. I just remember it was beautiful and that I was fortunate indeed to have been able to see it. Perhaps that is enough.<p>This was something very special about this not too infrequent event, but I was not able to attach a meaning to my vision at the time. There was no one to talk to and the silence put my mind to other pursuits. I wish I could translate it for you now, but it's message still escapes me.SixtySomthinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07117246219064001202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299190578541970449.post-55557722132126459202018-02-03T23:47:00.000-05:002018-02-03T23:47:01.020-05:00Being Presidential<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Emailed to Aiken
Standard for Publication<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2330 16 Jan, 2018</div>
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Who Is Qualified To
Define Presidential</div>
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Certainly not me nor you as well.</div>
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The sanity of anyone voluntarily running for the office of
President of the US
should be immediately questioned.</div>
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Acting presidential is just that acting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is no president who can claim to have a
clue about what acting presidential actually meant for him. Would you forgive all
that you hold against President Thomas Jefferson for being responsible for the Louisiana
Purchase. A decision that resulted in the creation of 14 new
states. Land from New Orleans to
the Pacific. The Purchase was populated with 90,000 individuals half of whom
were slaves. Jefferson could never be called anything
but presidential.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Harry Truman, President by default and viewed as a country bumpkin,
had the guts to drop two nuclear weapons on Japan
to end WW II. Would you forgive the "awe shucks" attitude for the
most difficult decision ever made by any US President. During his time as
president, the public and press thought him far from presidential.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Being presidential, at its root, has nothing to do with
outward appearances and oratory, although it helps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What makes you presidential is what you do to
improve the conditions of the American people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If you are crude, rude and unattractive in public then your life will be
more difficult.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, if you fulfill
your promises you made to the nation during your campaign then I, for one, am
not at all curious if you appeared presidential while you were actually being
presidential.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If your constant reversals
and confusion caused by your Tweets puts you into holding the winning hand
then, by all means.</div>
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Our President is completely unpredictable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Never was there a more important personal
characteristic for this job.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All want to
second guess the President.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's a
cottage industry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a reason why he is so universally hated
by the diplomats, progressives and "allies".<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They never know what he is going to do and
that is to his liking for deal making. Like all successful men, the President
expects the people who work for him to make his agenda happen and to be
loyal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fail either of these test and you
are history with the appropriate language.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Not fast enough in my judgment.</div>
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By the way, the language used when these
"lawmakers" are not on hot mikes makes this shithole word look
tame.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did that word cause you personal
angst? Were you embarrassed to read it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did
you see a face of the racist Gus Fitch or was it a place for storage of
offal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Go to the movies much? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you were to call me a racist for its use, I
would profoundly think you a hypocrite.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Of course, I believe all those talking heads who spew the bile of racism
are also guilty of the sin of hypocrisy.</div>
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The face of hypocrisy is politically correct in its
diversity: "We will lead from the rear", "What difference does
it make.", "I call them my five white men.", "If I had a
son, he would look like Trayvon".<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But, best of all: https://www.snopes.com/oprah-winfrey-old-white-people-have-to-die/</div>
SixtySomthinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07117246219064001202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299190578541970449.post-11307032749677503732018-02-03T23:45:00.002-05:002018-02-03T23:45:22.654-05:00The Rush To Crush the First Amendment<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
The Rush to Crush the
First Amendment</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Published in the
Aiken Standard</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
August 21,2017</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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I have no tolerance for any organization or individual,
regardless of their names, who preach the unconstitutional treatment of any
persons residing in the US.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That should be enough to understand my
position on any cult that fits the "unconstitutional treatment"
group.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Evelyn Beatrice Hall said it best.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"I disapprove of what you say, but I
will fight to the death for your right to say it."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the essence of the right to free
speech contained in the First Amendment.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Out of the violence of Charlottesville,
VA not a word is heard about the rights of
the white supremacist to assemble and speak in compliance with a permit that
was originally approved by local authorities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>No matter how hateful their speech, absent the "Fire" in a
crowded theatre scenario, they have a Constitutional right to express
themselves.</div>
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<br /></div>
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But like dozens of riots across the nation over the past two
years, counter demonstrators who attend from all over the US
but seldom from the state in which the demonstration is held, arrive with masks
covering their faces with clubs and other weapons to assault what would,
otherwise, have been a peaceful demonstration.</div>
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<br /></div>
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These people are the source of the violence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet no one is looking to arrest or indict
these counter demonstrators.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one in
the justice department is looking to charge counter demonstrators with a
variety of assault charges.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fox news
showed a board/club with exposed screws protruding from the end of the
club.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not once did I hear or view a
source who would swear that this club was taken from the hands of one of the
demonstrators and not from a counter demonstrator.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Press and political language has been over the top
irresponsible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I include the President
in this group.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is this rush to
judgment, this use of language that can not be taken back, this weakness to
face the uncontrolled mobs of the politicians and the entire fourth estate that
make us vulnerable. </div>
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<br /></div>
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It is this crisis mode flamed by a repetitious press that
causes us to forget our and their Constitutional rights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of such events are governments over thrown
and replaced with tyrants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Allow the law
to give due process to the driver of the car and if found guilty of the charges,
expose him to the maximum sentences available.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Keep in mind, the more the TV stations beat this subject to death, the
more like minded domestic terrorist will be radicalized and their ranks swollen
from all the attention.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Have faith in your Constitution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If these wacko's from the most outlying fringes
of our society had been allowed to speak, three Americans would be alive today
and 20 injured would not have gone to hospital and the white supremacist dogma
would not have been spread all over the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Recall, seldom does a fanatic give up his/her fanaticism based on some hyped-up
news program or the blah, blah, blah of some vote scalping politician.</div>
SixtySomthinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07117246219064001202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299190578541970449.post-44791263751413638762016-12-19T03:18:00.001-05:002016-12-19T03:18:30.534-05:00VA Budget Letter to Senator Scott<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">From: Gus Fitch</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Colonel USMC (Ret)</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-outline-level: 3; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">To: Mr. Patrick Francescon</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Legislative Aide</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">C/O Senator Tim Scott</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">520 Hart Senate Bld</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Washington</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">DC</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">20510</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Subj:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The VA Budgets for the last
five years.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Greetings: Mr. Francescon</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">We have met once during a presentation of proposed legislation by
Concerned Veterans for </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">America</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and I stopped you at one of the
monuments on the Mall this week and asked for your card so that I could send
you the following:</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Is there criminal activity in the following narrative?</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/angry-house-members-berate-va-over-6-billion-in-improper-spending/2015/05/14/b9553130-fa59-11e4-9030-b4732caefe81_story.html?wpisrc=nl_pmpol&wpmm=1<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b><u>This story is peanuts compared to what
follows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is time that all of us
demonstrate our outrage at these activities of the VA</u></b></span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">I have been working on this discussion for
almost a year and I am certain that the problems I surface are known to you or
should be known to you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Read it as you
see fit, but make sure Senator Scott is acutely aware of the issue.</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">I would like to be clear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
concerns extend beyond the current problems of the VA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the VA is an example of a Government
agency that has the power to visit both good and evil on the everyday American
citizen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In our case with the VA, those
who served, share a common history and perhaps a common bond in that at some
point in our lives we swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of
the </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">United States</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and we did so at the time by serving
our nation in its armed forces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For a
single hitch or a career.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In war or in
peace, we did our part to the ability of our lights and gifts provided by our
creator.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">In the spirit of full
disclosure, I am a retired service member, so I do not need the services of the
VA at the present time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This in no way
lessens my concerns for my brother veterans.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-outline-level: 4;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">I am assuming that some one on the staff of Senator Scott has the job of
VA issues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you are not that person,
would you kindly route the package to the proper person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am out of words, energy and ideas that help
vets get the service they deserve so I am relying on you and your peers to make
things right for our warriors.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-outline-level: 4;">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Today the VA health care system
has grown from 54 hospitals in 1930 to include 171 medical centers; more than
700 outpatient, community, and outreach clinics; 126 nursing home care units;
and 35 domiciliaries. The VA employs nearly 280,000 people and has
requested a 2015 Budget of $163.9B out of a total of 3.901T.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This represents 4% of the nations
spending.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Next to the Department of
Defense, VA Affairs, now a Cabinet post, has a higher level of funding than any
of the rest of the Cabinet departments.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">We have a problem in our
house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a give-a-hoot problem. Less
than one percent of our population is on active duty or in the Reserves or
Guard units.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What this means is that
unless you have a direct relative (father, son, daughter, etc.) who has made
multiple deployments to the mid east or has been killed or wounded in combat
you are emotionally disconnected from the suffering of the veteran and of his
family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You may feel empathy, but there
is no sense of loss, suffering or financial stress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Without a larger population of military
personnel this condition will never change, but it is not hopeless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The term most commonly used for this
condition is "Skin in the game".<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Even a 25-year veteran like myself has no skin in this game. If you, are
like me, believe that war (American war fighting personnel and/or equipment
invades the land mass or the skies over said land mass of a sovereign nation) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>is the responsibility of the legislative
branch, then our current ability to apply military force to a foreign nation is
way out of line with our Constitution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However,
if we are correct about the responsibilities of the Congress, then part of the
duties of a declaration of war is to make sure the entire nation has skin in
the game whether they like it not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
not, then they can replace those that voted for a declaration of war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The easiest way to do this is levy a Federal
Sales tax.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There can be no exceptions
because you want every citizen to wake up each morning and ask the question...
is this war the right thing to do.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">If you do not have skin in
the game, there is a better than even chance that </span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Iraq</span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and </span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Afghanistan</span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> are a long way off and have no impact on you
or anyone you know.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Without this connection, its
possible that over 300 million Americans find it hard or impossible to be an
activist or even show interest for VA issues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As a side note, this lack of skin in the game makes it a lot easier for
the Executive Branch to initiate hostilities when he/she KNOWS that there will
be no response from the voting public because the fighting, dying, suffering
and unspeakable sacrifice is done by less than one percent of the population
and believe it or not they do not have the support nor lobbying powers of the
same people who sent them in hams way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This apathy is dangerous.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">I have been a participant
recently in lobbying my state's US senators and house members in their offices
to consider legislation that touches VA issues around its edges.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The legislation is not without value, but it
is a far cry from reforming a unionized bureaucracy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Regardless of what many will tell you, a
voice of one without billions of dollars behind him is a voice unheard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I should know.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">There are lots of issues that
you and your peers must handle each day and they all seem important.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the government sends men and women to die
and be maimed in some mindless extension of a failing foreign policy and then
allows their return to society to be<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>anything but their first priority every day then the government's
priorities and its national pride and traditions are marginalized to the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>point of emptiness.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">So what's to be done?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For me, I pick a single issue within the VA
and make every effort to put this issue in front of folks like you.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">My concern is the apparent
waste, and I would presume illicit or illegal budgetary misuse of tax payer
dollars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is not news.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is old boring waste and theft of the
taxpayers money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can feel the need to
yawn myself.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Please hear me out!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lets look at FedEx for a moment
and consider a comparison:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You may agree
that the US Marine Corps puts heavy emphasis on mission accomplishment. This
skill is one that translates to the civilian world easily.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So if we look at Fed Ex's numbers, you will
see a dramatic dichotomy in their comparison to the VA.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 4.5pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.45pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Annual FedEx Revenue</span></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 4.5pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.45pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">$39.3 billion</span></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 4.5pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.45pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Number of packages shipped annually by FedEx</span></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 4.5pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.45pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">1.2 billion</span></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 4.5pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.45pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Total miles traveled
each day by FedEx couriers (equivalent to 100 trips around earth)</span></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 4.5pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.45pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">2.5 million</span></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 3;">
<td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 4.5pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.45pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Number of countries and territories FedEx delivers to</span></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 4.5pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.45pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">220</span></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 4;">
<td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 4.5pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.45pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Number of full time FedEx employees</span></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 4.5pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.45pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">300,000</span></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 5;">
<td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 4.5pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.45pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Percent of shipped packages lost by FedEx</span></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 4.5pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.45pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">0.55 %</span></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 6;">
<td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 4.5pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.45pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Highest Historic Stock
Price </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Feb
17, 2007</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 4.5pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.45pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">$120.97</span></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 7;">
<td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 4.5pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.45pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lowest Historic Stock
Price </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">May
6, 1980</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 4.5pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.45pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">$2.50</span></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 8;">
<td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 4.5pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.45pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Number of delivery vans in the FedEx fleet</span></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 4.5pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.45pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">43,000</span></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 9;">
<td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 4.5pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.45pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Number of airplanes in the FedEx fleet</span></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 4.5pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.45pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">654</span></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 10;">
<td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 4.5pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.45pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">FedEx air fleet total
daily lift capacity</span></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 4.5pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.45pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">30 million pounds</span></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 11;">
<td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 4.5pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.45pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Total daily miles
traveled by the FedEx air fleet</span></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 4.5pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.45pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">500,000</span></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 12;">
<td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 4.5pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.45pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Amount FedEx paid to acquire
Kinko’s</span></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 4.5pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.45pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">$2.4 billion in cash</span></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 13;">
<td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 4.5pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.45pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Highest FedEx employee
salary – IT Manager</span></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 4.5pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.45pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">$123,000</span></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 14; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 4.5pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.45pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lowest FedEx employee
– Customer Service Representative</span></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 4.5pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.45pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">$10.42 / hour</span></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">The IT department of Fed Ex has
a budget of $1B per year with which they control, by the minute, those
activities I just mentioned and pay for all their R&D.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now lets look at what the VA is
doing.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">As of 2013, there were over
600,000 out of 900,000 claims that are over 125 days old.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the problem that is a failure to meet
standards set by the VA themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even
these "goals" are arbitrary and, as you are well aware, falsified at
every turn.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Here are the budget figures for
IT Infrastructure and Documentation improvements from 2011 through 2015</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin-left: 4.8pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 567px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 15.6pt; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td colspan="4" nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 234.05pt;" valign="bottom" width="390">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">All numbers are in BILLIONS of dollars.</span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="88">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="88">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.6pt; mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 87.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="145">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 3.4pt;" valign="bottom" width="6">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.6pt;" valign="bottom" width="128">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.8pt;" valign="bottom" width="111">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="88">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="88">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: .3in; mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: .3in; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 87.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="145">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">Fiscal Year</span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: .3in; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 3.4pt;" valign="bottom" width="6">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="height: .3in; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.6pt;" valign="bottom" width="128">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">IT Infrastructure</span></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="height: .3in; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.8pt;" valign="bottom" width="111">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">Benefit Processing</span></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: .3in; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="88">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">Total</span></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: .3in; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="88">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.6pt; mso-yfti-irow: 3;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 87.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="145">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">FY 2011</span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 3.4pt;" valign="bottom" width="6">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.6pt;" valign="bottom" width="128">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">3.3</span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.8pt;" valign="bottom" width="111">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">2.2</span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="88">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><b>5.5</b></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="88">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.6pt; mso-yfti-irow: 4;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 87.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="145">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">FY 2012</span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 3.4pt;" valign="bottom" width="6">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.6pt;" valign="bottom" width="128">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">3.1</span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.8pt;" valign="bottom" width="111">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">2</span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="88">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><b>5.1</b></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="88">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.6pt; mso-yfti-irow: 5;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 87.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="145">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">FY 2013</span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 3.4pt;" valign="bottom" width="6">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.6pt;" valign="bottom" width="128">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">3.3</span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.8pt;" valign="bottom" width="111">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">2.1</span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-right: double windowtext 2.25pt; border: none; height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="88">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><b>5.4</b></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="88">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><b>16</b></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.6pt; mso-yfti-irow: 6;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 87.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="145">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">FY 2014</span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 3.4pt;" valign="bottom" width="6">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.6pt;" valign="bottom" width="128">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">3.7</span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.8pt;" valign="bottom" width="111">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">2.5</span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="88">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><b>6.2</b></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="88">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 16.2pt; mso-yfti-irow: 7;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 16.2pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 87.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="145">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">FY 2015</span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 16.2pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 3.4pt;" valign="bottom" width="6">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: double windowtext 2.25pt; border: none; height: 16.2pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.6pt;" valign="bottom" width="128">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">3.9</span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: double windowtext 2.25pt; border: none; height: 16.2pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.8pt;" valign="bottom" width="111">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">2.5</span></span></div>
</td>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><b>6.4</b></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 16.2pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="88">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 16.2pt; mso-yfti-irow: 8; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 16.2pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 87.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="145">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">Total</span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 16.2pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 3.4pt;" valign="bottom" width="6">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 16.2pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.6pt;" valign="bottom" width="128">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><b>17.3</b></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 16.2pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.8pt;" valign="bottom" width="111">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><b>11.3</b></span></span></div>
</td>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><b>28.6</b></span></span></div>
</td>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">So the VA spent 16B dollars in
these two categories and the backlog skyrocketed to 600,000 waiting over 125
days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please note that these budget
request continue to this day and there is still a huge if less than 600,000
backlog.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Before he was relieved of duty/resigned,
Secretary Shinseki signed a five year $12B infrastructure contract with
fourteen Primary Contractors</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">These 14 Primary Contractors are
to run its IT infrastructure project.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Half
of the contractors were veteran/8(a) businesses and the other half was a whose
who of </span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Crystal</span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">City</span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> regulars. Try to imagine a project with 14 prime
contractors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you want to know who
is in charge, to whom do you go? </span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">Director Shinseki said that the "T4"
contracts…"will enable VA to acquire services for information technology
programs that will help insure timely delivery of health care and benefits to
our Veterans".<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wrong.</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">Spending 16B over those three years was not enough to do
what is in the quotes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The selected fourteen
companies will compete for task orders to integrate VA systems, network and
software to modernize the VA's information technology infrastructure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing in the report I read even hinted that
there was going to be any effort to ensure that each of the 14 companies
produce/procure hardware/software that was compatible with what the other 14
guys were doing and with what had already been done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So after spending the $16B the systems are
still not modern.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This year, the
"T4" contract was turned into the "T4NG" project and
applied an additional $22B over five years with a possible five year extension.
It was interesting to note that in five years of Major Appropriation Issues the
acronyms of "T4" or "T4NG" do not appear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One hates to guess where this money comes
from but more importantly where does it go!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A single $22B contract that has no visible funding line? </span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">(Patrick: It is really hard to be nice and polite when
thinking of those who bleed the nation of its resources for reasons of greed,
rice bowl maintenance and power retention. )</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">A contract of this size
requires a government project manager superman to keep this bunch of folks in
line and to keep a $12B program from turning into a $35 B program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sorry, its already turned into $22B
contract.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the VA is anything like the
Department of the Navy, (I was a supporting contractor for a Navy black
program) there is no where near enough expertise in all 300,000 employees to
even define what their IT and documentation needs are. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If there were, they would not need this
contract. Here is what<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the VA's </span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Technical</span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Acquisition</span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Center</span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> says the goals of the T4NG contract are: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">"...acquire IT and Telecommunication
services for program management and strategy planning, system/software
engineering, enterprise network, cyber security, operation and maintenance and
IT facility support".</b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So the VA
is going to spend $28B over five years out of its normal budget process but
will be adding, off budget apparently, $22B to fix, redo, modernize or some
other meaningless expression to what has just been done but is totally unsat.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">This much money brings out the
worst in all of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Losing bidders
before the ink was dry was challenging this contract.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The details are a repetition of most large
government contracts and are ho hum in the land of the Beltway Bandit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this time, our wounded band of brothers
is the target for getting screwed by greed, ineptitude, arrogance and the abyss
of red tape ready and waiting courtesy of the existing unionized bureaucracy.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Is the status of fraud, waste
and abuse so engrained in our government that our representatives seem to yawn when
almost $51B dollars has or will be spent with no visible change in waiting
periods for the veterans that can be attributed to what has been and will be
spent?</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Some where in this mess, a
group of employees and contractors are directly or indirectly enriching
themselves at the trough of the American taxpayer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Should anyone in DC really want to fix the VA
department, just make all 300,000 employees join the same health plan as the
veterans.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">So, why does no one ask the VA
a couple of questions:</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Show me the hardware and
firmware that my money purchased.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Show me the single database
software you are using for </span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">ALL</span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> of the
VA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Show me the database search engine
and its ability to query every piece of data the VA owns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the single database, show me a list of
database managers who are schooled and certified in this single database.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are they the same people that were submitted
in the proposal response to the RFP and who will stay with the project for no
less than two years.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">What telecommunications
network?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where is the requirement
statement for such a network. How many management hours are charged to each of
the 14 prime contractors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Charges that
produce not one line of code or one minute of bug testing, discovery and fix. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">What if these questions have
already been asked but we don't know the answers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Answers that may have been in some email on
some unknown server and erased contrary to VA and GAO accounting
procedures?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your mail, email, phone
calls and personal visits must clearly show that the American public does not
trust its own government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All these
negatives notwithstanding, lets keep sticking the issues with our trusty lance.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lets assume that this money
reduces the more than 125 day wait for veterans from 600,000 to 50,000.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The cost to bring each veteran out of the 125
day wait is one million dollars per veteran.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My arithmetic must be wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No
one would do this to </span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">America</span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">'s taxpayers.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">This discussion has been about
a very small portion of the VA Budget.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yet, if my observations are close, if the National Debt continues to
rise past $18T, if the Fed and Treasury continue to print money based on just a
promise to honor its debts, if Servicing the National Debt reaches $1T a year,
if revenues do not increase past $3+T then this nation and its experiment in
Democracy are in a "Clear and Present Danger".</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Where you work is
intoxicating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The power, privilege and
perks available to Congressmen and Senators and their staffs is far too habit
forming for any normal human to withstand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Washington</span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> is no longer the Washington of Jefferson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every news program points to a body of
evidence that men and women who have fallen to the power of money abound in </span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Washington</span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">'s government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is unhealthy and unbefitting a nation of our stature.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">The solution to the ills of the
VA and all the rest of the departments that work with a unionized work force is
to separate unions from the government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Since this chore is immeasurably difficult and may be impossible, it is
in your hands to find a way out, you are now the Best and Brightest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Help this land that is unique in world
history and help the Veterans, not with money, but with a population of vets as
employees in the VA and a skipper to run the ship with the power to hire and
fire at will.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He should serve at the pleasure
of the President but not necessarily at the direction of the President.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don't trust my analysis, do
your own and fulfill the promise this Nation makes to each service member it
deploys or sends to war.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Respectfully,</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Augustus Fitch </span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">III</span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Colonel USMC (Ret)</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">References:</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">http://www.legion.org/veteransbenefits/218716/claims-backlog-working-group-issues-report</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">http://www.va.gov/budget/docs/summary/archive/FY-2011_VA-BudgetSubmission.zip</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">http://www.va.gov/budget/docs/summary/archive/FY-2012_VA-BudgetSubmission.zip</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">http://www.va.gov/budget/docs/summary/archive/FY-2013_VA-BudgetSubmission.zip</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">http://www.va.gov/budget/docs/summary/archive/FY-2014_VA-BudgetSubmission.zip</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Times New Roman";">http://www.va.gov/budget/docs/summary/archive/FY-2015_VA-BudgetSubmission.zip</span></span></span></div>
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<![endif]--><span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"></span>SixtySomthinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07117246219064001202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299190578541970449.post-63012482490708751272016-04-22T03:42:00.000-04:002016-04-22T03:42:50.778-04:00Wings, Go Figure<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 20.0pt;">Wings, Go Figure<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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You would think that I tire of experiencing and writing
about my metaphorical Strings of Historical Experience. As you can see, I do not.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When it has nothing to do with motorcycles, RC Aircraft or
fishing I am not fond of running errands all over this wonderful little
town. But it is a beautiful day and one
may be ecstatic about the future by just breathing in and out. So, breathing in and out, I walk into my
primary healthcare physicians office to make an appointment for my annual
physical. I am only 74, what could go
wrong?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As I close the door to the office, my gaze fell on a
gentleman that I could have sworn I had seen or met before. The plasma string does its job and starts
spinning around in the abyss while I converse with the person behind the desk
and finally set a mutual date for the exam.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I now have one of my favorite chores of the day that must be
done without moving from my current position.
I start with the right wallet and discover what I am looking for is not
in that wallet. I now go for the left
wallet and in there, I find a place to put my oversized SSN and VA cards into a
secure but visible location.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I know before I turnaround that I am going to speak to man
in the chair and see if we have anything in common. I walk over toward him and he stands before I
reach his outstretched hand. This boy is
one of us, some how I know, but not really.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I tell the gent that his face is very familiar but I can not
put a name or place to his face. I sit
down across from him and he seems warm and friendly. We touch on the regular places,
times and conditions but find no commonality.
I don't believe it for a minute.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then, out of the blue he blurts out Semper Fi. My God its another Marine in sheep's
clothing. We do the obligatory, when did
you go in and when did you get out fairly quickly and I tell him my experiences
with 232 and he immediately gets a wry
smile on his face. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you have ever written a Fitness Report you will
understand just how hard it is to say something unique about an individual when
you are writing 20 or more reports. I am
anticipating some comment that I will remember when I have to write his
report. This is one hell of a long way
from "Hey how are you?" to working on a mythical FitRep. My new brother says nothing and just stares
at me. Nothing is forthcoming and I give my new friend by best WHAT! The
stories now flow unrestricted. He recounted
several tails of 232 when she was his sister squadron at Kaneohe Bay, HI flying
F-8's I hope my passion for this bad ass
looking aircraft was not completely obvious.
I lowered my eyes to think about his memory and they fell on a joyous
sight. This Marine fighter pilot was the
only man, other than my best friend Dick Ward who had a set of Naval Aviator
wings bent and cut to make a finger ring for nothing more than pride of
accomplishment. He must have had the
wings for a long time because back in the day, we used to polish the wings
often and with vigor to flatten out the vertical lines on the shield bisecting
a fouled anchor. The object, of course,
is to find ways to be slightly different from all the other pilots and look
salty. I told him he was the only guy
other than Dick I knew who had a set of wings on his finger and he replied that
I was only the second guy he knew who had wings cut and bent.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHd4YBRbiZq6crwABqRDJlAS3nDHhO0X3lULZ3fUga9vGwbrQH6taTJN2yF1d0Xh4eAgejjorsqPVj1-pyxG5XqxVjBfQ0TFyn7heBifUK6rasawbUUH0A4oz_WCNErKWDXSavmFJaviw/s1600/IMG_20160422_243543513%255B2%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHd4YBRbiZq6crwABqRDJlAS3nDHhO0X3lULZ3fUga9vGwbrQH6taTJN2yF1d0Xh4eAgejjorsqPVj1-pyxG5XqxVjBfQ0TFyn7heBifUK6rasawbUUH0A4oz_WCNErKWDXSavmFJaviw/s320/IMG_20160422_243543513%255B2%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I find it sort of disappointing that the US Navy spends
about $1.5M @ in 1966 dollars to train a Naval Aviator so adding a set of wings
for wear on your uniform and another set of wings to wear on a finger does not
seem excessive. They could make it
optional and have the Aviator pay a part of the cost of the ring. It's a little bit like being a ring knocker
without any BS or BA or date. Just a
plain set of Aviator Wings. Way cool.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We talked for awhile about the Corps and what was happening
to a group that for over two hundred years had done the bidding of the nation
and lived up to its motto, "Always Faithful". That loyalty had, for over two hundred years,
been abused, slandered, made to do without except an order to do even more with
less and seldom shielded the soldiers of the sea from the greed and avarice of
the politics of the DC elite and their one and only loyalty toward
reelection. It must take a special kind
of character to intentionally make a decision that will enrich you personally
and at the same time cause financial, physical and/or mental anguish for
millions, many whom voted for you. They
are able to do this because they can spin a story of corruption or greed or avarice,
take you pick, just to get reelected.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Do you sleep well? If
so, WHY! Because there is soooooo much
money in DC, most of it from taxpayers, it can be used to gain access to the
inner sanctum's of the decision making process. Decisions made in the halls of
the offices of the Senate and the House are as likely to be compacts with the
devil as not. The reader may have a
different view, but if you get the opportunity have a one on one with one of
these guys, you will not be surprised at the shallowness of their personalities. They have reasons: They are in and out of meetings, hearings,
speech making on the floor, TV, Radio and Twitter deadlines, selling their
souls to get the money to run again for this ungodly and, according to most
polls, the lowest rated profession in all of <st1:country-region>America</st1:country-region>. Why?
Two reasons. One, they can make a
fortune while in office and two, in less than a week on the job, they will have
become addicted to the power, the perks and the privileges of the office.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This may be the most powerful of addictions on the
planet. There are few acts, natural and
unnatural they won't perform, lies they won't tell, stories they won't spin but
most of all the screwing they will give to the American taxpayer just to get reelected.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I met a stranger today who turned out to be one of the
better representations of a Band of Brothers who. strangely, like most of us,
is, if not pissed to the max, is incredibly disappointed with all of the
"leadership" that goes missing every minute of every day. I find myself speaking of four star officers
who may have, at one time, been combat leaders of the very best quality, would
crawl over razor wire to take care of their troops, insured that all of worth
were rewarded in kind and saw to care and feeding of the stressed families at
home. Now, in terms that are as odious
to write as they are to read they have become, just to stay alive in the DC
political arena, cowards and weaklings who will not stand up for the fighting
force in which, at some time in the past, he served as a military commander, a
motivator, steadfast in combat, loyal to those who work until they can give no
more and those who are killed and maimed in a war that these same four stars
are now responsible for executing. The
civilians take the training money and these so called Joint Chiefs of Staff
wring their hands and huddle in fear of a non-combatant, pencil necked geek who
expects loyalty up the chain but has no thoughts of loyalty down the
chain. These five see their fighting
forces dwindling to third world capability and do nothing. They see men with whom they serve and served being driven from the
service, relieved of command without cause, speak truthfully of conditions but
speak in way that is not in alignment with current policies. They see all this and do nothing. Not one resignation in protest to policies
and ROE that puts Airmen, Soldiers, Marines and Sailors in harms way and denies
them the tools and rules to kick ass and win a military victory from a rag tag
7th century bunch of uneducated yet fearsome individuals. While knowing that a permanent or long term ground
victory is almost out of the question, these same four stars allow their troops
to be rotated and rotated and rotated until they have burned the fire from
their hearts, lost wives and children to the frequent and long separations and
with a criminal, my opinion, sense of apathy toward our combat veterans
abrogated their last vestige of military discipline and loyalty from all who, by
law, must follow the orders from those who now lack the moral authority to
participate any further in their current positions and rank. As if to partially make up for past failures,
they should all stand up in front of every MSM TV camera and resign in mass and
tell their story of the last seven years of waging war under the current
administration. It is the very least
they can do.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All I really wanted to do was tell you about the ring on the
finger of a fellow Marine combat pilot.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gus</div>
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<br /></div>
SixtySomthinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07117246219064001202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299190578541970449.post-10133623900729572612016-01-05T05:04:00.000-05:002016-01-05T05:18:07.995-05:00Why An Early Get Up<div style="text-align: center;">
Why An Early Get Up</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Gus Fitch</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
5 January 2016</div>
<br />
<br />
Its 0645 on the bank of Golden Pond on Club Drive. Before I took these shots, the sky and its contact with the pond's water are black. There is not enough light for a mirror image, yet. Some where straight ahead just out of sight, is an owl who is "singing" like no owl I have ever heard or seen. The bird's utterances are so loud that the raptor seems sitting on your shoulder. It is the only distraction from the ground fog that covers the pond and softens the details of any object or living thing.<br />
<br />
Decades ago, I was taught in flight school that several conditions must exist before ground fog can be seen. First, the dew point and the temperature must be within 2-4 degrees of one another and there should be a breeze of four knots, no more, to stir the air and give birth to a weather phenomenon that floats only a couple of inches above the surface of the earth and does not usually get higher than a six foot man. Between these limits, visibility is zero until the warmth of new day heats the air and returns the ground fog to liquid droplets or back to a gaseous water vapor. The sensitivity of ground fog to the delta between dew point and temperature may be visualized by an early morning ride with Rex Decker. We were motoring east on I-90 in South Dakota when we entered a stretch of road, I know not its length, that was marked by very sine wave moguls each less than a hundred feet in altitude. The low point of each wave was filled with ground fog. You had to slow down to a crawl because all that was visible as we descended to the bottom of each mogul, was the white center line of the Interstate. We would slowly motor up the front of the next mogul and come out of the fog long enough to take a deep breath and descend again into the white void. Since the moguls were so shallow, we were amazed that 100 feet, with less than one degree in temperature and due point spread change, could make such thick ground fog.<br />
<br />
This misty cloudlette always seems to add a sense of foreboding to any scene in which it plays a part.<br />
<br />
What lies behind, under or within the visual barrier? No one knows with the possible exception of the Shadow. It's all about imagination, yours and mine.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiREewVMFQyYilkmkz2TSfxsm4ECyU6ww4wN5e7aGavkqdTuf-jEJj7KPT4Peg2Q20yo903E59AxF5WBEXNedHP4mchaWeJxrRhcNyr8piY2Tbl1x5-649l-YE5c0wXI2WUDn64vD1arEo/s1600/golden+pond+0706.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiREewVMFQyYilkmkz2TSfxsm4ECyU6ww4wN5e7aGavkqdTuf-jEJj7KPT4Peg2Q20yo903E59AxF5WBEXNedHP4mchaWeJxrRhcNyr8piY2Tbl1x5-649l-YE5c0wXI2WUDn64vD1arEo/s400/golden+pond+0706.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a>Let there be no argument that the beauty of the surrounding landscape is softened, the objects of the pond are put out of focus, the fog's light bending powers changes the color of the water, the vegetation but most especially the sky. An observer need not feel or see the ground fog covering him up to impact all things seen. Any amount of liquid water suspended in the air will put the mark of nature on its colors and forms. <br />
<br />
The photo, close by, was taken at 7:06AM and there is a mild chill in the air and the surface of the pond is a perfect mirror even in these poor light conditions. I am standing with the water over the ankles of my water and snake proof boots. I have both hands on my spinning rod imitating some Samurai warrior and I am like a statue in a town square...immovable and gray. If I should take a selfie at this moment, I am sure my mouth would be open signifying my complete absorption in taking it all in.<br />
<br />
I am most familiar with this pond. As a result, I note the differences that I see on a clear sunny day compared to what I am looking at now. I can not see the storm fallen pine lying flat in the water with Bream and Bass using its boughs as hiding places from larger predators. But, I know its there and its presence is comforting. The pine's profile will soon have its veil lifted and the black and shadow encrusted object will reveal the last few green Long Leaf needles and the rough texture of its bark. I see these things in my head and wait until I can, once again, view the whole object as it's enemies coordinate their efforts to remove the last living cells from its proud trunk and roots. Like us all, it passes away. Although the pine and a best friend may end up as ashes, death, lacks the ability to rob us of our memories, our passions and verbal recollections shared with a best friend in times gone by.<br />
<br />
Soak it all up at every opportunity.<br />
<br />
Soak what up? I do not have a clue. I only know I feel it when I can start a conversation with a perfect stranger and have the stranger join in the conversation to create a dialog about any given subject. Appropriately, I also feel it in what might be called my "soul". This may be an emotionally charged word, but the beauty that surrounds us, envelops us, caresses us and provides a visceral sensation of goodness, attaches itself to our better angels and we are better off because of the power of beauty.<br />
<br />
To paraphrase a line from the "Dead Poets Society"...suck the marrow out of life every day.<br />
<br />
It may be trite, but for those of my generation..." the end cometh, and that right soon", makes the reality of a human frailty, death, as much a part of life as birth. However, the fact that death is closer to us now than it was 50 years ago seems sad to contemplate. What is sad to contemplate is our propensity to allow so many opportunities to slip away through slough and apathy. We squander the chance to absorb the contents of character and the possibility of friendship of a fellow human traveler. These opportunities, frittered away, can not be restored.<br />
<br />
Here, from one far more skilled than I:<br />
<br />
Fog.<br />
The fog comes<br />
on little cat feet.<br />
<br />
It sits looking<br />
over harbor and city<br />
on silent haunches<br />
and then moves on.<br />
<br />
Carl Sandburg<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
SixtySomthinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07117246219064001202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299190578541970449.post-20925544243194299372015-12-22T01:02:00.000-05:002015-12-22T01:04:15.859-05:00The Wonder of Friendship<p>Over the past few years, I have had the great honor to become friends with a fellow veteran and career enlisted member of our armed forces. My friend has the same set of challenges with family, loss of memory and failing health that now seeks each of us out to rob of us our manliness, our independence and our ever changing relationships with members of our families. But, most of all we view the loss of our pride and self worth as the ultimate degradation of our generation. These losses are worsened when our ideas, hardened in the kiln of trial and error, sharpened by the wheel of generations of experience and learning are cast aside by those who hold that only the young have new ideas and a false realization that they have the answer to problems as old as civilization it self. <p>Within this context, there is real pain when a member of this group slowly loses the capability of mobility, concentration as well as his hearing and eyesight. These changes are now hastening to the wrong side of the equation and he is more and more dependent on others in a way that he has never known. I, with great pleasure, join him with others of his ilk for two hours of banter and war stories each month. My friend feels lost in the midst of those who have not worn the uniform and will withdraw into himself if not stimulated by conversation directed directly at him. <p>My friend is now seeking answers to questions that have no answers yet he is be-Deviled by the forces arrayed to his front that seem to hinder his every move to regain lost honors and respect that are now forever lost to our generation. <p>Today, my friend experienced the worst scenario a whole man could ever experience. To describe the actual event would be the same as revealing his ID, which I will never do. If you are prudish, read no further. <p>Imagine you have two broken arms that do not allow you touch any part of your anatomy. You are in a public rest room and you must urinate soon or soil your clothing. Try to feel the sense of self revulsion that he would heap upon his own head if he had to beg someone to unzip his fly and then hold his penis while he urinated. Are you embarrassed to read the last sentence. Can you possibly cast yourself as the man with the broken arms in this ugly play. <p>Although fictional, my friend and I went through all the emotions we would experience in a real case with the same or similar attack on a man’s pride. It’s all he has left and he is compelled to expose this “weakness” in the presence of his fellow veteran but understands that both give succor to each other to vanquish the shame of each. The gallantry this man demonstrated, when he was removed from the offensive site, is both a tribute to his cultural morals and the ability of a man to overcome personal adversity, but also bears witness to the fact that man is not alone on this orb and it is man that begs the void to find him a home and the right to seek a path to happiness. There are many perils that life, a cruel and heartless mistress, holds for the future of my friend. May his creator give him space and time to address each challenge as it arrives. <p>In the meantime, words of worth from Benjamin Franklin: <a href="http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/8225.html">All human situations have their inconveniences. We feel those of the present but neither see nor feel those of the future; and hence we often make troublesome changes without amendment, and frequently for the worse.</a></p>SixtySomthinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07117246219064001202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299190578541970449.post-81515701848366162682015-12-06T09:50:00.000-05:002015-12-08T02:27:30.449-05:00I am a Vietnam Vet<div class="MsoNormal">
I am a <st1:country-region>Vietnam</st1:country-region>
Vet, 1969. Flew Marine F-4s out of
ChuLai. Our return to the nation and had done its bidding was a national
humiliation that showed no sign of shame. I got <st1:place>PO</st1:place>'d at
this reception at the time, but now it is far worse. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our soldiers, sailors and Marines are all volunteers and are
trained better, have much better equipment and lots of loyalty to their
services. What they don't have is
leadership. The current Chiefs of
the services are politicians, not
warriors. I don't care if they deserved the
Navy Cross while they were commanding troops in the field, their failure
to do what is right for the nation and the services is spun just like a
California politician. It has always
been a mystery to me why a three star or
four star flag office would not fall on his sword over a worth while
project. What are they going to do? Shave his head and send him to <st1:country-region>Afghanistan</st1:country-region>? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here is why I care about these flag officers and their lack
of leadership. They, Them, all who have
commanded troops on a battle field should "Man Up" and testify before
Trey Gowdy's committee on the VA. They
should humble themselves before the nation for allowing that which is the life
of a current day veteran to become another national cancer on its soul. Although the Wounded Warrior Project has done some good work, the
nation should be mad as hell that it takes a private organization with high
over head cost to help some of our vets. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is a job for the nation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yet, get ready, less than one tenth of one percent of our population
has a family or friend of the family who even knows of a <st1:country-region>Iraq</st1:country-region>
or <st1:country-region>Afghanistan</st1:country-region>
veteran who has been killed or horribly wounded. By the way, I was a 25 year career Marine and
I don't have a square inch of skin in this game. I look at it differently, of course, but no
one I know has been killed our wounded in these two countries. So the odds are that its a 360 million to one
chance that some one who is reading what I have written gives a damn about any
of our vets. If this comment hurts your
sensitivity, don't look to me for sympathy.
Could I be wrong? Where are the
marches on the Mall. Where are the
emails and phone calls from a population of over 300 million. They are volunteers who put their butts on
the ground in harms way and when they return with missing parts, we rely on The
Wounded Warrior Project to help them.
Shame on all of us. A nation who
employs gladiators to do its political bidding yet lacks the guts to fund their
needs. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have a son who
files an income tax return, but does not make enough to pay any taxes. Yet our government "Gives" him
$1000 for not paying any taxes. The
democracy begins its final fall when the population discovers that it can put
government money in its pockets as a function of who they vote for. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This treatment of veterans is as old as the nation
itself. In 1932 at the worst part of the
depression, veterans and their wives and children built a shack town on the
mall called Hoverville. The President
called his Army Chief of Staff and told him to disperse the veterans. The Army Chief of Staff, mounted his horse
and led, infantry, <st1:place>Calvary</st1:place>, and 600 civilian policemen
to disperse the mob. Some were killed or
wounded. This hero of the Nation who
saved the government from a coup of desperate farmers, factory workers, etc who
had been promised a post war bonus when they enlisted. The President, the Supreme Court and the
Congress all spit in the face of those who had died and been wounded for their
nation and refused to pay the bonus.
This heroic charge up the Mall was none other than General Douglas
McArthur whose Yankee grandfather won the Congressional Medal of Honor for
bravery in a civil war. So if you really
give a hoot about your veterans, get in the face of your Senator and House
members and force them to tell you why we keep a Federal Services Union in the
ranks of government employees when their binding arbitration is not paid by
stockholders who are looking at making a profit but are paid for by tax payers
who have no say in this obvious form of taxation. If you have read this far, know this...the VA
MUST be rid of unions if it is ever to be of value to our veterans. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So when you may question the motives of the government in
supporting the Vets just remember old Dugout Doug who ran troops he had
commanded in combat off the mall yet flew like a coward in the dark of night
and left Gen Wainwright (sp) to suck up the loses on Corregidor and the Bataan Death March. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So if you are a veteran, please give up accepting thanks for
your service and implore that the giver write his representatives in Congress
and pull the unions out of the VA and demand that 30% of its employees be
veterans. As long as the unions stay,
your gladiators will be screwed until the end of time. Alas, I forgot, none of us have any skin in
the game so none of us will do anything or even care. Pity.
This apathy allows you to allow the very rich in the Congress to send
even more troops to their deaths or maiming for God only knows what. You and I don't know what, but you can bet it
has to do with them getting richer or holding on to their seat of power, perks
and privilege . Write or call me and
show me the error of my ways.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gus Fitch</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Colonel USMC (Ret) <st1:country-region>VietNam</st1:country-region>
vet</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
803-649-6466 (hm)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
803-617-9085 (cell)</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
pncfzfn@gmail.com</div>
SixtySomthinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07117246219064001202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299190578541970449.post-19868126286697290512015-10-28T22:48:00.000-04:002015-10-28T22:48:00.431-04:00My Uncle Bill<br />
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 3.5in; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sunday, February 2, 2014<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">My Uncle Bill<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If looks were all its about, he could be in his late
seventies, but his birthday is the 27th of January and he will be ninety
three.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is a member, in good standing,
of The Greatest Generation and would wrinkle his brow while some one tried to explain
why he was the greatest of anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
the end, his boundless humility would allow him to issue a statement on the discussion,
which would be, "Bunk".<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
William J. Babcock is my mother's younger brother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is the father of nine children and has
heard all the jokes relative to fathering a large family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is all these things but he is also my
Uncle Bill.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My Uncle Bill has lived in the Pittsford, NY area for most
of his adult life and from all outward signs, less his terrible hearing, he is
still very independent <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and protective of
that independence. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have driven from Aiken, SC to Pittsford, NY to help
celebrate his 93rd Birthday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I was
driving to Pittsford, I had plenty of time to reflect on my relationship with my
uncle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In truth, compared to most of my
peers, there is little resemblance to the times I spent with my Uncle Bill and
the times other children enjoyed with their immediate family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have
not kept a record, but my guess is I have spent less than a half a dozen times
with Uncle Bill when our presence together was 24 hours or more and we had the
time and place to speak for more than an hour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This recollection spans a period of more than sixty years and the
separation of over 900 miles.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is hard, when you are a child, to understand just how
hectic a household can be when there are nine children living under the same
roof.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are nine unique
personalities, each with its own set of needs, emotional dispositions and
willingness to sacrifice a portion of its desires for the benefit of the
household.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To survive, it is clear that patience and unqualified love
are required in abundance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am far too
separated from the Babcock family of my mother to snatch a glimmer of the
interactions of my Uncle Bill and my Aunt Teed and the rest of the children and
pretend that I understand their lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For the most part, my Uncle appeared to be calm and resigned to the
constant chaos that surrounded his life.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Given the above, you would guess that our relationship is
thin and perhaps weak.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But you would be
wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What we have is not possessed by
most of his closest relatives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
served, of our own free will, our nation in war and combat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those experiences, whether in WW II or
Vietnam possess common threads of experience that are difficult to describe and
in some cases, painful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But in this one
case, in part, I believe, due to my interest in history, we are able to talk
tactics, strategy and most importantly, our relationships with fellow warriors
that for some period of time were more trusting and committed to mutual self
preservation than any feelings we may have held for any member of our
family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do not understand this version
of love but I have felt it and know it to be true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is the glue that adheres men to one
another in ugly times and is what makes a universal Band of Brothers. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In 1968, so the story goes, a Marine Lance Corporal, Tim
Craft, dug in at Khe San for 77 days, is credited with the following..."For
those who have fought for it, Freedom, has a flavor the protected shall never
know."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just in case you never heard
of Khe San, during the 77-day siege, the base received approximately 1,600
rounds of mixed artillery ever single day, all day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This translates to one shell every 30 seconds
24/7 for 77 days.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am in one thought pattern, proud of my Uncle Bill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not just for his military experiences, but
for the discipline it takes to be a father of nine for decades.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Secondly, I am sad that our opportunities to
spend time with each other approaches the limits of age.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will visit when I can.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Were that our nation was 100% William J. Babcock's.<o:p></o:p></div>
SixtySomthinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07117246219064001202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299190578541970449.post-7943350931572617302015-10-28T15:24:00.001-04:002015-10-28T22:56:40.006-04:001957 Boy Scout Jamboree at Valley Forge<p> <p>I was looking for a picture of me at Saufley AAF just outside of Pensacola, FL for an OCS reunion and I came across a batch of pics of my Scout Troop and the trip of our then very short lives. <p>Scouting for me being 72" tall and weighing 98 lbs (In high school) was the only activity from which I could derive a feeling of self worth and accomplishment. <p>My scout master, Julius Walker (Jay) McKay, was a graduate of the Citadel and served as the officer in charge of a battery of quad 50s in Europe during WW II; he was a Lawyer in Columbia who was a bachelor and had time and resources to be one of the finest leaders and educator of young boys and later young men that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Although I am a person of many words, none could fit the dedication and commitment this man had for the boys of Troop 4 of St. Martins-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church. To steal a phrase, "Surly goodness and mercy shall follow him all the days of his life, and he shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever." <p>I may not have all this right, but Jay was a member of the law firm McKay, McKay, Black and Walker and they were on retainer with the Southern Pacific Railroad. <p>In 1957 the Boy Scouts of America held a Jamboree at Valley Forge, Virginia. Jay decided that we, Troop 4, should attend. Jay knew almost everyone in the flat lands of SC including Strom Thurman and Fritz Hollings. So he started gathering materials and support for the scouts to build a stockade block house that could be disassembled and reassembled. All this was accomplished on his property we called Holly Springs several miles out hwy 76, I think. We had a friend of Jays sew up enough canvas to make tee pees for all who were going to the Jamboree. We spent hours painting the designs on the canvas and making all of our Indian costumes that we wore during our "rain" dance. When the time came, I was given the job of driving the troop moving van that was a donation from one of the members of the church. I had to make several round trips to transfer all the stuff for the block house, tee pees, chow, rolls of binders twine, a couple sets of uniforms and all the patches and stuff we owned to trade at the Jamboree from the church to the loading platform of the Southern Pacific Railroad. I might have been 15. We loaded the freight cars, mounted the passenger cars, said our farewells and started on a journey none would soon forget. <p>There were over 50,000 Scouts at the Jamboree and we arrived in our own personal Pullman Car and two freight cars that cost the scouts nothing other than the Registration at the Jamboree. I can feel the excitement right now. What an experience for most of us who had never been out of the state of SC. What a great week! This was how a young boy, with the proper model and a man who created discipline by example learned the values of sharing, working for success of the Troop, respect for elders, firearms and mother nature. I was not big or strong enough to play any high school sport, but Scouting, hunting and fishing with my scout friends were, in the long run, a far better growth pattern than I probably deserved. Two of my early years best friends are in one or more of the attached pics. The only one with a name is Tommy Turner the other is wearing a black cowboy hat in one of the pics and his name is Rock Garick. He and I ride motorcycles to this very day and remain good friends. Tommy and I spent all our days when not in school, hunting and fishing. We carved long bows from lemon wood and made arrows from dowels procured from the local saw dust floor hardware store. The dowels cost money so we were very careful in their construction and care. We would practice all day long. You could kick a wax milk carton in the air and Tommy and I could each put an arrow in it before it hit the ground. <p>We had no bird dogs so Quail hunting was nothing more than walking through a woods with hope to flush a covey up. Although we both had shot guns given to us by our fathers, the shells were beyond our means. So we purchased a Wamo Sling Shot and doubled the length of the surgical tubing. We discarded the leather sling and replaced it with a piece of hog hide that was wider and longer than the piece that came with the Wamo. 25 cents for a round cardboard tube of BBs and we are ready for the hunt. We would pour about half the BBs in our mouth and spit four or five into the enlarged hide sling. You are going to have to take my word for this, but if a bird jumped up, you can pull, aim and release in half the time it takes you to get off a round from a smooth bore. As soon as you released, you turned the hide inside out and spit more BBs into the sling and you were ready for any singles. If we flushed three coveys, we would bring home at least two birds brought down by the Wamo. I will admit we did find that many a time we had wandered onto a piece of property for which we had not permission to hunt. <p>All this activity was unconsciously woven into our lives with the Scout troop. Above all, we, the pubescent, understood the value and power of loyalty and honesty with each other. My first job out of college was in NYC and it took less than a couple of day to realize that these two precious traits from childhood held no value in the big city. The United States Marine Corps made it clear that loyalty and honesty were not just traditional ideas but a way of life when life depends on the reliability of those on your flanks. <p> I will never forget the scorn, embarrassment and disappointment of my father when he found out I had lied to a neighbor. In my day in Columbia, SC, a place in the deep south, to tell a lie was not just a mark of rudeness and improper rearing, but marked your mother and father as well. Shame is one hell of teacher. This is especially true if its your actions that bring it to the door step of a loved one. It's in short supply these days. <p>If you have read this far and in the unlikely event you are wondering why you received this email or why I took the time to tell you the story, the answer is personal and simple. When I looked at the pictures of the Jamboree, I was alone in my bedroom and all these memories started to flow back into my conscience. You are fortunate I only told you a couple, there are a lot more. <p> I was proud of my time in the Scouts and I thought about each of you individually and how, in my memory, we had shared through accident or coincidence, a number of life's lessons in a dozen different ways. Its all a little mushy but I thought some might find it refreshing from today's news. <p>Rock:Pass along to Damo if you like. <p>I have attached some pics of the Jamboree. I took most of them with a Kodak Brownie, great camera. <p>Enjoy. <p> <p>-- <p><img src="https://ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/mail/images/cleardot.gif"> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O6CaF6EULHc/VjEg4NL_xqI/AAAAAAAAGC4/_bW5BS4v7Pg/s1600-h/47%25252C000%252520Scouts%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img title="47,000 Scouts" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="47,000 Scouts" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-D-3HzCltNyQ/VjEg4onYREI/AAAAAAAAGC8/u2dJWyZWuiA/47%25252C000%252520Scouts_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="176"></a><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-l7ve-rjYeMM/VjEg5OZekDI/AAAAAAAAGDI/VRhCou8vU5A/s1600-h/Another%252520Pullman%252520shot%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img title="Another Pullman shot" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Another Pullman shot" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9qA6TTXNDDI/VjEg5wjmXgI/AAAAAAAAGDM/ULQF6LXjuE0/Another%252520Pullman%252520shot_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="176"></a></p> <blockquote> <p>47,000+ Boy Scouts Pullman Car gathering</p></blockquote> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xQX9Jeg9CYU/VjEg6GUWgXI/AAAAAAAAGDU/AbGs2KSB_3c/s1600-h/Assistant%252520Scout%252520Masters%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img title="Assistant Scout Masters" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Assistant Scout Masters" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dp_DS6jZ0Qw/VjEg6iXgfDI/AAAAAAAAGDc/5Xe55Ug3d8s/Assistant%252520Scout%252520Masters_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="223"></a><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6tmQ_0hBVsY/VjEg7D2tjEI/AAAAAAAAGDk/O7CphYaIm6w/s1600-h/Farewell%252520Group%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img title="Farewell Group" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Farewell Group" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OU6ZIG8NcxI/VjEg7ZMjxII/AAAAAAAAGDs/7TVxvSy_9eY/Farewell%252520Group_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="177"></a></p> <p>Assistant Scout Masters Farewell Gathering</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4R9KuiiKDJ4/VjEg7y8ixuI/AAAAAAAAGD0/6yMpvLYtvVw/s1600-h/non%252520PC%252520ceremony%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img title="non PC ceremony" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="non PC ceremony" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-N7tr-lYEs7A/VjEg8UV76pI/AAAAAAAAGD8/AwgHWXcGRuk/non%252520PC%252520ceremony_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="178"></a><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Nq4kopNSXQU/VjEg8kPVNFI/AAAAAAAAGEE/IWYgOXupxsw/s1600-h/Scoutmaster%252520Jay%252520McKay%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img title="Scoutmaster Jay McKay" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Scoutmaster Jay McKay" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1_9AeNqkSEI/VjEg9NWxC2I/AAAAAAAAGEM/qdc8IK-kvAI/Scoutmaster%252520Jay%252520McKay_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="179"></a></p> <p>Non-PC dance Julius Walker (Jay) McKay</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-S7St-BqOz9o/VjEg9hbK-II/AAAAAAAAGEY/op-8BIub9xo/s1600-h/The%252520Pullman%252520to%252520Valley%252520Forge%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img title="The Pullman to Valley Forge" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="The Pullman to Valley Forge" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rtlVELoDnGY/VjEg-eW_4VI/AAAAAAAAGEc/j_M5srUt00w/The%252520Pullman%252520to%252520Valley%252520Forge_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="182"></a><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ffpnkRsZi2g/VjEg-rGsFoI/AAAAAAAAGEk/hGyiIT3l0Iw/s1600-h/tommy%252520turner%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img title="tommy turner" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="tommy turner" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--YLh240BCtQ/VjEg_JR3F7I/AAAAAAAAGEs/UUGDjKlmUUI/tommy%252520turner_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="172" height="244"></a><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-E8nHjd-5CV4/VjEg_q3f7tI/AAAAAAAAGE4/RicI7WsTcYg/s1600-h/Troop%2525204%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img title="Troop 4" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Troop 4" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YmjO33Trfjo/VjEhATrONrI/AAAAAAAAGE8/hGiXp2eoR30/Troop%2525204_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="182"></a></p> <p> Another group of great pretenders Tommy Turner Troop Four</p><a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=de925abd25&view=att&th=1509d934ff64d037&attid=0.9&disp=safe&realattid=f_ig5zmopy8&zw"> <p></a> SixtySomthinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07117246219064001202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299190578541970449.post-54551830829349370422015-10-28T15:10:00.001-04:002015-12-08T02:35:27.557-05:00VA Letter and SpeechFrom: Gus Fitch <br />
Colonel USMC (Ret) <br />
To: Mr. Patrick Francescon <br />
Legislative Aide <br />
C/O Senator Tim Scott <br />
520 Hart Senate Bld <br />
Washington, DC 20510 <br />
Subj: The VA Budgets for the last five years. <br />
Greetings: Mr. Francescon <br />
We have met once during a presentation of proposed legislation by Concerned Veterans for America and I stopped you at one of the monuments on the Mall this week and asked for your card so that I could send you the following: <br />
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/angry-house-members-berate-va-over-6-billion-in-improper-spending/2015/05/14/b9553130-fa59-11e4-9030-b4732caefe81_story.html?wpisrc=nl_pmpol&wpmm=1 This story is peanuts compared to what follows. Outrage should be the emotion of the day. <br />
I have been working on this discussion for almost a year and I am certain that the problems I surface are known to you or should be known to you. Read it as you see fit, but make sure Senator Scott is acutely aware of the issue. <br />
I would like to be clear. My concerns extend beyond the current problems of the VA. But the VA is an example of a Government agency that has the power to visit both good and evil on the everyday American citizen. In our case with the VA, those who served, share a common history and perhaps a common bond in that at some point in our lives we swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and we did so at the time by serving our nation in its armed forces. For a single hitch or a career. In war or in peace, we did our part to the ability of our lights and gifts provided by our creator. <br />
In the spirit of full disclosure, I am a retired service member, so I do not need the services of the VA at the present time. This in no way lessens my concerns for my brother veterans. <br />
I am assuming that some one on the staff of Senator Scott has the job of VA issues. If you are not that person, would you kindly route the package to the proper person. I am out of words, energy and ideas that help vets get the service they deserve so I am relying on you and your peers to make things right for our warriors. <br />
Today the VA health care system has grown from 54 hospitals in 1930 to include 171 medical centers; more than 700 outpatient, community, and outreach clinics; 126 nursing home care units; and 35 domiciliaries. The VA employs nearly 280,000 people and has requested a 2015 Budget of $163.9B out of a total of 3.901T. This represents 4% of the nations spending. Next to the Department of Defense, VA Affairs, now a Cabinet post, has a higher level of funding than any of the rest of the Cabinet departments. <br />
We have a problem in our house. It’s a give-a-hoot problem. Less than one percent of our population is on active duty or in the Reserves or Guard units. What this means is that unless you have a direct relative (father, son, daughter, etc.) who has been killed or wounded in combat you are emotionally disconnected from the suffering of the veteran and of his family. You may feel empathy, but there is no sense of loss, suffering or financial stress. Without a larger population of military personnel this condition will never change, but it is not hopeless. The term most commonly used for this condition is "Skin in the game". Even a 25-year veteran like myself has no skin in this game. If you, are like me, believe that war (American war fighting personnel and/or equipment invades the land mass or the skies over said land mass of a sovereign nation) is the responsibility of the legislative branch then our current ability to apply military force to a foreign nation is way out of line with our Constitution. However, if we are correct about the responsibilities of the Congress, then part of the duties of a declaration of war is to make sure the entire nation has skin in the game whether they like it not. If not, then they can replace those that voted for a declaration of war. The easiest way to do this is levy a Federal Sales tax. There can be no exceptions because you want every citizen to wake up each morning and ask the question... is this war the right thing to do. If the citizens are not willing to pay for a war, then they should not allow its leaders to put us into one. <br />
If you do not have skin in the game, there is a better than even chance that Iraq and Afghanistan are a long way off and have no impact on you or anyone you know. <br />
Without this connection, its possible that over 300 million Americans find it hard or impossible to be an activist or even show interest for VA issues. As a side note, this lack of skin in the game makes it a lot easier for the Executive Branch to initiate hostilities when he/she KNOWS that there will be no response from the voting public because the fighting, dying, suffering and unspeakable sacrifice is done by less than one percent of the population and believe it or not they do not have the support nor lobbying powers of the same people who sent them in harms way. This apathy is dangerous. <br />
I have been a participant recently in lobbying my state's US senators and house members in their offices to consider legislation that touches VA issues around its edges. The legislation is not without value, but it is a far cry from reforming a unionized bureaucracy. Regardless of what many will tell you, a voice of one without billions of dollars behind him is a voice unheard. I should know. <br />
There are lots of issues that you and your peers must handle each day and they all seem important. If the government sends men and women to die and be maimed in some mindless extension of a failing foreign policy and then allows their return to society to be anything but their first priority every day, then the government's priorities and its national pride and traditions are marginalized to the point of emptiness. <br />
So what's to be done? For me, I pick a single issue within the VA and make every effort to put this issue in front of folks like you. <br />
My concern is the apparent waste, and I would presume, illicit or illegal budgetary misuse of tax payer dollars. This is not news. This is old boring waste and theft of the taxpayers money. I can feel the need to yawn myself. <br />
Please hear me out! <br />
Lets look at FedEx for a moment and consider a comparison: You may agree that the US Marine Corps puts heavy emphasis on mission accomplishment. This skill is one that translates to the civilian world easily. So if we look at Fed Ex's numbers, you will see a dramatic dichotomy in their comparison to the VA. <table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody>
<tr> <td>Annual FedEx Revenue</td> <td>$39.3 billion</td></tr>
<tr> <td>Number of packages shipped annually by FedEx</td> <td>1.2 billion</td></tr>
<tr> <td>Total miles traveled each day by FedEx couriers (equivalent to 100 trips around earth)</td> <td>2.5 million</td></tr>
<tr> <td>Number of countries and territories FedEx delivers to</td> <td>220</td></tr>
<tr> <td>Number of full time FedEx employees</td> <td>300,000</td></tr>
<tr> <td>Percent of shipped packages lost by FedEx</td> <td>0.55 %</td></tr>
<tr> <td>Highest Historic Stock Price Feb 17, 2007</td> <td>$120.97</td></tr>
<tr> <td>Lowest Historic Stock Price May 6, 1980</td> <td>$2.50</td></tr>
<tr> <td>Number of delivery vans in the FedEx fleet</td> <td>43,000</td></tr>
<tr> <td>Number of airplanes in the FedEx fleet</td> <td>654</td></tr>
<tr> <td>FedEx air fleet total daily lift capacity</td> <td>30 million pounds</td></tr>
<tr> <td>Total daily miles traveled by the FedEx air fleet</td> <td>500,000</td></tr>
<tr> <td>Amount FedEx paid to acquire Kinko’s</td> <td>$2.4 billion in cash</td></tr>
<tr> <td>Highest FedEx employee salary – IT Manager</td> <td>$123,000</td></tr>
<tr> <td>Lowest FedEx employee – Customer Service Representative</td> <td>$10.42 / hour</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The IT department of Fed Ex has a budget of $1B per year with which they control, by the minute, those activities I just mentioned and pay for all their R&D. <br />
Now lets look at what the VA is doing. <br />
As of 2013, there were over 600,000 out of 900,000 claims that are over 125 days old. This is the problem that is a failure to meet standards set by the VA themselves. Even these "goals" are arbitrary and, as you are well aware, falsified at every turn. <br />
Here are the budget figures for IT Infrastructure and Documentation improvements from 2011 through 2015 <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody>
<tr> <td valign="bottom" width="312">All numbers are in BILLIONS of dollars.</td> <td valign="bottom" width="71"></td> <td valign="bottom" width="71"></td></tr>
<tr> <td valign="bottom" width="116"></td> <td valign="bottom" width="5"></td> <td valign="bottom" width="102"></td> <td valign="bottom" width="89"></td> <td valign="bottom" width="71"></td> <td valign="bottom" width="71"></td></tr>
<tr> <td valign="bottom" width="116">Fiscal Year</td> <td valign="bottom" width="5"></td> <td valign="bottom" width="102">IT Infrastructure</td> <td valign="bottom" width="89">Benefit Processing</td> <td valign="bottom" width="71">Total</td> <td valign="bottom" width="71"></td></tr>
<tr> <td valign="bottom" width="116">FY 2011</td> <td valign="bottom" width="5"></td> <td valign="bottom" width="102">3.3</td> <td valign="bottom" width="89">2.2</td> <td valign="bottom" width="71"><b>5.5</b></td> <td valign="bottom" width="71"></td></tr>
<tr> <td valign="bottom" width="116">FY 2012</td> <td valign="bottom" width="5"></td> <td valign="bottom" width="102">3.1</td> <td valign="bottom" width="89">2</td> <td valign="bottom" width="71"><b>5.1</b></td> <td valign="bottom" width="71"></td></tr>
<tr> <td valign="bottom" width="116">FY 2013</td> <td valign="bottom" width="5"></td> <td valign="bottom" width="102">3.3</td> <td valign="bottom" width="89">2.1</td> <td valign="bottom" width="71"><b>5.4</b></td> <td valign="bottom" width="71"><b>16</b></td></tr>
<tr> <td valign="bottom" width="116">FY 2014</td> <td valign="bottom" width="5"></td> <td valign="bottom" width="102">3.7</td> <td valign="bottom" width="89">2.5</td> <td valign="bottom" width="71"><b>6.2</b></td> <td valign="bottom" width="71"></td></tr>
<tr> <td valign="bottom" width="116">FY 2015</td> <td valign="bottom" width="5"></td> <td valign="bottom" width="102">3.9</td> <td valign="bottom" width="89">2.5</td> <td valign="bottom" width="71"><b>6.4</b></td> <td valign="bottom" width="71"></td></tr>
<tr> <td valign="bottom" width="116">Total</td> <td valign="bottom" width="5"></td> <td valign="bottom" width="102"><b>17.3</b></td> <td valign="bottom" width="89"><b>11.3</b></td> <td valign="bottom" width="71"><b>28.6</b></td> <td valign="bottom" width="71"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
So the VA spent 16B dollars in these two categories and the backlog skyrocketed to 600,000 waiting over 125 days. Please note that these budget request continue to this day and there is still a huge if less than 600,000 backlog. <br />
Before he was relieved of duty/resigned, Secretary Shinseki signed a five year $12B infrastructure contract with fourteen Primary Contractors <br />
These 14 Primary Contractors are to run its IT infrastructure project. Half of the contractors were veteran/8(a) businesses and the other half was a whose who of Crystal City regulars. Try to imagine a project with 14 prime contractors. When you want to know who is in charge, to whom do you go? <br />
Director Shinseki said that the "T4" contracts…"will enable VA to acquire services for information technology programs that will help insure timely delivery of health care and benefits to our Veterans". Wrong. <br />
Spending 16B over those three years was not enough to do what is in the quotes. The selected fourteen companies will compete for task orders to integrate VA systems, network and software to modernize the VA's information technology infrastructure. Nothing in the report I read even hinted that there was going to be any effort to ensure that each of the 14 companies produce/procure hardware/software that was compatible with what the other 14 guys were doing and with what had already been done. So after spending the $16B the systems are still not modern? This year, the "T4" contract was turned into the "T4NG" project and applied an additional $22B over five years with a possible five year extension. It was interesting to note that in five years of Major Appropriation Issues the acronyms of "T4" or "T4NG" do not appear. One hates to guess where this money comes from but more importantly where does it go! A single $22B contract that has no visible funding line? <br />
(Patrick: It is really hard to be nice and polite when thinking of those who bleed the nation of its resources for reasons of greed, rice bowl maintenance and power retention. ) <br />
A contract of this size requires a government project manager superman to keep this bunch of folks in line and to keep a $12B program from turning into a $35 B program. Sorry, its already turned into $22B contract. If the VA is anything like the Department of the Navy, (I was a supporting contractor for a Navy black program) there is no where near enough expertise in all 300,000 employees to even define what their IT and documentation needs are. If there were, they would not need this contract. Here is what the VA's Technical Acquisition Center says the goals of the T4NG contract are: <b>"...acquire IT and Telecommunication services for program management and strategy planning, system/software engineering, enterprise network, cyber security, operation and maintenance and IT facility support".</b> So the VA is going to spend $28B over five years out of its normal budget process but will be adding, off budget apparently, $22B to fix, redo, modernize or some other meaningless expression to what has just been done but is totally unsat. <br />
This much money brings out the worst in all of us. Losing bidders before the ink was dry were challenging this contract. The details are a repetition of most large government contracts and are ho hum in the land of the Beltway Bandit. But this time, our wounded band of brothers is the target for getting screwed by greed, ineptitude, arrogance and the abyss of red tape ready and waiting courtesy of the existing unionized bureaucracy. <br />
Is the status of fraud, waste and abuse so engrained in our government that our representatives seem to yawn when almost $51B dollars has or will be spent with no visible change in waiting periods for the veterans that can be attributed to what has been and will be spent? <br />
Some where in this mess, a group of employees and contractors are directly or indirectly enriching themselves at the trough of the American taxpayer. <br />
Should anyone in DC really want to fix the VA department, just make all 300,000 employees join the same health plan as the veterans. <br />
So, why does no one ask the VA a couple of questions: <br />
Show me the hardware and firmware that my money purchased. <br />
Show me the single database software you are using for ALL of the VA. <br />
Show me the database search engine and its ability to query every piece of data the VA owns. <br />
For the single database, show me a list of database managers who are schooled and certified in this single database. Are they the same people that were submitted in the proposal response to the RFP and who will stay with the project for no less than two years. <br />
What telecommunications network? Where is the requirement statement for such a network. <br />
How many management hours are charged to each of the 14 prime contractors. Charges that produce not one line of code or one minute of bug testing, discovery and fix. <br />
What if these questions have already been asked but we don't know the answers. Answers that may have been in some email on some unknown server and erased contrary to VA and GAO accounting procedures? Your mail, email, phone calls and personal visits must clearly show that the American public does not trust its own government. All these negatives notwithstanding, lets keep sticking the issues with our trusty lance. <br />
Lets assume that this money reduces the more than 125 day wait for veterans from 600,000 to 50,000. The cost to bring each veteran out of the 125 day wait is one million dollars per veteran. My arithmetic must be wrong. No one would do this to America's taxpayers. <br />
This discussion has been about a very small portion of the VA Budget. Yet, if my observations are close, if the National Debt continues to rise past $18T, if the Fed and Treasury continue to print money based on just a promise to honor its debts, if Servicing the National Debt reaches $1T a year, if revenues do not increase past $3+T then this nation and its experiment in Democracy are in a "Clear and Present Danger". <br />
Where you work is intoxicating. The power, privilege and perks available to Congressmen and Senators and their staffs is far too habit forming for any normal human to withstand. Washington is no longer the Washington of Jefferson. Every news program points to a body of evidence that men and women who have fallen to the power of money abound in Washington's government. This is unhealthy and unbefitting a nation of our stature. <br />
The solution to the ills of the VA and all the rest of the departments that work with a unionized work force is to separate unions from the government. Since this chore is immeasurably difficult and may be impossible, it is in your hands to find a way out, you are now the Best and Brightest. Help this land that is unique in world history and help the Veterans, not with money, but with a population of vets as employees in the VA and a skipper to run the ship with the power to hire and fire at will. He should serve at the pleasure of the President but not necessarily at the direction of the President. <br />
Look into your own soul and identify a single budget line item that should have a priority in funding, oversight and national recognition as do the returning American troops damaged in wars that the Government of the United States sent them to accomplish by violence that which it failed to resolve by diplomacy. <br />
Don't trust my analysis, do your own and fulfill the promise this Nation makes to each service member it deploys or sends to war. <br />
Respectfully, <br />
Augustus Fitch III <br />
Colonel USMC (Ret) <br />
References: <br />
http://www.legion.org/veteransbenefits/218716/claims-backlog-working-group-issues-report <br />
http://www.va.gov/budget/docs/summary/archive/FY-2011_VA-BudgetSubmission.zip <br />
http://www.va.gov/budget/docs/summary/archive/FY-2012_VA-BudgetSubmission.zip <br />
http://www.va.gov/budget/docs/summary/archive/FY-2013_VA-BudgetSubmission.zip <br />
http://www.va.gov/budget/docs/summary/archive/FY-2014_VA-BudgetSubmission.zip <br />
http://www.va.gov/budget/docs/summary/archive/FY-2015_VA-BudgetSubmission.zip<br />
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SixtySomthinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07117246219064001202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299190578541970449.post-9837063725096283532015-05-30T17:26:00.000-04:002015-06-03T15:45:44.701-04:00May 13, 2015 Honors Flight<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6i3qS4umPLNddobLsBGPJy5kriedGB-jfI_E346_acJ9O_HIHN-PRXHiUW57DkOHlPTbeiqGruK0m-1TQjJBWrpnNhUkm1we9c-fUPf1VqbXA_wZk5RzrRKwnU5gEVZ7Cx1QqSsAg4Ok/s1600/a+couple+of+grins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6i3qS4umPLNddobLsBGPJy5kriedGB-jfI_E346_acJ9O_HIHN-PRXHiUW57DkOHlPTbeiqGruK0m-1TQjJBWrpnNhUkm1we9c-fUPf1VqbXA_wZk5RzrRKwnU5gEVZ7Cx1QqSsAg4Ok/s1600/a+couple+of+grins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6i3qS4umPLNddobLsBGPJy5kriedGB-jfI_E346_acJ9O_HIHN-PRXHiUW57DkOHlPTbeiqGruK0m-1TQjJBWrpnNhUkm1we9c-fUPf1VqbXA_wZk5RzrRKwnU5gEVZ7Cx1QqSsAg4Ok/s1600/a+couple+of+grins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6i3qS4umPLNddobLsBGPJy5kriedGB-jfI_E346_acJ9O_HIHN-PRXHiUW57DkOHlPTbeiqGruK0m-1TQjJBWrpnNhUkm1we9c-fUPf1VqbXA_wZk5RzrRKwnU5gEVZ7Cx1QqSsAg4Ok/s400/a+couple+of+grins.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
This blog does not have the ability to sort according to date and time so the pics are scattered all over the place.<br />
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At a table for eight, in a room for two hundred, gathered a
group of Korean and World War II veterans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Each had the mark of aging somewhere on his frame.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My WW II veteran, Fred Banks, sat with three
other veterans, one from the Korean conflict.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Fred had been transported to the gathering by a wonderful and caring
neighbor who was very relieved at my arrival.</div>
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This gathering was for a central South Carolina World War II
Veterans Honors Flight from Columbia, SC
to Washington, DC.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All the gathered veterans had never seen
their WW II memorial on the Mall between the Washington
Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. </div>
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It can be truthfully said that each of the South Carolina Honors
Flights would probably never have taken place if it were not for one man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This man is Bill Dukes, a Columbia
restaurant business man who gave of his time and resources to give these
veterans this opportunity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Much more
could be said of Bill Dukes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But for
now, thank you will<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>have to do.</div>
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Most of these men were in their 80s and 90s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some were more mobile than others, but each
had been touched by the war and by the passing of years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At different times during the trip, it was
clear that each veteran had moments during which he was focused inward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their thoughts triggered by this trip will
always be their own which is as it should be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Each had many opportunities to reflect on their time in the service and
what they had done with their lives after their war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Fred spoke infrequently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I would not presume to guess what he was thinking, but I would guess he
is a man of few words naturally and the trip was the perfect catalyst for
reaching deep for memories and introspection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The one thing we had in common was we both had served our nation in
combat and were both members in good standing of the Band of Brothers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our conversations were about family, jobs and
remembrances not associated with the war, his or mine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am also sure there were <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>feelings of apprehension because he did not know
exactly how all this was going to work out.</div>
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The welcome by passengers, kids, musicians and airline staff
when they departed the aircraft at Reagan
Airport changed all that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Everyone was on their feet clapping hands with beaming
faces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Children, who are by nature, shy
around adult strangers, lined the path into the terminal and reached out to
shake hands or just touch the vets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
outpouring of support was something that most of these vets were not prepared for
and their emotional high hung like a cloud's silver lining over the entire
assemblage and was palpable in its presence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If I heard it once, I heard it dozens of times from the Vets,
"Thank you for coming."</div>
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We mounted buses and visited the WW II memorial, the Korean
Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial and the memorial dedicated to women combat
nurses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For my veteran, it seemed to me
that he was moved more by the Vietnam Memorial and the statues of the combat
nurses than all the others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could be
wrong about this, but he lingered at the wall and spent time soaking up the
faces of the nurses depicted in the memorial.</div>
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Visiting the Mall and its remembrances of fallen soldiers,
sailors, airmen and Marines was a special experience for all the vets, but for
me, the highlight of the day was our return to Columbia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was after eight at night and the vets with
their Guardians were greeted by a mass of well wishers including family,
Knights of Columbus in full uniform at present arms, the Irmo JROTC contingent
, also at present arms with swords, bands and patriotic decorations. (I regret
that the battery on my camera ran out of juice and I have no photos of the
return ceremony.) It took a half an hour for us to pass through all these
people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the overriding feeling was
one of welcome home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not welcome home
from DC, but welcome home from a war that they had lived seventy years
ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I stayed with Fred only long enough
for him to rejoin his family who had come out in full to welcome him back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I said my farewells and left this family to
show their love and affection for a man who had answered the call and served
his nation well.</div>
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I wish Fred fair winds and a following sea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is also appropriate to call forth the
Marine Corp's motto, Semper Fidales, or Semper Fi, meaning always faithful. No
word in my personal lexicon describes the WW II Veterans better than to tag
them as always faithful to their nation.</div>
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<br />SixtySomthinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07117246219064001202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299190578541970449.post-50019334035055627562015-04-22T21:27:00.000-04:002015-04-25T18:38:29.347-04:00Form Over Function, the Curse of Art<div style="text-align: center;">
Form over Function
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
the Curse of
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Art<br />
<br /></div>
Both my hands are full and I use my knee to close the right saddle bag of my
2008 Gold Wing. With regrets, I notice that the zipper on my cold weather gear
has put a beauty of scratch in the paint. This is not the first time that I have
given thought to having the bike repainted.
<br />
I check around Aiken. Look at the Yellow pages, talk to the folks at Aiken
Motor Cycle Sales and everyone who will listen to hear me ask about a really
good automotive painter. The Cycle shop gives me several cards to chose from to
select a painter. It seems a trifle bizarre that all of the highly regarded
painters live in the boonies and have their own way of doing things.
<br />
The search is as rewarding as finding the painter, who, with a smooth mixture
of Monet and the swashbuckle of a Jesse James makes objects of the mechanical
objects d'art. A unique list of character traits haunts the minds and bodies of
those who create with oil, latex, epoxy and the smooth swing of an arm loaded
with a spray gun spitting out just the right mixture of color and air to form a
glossy coat that hides or displays the skills that are creative automotive
painting.<br />
<br />
Almost nothing is as it seems on first sight. Chad Martin is such a chap. It
has been raining for a couple of days now and there are some slick spots on the
driveway and grass of this home/business tucked away on a dirt road a couple of
miles from Saluda, SC out toward Columbia on 378. I guide the Honda Gold Wing GL
1800 to safe spot of dry gravel just next to the paint house and dismount. No
one is visible, so I shuck some of my riding gear and settle down to greet
whomever comes from the house or the paint shed. Its the house, and the man
approaching looks as though he would be a good choice to avoid in some foolish
physical argument. Like I said, nothing is the way it seems at first glance.
Before he extends his hand, before he says a single word, he breaks out in a
grin that bespeaks the character of one who has enjoyed his life with people. I
immediately take a liking to him. Finding Chad's home was not as easy as it may
seem on the surface, but the search was worth the wait. It's a small southern
town where everybody knows everybody and they know where everybody lives.<br />
<br />
The
first request for directions went to the owner of Matthew's BBQ place on Hwy 39
just short of the intersection with Hwy 191 in Saluda, SC. Everyone in the place
knew who Chad Martin was but they were not sure where he lived. One patron
advised that Chad's parents owned and operated the only workout facility in
Saluda county. A compendium of inputs and we were off to Main St. to find Chad's
parents. As I dismounted my bike, I had a painful reminder of the spicy food
from the day before and anxiously sought a place of relief. Thinking it would
not take but a few seconds to determine where Chad resided, I foolish asked two
locals, who "resided" in the facility, where I might find Chad. I immediately
fell into an 'other world of Abbot and Costello where time did not exist but
pain was every where and my vision narrowed on the faces and mouths of the two
locals arguing about how to get to Chad's place. I rudely excused my self and as
I turned to escape to gastro nirvana I actually chuckled at the Hollywoodesque
comedy scene that continued unabated by my rudeness and departure. When I
returned with homeostasis established, I was again amazed at the discussion that
had continued and heated up in the few minutes that I had gone missing.<br />
<br />
From behind me, a soft southern female voice silenced the two vocal sparring
partners and introduced herself as the mother of Chad and quickly gave me the
directions to the "house". I rendered my appreciation for her consideration as
all southern gentlemen and their ladies would naturally do and stepped back into
the real world of those who seek a livelihood on Main St, Saluda, SC. As the
door closed, I could still hear the refrains from the friendly argument that
continued in the world of Abbot and Costello.<br />
<br />
<br />
Do south on Main St., turn left at US 378 and follow it toward Columbia for a
"couple" of miles, until you see the square cinder block building on the right
that may have been a business or home at one time but which now serves as a
place of worship to the Spanish speaking workers who make their home in Saluda.
Turn right at the next dirt road and Chad's place is marked by the second mail
box on the left. Such were the instructions from Chad's mom and they were good
enough. We found the place.<br />
<br />
Chad is like most folks from the rural South...he speaks quietly but with
authority when the discussion is about his passion for restoring automotive
vehicles. Chad is a large man with big bones and hands that look like they never
saw a day when Dawn was used to take away the grit and grime. But his smile and
grin. They, as the poets say, are gateways to his personality. In my short
exposure to Chad he exhibited a muted excitement about his work but was always,
unlike myself, humble in the midst of company. Seldom in my days have I enjoyed
such a conversation that was ultimately going to end with a discussion of money.
I had prepped myself for this moment by dealing with other mechanical artisans
and experts. Chad had a momentary delay while he considered the scope of the
task in front of him and made an offer that I thought both fair and reasonable
for both of us. A handshake sealed the deal.
<br />
As we parted, I have seldom felt like I was leaving something valuable to me
in the hands of one who was perfectly suited to take care of the bike but
deliver what he promised. Several weeks later he delivered what I consider the
most beautiful and original GL 1800 on the planet.<br />
<br />
Now Chad had a helper, Odi, who resides in an RV on the property where he
works which is in the shop with Chad. Now Odi is not your regular man on the
street. He is far more interesting and educated than the normal man on the
street. Odi will admit that his personal appearance gives a soup sandwich a good
name. But Odi is a man of the world who appears to have forsaken all that most
in our nation would call success. His success is a man who lives by his own
values, works hard when required, smokes the most unusual device that looks like
a hashish pipe but is not and sports a full beard which is eternally scraggy but
suits his personality. It is impossible to meet this man and not like him
immediately. I, for one, am not the least shy about questioning a person about
his/her history. So I started with Odi. He was born in California but spent
about 10 years in South Dakota working at a variety of technological industries.
I have spent some time myself in South Dakota and I asked Odi if he had ever
visited the Cattleman's Club just outside Pierre, SD. Odi's eyes opened just a
little and he proudly announced that he had jumped the bones of the cashier at
the restaurant. Recalling my visit to the Cattleman's Club, I asked him if the
cashier was the same one who had a son working there by the name of Austin.. Odi
shrank back from my presence just a little with eyes now wide open. I am sure
Odi believed, for just a moment, that he had fallen in with a bunch of zombies
with prescient powers of mind reading. To bring him back from his obvious shock,
I explained that my riding buddies and me had stopped at this place three times
during our trips across this great land of ours to eat the best rib eye steak
ever. I remembered Austin because that is my son's name and because of the
following true tale.<br />
<br />
0When Austin came to our place at the bar and asked us what he could do for
us, he had a name tag that introduced him as Austin and he wore a Notre Dame
baseball cap. One of my partners, Stu Schippereit, was a graduate of ND and they
started up a heated conversation about football. Try to picture this portion of
the bar as long enough to hold four stools. The three closest to the wall were
occupied by me and my buddies. To my left on the stool next to me was an elderly
gentleman who seemed to know everyone who came in and went out of the place and
his stool was right next to the cash register that was operated by a tall very
good looking woman. Curious, I asked Austin who was the lady at the cash
register? Austin grinned and said, "That's my mom." Before I could get my breath
back, the man next to me called one of the wait staff and said, "Girl, get me a
drink". The waitress, feeling the sting of authority, fetched a scotch tumbler,
put about two jiggers of vodka in it and filled the rest of the glass with ice
and a mixer. When she set the glass down in front of the old man, he stared at
her for a few seconds, pushed the glass away and said, "Austin, fetch me a
proper drink". Austin stopped what he was doing, clutched an ice tea glass,
filled it with ice and then added enough Vodka to fill half the glass up. He put
it down in front of the man and said, "There you go grand dad." Austin's mom and
the three of us all broke out in big grins. Three generations working the steak
house. So, Odi, I have been there and know of whom you speak.<br />
<br />
Recently, I took my bike on a ride alone and was gently weaving my way
through the peach orchards around Monetta, Johnson and Ridge Spring. The bike's
fairing forces the air up and over the Plexiglas windshield and plants a kiss on
the top of my helmet and flows down the back of the bike creating invisible
vortices and eddies in its wake. Air that patiently awaits the next unknown
contact with a highway denizen who will stir the air anew.<br />
<br />
Our travels are not simply man made metaphors. Our travels expose the
majesty and wonder that is this great nation of ours. They transcend a written
or oral description of what is seen, but deliver to us, daily, proof, that we
exist in a land and era where men may live by their sweat, by their faith and by
a freedom seldom found on this orb. Our travels give witness to the glory of
looking into the face of a neighbor and see how our lives are inextricably woven
together and held in place by our Constitution like the hook and pile of a
Velcro connection.
<br />
Forest Gump can be quoted as saying, "Me and Jenny go together like peas and
carrots." Well, Chad and Odi go together like peas and carrots. Each man has his
own strengths and weaknesses but they complement each other with their mixtures
of skill and experiences. Let no MIG welder, or oxy torch, nor cheap paint, nor
impatient hands or minds deter this pair from the use of their creative juices
which, through the magic of God's will, gives birth to art.
<br />
There is one poem that says it all for me and does so in such a pragmatic yet
ethereal way that I apply its beautiful words to many of the mysteries that bend
our minds away from the truth of our lives. The words are spoken by Robert
Redford in the last scene of a movie he directed but did not star in. The words
carry a name that is the same as the movie title..."And a River Runs Through
It."<br />
<br />
<i>Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The
river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement
of time. On some of those rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the
words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters.</i><br />
<i> </i>
<br />
These words inscribe, for me, the elements of the soul of men who make things
of both form and function with hands that look as though they were burying fence
post all week yet are steady and light to the touch as art flows forth from
their finger tips<br />
<br />
I am both thankful and jealous of those who have these lights and shine them
on objects as common as a bolt or air rushing by a paint nozzle applying color
that speaks to you when it is finished.<br />
<br />
Chad and family, may your days be long and fruitful and the hand of happiness comes to you,
your family, Odi and all of your customers.
<br />
I am most grateful and respectfully yours.
<br />
GusSixtySomthinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07117246219064001202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299190578541970449.post-19190917715798248282013-07-24T23:15:00.000-04:002013-07-29T00:49:50.810-04:00<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin-left: 2in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Shot to the Heart</span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin-left: 2in;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin-left: 2in;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">It has rained here in Aiken, SC almost every day for over a month.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">I live in a community called Cedar Creek and the development has four ponds that have been stocked with fish for over 10 years. I have just recently taken up the sport again because I can be at a pond in less than five minutes and fishing in less than seven. All of our ponds are catch and release only.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">In the past month, I have caught perhaps six bass that weighed over a pound. This is a nice sized fish and fun to catch. Plastic worms are the lure de jure.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Because of the rain every day, the water in Golden Pond has backed up to places that have not seen water in a decade. Due to this change in water location, the pond has begun to take on a pale brown color. The water is clear, just pale brown. This color comes from the fallen leaves that are now underwater and are releasing tannins that color the water. The father back you go into the sources of the rainwater wash off, the darker the water gets. I have found a place that I can get to and cast my plastic worm but the water is shallow and full of weeds, twigs and other traps for lures, even weed less lures. There is one place... each time I cast to it, some kind of fish hits the lure but does not seem to be big enough to get the whole thing in its mouth. Yesterday I hooked a bass in this small area, but loss the fish because it wrapped the line around an underwater stump and freed itself. The day before that, I cast my lure to the left versus the right and caught a one pounder. Lots of fun in this very restricted area.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">To day I fished this same spot and got hits in both directions but nothing on the hook. I gave up, crossed the water farther up stream and began the walk to my next fishing area. I must have done this a dozen times. Each time I pass, I view a water spot that I am sure has fish, but it is too well protected by many saplings and lots of underbrush. This time, I think I see a place where I might be able to make a short cast.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">I work my way through the brush, keeping an eye out for Copper Heads or other pit vipers, and finally get my rod through a hole in the brush and cast up stream about eleven or twelve feet. A very short cast.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">As the lure approaches the shore, about three feet from my feet, an apparition appears. It is a monster Bass. I can see the entire fish, which is, at a minimum, two feet long. He does not see me, but does see the worm. With the confidence of the meanest dog on the block, he moves with the determination of a Dallas Class Attack Boat. With just a modest effort, he sucks the worm in his great maw and turns to head to deeper water. He is in no hurry. He disappears from sight and I am leaning forward to give him as much line as I can but it runs out in a hurry. My right Wellington is already in the water and my left foot is hooked around a sampling to keep my balance while casting. I bring this left boot into the water and strike the bass with all my strength and limited rod movement. Then the shot to the heart. I can taste the adrenalin.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">I have awakened Lucifer. The fish is really strong and is peeling line off the reel. I cannot allow him to go for the reeds and underwater brush. With my left hand I make a quick twist of the break and now get some control over Moby Dick. I can see it coming, the line is moving right to left and he is coming to the surface like a Titan missile. This is where he gets a chance to throw the hook, break the line or change direction to the weeds. I suck air as the monster clears the water. He has jumped so high that he leaves his body length of air between himself and the water. An amazing feat of strength. It is a sight I will never forget. The Bass is shaking his head and body so violently that he breaks by six pound line with no difficulty.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Immediate disappointment! But hold on. I just got a chance to see the miracle of an award winning Large Mouth Bass. This vertebrate is a wonder of nature's evolution. Powerful, muscular and imbued with instincts that allowed him to avoid capture. After some thought, I am thankful to have had the experience. Since it was a catch and release anyway, the only part I missed was beaching this fine example of a true game fish.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">But, here is the lingering memory that I will cherish until my end of days. A maroon 9" swishy tail plastic worm making its way to the end of my rod tip. Then...a head as big as two of my fist slides out of the deep and I see all of him as he gulps the worm and heads for deeper water. I am a lone witness to the superb performance of one of nature's marvelous creatures. I am humbled.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">He is still out there!</span></span></div>
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SixtySomthinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07117246219064001202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299190578541970449.post-21149361481923977872013-05-19T07:34:00.001-04:002017-10-11T01:48:58.468-04:00How is an American<div align="center">
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: black;">How is an American </b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">At the military academies, freshmen are required to commit to memory a variety of nonsensical paragraphs they must be able to regurgitate perfectly every time an upper classman demands it's repetition. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">For example, "How is a cow"? "She walks, she talks, she's full of chalk, the lacteal fluid extracted from the female of the bovine species is highly prolific to the nth degree." </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">In this case, I believe nonsensical fits, oh so very well. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">But the title of this musing contains the challenge of investigating those "things" that give an American the right and privilege to announce him/her self as an American. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">I am always happy to announce that I am...by accident of birth, an American citizen and by the grace of God a southerner. There is humor here, but there is also truth. The first step to being an American is to be a citizen. We will put the "how" to become a citizen aside for a later discussion. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">If you were born in this country, you will find few that argue you were fortunate indeed. To be born here is one of the luckiest things that can happen to a human on this planet. There are other countries that can provide life styles similar to ours in government, wealth and freedom. None reach the level available in the US. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Birth only provides automatic citizenship, it does not make an American. Here is my list of things that help breed US citizens into American citizens. I can not do all the things in my list but I am working on it. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">1. Attend grammar, middle and high schools in the US. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"> While in school; </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Place your right hand over your heart, face the flag and repeat the pledge of allegiance to the American flag EVERY day.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Learn how to fold, display and respect the American flag. Know that the American Flag is not just a nation's ensign. It is also used to signal distress. It is used to cover the caskets of veterans during internment ceremonies. This use of the flag is its most sacred chore and deserves the highest level of respect by those present. The Amrican flag may be the most recognized flag on the planet and there are no circumstances under which this flag is lowered for another. To fail to show respect for the National Anthem and the American Flag for the purpose of advancing a personal or political agenda is inappropriate and diminishes the quality of American citizenship. </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Although hard to sing, always sing the National Anthem as it was written at events where all should join in. The National Anthem is not a composition of music that should be toyed with in any way. Recent music and Hollywood stars have made the Star Spangle Banner the object of Hip Hop and demographic cultural music renderings. None of which show respect for, or understanding of, the history that made this music our anthem. </span></span></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"> Render unto teachers the respect of self-discipline. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"> Focus on your classes that instruct you in the history of our nation both the good and the bad. This will be most difficult because a class in civics is seldom taught in today's schools. You can not do this if you are unwilling to listen to a point of view that is dramatically, emotionally and philosophically apposed to everything you hold in lifelong reverence. In this country, speech is an unrestricted right except where the speech can cause physical or mental damage or cause injury those or loss of property.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"> Memorize the preamble to the Constitution. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"> Know and understand the Bill of Rights. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">2. Join the Boy or Girl Scouting experience. Regardless of where you live, be able to tie a Bowline, a half hitch, a sheepshank and a square knot. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">3. Spend two years of your life in service to your country. (Military, Peace Corps, Remote Teacher, etc)</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">4. Prepare yourself for College or a Trade. Do not drop out!</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">5. Stay away from drugs.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">6. Go to church and decide for yourself how an organized religion fits into your life. Know the Lords Prayer and the Nicene Creed. The object here is not to commit to a religion but to see how man, with the use of language, can worship an idea and promise to be good.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">7. Do your best to find and join a person, an idea or an organization in which your personal interest must come second or third to the interest of the joined group.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">8. Travel to the specter that is the US National Park System. The Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, Yellow Stone, Crater Lake, Mount Zion, Hovenweep and East Glacier. Ride the Blue Ridge Parkway from end to end. Visit every museum on the mall in Washington, DC. Visit the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">9. Know the names of the Americans who wrote: The Declaration of Independence, The Articles of Confederation, The Constitution, The Bill of Rights and the Federalist Papers. Take your time and read these documents cover to cover and understand what you read. You can never really understand America until you understand what makes it all happen</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">10. Understand that in this country an oath of office does not define fealty to a person or even a nation. Our fealty, if that is a good word, is to the Constitution of the United States. Our collective fealty is to an idea of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. For US office holders: "<i>I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God. </i>Be able to articulate the difference between a democracy and a republic. Understand, in your best intelect possible, the genius , the perspiscacity and their writing skills that came together to produce the longest living document that defines the steps to obtain, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.</span></span><br />
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11. Name the Capitals of all 50 states. Be able to tell what states border each other. If you do not understand the geography of our nation and the world, you will never understand world history nor current events. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">12. Vote.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">13. Most of all, take justifiable pride in the history and the uniqueness of our nation. Regardless of the chatter, there is no place like this nation under any star. Know this stuff and get in the face of those who would denigrate or apologize for America's history. Our history has moments of blackness, but it is also filled with monumental acts of kindness, bravery, sacrifice, emotion and philanthropy.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">BE VISIBLY PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN. There are billions who would change places with you in an eye flash.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Some other thoughts from a male American.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Learn how to cook and clean up.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Know how to sharpen and use a pocket knife.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Learn how to swim and help someone who can not.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Know how to build a fire in the rain.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Go to a church or Scout summer camp.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Learn to shoot a bow and arrow and a fire arm.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"> Make as many friends as you can, but treasure the one or two with whom you can share almost anything.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"> Learn how to make change without a pen or paper. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"> Although considered sexist for decades, treating the ladies with deference is good manners and reflects the special place that women hold in our societies.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"> Play a musical instrument or sing in a choir.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"> See the movie "Pay it Forward" and live by its creed. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"> Watch a professional baseball game from the stands. Root hard for your favorite and eat a couple of dogs and have a beer. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"> Drink an RC cola and eat a Moon Pie. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"> Study hard. Make writing a clear and concise sentence a major goal of your education. College not for you? Pick a skill, learn how to do it in a formal training environment and make a life.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"> Love one woman. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"> Think hard how you will raise and support children. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"> Volunteer.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"> Run for office. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"> Never stop reading. </span></span><br />
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<br />SixtySomthinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07117246219064001202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299190578541970449.post-13495463955974166942013-05-05T23:18:00.001-04:002013-06-26T01:34:10.555-04:002013 Carthage NC Trip<br />
<br />
9 April, 2013 <br />
<b>A Trip to </b><b>Carthage</b><b>, </b><b>NC</b><b></b> <br />
<b>Prologue</b> <br />
<b></b> <br />
Perhaps a little background is required. <br />
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I am an ardent admirer of the subtle contacts that people have with one another but marvel at the less than subtle disregard most have for an opportunity to make a new friend and/or learn a volume about the ways and means with which our fellow travelers on the planet live out their lives. How do they revere friends and loved ones? What are their political understandings? How do they fill the needs of worship for an idea that can be justified only by faith? What idea; what conviction, what act of evil would justify giving up their lives? There exist no two humans who possess identical thoughts on these and a myriad other issues. It is this characteristic that draws me to interact with all those wonderful people and all their unique lifetime experiences. <br />
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It is my observation that people have daily experiences of which they are aware, but have little idea what these experiences may mean to their lives and futures. So my metaphor for these happenings is to view each person on the planet as a ball of plasma wandering its way among the galaxies. When an individual has any experience, there is a jet of plasma that shoots from the ball of plasma and into the black void that is space. These jets, I refer to them as historical strings of experience, swish through space until the jet or string of one person comes in contact with another string. Not all of us have the personality and hyper gregarious nature that allows us to see or feel something that seems clear to us as being important. Important enough to step aside from our current path and eagerly seek the excitement and gratification that almost always comes from following our visceral intuitions to begin a conversation with the person who is a complete stranger. <br />
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If you have not practiced this, it is harder to do than one might expect. <br />
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If neither player stops what they are doing and investigates the circumstances, no communication occurs and the moment passes. It passes with little chance that such a similar meeting can take place in the future. At my age, I do not want to miss a single experience. <br />
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Like most, I was too busy with family and work to even make record of these events during my school and work years. There is simply not enough time and energy to investigate these random coincidences of our lives. <br />
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Until now! Retirement has freed me of this restriction. <br />
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I make every effort to follow such leads, even if it's a bust. A sense of self gratification comes regardless of the inconveniences that may accrue from the effort. The enlightenment comes from the observation that the meetings are not left to chance, but are the product of an individual's willingness to break from the routine and follow the plasma string. <br />
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Disappointments are few. <br />
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Fulfillment is the rule of the day and it brings the most distant star into sharp focus and reveals a treasure for all to see and admire. <br />
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The treasure is a man.<br />
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Not a modern man as related to the contemporary human condition, but a man molded by the hard times of the last century's depression and World War II. He is thin of build with a head full of white hair. He has, by all accounts, conducted himself with honor and provided food, shelter and enlightenment to his family. He is a man of modesty and genuine affection and good will for his fellow humans. He is, of late, the primary health giver for his wife. The burdens of this responsibility lay heavy on his shoulders but he accepts this condition of life as just one of its many facets. I would count myself as the most fortunate man around if I could be half the citizen he is. <br />
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The man is Earl Ingram and he is 90. <br />
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Lt Earl Ingram was just a kid when he was a platoon leader in the Second Infantry Division of Patton's Third Army. Earl's 2nd Infantry Division, the 16th Armored Division, the 98th Infantry Division and a host of others including the resistance fighters of Plzen, Czech Republic, forced the occupying troops of Hitler's Wehrmacht to abandon their occupation of this city just a few kilometers east of the German speaking Sudetenland. <br />
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At the end of the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia, the citizens of Plsen started their first annual celebration of the liberation of Plsen's people from the grip of the Nazis. This is a three day event and just a handful of US servicemen have survived to participate. Earl has been a guest eighteen times of the Czech Republic to help them celebrate this festival.<br />
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I met Earl at the festival in 2012 and it was he who provided me the clippings from The Pilot of Southern Pines newspaper written by John Chappell.<br />
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The clippings revealed that one of NC's finest, Lt. Robert Hoyle Upchurch, had finally been returned to his homeland. I immediately decided that I had to meet these people and see the memorials that speak so much of a community's commitment to remember those who have fallen in the service of our Nation. <br />
For those of you who have read my blog, you know the story of Lt. Kirkham. If you do not know the story, go to <a href="http://www.sixtysomthing.blogspot.com/">My Blog</a>. <br />
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In brief, my goal, while I was in Prague and so close, I wanted to pay my respects to a fellow combat aviator who had been killed in the line of duty very, very close to the end of the war. I was close and I was motivated. <br />
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There is little doubt that writing the story about Kirkham was a seminal moment in my life. With the exception of my wedding to the lovely Margaret Page Anderson, no single event has so forcefully spun my attitude of all that surrounds me. <br />
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<b>The Ride</b> <br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-B-WwIIk-9XE/UYcg6XKgkhI/AAAAAAAAE6M/yAWMevojAf4/s1600-h/clip_image002%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="clip_image002" border="0" height="244" hspace="12" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-TtXT8IpOgZo/UYcg6-UpNmI/AAAAAAAAE6U/qBj_bMNjqbU/clip_image002_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="clip_image002" width="163" /></a>It is an all day ride from Deland, Florida to Aiken, SC. Deland is the home of Richard K. Ward. Late of the USMC and American Airlines but employed by a firm, at present, from which he achieves success and gratification. Some how, Dick and I became close friends as companion F-4 pilots and then had geography separate our families and our lives for a couple of decades. <br />
At one time in the past, Dick, along with fellow Harley riders, Gus Fitch and Stu Schippereit, the Valkerie rider, Steve Senna with Rex Decker along with our departed friend Jeff VanSyckle, the Honda VTX and Goldwing riders would hit the road and ride for weeks. In one combination or another, we rode to Bike Week at Dayton, Bike Week at Sturgis, Thunder Beach at Panama City Beach, Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap, the west coast and the PCH, all of Nova Scotia, every province of Canada except the northwest territories and Indian country, the four corners of the US, the Arctic Circle and every paved road in Alaska, both ends of US Hwy One, every state in the contiguous 48 plus Alaska, drank more Blue Elixir (Bombay Sapphire Gin), consumed more calories than was healthy and...met a thousand people who had stories but we were unable to record them all. <br />
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Dick is a close and valued friend and soul mate. I use the term soul mate because Dick is a believer. Dick is as keen, if not more so, than I with regard to Strings of Historical Experience. Dick can ride a mean bike and put words together that any scribbler would be proud of. Like Forest Gump used to say, "We go together like peas and carrots." <br />
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All grand things suffer the ravages of time and our ability to leave our families and jobs becomes problematic, while other responsibilities begin to take their rightful place in the priorities of our lives. The bottom line is that we simply have ridden our last long trip and I am saddened that we will never share a Toddle House Hash Browns All the Way or three to a room at $45 per night, eight hours in the saddle while it rained on us the entire trip from Banff to Jasper, Alberta and back, the visitation to the lower worlds and spray from the river Styx as Stu lead Rex and I into a thunderstorm of monumental proportions. The list is endless and the memories smell of oil, gas, road kill, skunks and diesel fumes.<br />
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All that is left are these memories and they will simply have to do. <br />
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Short trips are OK as well. <br />
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The trip to Carthage is about four hours but Dick will join me and spend the night in Aiken the day before. As is our habit, we meet in Surrancy, GA and ride together back to Aiken. Another habit is to stop at the rest area on Hwy 301 just short of the Savannah river and log in to the books to help the staff keep the place open. I need to make a phone call so as we stop and park, I notice a middle aged man sitting on a three wheel tricycle that is configured for the rider to be recumbent while he pedals. <br />
I get off the bike, knowing, just knowing that this is a good omen for our trip and that Dick and I are getting ready to follow up on a Historical String of Experience. <br />
The rider, Jeff Heller, is from NYC and is riding to Florida. Here is how I described the meet on my blog. <br />
"Jeff is a New York City liberal who has a heart of pure gold and a mild mannered way of expressing his ideas. He told us he was a part time nurse and a part time lawyer who's main interest in life seems to be the legal support of those immigrants requesting asylum in this country. Jeff and I differ in major ways on most political subjects of the day, but he and Dick and I were able, through civil discourse, to find small areas of agreement on some things that could lead to compromises." <br />
<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-wo7RuJfp034/UYcg7OB-FZI/AAAAAAAAE6c/ZQJyPsTsGi0/s1600-h/clip_image004%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="clip_image004" border="0" height="211" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-zCfS4iJBQKE/UYcg7UdLICI/AAAAAAAAE6k/g-fArZ4JwnI/clip_image004_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="clip_image004" width="121" /></a> <br />
Jeff Heller <br />
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This appears to be a skill not well learned in the halls of the Congress. <br />
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We can not sign the log books because the place is closed on Mondays and there were lots of folks planning on making pit stops here and were more than just a little peeved at having to find a place down the road. <br />
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I have exchanged emails with Dick Heller but after my last mail that included attachments containing much of my political thoughts I have not heard from him. Perhaps my comments were just too over the top. I do wish he would comment, but silence is also his right. <br />
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Our ride on Tuesday from Aiken to Carthage, GA is very pleasant and proceeds without a hitch. <br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-RriqoTdiEVk/UYcg7nNx6wI/AAAAAAAAE6s/MNgifgUWqhU/s1600-h/clip_image006%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="clip_image006" border="0" height="115" hspace="12" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-gdA9PorKJjY/UYcg70hQ8RI/AAAAAAAAE60/Zy2_R8dvFpE/clip_image006_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="clip_image006" width="202" /></a>We arrive at the Flying Tiger Restaurant and are greeted by the owner and operator Leon Zhang. Leon is Chinese and an American citizen. I note some memorabilia from the Flying Tigers but do not warm up to the theme of the restaurant yet. The other guests have not yet arrived so we shed some of the leather and cool down with some lemon water and sweet tea. <br />
John Chappell arrives a few minutes later and immediately begins to regale us with the history and customs of Carthage and the surrounding area. (I add this as an after thought. John Chappell is a one in a million kind of guy. His background is seeded with acting, the "science" of drama, journalism, writing, history and the telling of tales and stories that surely must have been the way of leprechauns, fairies and unicorns in the day of Hans Christian Anderson. He has a head full of reddish white hair that is always akimbo but only accents his personality and story telling. Although I have already mentioned his interest in all things history, some one needs to sit him down and do a video of... "John Chappell and the History of Carthage, NC".) <br />
<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Hgc8pQYYBc0/UYcg8EES8xI/AAAAAAAAE68/iqvXMcRVCOA/s1600-h/clip_image008%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="clip_image008" border="0" height="122" hspace="12" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-7WJPbCEQkQs/UYcg8YNV4AI/AAAAAAAAE7E/0wvwAZUm5Q4/clip_image008_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="clip_image008" width="95" /></a>John is a staff writer for The Pilot newspaper and was the author of the piece done on Lt. Robert Hoyle Upchurch. It is immediately clear that John is a unique character and it shows through his eyes. Eyes that appear to have a permanent glint filled with mischief.<br />
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He is as jolly as Old Saint Nick. <br />
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Earl Ingram arrives about ten minutes later and when all have sated their empty stomachs, I ask John to start the story on Lt. Robert Hoyle Upchurch. Well Lt. Upchurch will have to wait because John is off and running on Pleistocene epochs of sand and clay formations right here in Carthage. His lead in history is actually very interesting, but we do not have unlimited time so I ask him to run right into the story on Upchurch. <br />
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To do this, John asked us to follow him around the restaurant as he points out the history of the Flying Tigers and Lt. Upchurch.<br />
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It was truly amazing. Unless you get up close and read the labels and articles, you would completely miss this well told story in a Chinese Restaurant. <br />
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On October 6, 1944, 21 year old Lt. Robert Hoyle Upchurch was killed in a US P-40 fighter aircraft. After what is believed to be his first combat mission with the 74th Fighter Squadron of the Flying Tigers, the flight of P-40s stopped at an intermediate base to refuel and then headed for the home base. The weather worsened, and Lt. Upchurch was last seen flying into the weather dangerously close to a mountain range. It was the residents of a town, Ch'en Hsien, in Guidong County, in Hunan Province, who made the trek to the crash site, Shang Pau Has, and gave Lt. Robert Hoyle Upchurch a ceremonial internment close to Santai Mountain. In 2005 the KIA/MIA Accounting Command team from Tripler Hospital in Hawaii in cooperation from a similar team from China finally listened to an old man who said he was 15 when the aircraft crashed and they followed him to a site and finally found Upchurch's last remains. <br />
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It had been 61 years from the date of Lt. Upchurch's death until his memorial service on 8 April, 2006. The space for the memorial was donated by the owner and operator of the Carthage area airport, Roland Gilliam. <br />
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When I first started this project, I was sure I would find all sorts of character traits, experiences and family history that would help me draw a conclusion on the character and culture Virgil and Doyle might have shared in their short fighting war. Strangely, this was not the case. <br />
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Both Virgil and Robert came from homes of strong family bonds and they would have had similar ideas about God, Country and apple pie. Since most of the country was rural, many citizens had little money or time to spend on the luxury of cross country travel. So they would have had little cross pollination on the dramatic differences that existed within their states when compared to one another. <br />
North Carolina would still be in the rural and agricultural south. Jim Crow laws still flourished in the south with which Robert would have been well aware. <br />
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We all have prejudices but we do not always act on these feelings. Our two WW II men would have carried their prejudices to war and had these feelings enhanced or changed in some way by their experiences with other kinds of people outside of their hometown experiences. I use this example because most men who returned from their experiences in the service had their prejudices modified in some way that would manifestly change the way they saw the world in the future. Had these two men survived the war, they would have arrived back in their hometowns as changed people. <br />
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They would have matured quickly by an accumulation of loneliness, fear, sleep depravation, strange places and strange foods and the continual pressure to perform and not screw the pooch. They would have had visited upon them more acts of stupidity, mendacity and cruelty than they would have experienced in a lifetime back home. Their very souls shocked by the evil that begets man's inhumanity to man. Most of all, they would place value on ideas and concepts that were nonexistent prior to their enlistment. The line from a popular song of the day is germane: "How you gonna keep them down on the farm, after they seen Paris." All of these changes would not have necessarily been for the best and each veteran addressed his own demons in his own way, but most, without professional aid, chose silence. <br />
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The fact that these two men did not return from the war, did not mean that their impact on their communities ceased. <br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-6yMSt_sfFGk/UYcg83Ti7mI/AAAAAAAAE7M/Go-mx33EIBY/s1600-h/clip_image012%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="clip_image012" border="0" height="244" hspace="12" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-bL8QP7AVTG4/UYcg9LV4l0I/AAAAAAAAE7U/iheFaNnYzY4/clip_image012_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="clip_image012" width="167" /></a>Give a moment to the following: Think how many people of different races, languages, cultures and belief system took part in the creation of memorial sites in the state of North Carolina, the province of Hanan, China and Plsen and Trhanov/Ujezd, Czech Republic. Its the pride and national feelings of John Chappel, Roland Gilliam, Leon Zhang, Pat Waters, Doug La Violette, Earl Ingram, Marion Kirkham, George (Jiri) Lavicka and, to a minor extent, myself who keep these people and the sacrifices of millions in our memories. This mental pause, harkens us to an everlasting truth. Civilizations require the codification of laws and good manners for us to exist with one another in peace and harmony. These men nearby help make that happen. <br />
Earl Ingram<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-AB1xtVdmcso/UYcg9QjrsjI/AAAAAAAAE7c/Urg71AGU-98/s1600-h/clip_image014%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="clip_image014" border="0" height="127" hspace="12" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-c8EFnk92Osk/UYcg9r43izI/AAAAAAAAE7g/46Vzzq26YqE/clip_image014_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="clip_image014" width="80" /></a>Pat Waters<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-hSQdqrYhPpo/UYcg96d-21I/AAAAAAAAE7s/Bm9tosL6Wrs/s1600-h/clip_image016%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="clip_image016" border="0" height="121" hspace="12" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-3eNRVNhPIIU/UYcg-Om2CmI/AAAAAAAAE70/48yKMnUQQrU/clip_image016_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="clip_image016" width="104" /></a><br />
Roland Gilliam<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/--2gGxtV5AMk/UYcg-s94w7I/AAAAAAAAE78/F5IpZWmepgQ/s1600-h/clip_image019%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="clip_image019" border="0" height="116" hspace="12" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-qE43cGpREDo/UYcg_FfaRII/AAAAAAAAE8E/Z2MqFEgb51w/clip_image019_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="clip_image019" width="97" /></a>Marion Kirkham<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-AdjI6JAyvhk/UYcg_cON92I/AAAAAAAAE8M/qQDHKiI2LSA/s1600-h/clip_image010%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="clip_image010" border="0" height="122" hspace="12" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-hi44QtbsCoo/UYcg_qzHu3I/AAAAAAAAE8U/ROv-lvPiQSw/clip_image010_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="clip_image010" width="86" /></a><br />
John Chappell<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-c5WjmYHsoDE/UYchAFdSYRI/AAAAAAAAE8c/rpGpKLvf0sI/s1600-h/clip_image021%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="clip_image021" border="0" height="136" hspace="12" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-xo9V1ROeXs0/UYchAgdNTPI/AAAAAAAAE8k/8v3cNpKVXyg/clip_image021_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="clip_image021" width="94" /></a>George Lavicka<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-F3Pwc4aca9E/UYchBAz0NcI/AAAAAAAAE8s/G_uFcZXCajo/s1600-h/clip_image026%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="clip_image026" border="0" height="129" hspace="12" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-XcnlrIqoWYk/UYchBj5QCNI/AAAAAAAAE80/E3145lJFpHg/clip_image026_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="clip_image026" width="108" /></a><br />
Doug La Violette<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-AH1Sv_hP9gs/UYchB_qx7PI/AAAAAAAAE88/ALu0yvRkjPk/s1600-h/clip_image023%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="clip_image023" border="0" height="142" hspace="12" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ts2J0-2eQkY/UYchCYiAmTI/AAAAAAAAE9E/qKW4iXbC-Ec/clip_image023_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="clip_image023" width="96" /></a><br />
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When national and international laws fail to neutralize the tyrant of the day, we, the policemen and politicians of the world, may send these young men to compel the tyrant to change his ways and use force if required. <br />
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But because of the unspeakable horror and evil spawned by war, we, as a people, should make this decision to engage in mortal combat with a fellow human being the hardest task a nation can undertake. <br />
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-U_Ad-bbNjrY/UYchC5B8JwI/AAAAAAAAE9M/CR5P69CBdqw/s1600-h/clip_image031%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="clip_image031" border="0" height="195" hspace="12" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-wz3sLNLFtyo/UYchDSgC-4I/AAAAAAAAE9U/nb3BTGGFD0c/clip_image031_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="clip_image031" width="147" /></a><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-hwLgVd7a2Wk/UYchDpxD13I/AAAAAAAAE9Y/cAUjcDTxP3k/s1600-h/clip_image033%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="clip_image033" border="0" height="197" hspace="12" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-f5On3Qi6be0/UYchEOulnzI/AAAAAAAAE9g/eZCgRpzGnmk/clip_image033_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="clip_image033" width="140" /></a><br />
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Lt. Virgil P. Kirkham Lt. Robert Upchurch <br />
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If we, as a nation, can maintain this philosophy, then the sacrifices of Lt. John Upchurch and Lt. Virgil Kirkham will go into the history books as a job well done. <br />
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<br />SixtySomthinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07117246219064001202noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299190578541970449.post-32748119640623717812013-04-09T06:23:00.003-04:002013-04-09T06:23:36.400-04:002013 NC Trip<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This Monday, 8 April, 2013 I traveled to Surrancy, Ga to meet my good friend Dick Ward and to give him some company on the last half of his trip to Aiken.<br />
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We stopped at the Georgia welcome center on Hwy 301 for me to make a phone call. Before I made the call I noticed a slightly past middle aged man sitting on recumbent bicycle resting in the shade of the portico of the Welcome Center. He had a friendly face and welcoming smile.<br />
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I told Dick I had to go talk to this guy. For those of you read this blog, you may be familiar with my concept of "Historical Strings of Experience". Well, I felt one of these coming on and I was, this time, prescient for my new acquaintance, Jeffery Heller, was a soul mate with the gift of gab.<br />
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Jeff is a New York City liberal who has a heart of gold and a mild mannered way of expressing his ideas. He told us he was a part time nurse and a part time lawyer who's main interest in life seems to be the legal support of those immigrants requesting asylum in this country. Jeff and I differ in major ways on most political subjects of the day but he and Dick and I were able, through, civil discourse, to find small areas of agreement on some things that could lead to compromises.<br />
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All three of us agreed that our discourse was one that would probably never occur in the halls of Congress or in the comment sections of the New York Times or the Washington Post.<br />
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Meeting Jeff was, at once, a new experience to talk to a long distance bicycle rider and consult with an informed citizen with ideas about how this Nation could be better.<br />
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We could use millions with the character, devotion and dedication possessed by JeffSixtySomthinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07117246219064001202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299190578541970449.post-63257301973961733912013-03-25T08:44:00.003-04:002013-03-25T08:45:30.622-04:002013 Sebring Trip<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For several years, Jim Bloomquist and I have been riding our bikes to Sebring, Fl to enjoy the 12 Hours of Sebring road races. I have always picked the Vetts to win the GT class, but, alas, they have always been beat by the BMWs or Ferrari's. Not this year!! So in memory of their win and Rex and Deb Decker's love of Vetts, I have included a bunch of shots of Vetts at the races.<br />
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You will also note that there are several pics of my buddies in different positions of semi Somnambulistic repose. It is hard to believe that anyone can sleep while the race is in progress, but we all do it. Do not be surprised if Dick Ward does not have his own pics of me catching flies.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2JxYUHyoYZMRpQI0-0eM2jWNJ1EdJ9kF_KzyrCWK8-MxFoCnqH_GfJox6eO9JSYTFksdvLVMkPEu-VocpdCijM9Eio-H0_py1X190X_N43eBhKIFrFcnN0pCq7nAhZMGtBakVop6Ky0w/s1600/P1030632.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2JxYUHyoYZMRpQI0-0eM2jWNJ1EdJ9kF_KzyrCWK8-MxFoCnqH_GfJox6eO9JSYTFksdvLVMkPEu-VocpdCijM9Eio-H0_py1X190X_N43eBhKIFrFcnN0pCq7nAhZMGtBakVop6Ky0w/s320/P1030632.JPG" width="289" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Believe it or not, this is Jim trying for the umpteenith time to get a seat pad that will make his tush comfortable. This one failed as well.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-NplCmxn7ffHPlFjd_2NpITILvXfPvpRwrfpznWFgBwb_enF6MmFVApwy5pQmvEw0wT9RKvL1rQO88UrQ1JmRWiYNFtQwsyYcaQsSy3oyEPNoLWvbHf0Q9lRM0UnRPXo5eHdbPssXPDE/s1600/P1030644.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-NplCmxn7ffHPlFjd_2NpITILvXfPvpRwrfpznWFgBwb_enF6MmFVApwy5pQmvEw0wT9RKvL1rQO88UrQ1JmRWiYNFtQwsyYcaQsSy3oyEPNoLWvbHf0Q9lRM0UnRPXo5eHdbPssXPDE/s320/P1030644.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzC01ZegBndTxPcALS96ddGZPeOztQUlz9Rz3jt-qOyYvj43Gk8I91wV3oMPMPCbrH41ZzE-AHsCpatzKviQw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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SixtySomthinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07117246219064001202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299190578541970449.post-45712661386301762482013-03-20T22:58:00.000-04:002013-03-20T22:58:37.990-04:00My Brother in Arms
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">Wednesday, March 20, 2013</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">My Brother in Arms</span></div>
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We made eye contact as I exited a family restaurant on a
Sunday morning where<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jim Bloomquist and
I had just finished a filling repast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The place was on Hwy 19 just north of the "Forest" and close
to the town of Palatka, Fl.</div>
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He arose as I passed him and he seemed to follow me out to
my bike.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I neared the bike, I heard
him exclaim, "Semper Fi" Marine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As all Marines do, I turned to face the source of the salutation and
return his Semper Fi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the outside
chance that some reading may not be familiar with the expression " Semper
Fi", it is a contraction of the Marine Corps' motto, Semper Fideles,
which, when translated from the Latin means, Always Faithful.</div>
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This happens all the time when I am on a motorcycle ride
because I wear my summer leather jacket with all the USMC patches and
stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This story would not have been
possible without the jacket.</div>
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Regardless of the history or circumstance, this human has
successfully completed the requirements of the recruit depot and advanced
infantry training schools and is automatically rendered the respect he or she
deserves unless this concept is proven to the contrary.</div>
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My fellow Marine was short, very thin, with reddish gray
hair that was very thin all over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His skin
was the pallor of a smoker and he looked none too healthy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We chatted pleasantly for several minutes and
I then attempted to extract myself from the conversation because my riding
partner was waiting on me.</div>
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This man appeared to have endured the travails of rough life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If he told me the correct dates of his
service in the Corps, 1963 to 1967, that would put him in his late
seventies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although appearances can be
deceiving, I would guess that most of that time he spent doing hard work for
meager wages.</div>
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Men like this are visible all over the 50 states and are
lost creatures whose age and health have made them dependent on something or
someone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This man is close to being down
and out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will probably happen
regardless of his immediate future.</div>
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He may or may not have had a wife and kids. He may have
known true love but it does not matter now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
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I speak now with the conviction of a prophet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With all that life has thrown at this man he
can still recall that hot, steamy day in the barracks and on the grinder, when
he knew, for the first and possibly the last time in his life, he had just
completed the requirements to belong to an elite group.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A group that puts the mission of the group
above all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That electric moment when the
DI puts two Eagle Globe and Anchor emblems in you palm and you close those
moist clammy fingers around the cool black metal that were the object of your
dreams in the squad bay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That his fellow
brothers, who will ultimately end up in harms way, would give up their lives to
protect his and that he can count on their loyalty through out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has a swollen chest from the pride of his
accomplishments in this caldron and he knows, he feels, he inherits the history
and traditions, he soaks up the culture and he will bleed for the right to
issue a hearty Semper Fi. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For after a
lifetime of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"nothing special",
he will be able to tell himself that he once was the pride of the nation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was once a member in good standing in the United
States Marine Corps.</div>
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May his creator find a place for him where the streets are
guarded by United States Marines.</div>
SixtySomthinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07117246219064001202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299190578541970449.post-72162278110900823792013-02-03T01:03:00.001-05:002013-02-03T01:06:22.429-05:002013 Ride to Elberton, GA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>A Tuesday Ride </b></span></div>
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This is just a collection snippets from a normal Tuesday ride with friends from Cedar Creek. The riders were Jim Bloomquist, Mark Hahn, Bruce Jones, Jim Byrd and me, Gus Fitch.</div>
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The clips were recorded from a Drift HD170 video cam mounted to my helmet and edited through iMovie software on my iMAC.</div>
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It will be mostly boring to those who don't ride and even to some who do ride, but there are some interesting views.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/602iayJJ2sI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />
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<span id="goog_2050235874"></span><span id="goog_2050235875"></span>SixtySomthinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07117246219064001202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299190578541970449.post-53451768424501776432013-01-14T08:55:00.000-05:002013-01-14T08:58:38.087-05:00A Sunrise of WonderYesterday, Sunday, January 13, 2013 I joined a group of riders from
Columbia, SC who were taking a short notice ride to the SeeWee Seafood
Restaurant on Hwy 17, just on the edge of the Francis Marion National
Forest northeast of Charleston, SC. I have never been to or heard of
this place in 71 years of knowing SC.<br />
<br />
So, I was excited
about the ride and the food. The plan was for me to meet the other
riders in West Columbia at Micky Dees on the corner of I-26 and
Charleston Highway. It would have been easy to hop on I-20, transition
to I-26 and meet the guys and gals at McDonalds. Out of habit, I chose
not to go via the slab but opted for the back roads. Not out of habit, I
decided to wear my video cam on my helmet for this trip. These two
actions netted me some really spectacular views of a sunrise from which I
chopped out several snapshots which are part of this posting. If I can
get the darn thing uploaded to my blog site, all will be Jake. The resolution of the pics is not good enough to use full screen .<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyRvnUSVgJySPq-C_iy5ON_ClDuw4sgwn3rlXJcDdf6gn2qVkW37eZ8cL6bK9EXb7LkM7P4-vfli5TZhc36' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>SixtySomthinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07117246219064001202noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299190578541970449.post-1856113423402713612012-11-03T20:10:00.000-04:002012-11-04T20:51:26.810-05:00<br />
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A Sunset. Thanks to Dick Ward, this is about a Sunrise.</div>
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<st1:date day="31" month="10" year="2012">Wednesday, October
31, 2012</st1:date></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Two things of substance occurred during my day
yesterday. The first and most obvious
was the length of my ride. Starting at
exactly 0400, I left Junction, <st1:state>Texas</st1:state>
and terminated at the VOQ at Davis Monthan Air Force Base in <st1:place><st1:city>Tucson</st1:city>,
<st1:state>Arizona</st1:state></st1:place> at 1800. Seven hundred and ninety eight miles. Just a little road weary but the distance was
a fluke and was not intended. It just
happened.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Second, and far more interesting, was my observation of a
most spectacular sunrise and moon set in the high deserts of <st1:place>West Texas</st1:place>. There are some preparatory observations to
set the stage. It is 39 degrees at departure.
It did not get above 52 until 1000.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The temperature is a non-issue because I wear heated gear
when the temperature gets below 45 degrees as a high for the day. Some,
perhaps most, will say that if it is that cold you do not need to ride that
day. Without finding fault with this position, my own philosophy differs
significantly, It is my opinion that we
all are on the clock. When the clock is
going to stop, is a universal mystery.
To squeeze all that I can from whatever it is I have left, seems not
only reasonable but necessary. There are
no promises that we will survive the night.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We must fulfill the promises of the next day in a way
commensurate with our skills, desires and resources. So I preach Carpe
Diem. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In this case, the cold brings two related weather phenomenon
together. The first is low humidity. This is a desert that receives scant rain and
retains even less. The second is high
altitude. The low humidity means few
clouds or hazes close to the ground and because we are at a moderate altitude,
the thickness of the light refracting layer is reduced which adds to clarity. The result is a full moon at its highest
point in this fall sky and almost directly over head. There are little if any
pollutants borne by this air. The air
has an aroma and a texture that add to its wonder. The aroma is not so much an identifiable odor
as it is an absence of all odors. It is
clean! If my wife, Margaret, were to
describe this air, she would hold up her hand and gently scrub her finger tips
across her palm and whisper
the word “soft”.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So it is a “soft” cold air that rolls around the black fairing
of the Gold Wing while the vortexes seek every opening in your clothing to put
a chill on your skin. But these openings
are few and most of the air finds it way around the fiberglass bags to join the
atmosphere it left for just a moment. With these feelings of the early morning air, the solitude of an almost empty
road, a full moon in my view with the glory of the sun soon to follow in my
mirrors, I am at peace.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This moon…this moon is not a moon to bay at! This is not a moon to spoon by! This is not a moon for men to land on, this
is a moon of dreamers. This moon is the
color white only glimpsed during the first few seconds of a thermonuclear
explosion. A white without shades of
gray or any other visual detractor. It
is as clear and sharp as the 10 mega pixel photo you edit in Photo Shop. This very special moon was hung over my head
by the math of gravity and the physics of gravitational pull. This moon is a warm up band for the Charlie
Daniels main show which is about to begin.
Only the Mary Jane is missing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I clear the small town of <st1:city>Junction</st1:city>,
<st1:state>Texas</st1:state> and the minimal amount of
lights it had burning at 0400. After
about 14 minutes, my eyes become, more or less, accustomed to the darkness and
it awakens an old and justifiable fear in the very essence of my soul. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I fear the sudden
appearance of a deer that comes into my vision too late for me to make any move
to avoid its deadly mass. It is an
overpowering feeling of helplessness. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The un-mowed summer grass along the side of the road is
waist high and dead from the drought and is a perfect hiding place for the big
eyed Bambies.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is, at once, a visceral fear for my physical survival
and a cognitive fear of the darkness. The
darkness looks soft and friendly, but hides the demons who call for the demise of riders who ignore the signs of danger. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These ruminations bring to a halt my musings about poetry
and prose and, instead, focus on survival.
I begin to think of ways for me to overcome this scenario.<br />
<br />
What I need
is a pulling guard to get in front of me to take the initial shock of impact
and let me escape with little or no injury.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I can do this. I slow
down to 55 and wait. I wait for a pickup truck doing the speed I am interested
in employing. Sure enough, here he
comes. He goes by me like I had good
sense. I throttle up the Wing and I am
soon ensconced in his protective shadow of iron and an additional <st1:metricconverter productid="200 feet">200 feet</st1:metricconverter> of road shoulder
illumination by his head lights. Once I
have his speed mastered, I can relax a little. I keep this up until my pulling guard gives
me a head fake and exits into the diminishing dark probably happy to be rid of
my constant pressure behind him. With
the guy in front of me gone, the grass on the shoulders now just recently mowed,
and a moon, beaming rays of white light over the desert, I pick up my study of
the setting of the moon and the opposite rising of the sun. As I drive through the dark, it is easy to
follow the moon from its apogee over the earth to its ultimate demise in the
waters of the Pacific . </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The sport is not just to view these two events, but to join
the wonder that our creator has made available to us if we will just look. Since I was wearing a balaclava type head
dressing, no one would have been able to see me smile in complete delight as I
witness this once a day event from a very special vantage point.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thus, at first look, the moon is directly overhead and very
hard to see and ride the bike simultaneously.
Once I get a good look at the moon, I check my mirrors for signs of
sunrise behind me. As time goes by, I
continue to look at the moon which is now below 60 degrees above the horizon
and there is no change in its countenance, nor any sign of light from the
horizon behind me. I am looking about every five minutes and then with a blind
motion, I point my camera over my shoulder in the general direction of the
horizon behind me, without looking, and get the following: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH65FMzxTtDKa1lXbC8BUnCZpphpwex3Nsjj-7FsYt_RXPZpJvwE3oqgQH1QJ3YFJUVQ4-yER5hu13HyDfg9hVfGBwivBmhOZV0qMqrAp8Ii4NLzrtEBP-WeOKaDTyvIbs61OUAVO5vwU/s1600/P1030359.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH65FMzxTtDKa1lXbC8BUnCZpphpwex3Nsjj-7FsYt_RXPZpJvwE3oqgQH1QJ3YFJUVQ4-yER5hu13HyDfg9hVfGBwivBmhOZV0qMqrAp8Ii4NLzrtEBP-WeOKaDTyvIbs61OUAVO5vwU/s320/P1030359.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<!--[endif]--></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just a few minutes later, here is another view through my
right mirror.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtfznBkc1KDQoflbdIkMzZhJ2fGGJ6lYrqYEpU9HogOS6196aUnSKZBTSaCtHKep56ldh8XNGS32PgneClJN_n5EIJEBkE2s55DfK9ROm3hOK6aDCI32zPLnmKFGbgSRHmtBuSDrX1Zbw/s1600/P1030364.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtfznBkc1KDQoflbdIkMzZhJ2fGGJ6lYrqYEpU9HogOS6196aUnSKZBTSaCtHKep56ldh8XNGS32PgneClJN_n5EIJEBkE2s55DfK9ROm3hOK6aDCI32zPLnmKFGbgSRHmtBuSDrX1Zbw/s320/P1030364.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<!--[endif]--></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What is missing, of course, is a description of the colors
changing. My view is constantly changing
because of the wash board affects of the wadis that cross the road and by doing
so, changes the hues because it changed the relationship of the atmosphere to
the object being viewed. Too much detail
you say and you may be right.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The moon is in a black sky with the sun shattering the atmosphere with
burnt oranges and sprays of powerful reds and atomic yellows just hours behind
it. I check the moon and its sky has
lightened just ever so much but there are no colors. I check out the road for critters, come
inside and check the gages then back out to the heavens and my mirrors that
mark the progress of moon and sun. Its
been another five minutes since I looked at the moon. It is now suspended about
15 degrees above the horizon in a gentle gender pink belt holding it above a
boyish but sturdy cloud of blue that falls like a drapery behind the west Texas
mountains. Above the pink belt is a
portion of the firmament whose is reluctantly giving in to the stronger forces
of the sunrise and its milky white is soon refracting the suns rays creating
the now all familiar blue sky.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here is the view with a full sun behind me and the moon
losing its dominance over the sky: The
moon appears very small in this pic. Look just above the intersection of the
windshield and the ridge top and you will see the pale planet.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcFuoUZTHo99sN4X5XOGc2xW4ABy3eCnAbgXYoFU9MPA-fvnclB8H8so8FXbQSbVj7XZBvvYthpGPbeob1JdjQkI6oj5TQ1WrgBt8zPHfaNWE-l_nbYAT2tQ_msXR2xNR_4ssYHvY2Cdo/s1600/P1030365.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcFuoUZTHo99sN4X5XOGc2xW4ABy3eCnAbgXYoFU9MPA-fvnclB8H8so8FXbQSbVj7XZBvvYthpGPbeob1JdjQkI6oj5TQ1WrgBt8zPHfaNWE-l_nbYAT2tQ_msXR2xNR_4ssYHvY2Cdo/s320/P1030365.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<!--[endif]--></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When the sun has one half of its orb visible, I reach a
valley whose floor is marked with one wadi after another. This means the bike climbs and descends these
wadiis and I am blessed with seeing this sun rise four times before it is
complete. Interestingly enough, the
temperature went up and down from 39 to 52 and back again repetitively over a
period of one hour. I spent the rest of
the day passing and being passed by vehicles that were, for the most part, well
behaved drivers as we ground out the miles at <st1:metricconverter productid="81 MPH">81 MPH</st1:metricconverter>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I regret that you could not have been with me to share this
experience.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
SixtySomthinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07117246219064001202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299190578541970449.post-73121528138789639082012-08-15T18:46:00.003-04:002012-08-17T06:16:29.283-04:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">2012 Trip to Plzen</span></b></div>
<br />
Some sage or philosopher can be quoted as the source of the age old saw,
“Each journey begins with but a single step.” (Poetic license)
<br />
That quote may have been true in its time and place, but not today.
<br />
In America, the trip anywhere in an aircraft begins with the TSA.<br />
<br />
There are no
manners and no pleasantries passed between TSA and passengers.
<br />
<br />
With that off of my chest, I can proceed to things of more import.
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeRnL7KqzT5q9EYlGOQM1nBZd6U6rY-LvWu_RY5S-w5vnIDLTK1jEIBstirAq1Vd-ctwkmtOw0KQTh-HnuLnfi9xb9rbs5ufLV4M0UyWghSm2mptZEWMvCCh2eh_6tipvnNDKohpKn7W4/s1600/P1010435.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeRnL7KqzT5q9EYlGOQM1nBZd6U6rY-LvWu_RY5S-w5vnIDLTK1jEIBstirAq1Vd-ctwkmtOw0KQTh-HnuLnfi9xb9rbs5ufLV4M0UyWghSm2mptZEWMvCCh2eh_6tipvnNDKohpKn7W4/s320/P1010435.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
The Delta flight from JFK to Prague was as pleasant as any coach flight
across the Atlantic pond can be. Customs and bag pick up were without any drama
and I proceeded to the airport exit.
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoMWbCk_rHSfLYX2oipjXiaj0_Wjycp_qaobWFe0o4TWdhexEL06YvjwgCMgOsL_90AVL-waUy1ZPVDbB9beAiQSVrNohyphenhyphenONK-4HDWR-wDDDvcwxZD1Jr9hwIzE9RcvnuFdlvN3ndDeC4/s1600/P1010438.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoMWbCk_rHSfLYX2oipjXiaj0_Wjycp_qaobWFe0o4TWdhexEL06YvjwgCMgOsL_90AVL-waUy1ZPVDbB9beAiQSVrNohyphenhyphenONK-4HDWR-wDDDvcwxZD1Jr9hwIzE9RcvnuFdlvN3ndDeC4/s320/P1010438.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
I had agreed with Jana (pronounced Yana) Poncarova that I would arrive with
my summer motorcycle jacket with all of the patches visible. This worked well.
Jana stood like a lithe angel smiling from a spring of good will bubbling up
like an artesian well from a soul of goodness. This face was not only beautiful
but shone with an open and honest countenance. She stood next to her very tall
husband who, naturally, was a hansom dude befitting the angel next to him. All I
could think of was here was the future of the Czech Republic. Young, eager,
bright, well educated and enthusiastic about their future, the two stood tall
and proud. All I could envision was a halo like one would see in a Greek
Orthodox rendition of the Virgin Mary surrounding the couple. Sappy…perhaps, but
I saw it all and felt the hand of the future. Surly, these folks and millions
like them deserve the opportunity to fulfill the dreams for their future and the
future of the Czech Republic. May a merciful and benevolent creator bring them
the happiness that is their birth right and a promise that they will be blessed
by a body politic wise enough to bequeath them a hope for life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness.<br />
<br />
With this first impression of the Czech future, the couple parted and
revealed the diminutive figure of Marion Kirkham giving me, his now famous,
double thumbs up and a broad smile. How could this trip be anything but great!<br />
<br />
Jana and her husband were so differential to Marion seeing to his every need
and showing a respect for the elderly that is now the exception versus the rule
in the US.<br />
<br />
It is about an hour’s drive from the airport to Plzen and George Latvicka’s
home. One can not ride through this beautiful country and not be struck by the
number of bright yellow fields that dot the landscape. The yellow plant is the
source of Canola oil that the country uses for the production of bio diesel
fuel. I later learned that the plantings were not because the farmers had a
profitable market for the oil but because there were bureaucratic “experts” in
Brussels who dictated the ratio of specific crops that each farmer could plant.
Clearly the result of the impact of Global Warming teachings forced on the
population. My hope for the Czech Republic took a dip.
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic1z2wWFfqGGBUk7sZbDoglUsBs3bkyaJw85797Te1c04NqBv9yDuE3HVAUaZdDNCO_xguu2YNPTIsWV-RaniT2DgjR1mmRcaE1B3MlkDiOa5HW9tDjOir66tQSwUy2or6KzHueD9q12k/s1600/P1010440.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic1z2wWFfqGGBUk7sZbDoglUsBs3bkyaJw85797Te1c04NqBv9yDuE3HVAUaZdDNCO_xguu2YNPTIsWV-RaniT2DgjR1mmRcaE1B3MlkDiOa5HW9tDjOir66tQSwUy2or6KzHueD9q12k/s320/P1010440.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
We arrived at the Hotel CD.
<br />
As I stepped into the lobby, I was transported as if by a time machine to the
Communist era of the 50s and 60s. The hotel was built like a block house with
fixtures Home Depot and Lowes would not sell. But the picture of a socialist
state was made complete by the woman behind the counter who was watching a TV
program in the living quarters behind the check-in desk. We had to call her
twice to get her attention and even then, it was clear that our presence was an
interruption to her TV viewing and she shuffled with reluctance to do her job.
She had no record of my reservation although I had an email confirmation of the
reservation. This dance between her computer screen and her paperwork was a huge
embarrassment to Jana and her husband. I was completely OK with the delay,
initially, but their constant rendering of apologies for the delay was so
distressing that even I became uncomfortable and impatient with the product of a
Stalin era example of…”from each according to his abilities.”
<br />
The problem was resolved and Jana and her husband left me to settle into my
room. This took some time.<br />
<br />
I am a traveler who is accustomed to sleeping cheap
but this hotel was lacking some of the basic niceties of even a Motel 6. First,
the key was an old skeleton type with a wooden attachment that was as large as a
major league baseball but shaped like a huge tear drop. If I were to put it in
my jeans pocket, I would look like a freak from the Circus trolling for a date.
Consequently, I left the key at the desk instead of carrying it with me. This
was going to be a problem in the future.
<br />
I, for one, am not crazy about taking a bath in a tub.
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ai3qbd8YsFV6PcEGFdq2sANMV5zq66DzuEMYPOxa-TPSyuytuHZmSqaH9xZM7eMpgMpaulhQ3mr68319Dx4GL7tLxIYRarxIn2Rh4Y9lZVsuaGU0rC8XqC-pvKDLa_cRH5ViM3QNC9Q/s1600/P1010477.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ai3qbd8YsFV6PcEGFdq2sANMV5zq66DzuEMYPOxa-TPSyuytuHZmSqaH9xZM7eMpgMpaulhQ3mr68319Dx4GL7tLxIYRarxIn2Rh4Y9lZVsuaGU0rC8XqC-pvKDLa_cRH5ViM3QNC9Q/s320/P1010477.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6FHBs4rgCgwWXgkBiOdI93Rd0lB4nTbeeQUrZpHTsDDEarnXccMgWOGX4xgzJjtLLo2ZOdGCmWN1SX-8jeQeI2Fk2QEdB1tG9p2NmHzHYHH18_NjO-39oynK4IWKX1rdJN7ld3BFfVpo/s1600/P1010478.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6FHBs4rgCgwWXgkBiOdI93Rd0lB4nTbeeQUrZpHTsDDEarnXccMgWOGX4xgzJjtLLo2ZOdGCmWN1SX-8jeQeI2Fk2QEdB1tG9p2NmHzHYHH18_NjO-39oynK4IWKX1rdJN7ld3BFfVpo/s320/P1010478.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrouBSZN29EBixSqPWRfuqbP_Q2qWOegfvmxzBZdhG4NhQwBVh7jWX6U0xJq97051644v9KK-cs6YLKm-p0yv26joRg9Zw-Ljk7VdmJVQVKTUcxIQp8JYf1uyIIwbK0jpUCdTpZpBlT_g/s1600/P1010445.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
My reason being, the moment you decide to exit the bath water and start to
stand up, there are a dozen ways to slip and fall. My second and real objection
is as you rise, the floating film of soap and dirt that you just washed from
your body is now re-deposited evenly across the entire surface of your skin.
(The Japanese have it right. Scrub the dirt off and rinse sitting on a wooden
stool then get into the clean hot water of an Ofuro deep soaking tub.) In this
tub, the only way the hand held device will reach the top of my head for shampoo
removal is if I am sitting in the tub. Oh well, time to stop my whining and get
clean.
<br />
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After a "shower", I walked across the street to George Lavicka’s house to
join a party that he was having for all the WWII veterans. George has a large
home that he rents out as a B&B. Part of the home is a covered patio that
includes a storage place for his jeep trailer, a couple of tables and benches,
US Army memorabilia, croaker sacks full of kindling and at least ten cords of
cut and split wood.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrouBSZN29EBixSqPWRfuqbP_Q2qWOegfvmxzBZdhG4NhQwBVh7jWX6U0xJq97051644v9KK-cs6YLKm-p0yv26joRg9Zw-Ljk7VdmJVQVKTUcxIQp8JYf1uyIIwbK0jpUCdTpZpBlT_g/s1600/P1010445.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrouBSZN29EBixSqPWRfuqbP_Q2qWOegfvmxzBZdhG4NhQwBVh7jWX6U0xJq97051644v9KK-cs6YLKm-p0yv26joRg9Zw-Ljk7VdmJVQVKTUcxIQp8JYf1uyIIwbK0jpUCdTpZpBlT_g/s320/P1010445.JPG" width="320" /></a>
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The rafters of the cover are littered with more US Army stuff and a license
plate from every state in the Union. Part of this area has a small shed that
encloses one of his proudest possessions, a 40s US Army restored Jeep. It no
longer contains a standard jeep gasoline engine, but that motor has been
replaced by a small diesel engine. In one corner next to the house, George has
fashioned a pyramidal wood smoke oven. The oven is about ten feet high made of
cast iron that has different levels for cooking and smoking. The most commanding
object on the patio is a seven foot (estimated) bronze medallion with a relief
of the European continent with Plzen at the center and elements of Patton’s
Third Army listed around the circumference of the medallion. The medallion is
mounted on the wall of his brick home and I have no idea where George got such a
huge artifact.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWMAY_pCr5pGjxhp7BnqAaYUXKrZMs6hbvLVKpRD0xqRHUbPXVqIMZ3pBvP9V52upu3ZwcCQmPzLyMbnBi-yf85v4HXPGKgVyljAGSY8NqyLgFfA69AzwURL0UdcI0mVeiZe6bZRmB1xQ/s1600/P1010452.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWMAY_pCr5pGjxhp7BnqAaYUXKrZMs6hbvLVKpRD0xqRHUbPXVqIMZ3pBvP9V52upu3ZwcCQmPzLyMbnBi-yf85v4HXPGKgVyljAGSY8NqyLgFfA69AzwURL0UdcI0mVeiZe6bZRmB1xQ/s320/P1010452.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3J1nxv2f-df_Etsrct1FHI7ovaKy9QxDEGqvF20RHbpGxAarUew4_7Rxl2JlN2j6HFLAdcou6cP4jVf_vCswa6VT8Ei9hIFUERt6YPFM8th_CaQqfwS5dEo3XMgBWZ55MoXKu3Cbqebk/s1600/P1010451.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3J1nxv2f-df_Etsrct1FHI7ovaKy9QxDEGqvF20RHbpGxAarUew4_7Rxl2JlN2j6HFLAdcou6cP4jVf_vCswa6VT8Ei9hIFUERt6YPFM8th_CaQqfwS5dEo3XMgBWZ55MoXKu3Cbqebk/s320/P1010451.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSXhDqYkLxYpbSlkESLQFLmFhUcdR8Esg9DX-qyhdw9i7jpWcByXsYjWjLlmseb2-d494ynOd3nOnWc8bzwBQeYiyAnkitNEBYFRlp25Kbt24Hd20GuFa25mb7_afFqX0rteYdOLyNagQ/s1600/P1010449.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSXhDqYkLxYpbSlkESLQFLmFhUcdR8Esg9DX-qyhdw9i7jpWcByXsYjWjLlmseb2-d494ynOd3nOnWc8bzwBQeYiyAnkitNEBYFRlp25Kbt24Hd20GuFa25mb7_afFqX0rteYdOLyNagQ/s320/P1010449.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx_LXIIruaUiV00qPAsfXnc7P_Ls6_rLKZDxq6eLXPXBu8kpOEW6puuFf0q8Q0vMCkBKsxD23TlIAbRw1PCR7K34EB0pDlMW_LskQNaBJT7M7pYBj3ZU5t2Yx3pfdsx7U8PBT8FLPZeLU/s1600/P1010448.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx_LXIIruaUiV00qPAsfXnc7P_Ls6_rLKZDxq6eLXPXBu8kpOEW6puuFf0q8Q0vMCkBKsxD23TlIAbRw1PCR7K34EB0pDlMW_LskQNaBJT7M7pYBj3ZU5t2Yx3pfdsx7U8PBT8FLPZeLU/s320/P1010448.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC_uOcxb6nRbycu0guW0sPIngnh8wtUNSHWEapShbD8gVXL63PyRmJpx5JQQYHfeSySurGjyOvRKMiKA6JaXAl3FRlC3-FdOqBAKh-2SNzpDu1utyrlGHdN-k5dJVS42zWYQeGBO3GIQM/s1600/P1010447.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC_uOcxb6nRbycu0guW0sPIngnh8wtUNSHWEapShbD8gVXL63PyRmJpx5JQQYHfeSySurGjyOvRKMiKA6JaXAl3FRlC3-FdOqBAKh-2SNzpDu1utyrlGHdN-k5dJVS42zWYQeGBO3GIQM/s320/P1010447.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAj8-SBKLQQ3ndn8bYhWMd9pdEs3GyKfZ4tKOlZjmrGjCt-3EbbcantAF5zmuNEH8o3CWvk6V8a_FlvPMKd29zjMda4C403D5jShSvGAw6B-ot0qhk6wZmOIP8x5WBbZ1fcVVBh1847tE/s1600/P1010446.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAj8-SBKLQQ3ndn8bYhWMd9pdEs3GyKfZ4tKOlZjmrGjCt-3EbbcantAF5zmuNEH8o3CWvk6V8a_FlvPMKd29zjMda4C403D5jShSvGAw6B-ot0qhk6wZmOIP8x5WBbZ1fcVVBh1847tE/s320/P1010446.JPG" width="320" /></a>
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Tonight, however, the patio is a place for a party to celebrate the arrival
of all the WWII veterans to his home. I must admit that I was struck by the
scene of a whole pig that had been butchered very recently and had been trimmed
so that there was only the meat worthy of eating that was left on the carcass.
The two halves of the pig were hanging from the rafter of his covered patio and
there was a full time butcher there slicing the meat and boiling it and using
the trimming to make sausage which he ground while we were there and stuffed
washed intestinal casing with the ground pork.
<br />
The boiled pork was delicious and the cooked sausage was off the page
delicious. Put three or four kinds of mustard, boiled pork, crisp pickles, head
cheese, smoked sausage and original Plsen beer on the table and you have a grand
start. Add a four piece traditional band and a Czech couple decked out in their
traditional costumes and you have yourself a grand gathering.<br />
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<br />
<br />
Of the five veterans present, one was 90, one 92, one 94 and one 97. All four
went to bed hours after I did. A good time was had by all and George is to be
commended for the effort he put into the gathering.<br />
<br />
I awoke the next morning and began the chore of getting ready for the day.
Completing one's morning ablutions requires a different skill set when conducted
in the Hotel CD. Still not fully awake, I completed my morning toilet duties and
then pulled the chain that reached at least ten feet to the top of the tank. I
turned my back to exit the stall and had the BeeJesus scared out me by the roar
of water reaching its terminal velocity as it accelerated down the ten foot fall
pipe and delayed for a three count and then continued its journey to the lower
regions. I have just reread this paragraph and I find it highly unusual that I
would take the time to mention bathroom activities. Most members of a civil
society would not broach such a subject in a public forum, much less commit the
subject to writing. Oh well!<br />
<br />
Breakfast was a bit complicated for me. First, I did not have a key to the
house like all of the other guest because I was not residing there. Before I
left the states, it was made clear to me that I would be joining their group for
breakfast each morning. Since each day had some variation as to when breakfast
would start, I would try the previous evening to discover when this might be.
But there was still a big hitch. If one of the vets had a scheduled event that
required him to have an early start, breakfast could start very early in the
morning. Those who did not have an early start could simply sleep in. If I tried
to be at the house when breakfast was scheduled to begin, I would wake up the
entire house with my arrival because I have to ring the security bell to get
through the locked gate that protected the walled compound. It was all very
uncomfortable for me and I dreaded trying to do the right thing for breakfast.
<br />
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Once I had achieved entry into George's house, the atmosphere was very warm.
Normally, Marilyn, Marion Kirkham's daughter, was ensconced at George's laptop
doing email. There were several coffee carafes with a wonderful blend for taste
and aroma. I can not remember what we had every day because everyday was
different. The first morning was highlighted by canapés left over from the
previous evening. They were beautiful and delicious.
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<br />
There were fried eggs with fresh pork; pancakes (they were actually crepes);
a pastry morning; and one day with a wonderful soup for breakfast. The vets and
their families would trickle up from the basement rooms and down from the two
floors above. Most seemed to be morning people but demonstrated courtesy and
give each fellow traveler his/her few minutes to come to a full state of
wakefulness.
<br />
There were actually only two WW II veterans staying in George's B&B, Eric
Petersen of the 16 Armored Div. and Marion Kirkham who did not make it overseas
but was trained as a pilot. It was his brother, Virgil P. Kirkham that I have
written about and who was killed on 5 May 1945.
<br />
Eric was 94 and Marion was 90. These two guys had more energy that they could
summon in a day than I could muster in a week. Both men were effervescent,
gregarious and full of life. To watch them day to day was an honor and a
pleasure.
<br />
The weekly routine was normally some activity in the morning followed by a
luncheon presented by some organization in the city of Plzen. If possible, the
guys would take a nap and then make whatever afternoon activity was planned.
Here are some of the things they did: Attended the Czech Republic wreath laying
ceremony for their war dead and resistance fighters; a wreath laying ceremony
for the Czech Republic's aviators who fought in WW II; a wreath laying at the
2nd Infantry Division; a wreath laying ceremony for the 16th Armored; a wreath
laying ceremony at the We Love America monuments; attendance at many of the WW
II field camps that were set up in various parks in the city; participation in
the Liberation Celebration parade of military vehicles; dedication of the
memorial Sherman Tank at the Plzen Zoo and a variety of celebrations in the
nearby countryside. Keep in mind that there were never less than three speeches
made at each of these venues and that each speech had to be translated into
English. There was one gathering in the City Hall where there were at least a
half a dozen speeches that were spoken in Czech or French and then each one of
these was translated into the other language. At no time during the Belgium
ceremony were any of the speeches translated into English. This would test the
veteran's patience.
<br />
<br />
<br />
One of the ceremonies was the dedication of a Sherman Mark 4 tank that had
been through the toughest battle of its life just trying to meet all the red
tape it took to get it into the Czech Republic. Once all the paper work had been
completed, the tank was loaded on a flat bed truck and rolled out toward the
Republic from Germany. As the story goes, the boarder guard/official could not
read the Czech language on the documents and refused to allow the tank to cross
the German/Czech boarder. There was much gnashing of teeth and in the end, Pat
Waters, General George S. Patton's grandson, actually talked to the officials at
the border crossing over the phone and convinced them to allow the tank's
passage.
<br />
Pat had picked up some kind of stomach ailment and was not able to attend the
dedication ceremony. This was unfortunate because the dedication was for him,
personally. The tank was recognition for all of the work and resources Pat has
dedicated to the support of the Liberation Day Celebration. We were able to cut
out a piece of the next morning so Pat could visit the Zoo where the tank was
finally placed. See pics of both events.
<br />
This is the original ceremony...
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This was the second visitation to the dedication site. The man in the tan
suit is Pat Waters and the man with his back to you and wearing an eye patch is
Jiri (George) Lavicka who was responsible for so much work and coordination to
make all of this happen. You can also see George speaking in front of the tank
in the photo above
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The highlight, of course, was the parade down their main street. The crowds
were not huge, but they were one or two deep throughout the long parade route. I
must say, the veterans and their families seem to enjoy this part of the visit
and celebration the most. I believe Marion wanted me to participate in the
parade but the organizer did not make plans for the non-veterans and I was not
invited to join the group in the parade. I will admit that I was disappointed
but I had no intention of causing a scene and putting a wet blanket over the
enjoyment of the veterans. I buddied up with some of the wives and family
members who were also not in the parade. We had a front row seat so that we got
to see all of the units. Below is a collage of pictures I took and it is only a
small representation of all the units that participated.
<br />
<br />
<br />
Another part of the celebration is the establishment of military camps spread
throughout the parks in the city. Czechs set up tents, mess halls, sleeping
quarters, first aid tents and equipment displays. All of this "stuff" is
privately owned and the owners look forward each year to show off their
equipment and clothing.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0yT75jTTjUKK30lRBa2-LvCyiDBQv64teUmV6kR2n20Jb-1ebhoorDChke19cqqQhwW6wBrWcD9Ca1OoH2WP05ywNHRHGWeTPpR3Ws2KIv7b8uS2JPPb0Dt8wqVUVALtQlTWn815XzgU/s1600/collage+encampment.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0yT75jTTjUKK30lRBa2-LvCyiDBQv64teUmV6kR2n20Jb-1ebhoorDChke19cqqQhwW6wBrWcD9Ca1OoH2WP05ywNHRHGWeTPpR3Ws2KIv7b8uS2JPPb0Dt8wqVUVALtQlTWn815XzgU/s320/collage+encampment.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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During one of the wreath laying ceremonies, I was standing at the back of the
crowd and happened to look down the street and saw the Jewish Synagogue that
George had shown me two years prior. I separated myself from the assembly and
walked the two blocks to the Synagogue. I paid a stipend and entered the
facility. Below are pictures of the Great Synagogue of Plsen. The corner stone
was laid in 1888 and the structure was completed in 1893. At the time, there
were 1207 Jews living in Plzen. With the Nazi occupation, 2605 Jews were
deported to the concentration camp at Terezin. Only 204 returned. The Great
Synagogue went unused for worship from 1942 to 1998 when major restoration was
accomplished to save the building from the ravages of time. During these years,
the Great Synagogue was used a storage facility and a stables. There were two
large houses on either side of the synagogue and this may be the only reason the
building was not destroyed. I took these pictures for a neighbor and friend,
Jerry Fischer.<br />
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The part of town I stayed in had some old but beautiful homes. Most are in
some state of disrepair with some of the owners living in just parts of the
house. It is truly a sad condition, but there is some hope.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOZ4y-OfQLGATuC9Vlu-zcx8YsiWtxits_hbLSheOeuXu2VMPwZPYveATF1GwdlwbTOtaOged9_gnn7_zZVpJYPhGQKlpEu1bDZSBX66emYm7TGY_QI72ABwB2E7LBNj0KaeXkJCe6kHo/s1600/collage+old+homes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOZ4y-OfQLGATuC9Vlu-zcx8YsiWtxits_hbLSheOeuXu2VMPwZPYveATF1GwdlwbTOtaOged9_gnn7_zZVpJYPhGQKlpEu1bDZSBX66emYm7TGY_QI72ABwB2E7LBNj0KaeXkJCe6kHo/s320/collage+old+homes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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As an example, I was invited to visit the home of Barbara and Patrick Foye.
Their home went for years unoccupied and so was vandalized for decades by the
homeless and drug users. Barbara and Patrick are expatriates with two teenage
children from the US. They run some sort of religious mission from their home
and partially justify the cost of the property by using large parts of it for
their mission work. They have built themselves an apartment in what would have
been the attic. It is most unusual because there are so many magnificent support
beams passing through their living space which gives the flat a sort of cubic
architecture look with rooms that transition from one another by two or three
steps going up or down allowing the maximum utilization of the attic space.
There is so much work left to done that it is mind bending. I can not fathom how
they keep a stiff upper lip with a lifetime of work that must be coordinated
through the city of Plzen before any repairs can be made. It was just too much
to absorb. I took a few pictures, but I was so absorbed with Patrick showing me
the entire place and what they had done and what yet remained that I lost
interest in the photos. This is a most unique family with teenagers who I
believe are 16 and 17 and wore their scout uniforms to all of the celebration's
activities. I have never met young men as mature as these teenagers were. They
have a huge bank of knowledge about the world, the Czech Republic and their
homeland. What a pleasure it was to be around them. What I thought I saw were
two young men whose lives were not driven by the materialism we see in the
States and as a consequence, they had more time to learn the issues of the world
and their place in it. May they have the happiness that this kind of life may
bring them.
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There was a Mayor's luncheon that I did get invited to and it followed the
recognition of the forces from Belgium that were part of the Allied units that
helped in the liberation of Plsen. This was perhaps the most difficult of all
the ceremonies that I attended. There were approximately ten speeches given and
they were either in Czech or French and then each speech was translated into the
other language from the speaker's language. There was no English spoken. I am
not sure why this was, but I am glad that English was omitted. I can hardly
imagine what it would have been like if we had two translations for each of the
speeches.
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The luncheon was very nice except that there was no place to sit when I got
my meal and I ended up on the steps of the City Hall.
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In this City Hall, there is a bronze memorial to Patton's Third Army and it
is, in my view, very unique. There is an American Flag with it's staff magically
suspended in space and the folds of the starts and stripes gently gather
themselves into a pillow of red, white and blue that is resting on the top of a
bronze edifice with all the major units that were part of Patton's Third Army
that entered Plsen in May 1945. It is the only bronze structure that I have seen
that was painted. The bronze flag is about and inch to two inches in thickness
and supports it self and the staff in mid air yet gives a feeling of soft fabric
falling gently onto the memorial edifice. The monument is warm in color and in
grace. A befitting recognition of the part the US played in WW II. The collage
below contains the only picture of me in the collection and I am standing next
to the flag monument.<br />
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My final and most enjoyable part of the trip was my return to the site were
Lt. Kirkham was killed in May 1945. The trip this time was taken on a most
beautiful day in the Sudetenland. The ride through the country side was filled
with color and the blending of all sorts of patterns and textures.
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Once we got into the small town of Ujezd, I saw the first item that was not
here when I first visited Ujezd. It was a small brass plaque on the communitie's
activity center in memory of Lt. Kirkham. (See pic below) We proceeded up the
road to the path leading to the site. The path we chose was the wrong one and we
were a half mile down the two wheel track before we recognized our error. Back
to the car. Drive a click (a thousand meters) further up the road and there it
is. We start off again.
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The path is more like an old truckers road used for logging. Once again, I
begin to get that uggy feeling as we approach the site. There are a lot of
memorabilia around the site because of the Liberation Celebration and it makes
the site a little less depressing.
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They have built some log benches near by and I take a seat and begin to
ponder. At first, my efforts to see Virgil's memorial site for the first time
was nothing more than a loyal desire to pay my respects to a fellow, if not
fallen, US combat aviator. The experience was so gripping that I was surprised
at how strongly I attached myself to this long fallen combat aviator. This is
not a simple act of projection, I immersed myself in the details of his last
flight and the history and culture of the people of the Czech Republic during
1945.
<br />
I no longer trust my own motives. I am sitting here at my computer at 0430
staring at the screen reaching inside myself for an explanation of the reasons
why I care about this entire subject. In part, I was most surprised at the
response that my original story generated and had my ego stroked by many of the
comments from those who had read the story. Secondly, I was willingly drawn into
this group by the friendship shown to me and my friend, Dick Ward, by Marion
Kirkham. Nothing would make me happier than to be able to call Marion a friend.
I felt a genuine desire to be with him as his friend at the celebration when he
invited me.
<br />
Up until now, I have missed the point. The Liberation Celebration is about
the people of Plzen and the US veterans whose lives and personal histories were
changed forever by their deployment to Europe. This is their time, their history
and their memories. My time, my history and my memories are of another generation and
suitable for another day. I can only rejoice in the adoration laid at the feet
of these old soldiers.<br />
<br />
I am here for Virgil.<br />
<br />
I am reminded that my connection to Virgil is identical to my connections to
the veterans of our two current wars. We have become a nation at war with two
nations but the war is felt by only a few and the rest of us have no skin in
this game. I am, personally embarrassed that less than one half of one percent
of our population of 303 million are members of the armed forces or are even
aware of the sacrifices endured by our service personnel and their families.<br />
<br />
The
United States is not at war. The all volunteer Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines
and Coasties are at war.<br />
<br />
If our leaders lack the vision and fortitude to recognize the error of our
ways, then let us declare that we will say a remembrance, a prayer, if you like,
for the safe return of every trooper in harms way. Our history has enough
stories like Virgil's.
<br />
I would like to thank the Foye family, George Latvicka his wife Lidus and
Jana Poncarova and her husband for going out of their way to make my stay as
comfortable as possible. I hope that Jana will find the voice to critique my
thoughts on Eastern European Democracies.SixtySomthinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07117246219064001202noreply@blogger.com0