Semper Fi

Not my experience, but worth repeating!!

As I came out of the supermarket that sunny day, pushing my of groceries towards my car, I saw an old man with the hood of his car up and a lady sitting inside the car, with the door open. The old man was looking at the engine. I put my groceries away in my car, and continued to watch the old gentleman from about twenty five feet away.. I saw a young man in his early twenties with a grocery bag in his arm walking towards the old man. The old gentleman saw him coming too, and took a few steps towards him. I saw the old gentleman point to his open hood and say something. The young man put his grocery bag into what looked like a brand new Cadillac Escalade. He then turned back to the old man.. I heard him yell at the old gentleman saying: 'You shouldn't even be allowed to drive a car at your age.' And then with a wave of his hand, he got in his car and peeled rubber out of the parking lot. I saw the old gentleman pull out his handkerchief, and mop his brow as he went back to his car and again looked at the engine. He then went to his wife and spoke with her; he appeared to tell her it would be okay. I had seen enough, and I approached the old man. He saw me coming and stood straight, and as I got near him I said, 'Looks like you're having a problem.' He smiled sheepishly, and quietly nodded his head. I looked under the hood myself, and knew that whatever the problem was, it was beyond me. Looking around, I saw a gas station up the road, and I told the old man that I would be right back. I drove to the station and went I inside. I saw three attendants working on cars. I approached one of them, and related the problem the old man had with his car. I offered to pay them if they could follow me back down and help him. The old man had pushed the heavy car under the shade of a tree and appeared to be comforting his wife When he saw us he straightened up and thanked me for my help. As the mechanics diagnosed the problem (overheated engine), I spoke with the old gentleman. When I shook hands with him earlier, he had noticed my Marine Corps ring and had commented about it, telling me that he had been a Marine too. I nodded and asked the usual question, 'What outfit did you serve with?' He had mentioned that he served with the first Marine Division at Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal .... He had hit all the big ones and retired from the Corps after the war was over. As we talked we heard the car engine come on and saw the mechanics lower the hood. They came over to us as the old man reached for his wallet, but was stopped by me. I told him I would just put the bill on my AAA card. He still reached for the wallet and handed me a card that I assumed had his name and address on it and I stuck it in my pocket. We all shook hands all around again, and I said my goodbye's to his wife. I then told the two mechanics that I would follow them back up to the station. Once at the station, I told them that they had interrupted their own jobs to come along with me and help the old man. I said I wanted to pay for the help, but they refused to charge me. One of them pulled out a card from his pocket, looking exactly like the card the old man had given to me. Both of the men told me then that they were Marine Corps Reserves . Once again we shook hands all around and as I was leaving, one of them told me I should look at the card the old man had given to me. I said I would and drove off. For some reason I had gone about two blocks, when I pulled over and took the card out of my pocket and looked at it for a long, long time. The name of the old gentleman was on the card in golden leaf and under his name was written: 'Congressional Medal of Honor Society.' I sat there motionless, looking at the card and reading it over and over. I looked up from the card and smiled to no one but myself and marveled that on this day, four Marines had all come together because one of us needed help. He was an old man all right, but it felt good to have stood next to greatness and courage, and an honor to have been in his presence. Remember, OLD men like him gave you FREEDOM for America . Thanks to those who served and still serve, and to all of those who supported them, and who continue to support them. America is not at war. The U.S. Military is at war.. America is at the Mall. If you don't stand behind our troops, PLEASE feel free to stand in front of them! Remember, Freedom isn't Free. Thousands have paid the price, so that you can enjoy what you have today. LET'S DO THIS: JUST 19 WORDS: GOD OUR FATHER, WALK THROUGH MY HOUSE AND TAKE AWAY ALL MY WORRIES; AND PLEASE WATCH OVER AND HEAL MY FAMILY AND PLEASE PROTECT OUR FREEDOMS, AND WATCH OVER OUR TROOPS, WHO ARE DEFENDING THOSE FREEDOMS. AMEN

There is always something more to learn....

I have to very smart childre, Both are athletic and attending major universities with full scholarships. Additionally, my kids are by no means sheltered. Having said all of that, here is a recent text from my oldest. Classic!! "So I learned how alcohol is measured today...a customer calls and asks for the price on a fifth of mccormick vodka. I ask "a fifth of what," he replies "mccormick." A little lost, I ask again, "a fifth out of how much." Customer sounds confused and just asks again for the price. I tell him I have to know the size of the bottle, and again he says a fifth. I start another question when he interrupts with "it says on the bottle if its a fifth or not." I'm just glad I know what to look for and head to the shelf...turns out none of the bottles read "fifth" anywhere. Drag my ass back to the phone, and have to tell the guy none of the bottles say "fifth" on them. He's mad at this point, so I just ask how many ounces the bottle is. He doesn't know, so I ask if he knew about how many liters the bottle he needs is, and he says, "what's a liter?" At this point someone else walks by and I ask them if they know what he's asking for, and they run right to the shelf for a 750ml bottle...a fifth of a gallon...and all I can do is shake my head."

Pictures on the Blog!!!

Welcome to mobile blogging.

Just seeing if this gets from iPhone to the blogosphere!!!

Time Flies....when you're having....

or more to the point, when life is "having" you. If you look at the start date of this blog and my current posting date, time flies. Since starting this, I took a run at the Insurance business. Found it full of managers lacking in people skills and "less than moral" business practices designed to fleece good people. Not for me.

I have move to a solid company in the trucking industry and like it very much. Good people and a good environment with a chance to move up.

My boys are great and getting along nicely in life. The oldest is engaged and has been in college for what seems 10 years, but then he started his junior year of high school. He is working part time while he goes to school and is learning that nice guys don't finish last, but if not careful they might get taken advantage of - just a little. The youngest just took a summer job and starts college in 6 weeks or so. Good lord - and they were just 5...and there is that "time flies" thing picking at me again.

I am in a great relationship with someone I love and trying to balance past and present has it's challenges, but most of them I put on myself.

I am trying to get a fledgling BBQ business off the ground, email me for that blog link of you like. I use the word "trying" loosely as something always gets in the way. But I will persevere and get it done.

Going forward, I will label these posts as "philosophical" or "educational". When I decided to create a blog, I had two purposes in mind. Partially, I wanted to put my experiences, feelings, trepidation, failures and triumphs somewhere I could express them and where someone else may benefit from reading them. More importantly there were things I wanted to pass on to my boys that current geography and schedules may prevent me from doing in a timely manner.

I have spent a lot of time "talking" about doing certain things. It is time to start actually doing. As my best friend says "You got the talkin part done!"

Hang on...here we go!

Thanksgiving & Change

Here we are on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. My sons football team did not make the state finals, so no trip over the Thanksgiving weekend. Maybe next year!! Looks out, here comes basketball as the sports change.
This is my first Thanksgiving not spent with my family. It is not "bad" necessarily, although there are many things I miss. Change is hard, no doubt.
I start a new career next week and there are lots of scary things that go with that change. I am confident in my abilities, but so many people are counting on me. There are still so many things I want to do in my life and so for those around me. Will I be able to accomplish any of it? Yet another change to deal with.
Growing up I was all about control. I had the "illusion" that I could control it all. Life, family, career whatever. When did I finally realize it was not possible? Have I really?
Oh well, I am thankful. Thankful for what I have had and for what I have. Thankful for good friends and great family. Most of all I guess I am thankful that I am am still in the game.
Happy Thanksgiving...I'm going for a turkey sandwich!

Welcome - A Strange New World

Hello to the great wide blogosphere!! Here I sit a 44 year old divorced father of two with a multitude of decisions to make and more than several people counting on me making the right ones. Many things in my life are beyond my control. That fact, in itself, is a hard life lesson to learn. I still have a chance to influence others. Why do I STILL feel the need to do so? Other lives I have touched are on their own inevitable journey. Hopefully I have started them down a good path. Can I still do good? Can I still make a difference? Does any of this really matter?

Having many more pressing things to accomplish, what do I do, I create a blog.

As I type this initial entry, I have grand ideas of documenting the important and not so important things in my life - past, present and future.

• Who will read it?
• Who cares what I have to say?
• Why am I doing it?
• Can I help another?

Life is a process, no matter how you break it down. Control is a myth and "plans" are tentative at best. Some days I am at peace. Others, I fight to stay out of the very dark and very deep hole that has become a constant in my life. I guess we all face similar struggles, but some seem to handle it better than others.

I have some very great things in my life and much to be thankful for. That list is probably far more extensive than the list of things I regret. Assuming that is true, why do we focus our energies anywhere other than on the "good stuff". That is surely one of lifes "eternal" questions.

We're going to cover some random "stuff" here for sure. Life, kids, motorcycles, BBQ and who knows what else. Stay tuned and feel free to comment at will or ask me questions. What do I want out of this? Right now, I honestly do not know. I guess if I had that answer, I wouldn't be here now would I?

With that said, whoever is out there "Hang on tight and here we go!"