Some People Need to be slapped. Really

I've heard a number of people saying some of the dumbest, most annoying things about the men and women who choose to serve in the armed forces.... the biggest loser said the following:
"...if your son's job [in the marines] is so damned important, then why isn't he dead yet?"

No. I am NOT kidding.

And this came from a suburban d00d who works at a local Sam's Club as a... what did he say? Technical Advisor/Forklift Operator. To me that reads as "STOCK BOY". But I'm not here to insult him directly. Oh no, cause there are several people who said many nearly as idiotic things - like the one boss who threatened to fire a man whose son was about to go back to Iraq because it was his third tour of duty, or the one woman who said to one distraught mother that she shouldn't be so worried cause it's "just like sending her own son off to college."

Umm, excuse me?

I don't recall seeing too many IED's and dogs with explosives loaded up their hoo-hole the last time I took a class at VCU or Va Tech. I don't remember seeing a lot of sandbags surrounding the campus compound to deter snipers and insurgents. Biggest thing I saw were sobriety checkpoints and plenty-o-pretty girls. I'm also thinking the ratio of women to men at your typical base in Iraq is quite a bit worse than your standard co-ed university, eh?

It astounds me how some people think. Now, this is what I said in response to the blog where I read several of the things these people said:

People who say these things live a nice, sheltered life. They live in America, where all things should be happy and wonderful and the biggest problems in their lives generally deal with the following:

• Where to go Friday night?
• is their spouse/significant other cheating on them?
• Does s/he like me?
• Golly, I don't like my job.
• What am I gonna eat tonight?

And while these earth-shattering issues confront many of us all the time, as well as the boys who have taken their voluntary service in the military, it is a sad sign that these people don't live in the whole, real world. They live in their own little space and nothing else matters except how it affects them. Their unfortunate and selfish narrow-mindedness is an unfortunate side effect of living in a nation where we take our freedoms for granted. Freedoms that others volunteer to protect and keep for us. These punk bitches and misguided , naive idiots don't have the guts or the gear to understand that there really is a much wider world out there and that things "out there" can affect them just as readily. Without what these boys do, we wouldn't have the freedom to say these simply pathetic, stupid, and downright insulting things to or about them.

Politics or no, the fact that these boys all volunteered to serve, full well knowing that the possibility of being deployed in a dangerous combat zone, means that the ONLY thing we should do is support them and respect them for doing that which we cannot or will not do for ourselves.

Period.
No discussion.
That's all there is to it.

Jack Nicholson said it best in these lines from A Few Good Men:

"Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Whose gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to."

Moments..

Ever have one of "those moments of clarity"? You know, those moments when you suddenly realize some sort of universal truth... or at least a truth that's within your own little universe, as some of us like to live in or retreat to (my friend calls hers "La La Land").

Sometimes they can be good - like you just went to work and there is all this crap going on and some changes coming down the pike and then *bing* you realize that what it means for you will be a raise or promotion? Or maybe you're a writer, and you've been toying around with an idea for months, but haven't quite found the route to get to the point you want to make? Yeah, and then suddenly, as you stand there observing the Brownian motion (a true effect) of the coffee and cream in your mug, it hits you *BAM* and then you scramble for that pen and paper or keyboard and you can't write nearly fast enough cause the whole answer is right in your head?

But they aren't always good - sometimes things just hit you and you realize just how badly you might have screwed something up - like maybe you were on a date and things were rolling along nicely and then you said one stupid thing... and you thought she had a funny look on her face but things went on and you dropped her off... got home... hit the pillow... then, just as sleep is about to take you away, *WHAM* you realize that you've just insulted her entire family and/or culture and that you have basically, totally, screwed the pooch?

For me, as a programmer and a musician/songwriter/rock-star-wannabe, it happens sometimes at the oddest moments.... sometimes it's inspiration, sometimes desperation, and some of it can be perspiration... and sometimes it just happens cause you took some time, or maybe too much time, not doing much of anything. For me, today, I got whacked by an email at work.

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Wonder where this is going to take me?
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Or is it just me? Am I the only nut in a basket full of shells?
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Probably...
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Happy New Years, everyone

The end of 0h-6 was a bit on the rough side for me... busy, busy, busy, sick, sick, sick

You know how much fun pneumonia is on New Years?

None at all.

I ALMOST have my Volvo, blessed heated seats and all, ready to sell off... but not quite.

Wanna know how my luck ran with this process?

Well, I busted my hump to get my Volvo's brakes replaced. That was fun, considering one of the calipers decided that it REALLY liked being in the "I am braking for dear life" position. The other thing that needed fixing was the front suspension - the struts, to be exact. So I went out and spent all this money (and 2 weekends of my life, which I will never get back) to replace the strut cartridges in the front. Yes, 2 weekends.

So how is my luck, you're asking?

Well, it would have been 1 weekend but for ONE, SINGLE, SOLITARY FREAKING NUT AND WASHER that decided to pop off and fall into the mysterious dark confines of the engine bay as I was bolting up the last bits of the second strut.... so I had to go get replacements the next weekend to get them installed.

Wanna hear more fun luck stuff?

So I get the struts all done up and ready to go. I clean up the work area, gas up the car, start her up and decide it's time for a little test drive.

And away we went.

I took her down the road and swerved and swayed about, stomping on the brakes here and there to get a good feel on my workmanship. The ride was a bit mushy for my tastes - considering the fact that my normal daily rides are either a Del Sol or Camaro, well, just about ANY ride will feel a bit mushy in comparison, particularly in the queen of all soccer mom rides, right? But it handled all the bumps and potholes with aplomb and it didn't make that very discomforting "thunking" noise it had been making whenever it went over any difficult terrain - a good sign.

All seemed well, right?

Well, I got back home, and having even taken her out on the highway for some smooth, high-speed test-riding, having done some hard braking and swerving to check out the suspension and brakes in full, as I pulled into my driveway, I felt pretty satisfied that I could now get her inspected, clean her up all nice and spiffy, and sell her in short order...

And THAT's when I saw the driver's side front turn signal lens was gone.

GONE.

It was there not 15 minutes before, as in right before I took her for a test drive. I know it was there before, because I took a few seconds doing that good old-fashioned, "swizzle the car with a dust rag" thing that all mechanics did in all the old tv shows, ya know?

So can you believe that the damned thing, that freaking little clear plastic lens cover, just FELL OFF as I took her for a 15 minute test drive?

Yeah, let's talk about my luck.

So is this a sign that I should just keep the car or what? It does seem to have enough space to hold all my PA equipment, guitars, and possibly even my previously-blog-mentioned SUMO 300 amp...

Who knows? But I know it was DANG frustrating.

My next trip to CAP's, the local take-your-own-parts-off-the junk car lot was the topper to this tale, of course.... but I'll tell you about that next time.

Until then, let me just say that last night we restarted my Open Mic Live show for the new year and things went very nicely. Good crowd. Good set of jammers. And Kirk came out and we played together for the first time since... wow... October, maybe?... and we still found that groove between us in no time flat. That makes for good signs on the approaching gigs listed in the band's profile page. You should definitely come out, if you have the chance, especially since we'll have a really great keyboard player jammin' with us.

Peace on ya

Ooops

Sorry for the massive delay in posting!!

Between avoiding the malls, seeing loads of family, working on cars to sell some of my far too many off, recording some of my music for my father's xmas gift, and catching a nasty little case of walking PNEUMONIA... well, I've been a bit too busy and a bit too tired or unwell to actually write, much less think of anything that anyone else might actually enjoy reading.

Cause, that IS what I am about - writing stuff that SOMEONE might get a laugh or two out of, usually. I mean, except when I'm bitchin' and moanin' about something like, oh... work... which, by the way, is trying to screw me some more.

Now, normally? I wouldn't mind a good screw.

No, really. I've been told I've got the libido of someone many years younger than myself (not gonna say how many "MANY" is... a man's gotta have SOME secrets, right?)

But the job wants to bend me over, no lube, and not even give the decency of a reach around...

Yep. It's that time of year - It's the Annual Screw the Employee Festival!!

Wish me luck. Gonna need it.