Remembering the past, Honoring the fallen

As we observe the 5th anniversary of the cowardly attacks on our country, I have several images in my mind. Images of destruction and pain, and images of bravery and sacrifice. The 2996 project is about the people we lost in New York City, at the Pentagon, and in a field in Pennsylvania. These people were our family, friends, sisters, brothers, children, parents, co-workers, and neighbors. Each one is missed by his or her loved ones every day. We owe it to every one of them to remember their names and their lives. It could have been any one of us. Here are some of their stories, as told by bloggers who each present one individual to remember and cherish: Links added Sept. 12: Alexander Lygin from Sgt Hook Rick Rescorla at Mudville Gazette. Don't miss the timeline pictures below Rick's post. Added at 9pm Pacific time: Carol K. Demitz from Teresa at Technicalities Stephen Poulos from Seawitch at Thoughts by Seawitch Lt. Dennis Mojica from Two Babes and a Brain Gregory Sikorsky from Frank J. at IMAO Rahma Salie from That1Guy at Drunken Wisdom (T1G also has a link post going - please go visit him for more tribute links) Jonathan C. Randall from Michael at DownEast Blog Efrain Franco Romero, Sr. from Damian at Conservathink Daniel L. Maher from Conservative Schooler Don Simmons from Boudicca at Boudicca's Voice Lorraine G. Bay from ALa at MobyRebuttal Original list: Milagros Hromada from the 2996 Project blog Mike Horrocks from TacoBell at Sandgram Max Beilke from Echo9er Timoth Patrick McSweeney from Fuzzybear Lioness at Fuzzilicious Thinking. Lydia Estelle Bravo from Cass at Villainous Company John J. Tobin from Snarkatron at Snark Patrol James Sands Jr. from Sgt B at The Gun Line Davin Peterson from AFSister at My Side of the Puddle John Chipura from LindaSOG at Something … and Half of Something Matthew Lancelot Ryan from Blackfive Davis Grier “Deeg” Sezna, Jr. and Daphne Ferlinda Elder from Anna at A Rose by any other Name Michelle Coyle-Eulau from DadManley Kenneth “Ken” Swenson from MajorDad1984 at Cursed by a Classical Education Father Mychal Judge from HFS at HomeFrontSix Benjamin “Keefe” Clark from David at Random Nuclear Strikes ** UPDATE ** More tributes added ... Karl W. Teepe and Police Officer Vincent Danz from John at Castle Argghhh Heather Lee Smith from Lex at Neptunus Lex This is not close to an exhaustive list. Murray of Hitting Metal with a Hammer has a complete list of the names here. I hope to update the links as I get time. Remember them always …

Didn't know they had names!

For Lex ... boobie posting. Beth of She Who Will Be Obeyed, and the ladies of the Cotillion group, have started a trend. Boobie naming ... Your Boobies' Names Are... Tweedledum and Tweedledee Boobie Name Generator Now I just have to inform the Hubster of the new names. Heh.

A Eulogy to a great Father and Marine

Losing a beloved parent is very tough, and I knew my friends HanyaP and MrMan, her terrific husband, were struggling to deal with the loss of Mr. Man's dear father. What I didn't realize was how eloquent MrMan can be when pouring out his heart.  Nor did I know of the depths of his father's love of country and sacrifice in its service.  Not just in one war, but in two - and not just in one uniform, but in three.    "He was a great teacher, a great story teller, a great father, and a great friend."   Here is definitely Someone You Should Know.

Support AnySoldier Today!

The folks at AnySoldier (AnyMarine, AnyAirman, AnySailor, AnyCoastGuardsman) perform a great service, making it easy for us to make contact with our men and women in the military who are deployed overseas. In Iraq and Afghanistan, and in other places around the globe, we have military personnel who are serving this great country, and who deserve our support. I am sure that most of the folks who may wander in here from the Castle or parts around there are aware of AnySoldier. But I was tickled when I spotted Captain Major B's post about the calendars and other items available for sale, with the proceeds going to help support the AnySoldier and AnyMarine (and other) sites. Marty Horn and his crew are doing a bang-up job, and it just doesn't get easier than buying something we all need anyway, and also support the site. Better yet, if you get over there soon, you can even buy one of the special edition, autographed calendars - signed by either Major B, or by Taco Bell. (Click Here and scroll down) OoRah! There are other ways to raise funds ... 10. What if AnySoldier.com earned a penny every time you searched the Internet? Well, now we can! GoodSearch.com is a new search engine that donates half its revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. You use it just as you would any search engine, and it's powered by Yahoo!, so you get great results. Just go to www.goodsearch.com and be sure to enter "Any Soldier" as the charity you want to support. Just 500 of us searching four times a day will raise about $7300 in a year without anyone spending a dime! And, be sure to spread the word! Make sure that you press the Verify button to ensure that AnySoldier is pegged as your charity ... you can even check to see how the donations gathered have added up! Come on, how easy do they have to make it?? As Major B says - Get Some!!

We all have choices

Simple choices such as eating healthy or splurging on the triple dip cone, and tough choices like working for less money at a job closer to your kids' school so that you can spend more time with them. Some of them don't have a "right" answer, just a lesser of evils. The political season is upon us. In fact, my absentee ballot for the Washington primary is sitting here patiently awaiting my selections. In some states, the races to be decided this year will help determine the balance of power in Congress. So when this article from the Weekly Standard arrived in my email, I was in a good frame of mind to digest it. Will We Choose to Win in Iraq? The war is frustrating. That doesn't mean we ought to get out. by William J. Stuntz Thirty-eight years ago, American politics was rocked by another politically controversial war. Then, as now, liberal Democrats competed for the allegiance of an increasingly powerful antiwar left. Then, as now, that constituency flexed its muscles in a key Democratic primary that seemed to turn American politics upside down: In March 1968, Eugene McCarthy almost defeated President Lyndon Johnson in New Hampshire; earlier this month, Ned Lamont triumphed over Senator Joe Lieberman in Connecticut. And there may be one more parallel. According to Michael Barone, the gold standard in political commentary, many of the voters who pulled the lever for McCarthy were dissatisfied with Johnson's conduct of the Vietnam war not because they believed the war was wrong or wasteful, but because they believed America was losing it. As Barone puts it in Our Country, voters dissatisfied with Vietnam wanted to "win or get out." I would like to see us win, so that we can get out. Are we doing all we can to achieve that goal? There is one more possible reason to head for the exits in Iraq: Victory is either impossible or (what amounts to the same thing) prohibitively expensive. And there is a sure-fire test of whether or not victory truly is impossible: See whether a rising number of American soldiers in a given city or neighborhood tends to produce more violence or less. If the answer is more, then it is pointless to send more soldiers; the ones who are already there are doing net harm. But that is not what the evidence shows. Recently, as part of the Army's effort to reduce the killing in Baghdad, soldiers were pulled out of Mosul--and violence in Mosul escalated. Iraq the Model, a blogger who knows far more about conditions in Baghdad than most Western reporters, fears not that American soldiers will cause more killing, but that we have too few soldiers on the ground to pacify territory and then hold it. I encourage you to go read the complete article. One section in particular caught my eye. It's not a new sentiment, but useful to remember as we head into our election season for this year... Our side in Iraq holds elections. The other side kills people who stand in line to vote. America's military is fighting not to protect one set of thugs from another, but to allow a democratically elected government to establish itself in a society a majority of whose members want it to do so. It's hard to imagine a more morally worthy goal. And that would be true even if our enemies were not uncommonly murderous--which they plainly are. Rarely has a militarily powerful state fought for nobler ends. Go read the whole thing, and let me know what you think. How much does the war in Iraq (and don't forget Afghanistan) and the tension with Iran and Korea affect your thoughts on voting this year?

Olympia Area Rally

From the folks at Operation Support Our Troops, a reminder about the Friday afternoon rally in Olympia:   Please join us for a sign and flag waving event to encourage support for our troops and our country this Friday, September 1st (and every Friday), from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm, at the corner of 4th Avenue and Water Street in Olympia.   We will be on the south side of 4th Avenue.    If you cannot make it at the start time, come late and join us when you can.   Who:             Those who support our troops and our country and want to encourage others to do so! What:            Fly our flag and signs encouraging support for our troops and country. When:           Every Friday from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm.  If you can't make it at 4:00 pm, then                       join us when you can.  Better late than not at all! Location:      4th Avenue and Water Street in downtown Olympia.  See maps and directions below. Why:             To show that there are people in the south sound area that support our troops and country.   Please join us for whatever time that you can.   If you cannot make it at the start time, come late and join us when you can.   If you can only stay for an hour, then join us for an hour.     It may be hot, so if everyone could bring at least one bottle of water with them it would help a great deal and be appreciated.    I will bring a small cooler with some water for those that stop by and do not have water with them.   I am tied up this Friday, but I encourage anyone close to Olympia to join the OSOT folks to join in.  Help to demonstrate to the troops that we care!

Home again

In the past 13 days I played some very mediocre golf at some decidedly non-mediocre places. In fact, I can say with confidence that I've recorded triple bogies in some absolutely stunning locales. Luckily for the Hubster, his scores were generally 20 strokes lower than mine! Here is a picture of the type of awful surroundings I had to endure. (click for larger image) Bonus points to anyone who correctly identifies the locale and golf course. Alas, I missed several birthdays while traveling, and will have to 'deliver' some virtual gifts. Having visited the lovely Okanagan wine country, I think a few bottles for the discerning palate will be perfect for Boquisucio. For Bill, how about this pair of happy creatures. For Cricket, I discovered a new (to me) lovely white wine called Ehrenfelser, which will be a delightful accompaniment to your gourmet summer cooking. Bon Appetit! Now that my project is winding down, and vacation is over, I hope to post a bit more regularly than over the last few months -- including more pics from the travels. I am pleased to note that John has added another blog to the Denizens list. Check out The League of Disgruntled Majors and submit an entry for the Caption Contest. The only downside of all this is that I fall further behind in my blog reading daily!

Golfing for Memories

While listening to the radio on my way to work a few weeks ago, I heard the word Golf mentioned in the same sentence with Special Forces, and my ears perked up. The First In Asia organization provides support to family members of First Special Forces Group Soldiers who are killed or injured while serving our country. A few years ago, a new Memorial Wall was dedicated to the memory of those who have fallen. "On September 11, 2001, Major Cole Hogan died in the terrorist attack on the Pentagon. On January 4, 2002, Sergeant First Class Nathan Chapman died from wounds received during combat operations in Afghanistan. Later that year, on October 2, 2002, Sergeant First Class Mark Jackson died from a terrorist bomb in the Philippines. The common thread that binds these men together is that all were members of the First Special Forces Group. Members of the First Special Forces Group are currently serving, with distinction, in support of the Global War on Terrorism around the world. Members of First In Asia are building a new memorial to honor members of the group who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in defense of this great nation. Our wall recognizes the men who served from Vietnam, Haiti, Bosnia, and in the Middle East with a monument befitting their commitment to the defense of freedom." In order to finish the wall park, the First In Asia group needed to raise some more funds, and that's where the golf entered in. So we donated our registration fees, bought nice shirts with kewl logos, and 'purchased' mulligans - mostly used by the folks who Really wanted to win the pick-up truck in the hole-in-one contest. Donating the truck turned out to be a very safe bet, since no one even came close to popping one into the cup from 191 yards away (155 or so for the ladies) - even with the use of extra tee shots! Luckily I didn't care if I scored well, since I dragged our team down mightily. The point wasn't to win, it was to gather some green for the fund - and this mission we accomplished ... Hooah! And for a bonus, we got to chatter with some active and veteran Soldiers of the First SF Group, as well as from other local units ... And some units that weren't so local. Three of the guys I talked with were from the land down-under, members of the Australian Defence forces, here in the US to take part in training at Ft. Lewis! So, thanks to SFC "B" for getting us our registration and pass, and thanks again to the Soldiers of the First Special Forces Group and their spouses. Y'all sure know how to host a shindig, and I'm glad I got to meet you. I've never felt so safe on a golf course ... Heh! Oh - If you feel the urge to push a few bucks into the kitty for the Memorial, there's a Paypal button on the donations page. Or, you can send email to info@firstinasia.com to make contact and find out more.

Happenings

So, for the few folks who still actually stop by here … Thanks! I've been buried deeply in a work project that I'm trying desperately to finish this week, and have had several family obligations, so blog time has been severely curtailed (obviously!). But I have had some fun recently to relate … The weekend of August 4th I hopped a plane to Southern California to join baby sister, Becky, in celebrating her Natal Day at the Del Mar Racetrack, as mentioned in the next post down. Immediately upon exiting the airport, Becky and I headed directly to Disneyland to partake of both the Magic Kingdom and the California Adventure. They finally shut off the rides at midnight, but no one even tried to shoo the visitors out of the shops, so we didn't end up leaving till about 12:30 am! I hadn't been to the California Adventure, as it was under construction when I moved north in 1997, but I adore the Soaring over California ride … perfect for those of us with no desire to ride roller coasters. Give me a virtual ride any day!! So we stumbled off to bed at 1am, and crawled out again Saturday morning to drive from Costa Mesa to Del Mar. Our ride was slowed by traffic here and there, but at least we didn't participate in any accidents, unlike SOME people I could mention! We arrived at Del Mar around Noon and nailed down our picnic space and pulled out the goodies to start munching and plotting our race picks. Much fun was had, several bottles of … um … Juice were consumed (that's our story, and we're sticking to it!), and nobody bet enough to lose big or win big on the races themselves. All that would have made for a special day, but I had an extra special event as part of the gathering as well. I had buzzed Fuzzybear Lioness before hopping the plane, and goaded her into joining the crazy gang for the day at the track. Yahooo!!! I got to meet another Castle Chick! I had apparently confused her on the location of the infield that we intended to stake out as our own, so once she arrived at the track and came through the infield tunnel, my cell phone rang. Since I had previously configured it with her phone number, helpfully tagged as "Fuzzybear Lioness", I knew who was calling immediately. She was near the exit from the tunnel, maybe 50 feet from me, but facing away. As we talked, I walked towards her and said "Turn around …" – and then I waved Hello … *grin* As all who have met her know already, she is a hoot to spend time with, and made friends very quickly with the rest of the party, including the youngsters in our group (who have been accompanying their Mom and Dad to the event each year since they were born!). We all had a great day, and had plenty of time to visit betwixt the races. At the end of the day, though, we were all ready to head for home. I finished the weekend off with some shopping at Downtown Disney, and a viewing of the new Disney/Pixar movie Cars. If you enjoy light-hearted animation – go see it! Even the insects were cars … bugs, of course … heh! Then it was home for a week of rest at work (Not!). I had some more adventures this weekend, but that will have to wait for another time. If you're looking for something interesting to read, make sure you check out the rest of the Denizens of Argghhh…

Where the Surf meets the Turf

I'm heading south in a few hours, to spend the weekend with little sister.  Tomorrow is the annual Friends of Becky fun day at the Del Mar race track ... where the Surf meets the Turf, as the saying goes.  Picnic time with friends and family, a little betting on the horses, and a chance for a good sunburn - a perfect Saturday. Not to mention, a chance to meet up with Fuzzybear Lioness! WOOT!!  Since Del Mar is a stone's throw from her current hideout near Sandy Eggo, I invited her to join us at the bash.  I'm gonna have So Much Fun this weekend ... *grin* Any other Sandy Eggo folks (Hi, Lex!) who like to go watch horses run around the track should be able to find us on the infield near the first turn for the turf races.  Email me if you need contact info!

Catching Up

Catching up is hard to do, but I've finally updated the Bloggers I have Met section of the sidebar. It now includes all the great folks I got to hang with a few weeks ago. I also got to add Francis Marion of Where I Stand to the list, since I had the pleasure of meeting up with him at the shootin' range on Saturday last. He was our original inspiration for the original blogshoot, and we hadn't given up on meeting up for some lead slinging. It was probably our last target of opportunity, so Bad Cat Robot and I took it! Since the meet was at the range, and it's hard to visit real well with the sounds of shooters doing their thing, it was mostly a working visit -- but nice to put another face with the name, as always! While I didn't have a fancy Kimber like BCR and Francis, I did get to try out my recently installed rubber grip for the Ruger .357. The Ruger was originally my father-in-law's, and I've always liked it, but it didn't fit my hand quite right... During the blogshoot adventure a few weeks ago, I spotted the right grip at the gun shop, and was itching to try it out! I installed it Friday night, and was ready to test it out... (Hi-Res) I have one word ... Suh-Weet!

Three Things

AFSis tagged Boston Maggie, who in turn trapped tagged me, with a meme in threes. As if that wasn't enough, BillT tapped me again! Well, too bad - I can only do this once ... 3 things that scare me: 1. Roller Coasters 2. Losing my mind (more than I already have) 3. Blogging so much that I forget to eat (yeah, right) 3 people who make me laugh: 1. Robin Williams 2. My sister Becky 3. Sugar Buttons 3 things I hate the most: 1. Willfully stupid people 2. A$$hats who write spyware and viruses 3. Losing something that I had in my hands just 5 minutes earlier 3 things I don't understand: 1. Those who don't support the military 2. The ACLU 3. People who refuse to use their brains 3 things I'm doing right now: 1. Reading email and blog comments 2. Planning my vacation 3. Answering a meme 3 things I want to do before I die: 1. Cruise the Mediterranean 2. Visit Alaska's Kodiak Island 3. See my brother become a grandfather, so I have grand niece/nephews to spoil! 3 things I can do: 1. Drive a stick-shift (drove a semi-trailer once - 12 gears, baby!) 2. Anything for those I care about 3. Be happy in most any circumstance, if friends are around 3 ways to describe my personality: 1. Quiet 2. Positive 3. Watchful 3 things I can't do: 1. Keep my mouth shut when I should 2. Speak up when I should 3. Figure out the difference in time to accomplish 1 and 2 3 things I think you should listen to: 1. Alison Krauss sing 2. Yo-Yo Ma playing the cello 3. "Flags of our Fathers" by Keni Thomas 3 things you should never listen to: 1. People who want you to "Get Serious"! 2. Celebrities telling you how to think 3. Hateful 'music' 3 absolute favorite foods: 1. Baked mac & cheese casserole 2. Cornbread 3. Yogurt covered pretzels (mmm, salty and sweet!) 3 things I'd like to learn: 1. Where John hides the keys to the liquor cabinet 2. Why my cat wakes me up 10 minutes before the alarm goes off 3. To ride a unicycle 3 beverages I drink regularly: 1. Coffee 2. Diet Coke 3. Mike's Hard Cranberry 3 shows I watched as a kid: 1. My Favorite Martian 2. The Rifleman 3. The Big Valley 3 people I'm tagging Bad Cat Robot (that'll stop her snickering) Trias of Insanity (welcome to the gang, bud!) 74 of The Bow Ramp