Every year I post a version of this blog during the Christmas and New Year holidays.  I do this as my small contribution to get people thinking in terms of safety.  This is Christmas eve, imagine the dread your family would have for this time of year should some senseless accident take you away from them.  There would be an empty space where you belong, that nothing can fill.

I began thinking along these lines when a friend of mine was taken away from us when I was young and stupid.  It’s a good thing people are so physically resilient when we are young, it helps to balance the dumb choices we so often make.  If it wasn’t for this, the human race might die out completely.  But, it doesn’t always work out this way.  Sometimes we make choices that we can never take back.  Some choices are forever.  This thinking of mine eventually became, “The Little Christmas Ghost.”

The vast amount of dumb choices that result in the loss of human life are related to vehicular accidents.  But not all fatalities are related to automobiles, but these numbers will astound you.

• There are more than six million car accidents each year in the United States.


• A person dies in a car accident every 12 minutes and each year car crashes kill 40,000 people.


• The leading cause of death for individuals between 2 and 34 years old is motor vehicle crashes.


• Someone is injured by a car crash every 14 seconds and about two million of the people injured in car accidents each year suffer permanent injuries.


• Over 25% of all drivers were involved in an auto accident in a five-year period.


• Excessive speed is the second most common cause of deadly auto accidents, which accounts for about 30% of fatal accidents.


• Car crashes cost each American more than $1,000 a year; $164.2 billion is the total cost each year across the United States.


• Car accidents are the leading cause of death for kids between 2 and 14; About 2,000 children die each year from injuries caused by car accidents.


• Each year, almost 250,000 children are injured in car crashes, meaning nearly 700 kids are harmed every day.


• Car accidents are the leading cause of acquired disability nationwide.

The following graphic breaks the numbers down month by month for the years of 2007 and 2008.

40,000 people killed in auto accidents every year.  Does anyone really know what 40,000 people looks like?  In the next photograph, this stadium holds about 51,000 people.  There were about 40,000 present during this photograph.  This is 40,000 people.  This is how many die each year in automobile accidents.  This is presented in order for you to get your minds around how huge this number really is.  Can anyone imagine this many people dying each year in what is mostly preventable automobile accidents?

Automobile accidents are the leading cause of death for children.  In the next photo collage, all of these children were killed in automobile accidents.

Dumb, senseless choices that result in death.  There are no do-overs!  A mind wandering on some unrelated task; the body and subconscious on auto-pilot while hurtling down the road!  People running late and speeding . . . taking chances.  Alcohol is often involved.  My friend took too many chances with alcohol, and it cost him is life.

The next JPG is my answer to Max’s decision.  The impact eventually evolved into “The Little Christmas Ghost.”  Eventually I hope to illustrate this poem on a YouTube video.  But, the season is upon me and it’s time to do something now or not at all.  So again, I blog it.

I hope you and yours have a wonderful family season of joy and giving.  But please remember to think before you act.  Pay attention on the road, and please, please, don’t drink and drive.  If only one person reads these series of blogs and it saves only one life, theirs, I would consider all the effort a success.  Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah, and a Merry New Year.

*Important Update at the end*

What would our world be like without cops?

Before I begin this, I want to apologize for the raw anger that I know is going to get away from me. If you are easily offended, then perhaps you should just stop reading this right here because I am probably going to offend you.

Many of you have already seen it on television about the four cops that were killed within a few miles of my home, right outside of Tacoma Washington. Yesterday, I spent most of the day down there mingling with the local and national press, and listening to whatever information the Lakewood Police Department released. I had tried to get closer, but the police department had cordoned off a large area, so all the pictures that I took were at the perimeter of this cordon.

I’ve downloaded some pictures off of the internet too. I’ll post some of my pictures at the end of this blog without comment. The only real comment I would like to make about them, is about the fire department and a photographer from the Seattle Times. The pictures I’ll use for comment are not the ones I took. You can see more of the pics I took if you follow the link back to my Photobucket account (no bandwidth limitation) and copy or link to them if you wish. This folder is set to “public.” I uploaded the clearest ones and won’t move them around, breaking your links.

The fire department was going to hang the American flag much earlier in the day than they did, but had to stop to get permission. You will notice the ladder trucks attempting to put up the flag in daylight. They had to stop and take down the ladders until the OK was given. I thought, how strange that you needed permission to put up an American flag? I mentioned it to this cute young (early 20 something) photographer from the Seattle times and she looked at me like I was some strange creature from the Black Lagoon. Other than saying she was from the Seattle Times, she mumbled some inaudible response to my flag comment and moved on to take her pictures. (And after this, keep her distance from me.) I saw the images she was snapping away at (such as the couple hanging out with me) later show up on the Seattle Times website, which confirmed her authenticity. Is she really representative of the United States we now live in? If so, then we are in BIG TROUBLE!

But, I digress. I’ve gotten it on good authority that even cops hate to see cop cars in their rearview mirrors. I’ve never been a cop, but my father joined the Sherif’s Department after his military retirement. A friend of the family did also. A childhood friend of mine also joined, and so did a fellow employee of a factory I used to work at, all with the SD. In addition, I used to work at a convenience store and met many city cops . . . a little chit chat here and there. All of them pretty much agree on this. But, this really is a minor inconvenience, isn’t it? I mean . . .

What would our world be like without cops? WHAT WOULD OUR WORLD BE LIKE WITHOUT COPS????

They don’t make the laws! They make sure the laws made by our representatives are OBEYED by everyone. INCLUDING the BULLY malcontents that THINK they can do whatever in the hell they want to do! THIS IS OUR SOCIETY! AND, A SOCIETY WITHOUT RULES IS NOT A SOCIETY AT ALL - IT’S A WAR-ZONE!!! BELIEVE ME, I’VE BEEN THERE . . . THREE TIMES!!!

Is my aging mother to barricade herself in her house lest some HUMAN EXCREMENT going by the name of Maurice Clemmons force her out and take everything she owns??? Then he can RAPE AT WILL the little girl next door??? WHAT WOULD OUR WORLD BE LIKE WITHOUT COPS??? Oh, just in case you haven’t heard. The local media is now saying the 12-year-old girl this turd raped, was a RELATIVE of his!!!

COP KILLER AND OXYGEN THIEF!

This blog and profile are not supposed to be about politics, so I will leave out my distrust in entrusting my personal liberties to the government at ANY level of governance. Instead, I will say this. Our Liberties could NOT survive long without a force to protect us from the tyranny abroad, nor another to protect us from the anarchy within! Without soldiers or cops, LIBERTY would last about as long as a candle in a NASA wind-tunnel! WHAT WOULD OUR WORLD BE LIKE WITHOUT COPS????

At about 0815 on the morning of November 29, 2009, four veteran police officers, all with families, sat in a local coffee shop. They were getting ready for their shifts, referencing their laptops, and going over paperwork over a cup of coffee, when a dangerous OXYGEN THIEF, and habitual felon walked in and gunned them all down! Did he know them? Nope! He just didn’t like cops because they were the ones who actually went out to collect him for processing when he BEAT UP PEOPLE (including cops), ROBBED PEOPLE, BURGLARIZED PEOPLE, AND RAPED CHILDREN! OMG! WHAT ANIMALS THESE COPS WERE! WHERE IS THIS MAN’S BRAIN??? The magnitude of this man’s NARCISSISM is ASTOUNDING!!!!! Sorry! But I believe anyone who has separated himself this far from our society, humanity, and all human empathy does not deserve the expense of a trial! He should be SHOT on sight like any other RABID ANIMAL and put the hell out of his misery! HAVE I OFFENDED ANYONE YET??? WAIT, IT GETS BETTER!!!

• Top Left: Ronald Owens age 37, 12 years police experience, survived by former wife and daughter.


• Top Right: Tina Griswold, age 40, 14 years police experience, survived by husband and two kids.


• Bottom Left: Greg Richards, age 42, eight years of police experience, survived by wife and three kids.


• Bottom Right: Mark Renniger, age 39, 13 years of police experience, survived by wife and three kids.

When was the last time you shook a cop’s hand and thanked him or her for their service???? They put their lives on the line every day. They are in uniform. People who don’t like them know exactly who they are and where they are. They stand between you and these creatures like Maurice Clemmons!!!!

What would your world be like without cops?

There is a lot I left out of this blog, such as Huckabee’s pardon and the reason why this worm was out on bail instead of behind bars. Let’s just say, in Washington we need to review our laws and I’ve had about as much as I can stand of Compassionate Conservatism! The rest can be expounded on in the comments.

The following are some of the pictures I took. Right-click on any of them and follow the link back to Photobucket if you want to see more.

My parents always taught me to be careful what I wish for, I just might get it.

In the early morning of December 1, 2009, I turned on the morning news to see if anything had developed in the massive police manhunt for the animal known as Maurice Clemmons. It had. I watched with dispassionate quiet as the local stations explained how Maurice Clemmons came to the end of his long criminal career.

I found the devil in the details, and in what wasn’t said as much as what was. There is no way to confirm this as Maurice is currently “unavailable for comment.” There was the . . . 1. Stolen car left abandoned with it’s hood up and engine running. 2. The fact Clemmons was hiding in a hedgerow somewhere behind the car, with enough distance for the officer to fill and place his/her back to him. 3. The fact Clemmons knew he would be recognized as soon as police spotted him. 4. The fact Clemmons was alone. 5. The fact none of his friends or family who were hiding him and interfering in the manhunt lived in this neighborhood. 6. The fact that Clemmons approached the Seattle officer with his weapon in his pocket, not in his hands despite the fact it was still very dark. 7. The fact the news had already reported that Clemmons’ niece who was afraid Clemmons would not be taken alive. 8. The fact that Clemmons was slowly dying from the gunshot wound directly below his sternum in the center of his chest. (We call this center-mass in the military.) This wound was made by officer Richards who later died from his own wounds.

While some might consider this another ambush attempt by Clemmons as his stolen car looked like it was staged by Clemmons as the lure for another hit on the police, Clemmons, I think, wasn’t in any condition to go on any new homicide spree. Nope, I think Clemmons wanted to end his own life and was too much of a coward to put his own gun to his head and pull the trigger!!! But, I guess we will never know.

Be careful what you wish for? I’m very pleased the taxpayers wont have to put him through another long expensive trial which could possibly end with him in the nuthouse. Clemmons made weird statements to authorities during one of his incarcerations where he described hallucinations in which he saw “people drinking blood and eating babies.” He also made an odd statement to an arresting officer where he said that . . . “President Obama and Lebron James are his brothers, Oprah is his sister and referred to himself as 'the beast.” -Quotes are from KIRO news. Yes, I’m satisfied with how Maurice Clemmons came to the end of the world.

I’m very proud of how the Police attacked every lead, which numbered in the hundreds, in force. They were all over the place in Seattle, Tacoma, Lakewood, even farther away than that. I heard one was up near the border between Canada and the US. They ran themselves ragged all around the Puget Sound. As you all know, our television and radio signals travel across international borders. They are watched on both sides from two sovereign peoples with a shared language. There was a very large attendance at the memorials by police officers from Vancouver, Canada.

Now, the most important part of this update; the remembrance of fallen officers, and a place to donate to the families of the fallen.

About donating to a fund set up by the Lakewood Police Independent Guild for the families of the fallen officers. KIRO News

The actual fund link: http://lpig.us/

LPIG tribute to the fallen officers.

I’ve finally gotten around to finishing my travel blog.  As most of you know I started it but left the last installment hanging for awhile.  I’ve been pestered by everyone from my niece to Zac the Dragon Rider to finish it, mostly because they are in it!  LOL

As some of you know, I rolled back my operating system on the advice of a service rep from Hewlett Packard.  This was because my CD/ROM drive stopped reading DVD’s while still reading CD’s and data disks.  I had already upgraded my codecs just in case that’s what it was, but it didn’t help.  Little did I know that by rolling back the OS I would lose all the drivers for my application software.  I finally broke down today and paid again for WordPerfect X4 office suite.  I really prefer it over MS Word which I also have.  I had little desire to even get on the Internet with my computer unable to run so many of my favorite programs.  I rely heavily on WordPerfect and PowerPoint 2003 to edit my blogs before I post them.  I have the PowerPoint 2006 software but will not install it because it lost part of the functionality I depend on such as exporting to JPG.  Such is life.

When I returned from Iraq, I made this journey to visit my family who are spread across the western United States.  I began in Washington State and traveled to “way north” California to visit with my uncle, ant, grandmother, and cousin.  From there I hit northern (really central) California to see one of my sisters and her family and another cousin.  From there I went through Nevada where I met the great Kenny Vegas.  From there it was on to central Texas where my dad and step mom lives.  Then I headed northwest to central Colorado along the front range to see my mom, step dad, brother, and his two kids.  From Colorado I headed northwest through Idaho where I met the great Dragon Rider.  Then, right across the boarder back into Washington I went to meet my other sister and her clan, minus my nephew who lives in a different part of Washington.  Then finally, westward and home.  This blog picks up in Colorado where the last blog left off.

All text follows the picture.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving . . . now without further ado, on to the long overdue blog. :)

Once again, it was time to leave the city I grew up in.  As always there is a little bit of sadness.  I would love to stay a little longer, “But I have promises to keep,  And miles to go before I sleep,  And miles to go before I sleep.” - Robert Frost

Heading north towards Wyoming, I had to fill up with fuel.  Pulling out I saw this sign.  Does anyone know whether Brett Favre has learned to make a decision?  LOL

The sun had already set and I crossed the border into Wyoming in the deepness of night.  I would drive through until dawn as I was already in contact with the Dragon Rider and had to still hit Yellowstone before seeing him.

A refinery in Wyoming.  There was a strong link back to Kuwait and Iraq as these facilities are quite common there.  It really is quite beautiful at night, right out in the middle of nowhere.  When driving in the middle of night, it’s easy to let your thoughts wander back to that place.

The sun began to rise on the red weathered stone and takes your breath away.

The ancient stone and modern road.  But, I feel rushed now.  There’s no time to ponder this incongruity.  Much is wasted in our brief lives when we find ourselves too busy to fully appreciate the noisy pallet of some mad artist.

This picture looks as surreal as I felt.

Those pesky bears have absolutely no manners!  I say shoot them all!  LOL J/K When in bear country, you can always hang your “bear bait” in a tree.  It’s a lot better than your tent where a bear might get confused.  Yep, bears have poor vision.  You might look like a giant Twinkie!

Rolling into more mountainous territory the shadows from the morning sun grow.  Then, suddenly an apparition appears before me.  I can almost imagine a Willow-the-Wisp.

Mist is created by the lingering cool night air and warm water below, possibly hot-spring fed water.  My excitement grew as I realized it was the first tangible evidence that Yellowstone was not far away.

You know?  This place is starting to look like another place I heard about.

Then I ran into a snag . . . road construction!  They were widening the road, cutting down trees and blasting away rock.  Boy, Zac is going to wonder what took me so long!  No phone service here, not in a valley.  Yep, wait for half an hour then follow the construction car up front in groups, then wait again and follow another.  This delay added a couple of hours to my trip.

Then I saw it!  Hey!  Isn’t that the Grand Tetons???  I didn’t realize Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons were in the same neighborhood!  Duh!  I’d call this two for one’s!  LOL So much for priding myself on a solid grasp of geography!  Well, at least I know that Canada is a foreign country!  That puts me WAY ahead of many of our illustrious highschool graduates!

I pulled over and thought, a house RIGHT HERE might be nice! :)

Was there, did that, got the picture!  hehe Switzerland has nothing over Wyoming!

Could you imagine being the first European born explorer and finding this??  I would have built some condos! :)

Finally I arrived.  I only made this detour because Kathy wanted to see pictures of it.  Not the sign, the actual geyser!  That’s right, Old Faithful1!  Actually, I probably would have made the trip anyway. :)

There it is . . . well, one of those geysers are it!  LOL Hmm, aren’t I standing over a colossal volcano???  Isn’t it, in geological terms, ready to pop it’s top??  Note to self, stop thinking so much!!!

There she blows!!!!  Not the volcano (damn, so much for resolutions), the geyser!  I was thinking how much we could contribute to the greening of America if we stuck giant steam turbines in all of these geysers!  hehe

I arrived early enough that I was practically the only one there.  I didn’t have anything else to do except drive to Idaho, so I hung around.  Then this huge crowd showed up!  Look at all of these people who wanted to see a bunch of steam blow out of a stupid hole in the ground!  What?  Don’t they have anything else better to do with their spare time????  Steam!  What a bunch of boring mor . . . wait a second . . . I’m there to see a bunch of steam blow out of a stupid hole in the ground.  It was interesting, but I would be lying if I claimed I had an epiphany!  I didn’t catch a single glimpse of Elvis!  LOL

This crowd goes on for “days!”  It’s international!  People show up from everywhere to see this.  Can you imagine flying all the way from Japan, for instance?

Speaking of Japan, I love this picture!  How old is this kid anyway?  Six?  Seven?  Already he is an expert with a Nikon!  He’s taking a picture of his doting parents.

Normally I hate taking pictures of people, even while in public.  I feel like somehow I’m intruding on someone’s privacy.  I’d make a lousy paparazzi photographer.  However, in this case I didn’t need to worry.

Nope, no worries at all.  They were very aware of their surroundings and picked up on my intrusion rather quickly.  They seemed very happy to have their pictures taken by a complete stranger.  Once again, very reminiscent of Iraq.  Iraqis love to have their pictures taken. :)

It was time to be moving on to Idaho, and I was already late.

Behold, the great meeting between the Wolves and the Dragons.  There should have been a lot of press!  :)  DR is very typical Navy.  Laid back and easy going.  DR is a genuinely nice guy.  I was very amused at his T-shirt.  Knowing we would take pictures, somehow I think that was planned out in advance!  LOL It was a real privilege to finally meet him in person.  We had some coffee.

Being as late as I was, he only had a few hours to sleep that night before he had to get up and go to work.  I hope he wasn’t tardy on my account.  Being as close as he is to where my sister lives, I’m hoping we will get together again sometime in the future.  Next time, however, the hour of the visit will be a little better. :)

Then it was on to see my sister across the border in the State of Washington.

This is my niece and her fiancée.  He is successful, kind, and a really good catch for her.  But then again, look at her!  LOL I’m just wondering where all the good looking genes were hiding when I was born! :)

This is my great nephew, my niece’s son.  I was shocked to learn his voice has already dropped.  Now I’m REALLY feeling old!

This is a nice doggy!  Later she chewed my arm off while I slept!  J/K

Nice picture, except for her hair sticking up in the back that way!  I think I found my missing tennis ball!  HAHAHAHA!

Finally my lovely sister.  She was the first born, which means she got into big trouble with mom and dad before all the rest of us did!  In fact, she showed the rest of us siblings how not to get caught!  hehe (With his own MySpace account, I know my dad will be wondering right now what I’m talking about . . . exactly!  HAHAHA)

I’m very proud of my sister.  She is only 5 classes and her internship away from her PHD in psychology!  I have a hard time picturing a doctor in the family!  I’ve already tried to tell her I’m all jacked up, but she doesn’t believe me!  LOL

That darned white Tacoma Pick-up is blocking the photo of my beautiful jeep in the background!  How rude!

I was going to go over and cuss the driver out.  Then I realized it was a woman, a blond!  Yes!  Wait a second!  THAT’S MY SISTER!  BARF! BARF! BARF!

Got attitude???  LOL

Ah, that’s what kitah needed, a little attention!  I’m here to dispel the rumor of my soon to be nephew-in-law and kitah eloping!  It is completely false!

Yep, a house where kitahs reign supreme and mice are scared!  Batman and Robin rolls again!  Um, not that kind of robin!  In fact, robins became extinct in this neighborhood shortly after my sister moved in.  Ecologists are desperately trying to figure out why.

This picture was presented out of sequence.  It’s because of the poignant reminder of our own mortality.  This blog was written to be entertaining, But, I wanted to leave it on a somber note with us all beginning the Christmas season.  It’s to give us all pause.  Just food for thought.

This sign stands just north of the city I grew up in Colorado on Interstate 25.  About 28 years ago it brought me for the first time in my life face to face with death.  Oh sure, I had gone to funerals before.  I attended the funeral for the father of a boy in school.  The funeral for my grandmother that I never had the familiarity with to miss her on an emotional level.  There were more that I can only dimly remember.  But this was different, this sign claimed the life of someone who was at the time my best friend.

Max and I had graduated highschool together.  We had up until just before the accident shared the expense of a two bedroom apartment.  We went to parties and went girl chasing together.  We shared thoughts that I would only feel comfortable sharing with my own brother - as always with men, what is most private to us, our phobias and doubts, our weaknesses.  There was the real trust and comradery of young men who hadn’t quite stopped being boys.

Early one cold morning, a car heading north on I-25 left the road and struck the guard rail, catapulting it into the air.  It struck this sign six feet off of the ground with enough force to rip the engine from the car with its own momentum.  When the fire department showed up, they had to cut the driver out of the car.  He was killed instantly.  This driver WAS my friend.

The toxicology report came back and sure enough, he had been drinking that previous night.  A trucker who had witnessed the accident made a statement that Max never even hit the breaks.  He thought it was probably a suicide.  The final conclusion was that Max had fallen asleep at the wheel.  He never even knew what had happened.

I’m not telling all of you this to bring discredit to my friend.  To the contrary, only to learn from him.  In the early 80's, the law and courts were only starting to get serious with drinking and driving.  We were young and thought we would live forever.  We thought we were bullet proof.  We were wrong, and it cost my friend his life.  To this day I have a deep aversion to driving after drinking even a single beer.  I avoid it like the plague.

From there this lesson has grown for me to include any mistake while hurtling down the road.  It’s the original inspiration behind my “Little Christmas Ghost” poem that I post every year during the Christmas holiday season.  Some mistakes are forever.  As for Max, even after so much time has passed, he continues to leave a hollow place in me.  Life is full of triumph and regret, and nothing is permanent, but we can all make better choices in whatever time we have left on this earth.

God Bless.

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. :)