Turtle Summit IV

A roster imposter infiltrates the Summit...
(Just click on it for a clear view)

They gathered once again
On a beautiful spring day
At Molly's grotto

But this time there were five
Instead of four

The old turtle sensed something
In the soup was amiss

So naturally he said, "I sense something
In the soup is amiss."

The others clacked their beaks nervously
And awaited further guidance

The elder went on, "Yes, I believe one of us is chicken.
I can't see his liver but I would guess it also gilded lily."

One of the others chimed in, "You mean we have a lily livered chicken here
Who seems much like those robber barons (Carnegie and Rockefeller) from the Gilded Age?"

"Yes Grasshopper... I mean Little Turtle
Only it seems much worse.

It seems this lily livered chicken trying to pass as a turtle
Is in fact a member of CoNRAgress
And attempting to define right and wrong
By the weight of his pockets

If they are heavy with the 30 silver coins of Judas
The cause that put them there is right
If they are light with nothing but a moral compass
The cause is wrong.

You will find he has proven he can be intimidated by the 2%
At the expense of the 98%."

"But how do we tell who among us
Might be this dumb cluck?" said the littlest turtle.

"Look for a sign my son." said the elder.
"Or review his voting record... whatever."

Soldier Boy I - Prelude

He may look decent but he knows nothing.
(He's about to learn though...)

17 and a quarter - fresh out of high school
Not advanced academically
Just started early as a kid (hayseed) in North Dakota

Out of four high school years
Spent first two and a half
In Huron, Ohio

Enjoyed one class - "Technical Drawing" at Renton, Washington HS
Actually two - "Speech" at Huron, Ohio HS... but Mr Adler, "The Big Bopper" (RIP)
Kicked me out of that one forever

Kicked out of another as well in Huron...
Robbie C and I competed for lowest grade in "Latin"
I was disqualified from the competition when
Mrs. McKillip turned and caught me giving her
The single digit salute from the back of the classroom

As a result I was booted from class and sentenced to
"Honors Study Hall" for some reason
There I would sit and do...nothing
While my fellow students would sit and do...something
For an hour each day

Eventually it turned out the most valuable class
I would ever take was an elective
"Personal Typing"
I was at Huron HS, a sophomore  I think
Our teacher was young and to me, she was gorgeous
She had this deeply disturbing quality as well

When she was showing you how to use the keyboard
She would bend over your back
Placing her hands over yours and gently moving your fingers
To the correct position

All innocent enough
Except for the fact that her breasts
Would rest square on your back while she was doing it

As a fourteen year old student with hormones on permanent overdrive
This would reduce me to the mental level of a doberman humping a fireplug

In spite of that I learned to type 
A skill that would serve again and again
Throughout the remainder of my life

First two years in high school I was "college prep" material
Second two years it was, "Just get through will you?"

We moved from Huron to Seattle in the middle
Traumatic stuff for a fifteen year old

I majored in pool the second half of high school... the billiards kind that is
After hours of course...plus when I could skip classes without getting caught
Came out though with a 2.0 GPA - some kind of miracle that was.

Finally, a graduation ceremony and we were turned loose on society
In Seattle you had to be 18 to be "bonded"
I think that meant a third party insuring you against theft or injury or something
I found out I couldn't even pump gas
(my highest aspiration at the time)
Unless I was... "bonded"

So I wandered the streets of downtown Seattle
And played pool for a while
Famous historical joints (really) like Ben Paris and
The 211 Club (est. 1898)
(The 211 site is now the home of the Seattle Symphony - go figure...)

One day I walked past the recruiter's offices
Saw the different uniforms there
And thought the Air Force blues were pretty cool
I don't think the Marines had a display
Or I probably would have chose them!

Shortly thereafter, Mom signed for me
Three months out of high school, four months short of 18
And I was off to eight weeks of basic training

Twenty-four years, an amazing inspirational wife, a great son,
Bachelors and masters degrees, and many remarkable experiences later
Half as enlisted and half as officer
I would retire as a BTZ Major in the Air Force Medical Service Corps
Along the way I learned something in spite of myself

"...Love Me" Redux

Over 220 blog entries ago
In the spring of 2008
I posted my first blog
The title and the link:
"I Will Make You Love Me"

Now, thinking back...
A little more on the subject

When I was ten 

We moved from North Dakota to Pontiac, Michigan
My parents both smoked then

I thought it was a natural thing
For people to do

Our home in Pontiac was near the center of
What was then a mainly blue collar city

Wrapped around automobile manufacturing
With a fairly thriving downtown

Us kids included some cousins and a few other pals there
Our part of town was poor but safe and we roamed free
Free to get in a lot of mischief

We had a hole through a fence at the nearby dairy
We could sneak in at broad daylight and steal
Delicious pint cartons of chocolate milk

We could ride our bikes right downtown
We were probably only a mile away
Not even that
I clearly recall in a department store there...
The smell and look of a brand new white cotton dress shirt
I think it cost around three bucks
And wondering if there would ever be a day
When I would have one of my own

There was a baseball diamond with bleachers
In a park nearby
We would cruise those bleachers after a game
And pick up decent sized cigarette butts
To enjoy later at our leisure
It was even a treat to latch on to a box of wooden matches
To light them with
Over 30 years later, I finally quit

Then my first great discovery of my early 40's
Was the feeling of breathing in a huge gulp of clean air
It was a rush I had totally forgotten over the years
Later, smoke free clothes, homes and cars would become
More evident as well
But that huge gulp of clean air is still amazing to me

I still get a little sad remembering "lap time"
When I would invite my son to sit in my lap
While watching television
Only to excuse him a few minutes later
So I could light one up

I was lucky to have dumped that monkey
Over 20 years ago
As part of rehab for my very unhealthy heart

This morning, as with many mornings,

I was heading for my poker tournament (read "fix")
And I noticed how clear and beautiful the day looked
I most certainly would not have noticed if I had not quit
In fact, I would not be here at all

Killing Their Children

People start killing, people can stop it.

They came from many countries
Across the great water
They needed places for family, food and shelter
We shared, sometimes willingly, sometimes not
For this was our home through many generations

They fought us o attempt genocide
They fought amongst themselves
They formed a government
They wanted rules
To help keep them from arguing, fighting, killing

To help limit their greed, their racism

Their government sometimes
Did good things to bring order
Their government sometimes
Did bad things to bring chaos

Chaos is what they bring today
They are killing their children
In the fields of far off wars
In their schools
In the streets

In despair
I would leave for my original country
But this is my original country

CoNRAgress

Who are these people?
These 100 Americans
We have elected
Charged with providing structure
For our increasingly large, complex society

What are they about?
Themselves... not our children, not us

What have they accomplished?
Exacerbation of all major issues they have faced in recent years
A snarled voting process that confounds observers
Coining a new phrase, "scorched-earth obstructionism"
That characterizes the "Party of No" so well

What are they about?
Nothing... they are about nothing but self aggrandizement

What will be their place in history?
A reputation for pandering to large corporations and the 1%
The face of Democracy, tagged with obscenities
A highly effective death machine for unnecessary wars and killing our children
Masters of the politics of win... not the politics of right and wrong

What are they about?
Mindless prioritization and making the news

Are their Mothers proud of them?
Are the Fathers of our country proud of them?
What about the children of Sandy Hook Elementary School?  Are they proud?

Congressman... Senator...
Lose the damn jacket
Loosen the damn tie
Roll up your freakin' shirt sleeves

Get busy damnit
Act responsibly
Grow up
Give our children the good country they deserve
They need a chance to live

Or maybe we just need to kick your asses out of office...

Zen Moment

A good, overdue by a few days, workout at the gym this morning
After... on a overcast day I sat outside near the pool

Why this photo?
No particular reason other than I love it.

Weather was perfectly comfortable
Stevie Ray Vaughn playing the blues on Pandora
Ear pods cranked up to accommodate my pitiful ears

Fell into a Zen moment while there
Good for a guy who may have been born with rose colored glasses
Song after great song played

"Voodoo Child' by Hendrix
"Turn The Page" by Seeger
"We Will Rock You" by Queen
Its my "ZZ Top" channel
You get the idea

I watched a guy who had to be 90
Sit at pool's edge
Put on giant flippers, a snorkel
And paddle up and down the Olympic length

I thought, "How in the hell did I get here?"

In Ohio, at 15... bald tires in the rain
Rolled a pal's old car off the road into the ditch, thrown out
Barb wire scars from fence there still on my right arm

In Thailand, '69... drove a motorcyle
Pal Randall Craft hanging on the back for dear life
Right through the door less entrance of a Thai bar

Outside Denver...'68
A hard rain... guy in front started swerving all over the road
Hit the gas and slipped around him

In Idaho, '75... a flying  "W"*
Over the dirt bike handle bars
Landing on my back

In Idaho, '75... again
Squadron Commander... I was doing barracks shake down inspection at 5am
Airman opened door for me with shotgun in hand
First Sergeant stepped in between us and diffused it

In Sacramento, '92
"You have 85% blockage of the widowmaker"
(Left coronary artery)

That one made me a 4x CABG vet

In Sacramento again, '97
Another flying  "W"
Over the bicycle handle bars in Eppies Great Race (triathlon)

You get the idea... and there's more, a lot more but I won't tell

So here I am
Close, but no cigar.... butt
At least not yet

Maybe it is to one day see my grandkids
To be with Julieann
To watch my son and daughter discover the world

I don't know why I am still here but I deeply appreciate it
I give thanks to the Great Biker In the Sky

Now I know you all have your own stories like this
Its just my take and I get to write about it
Another thing I am grateful for.

Watch for the book, "Travel On"
Coming to you in 2013
Lord willing and the creek don't rise...

* A "flying W" is the picture a body sort of forms when doing a somersault over the handle bars of a bicycle or  motorcycle or something similar.  Picture the hands still on the grips with the feet up in the air directly overhead while tucked into a rolling position- at that moment there is a vague resemblance to a W.