Friday's Dispatch

Devolution- it's real.

• The Don reminded me of something recently. When I was young long haired metal heads (yep- guilty) may not have wanted to admit it publicly, but nearly always liked Journey and to a lesser extent Fleetwood Mac. Journey was known for good music, but a great show and Fleetwood Mac had pretty good music and Stevie Nicks.








• There's a new report out by two members of Joint Chiefs staff in the Pentagon. In it they hi lite how this country is doing pretty much everything wrong from hysteria over Islamism, over extension abroad trying to maintain a presence with military might instead of political influence and not enough concentration on our debt and productivity. They specifically recommend focusing on infrastructure and education to promote our security. BTW- they think there should be less spent on defense.








• I've developed a near phobic need to have my bedroom door shut at night which I at the same time feel I can't do if Zachary is here.








• In another life I was a foster parent and would really like to do that again someday.








• I sometimes miss having a yard to mow, beds to work and trees to water, but I get over it quickly.

Pretty Amazing Huh?

How much money and energy was wasted getting there.

D Day

• WWII veterans are dying off and very soon none will be left. D Day is one of the great accomplishments they leave behind.







• Just prior to the invasion, General Eisenhower transmitted a now-historic message to all members of the Allied Expeditionary Force. It read, in part, "You are about to embark upon the great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months."







• He kept another speech in his pocket in case the assault failed.







• 2400 soldiers were lost on Omaha beach alone on the first day, but by the end of same 34,000 were put ashore.







• There were fears the landing was going to fail and the CG of the operation actually radioed higher to that effect.







• The USS Texas helped turn things around when she positioned herself between shore and other craft and let the shore batteries have it with everything they had. She came in so close she was in danger of grounding and was firing her guns with nearly zero elevation.







• Savagery and heroics on both sides were present as in every battle, but in Normandy everything was highly compressed.







• One German battery stayed in business for a week by calling artillery on it's own position to keep the Americans away. American soldiers had intended to shoot the Germans when they came out, but were so moved by their wretched condition they took them prisoner.







• "The official record stated that "within 10 minutes of the ramps being lowered, [the leading] company had become inert, leaderless and almost incapable of action. Every officer and sergeant had been killed or wounded [...] It had become a struggle for survival and rescue."







• The world will never see anything like D Day again- no nation could really afford it in any measure.







• Let's hope.

Put A Live Lobster In A Pot Of Boiling

water you're a chef, toss a kitten in there and suddenly you're a monster.

Saturday's Situation

• My computer got eat up by a virus- one that acts like an anti virus program and basically holds the machine hostage until you ransom it by buying Full Protection.


• Retarded.




• My friend introduced me to a woman and then texted her: "Hey, I need you to know, Kevin is one of my besties- don't hurt him." She responded with," Who says I will? Maybe he'll hurt me. Anyway, he's a big boy." He came back with,"All I'm saying is don't hurt him."




• Money can't buy that.




• Zachary asked what my camera tripod was for so I explained it to him quickly while dressing and without showing him how it worked. He drug it out the next day and correctly set it up and figured out how to use the elevation crank and pan lever.




• "I did it all by myself!"




• A show stopper: people overheard him ask for fruit and inform me we needed to wash our hands before we ate- both in a single visit to a restaurant.




• I recently met a senior NCO in the military who happens to be female. She could talk about teaching troops how to shoot, move and communicate, leading convoys and patrols, discuss the merits of a MK 19 v. .50 cal etc. I figured, "Yeah, she knows her stuff. I could probably follow her anywhere." until I commented on her legs and she said,"You like those? Yeah, they're pretty alright and they go all the way up to here." while pulling her shorts up a little.


• Then I knew.


• The Flys- Got You where I Want You. One of my favorite songs.

Friday's Dispatch

• 
  
  K's Choice- Not An Addict.






• 
  
  I went out last Friday to run errands- on foot and got soaked in the rain. I mean- my bones were wet. It must have been a pathetic sight.






• 
  
  When I was in college and drove back and forth from Texas and Tennessee a lot I would always pick up hitchhikers and my friends in both states would gripe at me. My reply would be basically, "What are the odds I'd pick up the Multi State Strangler?" or whatever. Most of the time the hitchers just slept.






• 
  
  I never reminded them to put on their seatbelts and always thought I'd run the car off the road if they tried something.






• 
  
  Guess if I had to think about it like that I shouldn't have been doing it.






• 
  
  Having the newest cell phone doesn't interest me a bit. If I can talk on it I'm good. As a matter of fact, 2 of the last 3 I've owned were given to me when I got stuck with a dead phone and someone offered their old one.

Thursday's Thoughts

Is this what Heaven will be like?

• Transformers exploding in Fort Worth.




• A transformer exploded on the pole in front of my house once. A squirrel crossed whatever wire or contact he wasn't supposed to cross.




• No, he did not survive. He did however set the yard on fire.




• Zac and I saw a red eared slider turtle laying her eggs this morning. It kind of messed with his mind: "Is she coming out of that hole behind her? No, she dug the hole to put her eggs in. Where are the eggs? They are in her body- she will push them out into the hole. It's how she has babies- by laying eggs. You mean babies are going to come popping out like poop? No, she will lay eggs like a chicken, then the babies will come out of the eggs. Chickens!? No..."




• The Three Stooges Meet Hercules: bed time movie last night. It was pretty cool, but I'm still surprised I had never seen or even heard of it before.




• My last patients family- what can I say? They were one hot mess. I had more teeth than they could pool together as a family. There were multiple teen mothers with multiple children. Although they did it outside, every single person smoked that was associated with the family.




• One family member had some experience as a nurses aide or caretaker of some type. Late one night another family member asked me to quantify the time the patient had left. Before I could respond the aforementioned expert said,"I give him 10 to 14 days at most." I said,"Uh, no- I would not not count on that much time at all. It will probably be more like 2 days at the outside- 2 days at the very, very longest and he honestly may not make it through the night."




• They looked at me like I was retarded.




• He died mid morning the next day while my buddy was caring for him.