The following map shows the route (minus the diversion to the Grand Canyon) I’ve taken and where the blogs were posted.

This blog picks up from where the last one left off in Arizona.

Even in desolation, there is stunning beauty right off of the road.

The next picture could come as quite a jolt if I wasn’t paying attention.  This is NOT “Photoshopped!”

My brother, a trucker, had figured this out looking at the last picture.  He said this person had probably driven the pick-up somewhere to pick up the two tractor trucks.  They link them together this way sometimes.  He said he had seen this before.  For me, it’s all new! :)

During my visit with my Dad and Step Mom in Central Texas, it was time to take pictures.  The camera is on a tripod and has a function that lets me take multiple pictures after the 10 second timer has elapsed.  I told Dad not to worry about getting the right picture because out of 10 pictures, at least one of them would look good.  The following series was his answer to what I said. (Two of them were virtually identical so I didn’t post one of them.)

I figured, what the heck, I posted all of them!  That’s what he gets for “clowning!”  The funny thing is I don’t remember him being this much fun while I was growing up!  LOL

Of course, our conversation included everything from his Air Force stories, to my Army stories, to our current political difficulties.  Dad is a strong conservative and I keep trying to get him to blog more.  I think he prefers spending LESS time on MySpace.  In fact, the only reason why he got an account is to send me emails because I spend more time here than anywhere else!  LOL

Then it was time to move on to Colorado where I grew up.

This is my Step-Dad in his shop in the garage.

This is Mom on the patio in the backyard.  She’s convinced she takes lousy pictures!  LOL

While visiting Mom, it seamed like a good time to clean out the jeep.  I had a funny feeling someone, or something was watching me.

What??  Can’t see her?

Kittah, you’d make a lousy insurgent!  LOL

Mom calls her a “Russian Blue.”  She has the same nasty disposition of a Siamese.  If the petting isn’t up to standard, she will let you know in a way where there is NO misunderstanding!  Your education normally includes a of pint of blood!  I briefly considered starting a local “choke the kitah” day!  LOL

Then, another aggressive visitor showed up.  I know, I know, time for the squirrel jokes!  This one has made his home in mom’s back yard and really looks like he wants me off of his patio!  Luckily for him, kitah stays mostly INDOORS!

Well, at least he appears to approve of the fountain.  It’s a good thing too.  I certainly wouldn’t want to end up on the internet getting my arse kicked by a squirrel, in addition to a Russian Blue.

Then my brother showed up.  He’s a trucker and wasn’t sure he would be able to make it.  As good fortune would have it, he was able to make a delivery to a neighboring city.  With the economy being what it is, truckers have a lot less choices as to what deliveries they can pass up in order to get another one going the same way they want to go.  This whole trip as been very fortuitous in the way it has turned out.

From left to right, this is me, my brother, and his son.

My niece had other obligations earlier in the day, so we visited her at her home.  Her hair is still wet from the shower and she feels like women always feel after recently giving birth.  She really isn’t happy with photos ... in general.  Personally, I think she is beautiful!  In fact, I think she has an eerily similar smile as the Mona Lisa!  Will people see this image a hundred years from now and wonder what she is thinking?  :)  If the thoughts are similar, I can tell you exactly what the Mona Lisa was thinking!  “Why is this guy painting my picture???”  I guess they were a lot slower back then.

She is holding my “brand new” great nephew.  This makes two for me.

Of course, pets are always part of the family.  This one looks like she stole her tail from another kitah!

And, this one looks like she had an unfortunate encounter with a drip pan!  LOL  Actually, I really like these markings.  If she were mine, I’d probably call her “Jiffy Lube,” or something similar!

I can’t begin to count how many times I’ve seen this sight on my way to work in the morning.  Sometimes the colors are so brilliant it takes your breath away.  During the majority of the year, this peak is snow capped.  During some summers, I don’t think the snow ever COMPLETELY melts.  There are heavily shaded areas where you can usually find some patches.

This takes me back to my youth.  I can’t begin to count how many times I’ve taken a girlfriend up here ... here on the boundary between civilization and the wild places.  And, I can tell you, there were times when a mountain lion could have jumped up on the hood of my car and we might not have noticed!

In this place, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life.  I’ve since learned that if we don’t choose and commit to our path, and work tirelessly towards this choice while we are young and strong, then life will often choose our path for us.  It’s not always bad, but rarely is it what we might have chosen for ourselves.

While this temple of aspen and pine, and glittery jewels on velvet seas will always remain a part of me, in many ways this is no longer my home.  I have been too many places and seen too many things.  I can never really return here, not really.  This doesn’t mean I would never consider retiring in or near this city.  What it means is that you can never turn back the hands of time.  In this world, you are only young once.

Rolling stones aren’t forever.  Inevitably there comes a time for moss.  There comes a time when our restless hearts give way to the need for peace and serenity.  I am content with the path I took.  I feel blessed and honored to have served my country.  I would never want to change a thing.  Yet, when we visit an old place that’s burned deeply into our mind’s eye, a secret place near the starting gate, one always wonders about what other path we might have taken, and what other life might we might have lived.

My last blog about this trip will be written at the end in Tacoma.  I’ll cover the last leg and sum things up.  I still have my other sister, niece, and great nephew to visit.  Oh, and of course, there remains the Great Dragon Rider.

Peace. :)

There is going to be a little overlap as I didn’t get all the photos uploaded that I wanted too before I wrote the last installment.

Peeking through the plants is one of my sister’s kittahs.  In addition to the two dogs (I pretty much forgot everyone’s names) they have two cats.  This one is a little timid, and for good reason I think.  She has a stalker.

This has been going on for about two years when kittah and doggy met.  This is hilarious.  Their dog spends every waking minute of his day watching this kitty ... intently!  (This is what he is doing in the above picture.) If you stand between them, breaking his line of sight, he will reposition himself so that he can watch the kitty.  He has never attempted to hurt her, and for the most part, she ignores him.  My brother-in-law says he will wake up before the dog.  The dog will then wake up and cock his head around quickly searching for kittah!  Now, this doesn’t apply to all kittahs, JUST this one.  They also have a beautiful male Persian-Siamese mix with blue eyes (seen also in the picture above) that he ignores.  It is JUST this ONE kittah hiding behind the plant.  What does this mean????

While I was in “Northern” California, I also decided to drop in on the governor.  He wasn’t there because of the funeral.  But I did feel free to make myself at home (sort of).  This is the capitol building from the rear side.

This REALLY looks like the inspirtation behind some of the imagery in “Alice In Wonderland!”  Somehow it seems appropriate.  This IS California after all, possibly the most Liberal State in the Union.

The Califonia Senate Chamber.  Very nice and eloquent.

The California House Chambers.  Notice all the identical Dell laptop computers!  Tell me this isn’t a government operation!  LOL

This is the door to the Governor’s office.  Notice the State Patrol?  I suspect this is a duty few want.  This is why you should join the Sheriff’s Department if you want to try law enforcement!  :)

We were able to get past him into the anteroom.  The lady behind the desk is a lot nicer than she looks.  But have no doubt, she IS the gatekeeper!

Hmm, he looks kind of familiar!  Did you know he is the only US governor, and probably the only major global politician to get elected AFTER he showed the whole world his bottom?  Yep, this makes me think of the checkerboard floor in the dome.

It’s curious to see Ronald Reagan’s picture hanging in the Capitol building.  He is an icon to Conservatives and came from probably the most Liberal State in the Union.

Then it was off to meet the Great Kenny Vegas!  LOL This is only a small piece of “sin city’s” skyline!  I arrived around 3 AM so decided to find somewhere to get some rest.  I would meet Kenny sometime that day in the late afternoon.

I camped out here, northeast of the city.  I’m sitting in a small bowl off of the road where no one can see me.  I decided to take advantage of this and clean up.  Who want’s to smell bad when you don’t have too?  Yep, some baby-wipes with some antibacterial soap does wonders.  I also changed my clothes.  Then it hits me!

While driving in, I remembered seeing a sign mentioning an Air Force base in the neighborhood.  Now, when the Russians and Chinese photograph these bases from space, it’s a BIG picture.  They don’t just zoom in on the base.  And, look at my jeep above.  Where do you suppose the license plate is mounted?  Yep, you guessed it!  On the hatch ... which was open!  So, not only did I possibly give someone a show, I might as well have held my license plate over my head proclaiming who I was!  HAHAHAHA!

Did I get photographed?  Who honestly knows.  But ... if I end up on a Russian Porn site, THAT’S how it happened!  I know, I know, that’s my story, but I’m sticking to it!

Finally the big meeting!  Kenny is the second person I’ve met after meeting them on MySpace.  It’s not something I highly recommend as you never know what this person will be like.  There are all kinds of fakes and pretenders.  Well, now I can say first hand, Kenny is no fake.  He is ever bit the genuinely great guy he is on MySpace.  Not that I ever really doubted that.  Just say’n! :) We talked about politics and God.  Then I had to go.  I had to finish up my blog and get moving on down the road.

My next stop was the Grand Canyon because I’ve never been there.  It took me over the Hoover Dam.  I don’t remember ever seeing any night pictures.  I’m sure they are out there.  I’ll have to Google it someday.

I spent all morning looking for it.  I thought it was supposed to be HUGE!  J/K

OK, so when are they going to build a bridge????  Someone’s been slacking!

It really is quite vast!  The energy it would take to carve this out is almost beyond comprehension.  What a treasure!

The tourists are global.  I think I heard about three non-English languages there.  I think these people in front of me are Italian.  There was also the Japanese tour bus.  Then of course, we always hear Spanish, but I don’t know if I can really count that one.

After the Canyon, I decided to get some sleep.  I hadn’t slept since meeting Kenny.  I know, it also served as an excellent excuse to get some off-roading in!  The park is surrounded by national forest.

Looks like a good place to take a nap!

If only my tires could talk!  I would have been cussed out one side then the other!

It’s amazing the beauty we miss in our daily grind.  All we have to do is stop long enough to look at it!

Leaving the park and moving on toward Texas, I noticed the lone houses along the way.  They are scattered about in the middle of the vast empty spaces that defines so much of the Western United States.

As I raced my growing shadows with futility, I began to ponder those lone houses.  Right out in the middle of nowhere.  Lonely isn’t where you are.  It’s what you do and who you are.  When these families take care of living, surrounded by those they care for and who cares for them, I sincerely doubt they are lonely. :)

My next blog will probably be after Texas and Colorado so that I don’t bunch them too close together.  Peace!

This is not going to be as polished as I would have liked I’ve got to get this up.  I’ll do like Microsoft used to do and fix everything on the next blog!  LOL

This is the location of this posting. Part of the fun is I can put these up anywhere I have a signal for my cell phone.  My laptop plugs into my cell and gets it’s power from a power converter in the cigarette lighter.  This was my salute to the technology developed by private enterprise funded by capitalism.  Imagine trying to convince a bureaucrat in a communist society to fund research and development for laptops and cell phones when we already had mainframe computers and home / office phones.  Generally speaking, entrepreneurs drive advancement, government maintains the status quo.  Entrepreneurs have always had, and will always have the best solutions for the challenges humankind faces.

The first challenge was to build a laptop mount to keep my laptop from flying all over the jeep while I’m zipping through the turns.  It’s actually the laptop cooler that is secure.  I put eye-screws in the shelf to hold the laptop secure, but it wasn’t needed as it sticks to the cooler like glue!  The leg is actually a ½ inch grounding rod that I bent in an “L” shape.  It’s attached to the shelf by two loop clamps so it can pivot forward and slide out.  Gravity and friction keeps it firmly in place.  The board lifts out by lifting up on the rear and removing.  The whole contraption can then be stored in jeep’s cargo area if I wish.

Inside the basket are two external hard drives, camera chargers, a USB hub, a UPS power supply, etc.  The laptop also has GPS on it with a receive that sits on top of the dashboard.  They all sit in the basket in order to keep the mess down and keep them in place.  I used bungee cords in the basket to do this.  The basket and shelf can be removed in seconds.

In addition to the laptop cooler, I also screwed a cup holder to the board.  Why not??? :)

After I got my computer mount made, I stored everything away I wouldn’t be taking and visited Jiffy Lube to change my fluids and service my fuel injectors.

At first my engine light stayed on as the additive to my fuel was busy burning off all the deposits from dirty fuel in my injectors.  By the third tank of gas, the engine light went off and stayed off.  I noticed an immediate improvement in power.  Actually, it was running like a “raped ape!”  Um, not that I have ever witnessed this! :)

The Portland city lights reflecting off the river at night is an extraordinarily beautiful sight!  I was caught looking at this from the highway when I ended up accidentally leaving Interstate 5.  I was in the left lane and as soon as you cross the river, the left two lanes take you OFF Interstate 5.  I’m sure the highway engineers had a good laugh when they designed this.  Personally, I believe ALL exit ramps should ONLY be on the right side of the highway.  But hey, when I turned around I took a few minutes to take care of some “pressing business.”  (Sometimes mother nature doesn’t just speak, she screams!)  LOL Anyway, I took a picture of what my “cockpit” looks like at night.  I had to turn off the flash which caused the shutter to stay open.  The streak through the glass is from the reflection of the cars passing by on the highway behind me.  This is SO cool! :)

When I got within a few hours of my first stop, I suddenly became aware of what day it was.  My relatives would be attending church and I had no church clothes with me.  So, I decided to sleep in one of the Redwood parks and hangout until the afternoon when they would be available.  This is in “Way North” California.  It’s kind of an inside joke with people who live there.  The majority of Californians divide the State between San Francisco in the North, and LA in the South.  Everyone forgets there is still a lot of California territory north of the bay area.  In fact, if you look at a map, San Francisco is really in the middle of the State. :)

It’s a good thing the ol’ jeep was locked in 4-wheel drive when I backed off the small jeep trail in complete darkness.  Who knows how long I could have been stuck here?

As this place begins to grow brighter with the sun still over the horizon, the mist has yet to burn off in the heat of the day.  This is what we miss in large urban centers.

With time to burn, I went bounced over all the rocks in the jeep and went down to the river.

You have to actually be there in order to gain the fullest appreciation for the immense size of these trees.  Sherwood Forest has nothing over these forests.  Sorry Robin Hood! :)

My uncle and aunt are the quintessential “jacks of all trades.”  A problem is only a problem because they haven’t solved it yet.  My uncle essentially built the house in the background.  This picture only shows a small portion of it.  I don’t like sharing too much information with the general public.  Being immersed in the military certainly teaches you one thing, opsec!  LOL

I think my cousin likes me! :)

Here is where it gets interesting.  I was planning on the first blog happening before I made it to my Sister’s house.  However, she just happened to be in the area visiting Grandma.  My grandmother is going to be 95 years old this year.  Her mind is still sharp, but she does spend a lot of time cat napping. :) She dosed off right before we could get the picture snapped!  LOL

Anyway, I ended up camping with them in yet another Redwood Forest that was along the route to her house.  So I got some even better Redwood snapshots.  However, this blog didn’t get posted until some time after I had left her house, and my cousin’s house in a neighboring community.  That’s right, once they know you are in the area, you have to rush to your next destination! :)

I love the way the highway has to turn left and right through the forest rather than cutting down the trees.  This is a stretch of the old Redwood highway that is no longer part of California Highway 101.  It’s still used for the local towns, and of course, tourists like me. :)

I finally park and venture in to the forest.  In this picture, I’m standing in front of the jeep.

This was taken right off the roadway.  See how dark it is?  I put the rest of the photos in a photo editor to brighten them up a bit.  The flash is responsible for some of the light.

This reminds me of some old Neil Young lyrics; “Oh, this old world keeps spinning round.  It’s a wonder tall trees aren’t laying down.  There comes a time.  There comes a time.”

This old tree was twice the diameter of my height.

My brother in law is with one of his pets.  These are great dogs!

I was going to show a picture of my other cousin and me, but she was a little hesitant about the whole idea.  This is OK with me and I respect her privacy. :) So here is where I have to end this episode.  I did finally get to meet the great Kenny Vegas.  He was the next stop after visiting my cousin.  He is ever bit the person in real life that he is on myspace.  A genuinely great guy!  But those pictures will have to be included in my next blog.

The pictures were uploaded to photobucket about 20 miles out of town before I met Kenny.  But obviously the script was written after the meeting.  Right now I’m sitting in front of “Pepboys Auto.”  They must be regional because it’s the first I’ve heard of them. :) Yep, you guessed it ... had to once again, rush to the next contact. :)

Next stop?  The Grand Canyon.  Then it’s on to Texas!

It is a clarion calling to we soldiers that we “leave no one behind.”  Not the wounded, not even the dead.  Even in death, there is the need for the family to bring closure to the relationship between them and their fallen loved ones.

It is around military bases that we soldiers find many others who were wounded, or injured in some way during the daily grind of our military’s obligations and operations supporting our Country.  The military is in some respects no different than any other branch of the Federal Government.  But there is one distinction that separates us from them, combat.  We have to believe in ourselves and our comrades on the battlefield.  We have to believe that our leaders have our best interests at heart while fabricating a plan for conquest.  We have to believe that our individual companies will do all they can to insure victory while taking care of their soldiers.  At a minimum, no one is left behind!

Today I met such a man that somehow fell outside of this ethos ... the Warrior’s Ethos.  I rented a storage space in order for me to go on my trip to see my family after returning from Iraq.  I got lost and had to request from this worker how to get out.  You know, one ways and all, poorly painted on the asphalt.  He referred to me as “Hey, lost soldier!”  It was not meant in a kind way; more condescending than anything.

He was in the office when I was signing my lease, so he knew.  Well, by that and my short haircut that I was a soldier.  He asked me, are you coming or are you going?  I misunderstood his question as I was “going” on leave.  I said, “I’m going.”  He said, “Well if you are going to Fallujah ...”   I cut him off at this point, knowing full well I had just come back from Iraq.  Fort Lewis is one of those bases tasked heavily for combat rotations.  I was coming back, but many of the customers for this storage facility were leaving for Iraq.

I said, I’m coming back from Iraq.  I was on an LTAT on an Iraqi base.  He DEMANDED, where were you?  He said, “Look what they did to me!”  At this point he began to slowly turn around.  He was sporting a short haircut, same as me.  On his head, I could see through his hair several scars that ran from his crown down to his neck on the backside.  He said, “An RPG did this!  The Americans didn’t find me!  The Australians found me!  Where were YOU????”

What do you say to something like this when it hits you from out in the blue???  I responded that I was a Quartermaster, I wasn’t kicking down doors!  He shrank and told me the directions out. Then he turned and walked away.  His eyes teared up (a little), and so did mine.

I left the storage facility and drove aimlessly for awhile, sporting an empty gas tank.  I had a hard time finding a service station.  Then, my bank card didn’t work right.

I don’t know the specifics of his case.  I don’t know if his squad, or platoon, or company was decimated or fled.  I don’t even know where he fought and fell.  All I know is out of the depths of my heart, his story is true.  There are times when you can look a former soldier in the eye and KNOW!  Behind the blues and browns, there are the muscle contractions; the distant look; the pain as the tears whelm up from the darkness behind.  You simply know with this same certain knowledge that you were born into this world, and that you are!  In some way, we the US military, his family,  failed him!  We left a man behind!

I don’t know what to say about something like this except to express my embarrassment!  All I know is that my stature in his eyes, when I admitted to being “only” a Quartermaster was diminished. It is a sting that only those in my profession can identify.  Most of us have heard the expression, “Poge” before.  But, we ARE soldiers first!  We are trained, and we are “trigger squeezers” as General Pace implored.  It’s just that, in my profession and duty, I’ve never had the need to “squeeze!”  Jessica Lynch’s company (a support company) was decimated in combat and she taken prisoner.  Likewise, several members from other LTAT’s in Iraq from both the Army and Marines were killed while conducting their missions, this while I was there!  So, we never know what we will be up against.  We can only hope that when the challenge comes, we will respond with honor and courage!

As far as this ex-soldier goes, I can only hope for him the best.  I am NOT condemning the US military!  FAR from it!  War is hell!  The battlefield can best be described as organized chaos! But somehow, someway, I know in my heart we dropped the ball!  I can only hope that the VA hospitals continue to give him quality care.  That Americans, who sent him away to battle continue to support him in his long recovery.  And that we soldiers, support and combat alike, learn to do things better.

The Warrior’s ethos:

“I am an American Soldier.

I am a Warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the United States and live the Army Values.

I will always place the mission first.

I will never accept defeat.

I will never quit.

I will never leave a fallen comrade.

I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.

I am an expert and I am a professional.

I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.

I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.

I am an American Soldier.”

God protect and bless America!  We are where we came from!  (And Liberals can stick their revulsion to our (military) guarantee to the Second Amendment, regardless of our trials, right up their Ass!)  And, I mean that with respect and love!

I wanted to give everyone an idea of the trip I’ll be taking. So I’m posting this map. Notice I have no intention on giving out exact locations, only general areas. I would like to take pictures of everyone meeting with me, but I understand that some people are VERY private. I understand and respect that. Kenny Vegas is “down for” pictures as we can both use them, but I also understand that not one suit of clothes fits all people. All I’m say’n is it is not too late to divert a few hundred miles here or there. DeLorme Street Atlas says I’ll be on the road for over 95 hours! And, this doesn’t include stopping for gas! In Texas, there are at least 3 people I wouldn’t mind seeing.

As you all know, I’ve returned from Iraq. I was away from this nation while it elected it’s first socialist President. As I go along my route, I want to try and get a feel for what people (every day Americans) are thinking. I know I said this not a political profile, and I intend it to stay that way. But as far as I can say, there is nothing wrong with saying how people feel. Call me a reporter, if you will. But, this profile also gives me the latitude to speak my heart about what I think of America.

The US West is an empty space filled with many beautiful places. This country is the land of my birth, and one that I would be willing, if reluctantly, to die for. I am a man of deeply held beliefs. It is not the soil, but the people who make a place great. I am not an egotist to refer to my home as the greatest place under the sun. I am simply in awe of who we are (were), and what we have always stood for. Call this trip, in many respects, a tribute to my home, if you will.

I am building a wooden shelf on the passenger seat. It will hold my laptop, cell phone, cup holders etc. in place so that I don’t have to divert my attention and chase after things while I’m hurtling down the road at 70-80 miles/hour. Why the laptop? It has a GPS program on it with a USB GPS receiver. I’ll go more into details as I go on. But I will have the capability to track my location and upload pictures and whatnot from the side of the Interstate. When I complete the remodeling of my Jeep, I will photograph my handiwork and post it. I’m so anxious to be on the road, but I have one, maybe two days left here until all is ready.

My normal policy is to post only one blog between my two profiles every week knowing full well my readers are subscribed to more than just my blog. Please forgive me if I post more during this trip and if I can’t comment on every blog I’m subscribed too. Also, please forgive me if I’m late posting responses to every comment the moment they arrive. I am after all DRIVING! HELLO! LOL And you’all were b****ing and complaining about cell phone users! :)

God Bless America! We are, where we came from!

Did you know "Tom" has a category for "Friends," but not one for "Family?"  I guess it shows where MySpace's priorities are.  My Space is a product of Liberal Berkeley graduates.  I guess "Family" isn't a big concern!  So, this category falls to "Travel and Places."

I’ve not logged onto MySpace in the couple of weeks since I've returned from Iraq.  In addition to the normal redeployment "rig-a-moral" you have to go through with the military ... frankly, I’ve been decompressing!

Call me selfish if you want, but hey.  In the 15 months I was in Iraq, I spent about 13 of those months on an Iraqi military base serving as a military logistics liaison (“expert”) between the United States army and the Iraqi army.  I was very honored to be “drafted” for this mission because there is so much emphasis placed on improving Iraqi Logistics in order for my country to disembark from Iraq.  This means the visibility was “sky high” with (our) efforts.  I’m sure some of our reports (my team) went all the way to the Pentagon!  I was on a team called an LTAT (Logistics Training and Advisory Team).  That’s very similar to a MiTT.  In fact, there was a MiTT next store and I didn’t see a lot of difference between what we were doing and what they were doing.  What we ALL knew was that we were GREATLY outnumbered by the indigenous armed Iraqis that were stationed on this base.

While I was there, there were several instances of other teams on other bases that were attacked with members of their team killed.  Normally, it was by some assailant(s) that was(were) deeply involved in traditional Islam.  But, those kinds of blogs will have to be explored on my other profile, minus my military service.  Consider that our teams must foster a relationship of trust and respect with the host nation’s military in order to be successful.  This means we are at a disadvantage to sudden attacks (assassinations).  This does not mean we are defenseless.  We are (were) armed.  Any one of us can drop anyone else very quickly, but this capability is preferably low key.  Very often, we are lulled into a state of complacency.   The word of the day?  “Stay alert, stay alive!” :)  (Notice how I chose my words carefully?)  But hey, that’s my story behind my MySpace absence, and I’m sticking to it!  LOL   I have about 20 GB’s of pictures.  In the future, I’ll be posting some of those that I have screened.  I figure, why not?  “Home town” newspapers and the military press do.

Because most of the blogs that I have subscribe to are political in nature, I’ll try over the next couple of days to comment on as many as I can with my other profile.  Those of you who know what I’m talking about should recognize me when you see me.

On this profile, I’ll be traveling around the western United States seeing my family.  I’ll be blogging the trip as I go.  I have to balance security for my family with my need to share.  So, please don’t throw too many stones if I sensor some things. :) So far, the only MySpacer that has shown an interest in meeting me is Kenny Vegas, a good “MySpace” friend.  If you are interested in joining the few, email me. :)

Anyway, the point of this blog...  While I was gone, my niece decided to get married and then she had a baby boy.  Actually, if you are good at counting, I think the pregnancy came first!  You know, it’s that nine month thingy! :)  That’s OK, so many of us have been there.  So don’t cast any stones!  Don’t forget that she could have opted for an abortion and then, well, I may have had one fewer niece!  J/K.  But I am serious about the God given rights of those who can’t yet speak for themselves.  That’s right, the not yet born Americans.  So, she is so happy about the event that she sent an Email, courtesy of MySpace.  Apparently, I am so involved with MySpace that several members of my family joined MySpace just so they can communicate with me! :)

Now, I’ve can’t ever remember posting in a blog a private email except in a single instance where a complete stranger answered the tongue-in-cheek questions posted on my other profile.  He got what he deserved (an aspiring ACLU lawyer)!  LOL But in general, I think private emails should remain private.  But ... (gasp) I had so much fun with this one!  I love my niece and would never do anything to intentionally hurt her.  But, I simply must share this one!  I will see her in a few weeks and can apologize then, if she ever gets word of this.

She wrote:

”here is the website to check out our son www.ZZZZZZ(censored).com the customer number is ZZZZZZ(you guessed it, censored again!  LOL) ...ill have to email new ones but those are from the hospital
Love ya
Sammie (Oh, censored again!)”

I responded:

”Hey Sammie!

I'll check it out but wanted to send this first. I'm coming out to Colorado to visit with you all! I'd love to see him then up close and personal! LOL

I'm back from Iraq and can say I've haven't been affected by it at all. I've been able to control my violent rages after a battery of shrinks had their way with me. Nor am I still homicidal either! They even helped me stop throwing whatever I've got in my hands and diving for the floor whenever I hear loud noises! Unfortunately, I have developed this nervous eye twitch when things get tense. Oh, the Army decided not to prosecute me after they found my arsenal of captured insurgent AK47s in my room. I was able to convince them that I wasn't really trying to send them home through the mail in order to start my own militia! BTW, did you know that Washington State has a lot more wilderness area than Colorado? Sorry ... sometimes I just get carried away. I'm really looking forward to seeing you again and holding that son of yours!

I'll be out there in a couple of weeks. I go on leave from the 3rd to the 31st of Aug. You should see me late in my second week or early in my third week. Oh, I had a long conversation with your dad. He has a problem with the "Grampa" label! LOL He said he would try to coordinate his job with my visit to Colorado.

Love Ya,

Uncle Ben”

What do you think?  Do you think she knows I was JOKING?!!!!!!!!!!!  LOL

This is just a quick update. It’s been a long 15 months but I am officially back in the good ole USA. Because of OPSEC, I couldn’t let anyone know anything more than I did when I showed in my status update that I was transitioning. Exact flight dates and times can’t be shared with others.

I have a lot of work to do on this profile to get it updated and I will be looking forward to doing it very soon. I’m a little “burnt” after flying halfway around the world. I must remind everyone that this profile must remain politically neutral because of my stated occupation of soldier. Not only is it unwise if you disagree, but also against the UCMJ to publicly oppose those in your chain of command. Some of you know my solution. This profile I’ve taken neutral on controversial subjects in order to concentrate on things that are more personal. I can also say some of what I was doing in Iraq (in general terms).

Shortly after the 3rd of next month if anyone is interested, I’ll begin a trip to see family in the Western United States and will do a travel blog with this profile. I’m willing to stop and have coffee with anyone interested in this providing we can match schedules.

It’s good to be home. :)

How many words do we have?

The Brits might disagree with this statement, but we US citizens generally speak English.  We inherited our language from our parent country.  But even English, for the most part, isn’t really English.  Nope, English is a collection of words from all around the globe.  Some have argued that there are more words in the English language than any other language.  But the simple truth is, amazingly, no one really knows how many English words there are.  And I’m not speaking about a little bit.  I’m talking about a lot!

It has been estimated that there are somewhere between 200,000 English words too nearly one cool million.  The reason for this difficulty is that no one really knows how to count them.  The difficulty comes from words like “dog.”  There are the four legged variants that dig up your flower gardens and rummage through your trashy refuse, then there is the way that someone dogs someone else.  This is the same word, two different meanings.  Then there are the variants of the same word; you run, are running, and ran.  There are also the contractions.  If a hyphenated combination of two words has a separate meaning than the other two words individually, can you count it again as an independent word, even if you have already counted them?  What about the derivative words like all, right, and alright? What about all the technical words?  What about the legal and medical terms?  Are these commonly used technical words English words, or Latin words?

How did this happen?

So, how did this all happen?  Well, starting off, England was invaded and conquered by almost everyone who could row their boats across the English channel!  Apparently, the“Heinz 57' descendants got tired of having their butts kicked and decided to do a little butt kicking themselves!  Soon after, the English Empire was borne, (or is that born?)  Well, they kept adding words without getting rid of the old words.  Not even the Queen of England knows for sure how many words are in her language.  So, if you don’t know how many words you have, then how can you know if you have the biggest dictionary?  How long does it take for a commonly used word to become an “official” English word?  Is Habeas Corpus an English word(s) yet?  What about the commonly used colloquialisms?  When do they become official?

Here are some of the places we get our language from:

Australian Aboriginal -kangaroo; African -trek; Arabic -ghoul; Chinese -gung-ho; Czech -robot; Dutch -bundle; Etruscan -market; Finnish -sauna; French -academic; German -kindergarten; Greek -apology; Hawaiian -aloha; Hebrew -behemoth; Hungarian -coach; (India has many languages: Sanskrit -diva; Tamil -pariah; Hindi -shampoo and avatar (just like my MySpace picture); Urdu -cushy);  Indonesian -amok; Irish (Gaelic) -dig from dtuig “to understand” (think hippies); Italian -facade; Japanese -tycoon; Korean -soju; Latin -sinister; Malay -paddy; Maori -kiwi; North American Aboriginal -skunk; Norwegian -ski; Old Norse -anger; Persian -rank; Polish -horde; Portuguese -breeze; Romanian -pastrami; Russian -luna; Serbo-Croatian -Tesla; Scots -blackmail; Scottish Gaelic -bunny; Spanish -alligator;  Swedish -gauntlet; Tagalog -boondocks; Turkic -yoghurt; Ukrainian -Cossack; Welsh -car; Yiddish -bagel!

Of course it’s difficult to say exactly where we got some words because many are passed down through several groups of people with different languages.  They begin in the ancient languages and eventually plop right down into the English language.  And of course, we always have room for more.

The United States adds one of our own!

So in the midst of this “big stew” we call the English language, we United States citizens decided to make our own contribution  . . .  sort of.  Yep, we inadvertently invented what has become not only a US word, or an English word, but a truly an international word.  I say United States citizens instead of Americans because the Canadians and Mexicans had absolutely nothing to do with this!  Nope, this word was invented in the exact same place we had our famous tea party.  Or, perhaps the infamous tea party if you happen to live on the other side of the Atlantic!  Yep, it’s a Bostonian word!

Yes-sir-ree Billy Bob, it’s a fascinating word because no one can really get behind it.  No one is really enthusiastic about it.  But, it’s short and easy to pronounce in any language.  And, most languages don’t really have an equivalent, even though globally most people throughout the world can relate to it.  Yep, it’s just an OK word! OK?

OK 1 or o·kay  (-k) Informal

n. pl. OK's or o·kays

• Approval; agreement: Get your supervisor's OK before taking a day off.

adj.

• Agreeable; acceptable: Was everything OK with your stay?
• Satisfactory; good: an OK fellow.
• Not excellent and not poor; mediocre: made an OK presentation.
• In proper or satisfactory operational or working order: Is the battery OK?
• Correct: That answer is OK.
• Uninjured; safe: The skier fell but was OK.
• Fairly healthy; well: Thanks to the medicine, the patient was OK.

adv.

• Used to express approval or agreement.
• Fine; well enough; adequately: a television that works OK despite its age.

tr.v. OK'ed or OK'd or o·kayed, OK'·ing or o·kay·ing, OK's or o·kays

• To approve of or agree to; authorize.

OK, where did OK come from?

And of course, most people who use it don’t really know where it comes from.  So, how did this little jewel come to be?  Answer: In 1839, the newspaper writers and editors in Boston had a sense of humor.  They had a habit of abbreviating commonly used words and then spelling them out.  Because they were spelling them out anyway, they sometimes intentionally misspelled the abbreviation!  The first documented use of “OK” came from the March 23 edition of the Boston Morning Post (a United States newspaper).

This is the quote: “The 'Chairman of the Committee on Charity Lecture Bells', is one of the deputation, and perhaps if he should return to Boston, via Providence, he of the Journal, and his train-band, would have his 'contribution box,' et ceteras, o.k.—all correct—and cause the corks to fly, like sparks, upward.”

That’s right, “OK” were the initials for “All Correct!”  (Oll Korrect)  Now, normally that word would have died except wouldn’t you know it, the Presidential race followed the next year in 1840.  It got really ugly.  “OK,” became the initials for 'Old Kinderhook,' a.k.a. Martin Van Buren, a native of Kinderhook, NY.  He wasn’t great, but I guess he was OK.  Both sides were using OK for him and it took off like “Read my lips”; “Where’s the beef?”; “You're no Jack Kennedy”; and this year’s winner, “Joe the Plumber!”  Ain’t politics swell?

Martin Van Buren, our 8th President, lived up to his OK initials.  His administration was credited with a lackluster economy and strained ties with Brittan.  He is “almost” remembered today for not really doing anything.  In fact, when someone asks who he is, the response will probably be, “He’s the President that followed President Andrew Jackson and proceeded President William Henry Harrison.”  Well, I guess everyone had enough with OK and voted him not OK.  He was a  one term President (1837 to 1841).

OK, this word apparently was very catchy because it really spread, OK?  OK is not really a great word, but it’s an OK word.  It’s not a “no,” it’s not an enthusiastic “yes,” it’s just OK.  No one is really fighting it, OK, but it’s OK with them.

I certainly hope you are all proud of our OK word, and I hope this blog was OK with you, OK?

References:

Click the Donkey!

OUTRAGEOUS!

Isn't it nice to know that potentially our future Commander-in-Chief cares more about a bunch of damn foreigners than he does his own fallen troops?  That he cares more for Germans at a press op than he does wounded Americans?

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Outraged!