So Much Fun!

This week has been one of the best. I have had more kids in the house than I can keep an eye on. I only have two eyes! I was talking with Ethan today and I asked him what he wanted to be when he grows up... he said, "a dump truck". I laughed in spite of his seriousness. He truly loves being with Becca and I. They have all had a pretty good time, it's quite fabulous to witness. They are so much fun to watch. They all learn so much and they get so big all too quickly. We are all watching the Ant Bully. Quite a funny movie.
Summer has really grown a liking for Steve. Understandably so, because he's a hoot. Lots of fun. And they seem to have an awesome connection. Well that, and he's just really good with kids.
There has been so much chaos this week and even in the midst of the chaos, cuteness and joy abounds. There are few joys that are more pleasurable that seeing your 3 year old daughter slumber softly. I can only imagine what she dreams about. She packs around this little doll that's full of water. "lifelike"... well, considering humans are mostly water... maybe it's more true than not.
It's strange to me to be the father of 5...

Another one comin up!

HISTORY LESSON

Have a history teacher explain this----- if they can. Sounds awfully
fishy!

Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.

Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.

Both were particularly concerned with civil rights.
Both wives lost their children while living in the White House.

Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.
Both Presidents were shot in the head.

Now it gets really weird.

Lincoln's secretary was named Kennedy.
Kennedy's Secretary was named Lincoln.

Both were assassinated by Southerners.
Both were succeeded by Southerners named Johnson.

Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808.
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.

John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln, was born in 1839.
Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, was born in 1939.

Both assassins were known by their three names.
Both names are composed of fifteen letters.

Now hang on to your seat.

Lincoln was shot at the theater named 'Ford.'
Kennedy was shot in a car called ' Lincoln ' made by 'Ford.'

Lincoln was shot in a theater and his assassin ran and hid in a
warehouse.
Kennedy was shot from a warehouse and his assassin ran and hid in a
theater.

Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.

And here's the kicker...

A week before Lincoln was shot; he was in Monroe, Maryland
A week before Kennedy was shot, he was with Marilyn Monroe.

A Cappela at it's Bestest!

The BEST Meat on the Planet!

So there is this butcher in Boise, ID... seriously the BEST freakin beef
I've ever had. The stew meat is awesome, the lean hamburger is better
than any store bought stuff, AND it's cheaper! I pay $2.18 a pound for
hamburger when at Wal-Mart (of all the God-forsaken places) charges OVER
$3 a pound! AND IT'S MORE FATTY! If you live in the Boise area, I would
HIGHLY recommend getting your beef from this place... it's just west of
Cole on Overland Rd. Here's some more info...

Bob's Meats Royale (aka Meats Royale or Bob's Meats or I call em "THE
Butcher")
6300 West Overland Road, Boise, ID 83709
(208) 375-1341

Call in an order and they will have it ready for you to pick up! OH And
they have packages if you want some of everything (pork, chicken, beef
and even wild game like elk). Haven't seen any fish products there, but
they have anything else you need! I FREAKIN LOVE THIS PLACE!

ORDERING PIZZA IN 2010

This is one of those amazing things that technology can do for us... but
I think I'll stick to the good old fashioned systems we use now. Check
it out. http://www.adcritic.com/interactive/assets/aclu-pizza/

Fancy a Laugh - Whoa, That's Deep!

Number 10 - Life is sexually transmitted.

Number 9 - Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one
can die.

Number 8 - Men have two emotions: Hungry and Horny. If you see him
without an erection, make him a sandwich.

Number 7 - Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach a
person to use the Internet and they won't bother you for weeks.

Number 6 - Some people are like a Slinky...not really good for anything,
but you still can't help but smile when you see one tumble down the
stairs.

Number 5 - Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in
hospitals dying of nothing.

Number 4 - All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no
attention to criticism.

Number 3 - Why does a slight tax increase cost you two hundred dollars
and a substantial tax cut saves you thirty cents?

Number 2 - In the 60s, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the
world is weird and people take Prozac to make it look normal.

AND THE NUMBER 1 THOUGHT FOR 2006 - We know exactly where one cow with
mad-cow-disease is located among the millions and millions of cows in
America, but we haven't got a clue as to where millions of illegal
immigrants and terrorists are located. Maybe we should put the
Department of Agriculture in charge of immigration.

Tools of the Trade

1. DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching
flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the
chest and flings your beer across the room, splattering it against that
freshly painted part you were drying.

2. WIRE WHEEL: Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere
under the workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprint
whorls and hard-earned guitar calluses in about the time it takes you to
say, "SH**!!!"

3. ELECTRIC HAND DRILL: Normally used for spinning pop rivets in their
holes until you die of old age

4. PLIERS: Used to round off hexagonal bolt heads.

5. HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board
principle: It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable
motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more
dismal your future becomes.

6. VISE GRIP PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads. If nothing else is
available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the
palm of your hand.

7. OXYACETYLENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for setting various
flammable objects in your shop on fire. Also handy for igniting the
grease inside a wheel hub you're trying to get the bearing race out of.

8. WHITWORTH SOCKETS: Once used for working on older British cars and
motorcycles, they are now used mainly for impersonating that 9/16 or 1/2
socket you've been searching for the last 15 minutes.

9. HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK: Used for lowering an automobile to the ground
after you have installed your new disk brake pads, trapping the jack
handle firmly under the bumper.

10. EIGHT-FOOT LONG DOUGLAS FIR 4X4: Used to attempt to lever an
automobile upward off a hydraulic jack handle.

11. TWEEZERS: A tool for removing splinters of wood, especially
Douglas fir.

12. TELEPHONE: Tool for calling your neighbor to see if he has another
hydraulic floor jack.

13. SNAP-ON GASKET SCRAPER: Theoretically useful as a sandwich tool for
spreading mayonnaise; used mainly for removing dog feces from your
boots.

14. E-Z OUT BOLT AND STUD EXTRACTOR: A tool that snaps off in bolt holes
and is ten times harder than any known drill bit.

15. TWO-TON HYDRAULIC ENGINE HOIST: A handy tool for testing the tensile
strength of bolts and fuel lines you forgot to disconnect.

16. CRAFTSMAN 1/2 x 16-INCH SCREWDRIVER: A large motor mount prying tool
that inexplicably has an accurately machined screwdriver tip on the end
without the handle.

17 AVIATION METAL SNIPS: See hacksaw.

18. TROUBLE LIGHT: The home builder's own tanning booth. Sometimes
called drop light, it is a good source of vitamin D, "the sunshine
vitamin," which is not otherwise found under cars at night. Health
benefits aside, its main purpose is to consume 40-watt light bulbs at
about the same rate that 105-mm howitzer shells might be used during,
say, the first few hours of the Battle of the Bulge. More often dark
than light, its name is somewhat misleading.

19. PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: Normally used to stab the lids of old-style
paper-and-tin oil cans and squirt oil on your shirt; can also be used,
as the name implies, to round off the interiors of Phillips screw heads.

20. AIR COMPRESSOR: A machine that takes energy produced in a
coal-burning power plant 200 miles away and transforms it into
compressed air that travels by hose to an Pneumatic impact wrench that
grips rusty bolts last tightened 70 years ago by someone at Ford, and
rounds them off.

21. PRY BAR: A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or
bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part.

22. HOSE CUTTER: A tool used to cut hoses 1/2 inch too short.

23. HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer
now-a-days is used as a kind of divining rod to locate expensive parts
not far from the object we are trying to hit.

24. MECHANIC'S KNIFE: Used to open and slice through the contents of
cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well
on boxes containing upholstered items, chrome-plated metal, plastic
parts and the other hand not holding the knife.

Preface

The following post is a paper that I wrote for an English class... Due to overwhelming response, I am posting it here for all to read. Hope you find it as enthralling as I did.
~Yoshi

Inadequate Support and Its Affects

The support of a nation and its government speaks volumes to soldiers who fight for them. Historically soldiers have paid any price and endured any pain to ensure the positive outcome of a conflict or war. Soldiers who fight for their government are not always greeted with open arms upon their return. Some are even shunned. In the most tragic cases, a once healthy eighteen year old boy, inflicted with a curable bullet wound, dies because of the lack of care in a Veteran’s Hospital. This is a travesty that will hopefully never be repeated.

Upon returning from Vietnam many soldiers, such as Mike Kelley, who served in Vietnam between 1969 and 1970, in the 101^st Airborne Division said,

…after almost a year recovering from my wounds, I recall a smoldering cynicism and a sense of almost complete alienation from the people of my own homeland; there seemed to be more enemies here than there had been in Vietnam. (Kelley)

He was not one of the soldiers that got spit on when he returned, however he was never regarded as a war hero or even congratulated on making it home safely. He was simply ignored and forgotten about. No one dared to discuss the war with him. No one commented on his valiant behavior that led him to a safe return. No one even said, “Thank You.”

It is unfortunate that a society can be so cold and unfeeling to someone who has paid such a severe price. After the pains he has endured, he deserves more than a cold shoulder. Stories like Mike’s are plenty. Consider also another Vietnam Veteran, Bill Purdin, who said, “To this day I still expect rooms to explode. I still expect sudden violence. I learned to get along and to prosper, but I still can’t ride on a boat without distant thoughts and still can’t look around without a sense of worry, still concerned with ambush.” (Purdin) Bill is another brave man who never had the opportunity to heal properly from his tour of duty, due mainly to the significant lack of support. He continues, “I’ll never know who came home after me and who did not. I’ve been to the Wall four times and will go again, looking for names, feeling the letters cut in there; finding some, not finding others. And then there are those names I can’t remember.”(Purdin) Bill returns to the Wall with dreams of finalizing a vicious time in his past, a time that he would sooner forget, but cannot.

It’s unfair that they have not been given adequate assistance and support to deal with the mayhem that they endured by doing the country’s fighting. The only thing they have is a wall that wasn’t even constructed until 1982, nine years after the war was over.

Support for the Vietnam Veterans has increased substantially and there is much more support that is still needed. One facet of support that is infrequently broached is the conditions in the Veterans Administration Hospitals in which wounded veterans were being taken care of. The scene is appalling. Many reports claim a gross display of neglect and a significant lack of supplies. The staff is far too few for the overload of patients and it reflects in the poor care that the patients receive. Pat Christensen, the wife of a Vietnam Veteran speaks about the conditions,

‘… the attitude of some of the practical nurses was shocking. Some of the patients were forced to beg for food and water’… Instead of helping her husband go to the bathroom, she said, ‘they would put a towel under his hips and tell him to use the towel.’ (“Some VA Hospitals in Shocking Shape”)

In addition to that claim there are many patients who repeatedly called for pain controlling medication that never got delivered, sometimes because of the inattentive staff and other times because of the lack of supplies. Many patients were suffering from dehydration and severe malnutrition and were begging the staff for food and water. In some cases, the neglect even went so far as patients sitting in feces and urine for hours and sometimes days. Infections raged out of control and contagious diseases spread rapidly. Many reports claim that there were countless lives lost because of the lack of attentiveness and the unskilled and ill-equipped staff.

One report, done by a hidden-camera investigation provided by ABC News, states the following,

At a hospital near Cleveland, [we] found bathrooms filthy with what appeared to be human excrement. Supply cabinets were in disarray, with dirty linens from some patients mixed in with clean supplies, or left in hallways on gurneys.

At a neighboring facility, examining tables had dried blood and medications still on them. In several areas, open bio-hazardous waste cans were spilling over. Primetime obtained internal memos documenting that the equipment used to sterilize surgical instruments had broken down - causing surgical delays and possible infection risks.

With 130,000 young American men and women putting their lives at risk in Iraq today, these conditions are particularly relevant. While current soldiers are treated in military hospitals, when they leave the service and need treatment, many will seek care at Veterans Affairs (as the Veterans Administration is now known) hospitals. (“Some VA Hospitals in Shocking Shape”)

Most of the equipment that was in use was outdated and unstable, in some cases dangerously so. Sanitation is a main concern for hospitals and they had needle containers overflowing and bio-hazard containers that were scarcely emptied, this causes very serious concerns. The sterilization equipment was broken, increasing the spread of infections and diseases. Used linens can be crawling with infectious waste and can cause severe complications where none should exist. The ABC News report also brings up the issue of complications.

In 1999, Jack Christensen, a former army sergeant who served in the Korean War, was admitted to the VA hospital in Temple, Texas, with pneumonia, and ended up staying three years. (“Some VA Hospitals in Shocking Shape”)

Complications can have more serious affects than the original disease or ailment. Such was the case for Jack Christensen. Had his pneumonia been treated properly and quickly he would perhaps still be alive today. Thousands of patients are admitted to hospitals every year with pneumonia and the fatality rate is exceptionally low. In most cases this can be treated within a matter of weeks and rarely takes more than two months.

Medical records were poorly updated and rarely transferred from one hospital to another when a patient was moved. In some of the worst cases, medical records were not even kept, or were lost because of a breakdown in organization. These are just some of the horrendous conditions that the Veterans Administration Hospitals had succumbed to.

In addition to the hospitals being laden with problems, many of the medical onsite installations, used for treating wounded personnel in Vietnam, were setup in tents with dirt floors. They had little or no sterilization equipment and limited supplies. These sites were mainly used to stop acute bleeding and trauma until a qualified team could relocate the wounded by helicopter to a more established location, such as a hospital. With the increase of wounded personnel the installations and hospitals quickly became over crowded. This congestion led to soldiers being put in hallways a two-person room had up to eight people in it. Large common areas became a holding cell for those who were unfortunate enough to have to wait for a room. In these terrible conditions, one person’s cold became another’s pneumonia and people were dying from what could and should have been prevented.

If a soldier needed a checkup or another visit to the hospital it could be seven months before an appointment could be scheduled, and in rare cases it took up to two years. Reports also indicate once a patient was admitted to the hospital the condition often worsened. Complicated by severe infections and multiple bed sores, some patients even required limb amputations or even died as a result of being in the hospital.

To accommodate the growing number of patients many VA Hospitals allowed residents, doctors not fully trained or qualified, to see patients also. This proved to be disastrous because the residents were not certified and did not have the knowledge to competently treat or even diagnose their patients. Nursing staff were assigned to three times their normal work load. Patients were only getting checked once a day, and sometimes not for several days.

IVs ran out, patients were neglected and dressings weren't changed… the staff was often idle and it would often take hours to get help. Other families said that if patients or their families persisted in asking for help, some of the staff retaliated. (“Some VA Hospitals in Shocking Shape”)

Another similar story was that of Terry Soles, a Vietnam Veteran who served in the Navy.

…he was one casualty of this practice. In 1998, he went to the VA hospital in Cleveland complaining of pain and diarrhea, and doctors removed small cancerous growths from his stomach and esophagus.

But as his symptoms persisted over the next two years, his wife says the VA gave him painful tests and repeatedly lost the results. His wife says Soles was seen by a parade of constantly rotating resident doctors, and there was little consistency in his care.

Once, Soles was prepped for surgery but before the operation the doctors who were present couldn't agree on what they were going to do, she said.

Before he got sick, the 6-foot Soles weighed more than 200 pounds. By the time his family finally decided to take him to a private hospital, he weighed 80 pounds. Some VA doctors thought his problem was psychosomatic.

When he could no longer recognize his own son, Soles was rushed to a private hospital. There, Soles learned he was "a total mass of cancer from his trachea to his renal bowel. And that there was nothing that could be done," his wife says. Terry Soles died three days later. (“Some VA Hospitals in Shocking Shape”)

This is a death that could have easily been avoided with proper treatment and a medical staff that was properly trained. A registered nurse, Sankey Williams, comments about the time period and prevention.

…Much of what was known about good medical care was not being used. I was providing care to people whose problems were avoidable. (Williams 305-6)

The use of knowledge is a very powerful thing when coupled with medicine. It allows the past to remain the in the past and allows our fervent study of medicine to progress. This progression is necessary because it allows scientists to focus on advancement rather than duplicating work that is already complete.

The drought of decent care lasted decades. It began during the Vietnam Conflict and ended recently with the introduction of many accreditations and new qualifications that every VA Hospital must subject themselves to. The most noteworthy accreditation was provided by JCAHO (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations).

JCAHO was established in 1910 by Ernest Codman, M.D. who envisions the end result being a system that operates on standardization. This would allow and even require hospitals to monitor and follow up with patients to determine if the course of treatment was effective. If it was effective, no further follow-up was required, however; if the treatment was not successful, there would be more testing and a different solution attempted until they were successful. This allowed significant superiority in treating patients and removed some of the guesswork from possible treatments by relating to a previous case that was similar. This system is still in place today although much advancement has been made since. By 1950 more than 3,200 hospitals are following these guidelines and by 1965 the Social Security Administration acknowledges that the requirements are in compliance with the standards for Medicare and Medicaid programs. This begins the chain of events that eventually lead to the entire VA Hospital network being unified.

The VA Hospitals began certification between 1989 and 1994. Soon to follow were many new policies that brought about dramatic changes in the VA Hospitals. Under the accreditation of JCAHO there were many transformations. Some medical facilities that could not meet the standards were forced to close. Guidelines that JCAHO put in place assisted the facilities in becoming more efficient. The patient outcome was also greatly enhanced.

Responding to these dire circumstances, the VHA began to create programs aimed at improving the standard of care throughout the system. For example, in the light of concern about poor surgical outcomes, the VHA designed sophisticated programs to collect prospective data on major surgical procedures and generate risk-adjusted outcome statistics to be distributed throughout the system. (Fihn 1963-65)

One of the many affects that the JCAHO certification had was the tracking of patients. It also prompted the Veterans Administration to create an advanced system that allowed doctors in any VA Hospital to know immediately what treatments had commenced, what prescriptions a patient was on and how long either was taking place. This is a monumental step toward better healthcare for our veterans, but is still just a step. There is a long way to go before the system will be streamlined enough to thwart criticism among the masses.

Today, the VA Hospitals are among some of the best hospitals in the nation. They have a higher patient satisfaction and more advanced technology than most hospitals in the private sector.

The veterans of today are feeling the affects of the struggle that has consumed the entire VA Hospital organization for the last ten or more years. They are reporting better healthcare than the national average.

Patients from the VHA scored significantly higher for adjusted overall quality (67% vs. 51%; difference, 16 percentage points), chronic disease care (72% vs. 59%; difference, 13 percentage points), and preventive care (64% vs. 44%; difference, 20 percentage points) (Williams 305-6)

By these figures, the VA Hospital is better in all three categories than the local private sector hospitals. There is, of course, room for improvement, but there always will be. JCAHO and other organizations are only asking to prevent the preventable and strive to be better.

The Veterans Administration is far from perfect, however; they continuously strive for better outcomes. The changes are not going unnoticed either; consider this statement from Ralph Wetzel, a chaplain of a VA Hospital with nine years tenor.

… I personally have seen continued improvements in patient care, medical equipment, the buildings in general, and I have talked to many veterans about our VAMC. Most have only praise for our quality care. (Wetzel)

Works Cited

Adams, John; Asch, Steven M.; DeCristofaro, Alison; Hicks, Jennifer; Keesey, Joan; Kerr, Eve

A.; Elizabeth A. McGlynn. “The Quality of Health Care Delivered to Adults in the United States” New England Journal of Medicine 348 (2003):2635-45

Erskine, Hazel. “The Polls: Pacifism and the Generation Gap” Opinion Quarterly

Winter72-Winter73:616-628

Fihn, Stephan D. “Does VA Health Care Measure Up?” New England Journal of Medicine 343

(2000): 1963-65

Hautala, Richard E. and Robert O. Muller. “Vietnam Scrapbook” Public Radio.org Apr

2000. AmericanRadioWorks 25 Sept 2006

radio.org/features/vietnam/scrapbook/entries/>

Hunt, Bill. “How Vietnam Vets Were Treated Upon Arriving Back in the United States”

DeAnza.com. De Anza College. 25 Sept 2006

swensson/interview_hunt_cominghome.html>

Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations: Setting the Standard for

Quality in Health Care. 28 July 2006

joint_commission_history.htm>

Kelley, Mike. “Coming Home” VietVet.org 1998

Moore, Hal Col. We Were Soldiers 20 Aug 2002 DVD Commentary

Purdin, Bill. “Landing on the Moon” LegendInc.com < http://www.legendinc.com/Pages/

ArchivesCentral/COTDArchives/MoonLanding.html>

“Some VA Hospitals in Shocking Shape” ABCNews.com 9 April 2004:

Works Cited (cont.)

Wetzel, Ralph Merrill. “What Happened to VA Health Care?” Daily Nightly: MSNBC

Williams, Sankey V. “Improving Patient Care Can Set Your Brain on Fire” Annals of Internal

Medicine 143 (2005): 305-6

I'm sure you've heard of this song.

Another work of mine for english class.
~Yoshi

The Ballad of the Green Berets, by SSgt Barry Sadler

“The Ballad of the Green Berets,” was released in 1966, at a time when support for the war was faltering but not nearly as staggering as in the later years of Vietnam. The Green Berets were officially started long before the adoption of the green beret as their emblem. They were the “A-Team” and as such they were called upon for the most difficult missions. They were the most elite soldiers in the Army.
Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler (1940-1989) was a medic in his team. He was injured during Vietnam and almost lost his leg due to a type of booby trap called a punji stick. He was treated and released, with his leg intact. While he was in the hospital for this wound he wrote and sang songs. Songs like this one that were played for the soldiers in Vietnam. At one point during his stay, a news crew even filmed his beginning rendition of “The Ballad of the Green Berets” and aired it on TV. It seemed to be an instant hit and was recorded and released shortly thereafter. The song quickly topped the charts and stayed at number 1 for 5 weeks and was also regarded as one of the best songs of the 60’s. The response to this song was astounding.
The song begins “Fighting soldiers from the sky. Fearless men who jump and die.” Green Berets were an airborne division of the Army. They were parachuted into dangerous territories or conflicts where it was best to maintain a low profile and get out quickly. In this line of the song he almost indicates that it was the purpose of a Green Beret to die, but that was the last thing that anyone wanted. However he does make the point that they are fearless. These men have a fearlessness that knows no bounds. He continues, “Men who mean, just what they say, the brave men of the Green Beret” These are men who are true to their word. The old saying, ‘my word is my bond’ was something of a motto for these men. They will follow thru with anything they say, even if the result could be tragic. They are the bravest of the brave.
We then come to the chorus of the song, “Silver wings upon their chest, these are men, America’s best.” The silver wings are a symbol of valor and strength. They wore them with pride, the type of pride that you can only get from being a member of the elite. The chorus continues, “One hundred men will test today but only three win the Green Beret.” As the Elite, they did not just allow anyone to become one of them. This rite of passage was earned, never given freely. It took a person of significant mental strength, physical strength, and the ability to think and react quickly to any situation without panic, or at least with controlled panic.
The next verse begins, “Trained to live off nature’s land, trained in combat hand to hand.” These soldiers were indeed highly trained in this regard. They were able to live and even thrive in any climate and country in the world. They are also acutely trained in hand to hand and long-range combat. The rigorous training usually takes longer than three months to complete, if you do at all. The dropout rate is astounding simply because most people don’t have what it takes to be a Green Beret. The song continues, “Men who fight by night and day, courage peak from the Green Berets.” Here, the message is clear, as a Green Beret there is a job to do and they do it. Night or day, cold or hot, wet or dry, they do what they are told. And they do it with courage that most of us cannot even fathom.
The last verse of the song begins, “Back at home, a young wife waits, her Green Beret has met his fate. He has died for those oppressed, leaving her his last request.” Obviously Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler didn’t die, but it was the fate of some of the Green Berets. And because of the elite status of the team his last request only stands to reason, “put silver wings on my son’s chest, and make him one of America’s best. He’ll be a man they’ll test one day, have him win the Green Beret.” We all want our children to covet the dreams we have and want them to pursue the dreams we were unable to.
He seemingly glorifies war and being a soldier, but there is more to the song than that. He is glorifying the status of the elite, a status that can only be attained through perseverance and strength. He also gives the facts of being a Green Beret, in that, there are many trials and sometimes those trials leave widows. It seems cold and harsh, but that is the fact of being a soldier.
In the case of this song, it is apparent that our culture and way of life affected the representation of the author’s feelings and views. It’s not as obvious in other forms of music and literature, but there is a distinct cycle of music affecting a culture and the culture affecting music. The Vietnam War affected an entire generation’s music and that music in turn affected those who listened to it.

Title??? Not necessary.

Why does it seem that whatever I say gets completely distorted and turned into a fight? Even the stupidest things that have nothing to do with our relationship. I wasn't talking about you until you turned it around and made it that way. Hey, if the shoe fits, wear it. But that was not my intent, I will however, stand by what I said because I know it's true. I have seen it with my own eyes, countless times.
For those of you who don't know yet, let me just explain this, eh. I made a comment about the daughter, basically something to the effect of being bull-headed will not make her a good wife. A good mother, yes, but not a good wife. For some fucking reason she decides to completely jack-knife the conversation and make it all about her.
Oh and, ya know what, I'm not always wrong... Even tho you think something different than I do. I don't even remember the last time we had a decent conversation about anything because you always have to point out whatever stupid little mistake I made. Or worse yet, you won't shut the hell up long enough for me to even make my damn point.
I'm fed up. I've had it, and I'm about to lose my mind. As if I don't have enough stress going on with trying to study for my finals, I come home from taking one and there is an empty pot on the stove where dinner once was, and now it is gone. So I ask her, why didn't you cook dinner for me too? Ya know... that'd be kinda nice. Since you were cooking for everyone else already. But no, apparently the kids ate it all. WHAT THE FUCK? That means, in my vocabulary anyway, that you didn't cook enough! Is that wrong too? Hello?! How inconsiderate is that anyway? Then to top it off, I have a headache and can't study because I'm too pissed off.
I'm at the same point that I was four fucking months ago. This is absolutely retarded. I am literally sick and fucking tired of this bullshit.
Oh and yeah... can't be inconvenienced while your shopping, better have her come and ask me to take her around. Oh god, what would the world be like if we were interrupted while shopping!?!?
FUUUUUUCK!!!

Let it hit you!

1. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

2. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their
conversational skills will be as important as any other.

3. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you
want.

4. When you say, "I love you," mean it.

5. When you say, "I'm sorry," look the person in the eye.

6. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

7. Believe in love at first sight.

8. Never laugh at anyone's dream. People who don't have dreams don't
have much.

9. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only
way to live life completely.

10. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.

11. Don't judge people by their relatives.

12. Talk slowly but think quickly.

13. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and
ask, "Why do you want to know?"

14. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

15. Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.

16. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

17. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and
responsibility for all your actions.

18. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

19. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to
correct it.

20. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your
voice.

21. Spend some time alone.

22. A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your
heart.

The Biker

A man appeared before St. Peter at the Pearly Gates. "Have you ever done
anything of particular merit?" St. Peter asked.
"Well, I can think of one thing," the man offered. "Once, on a trip to
the Black Hills out in South Dakota, I came upon a gang of bikers, who
were threatening a young woman. I directed them to leave her alone, but
they wouldn't listen. So, I approached the largest and most heavily
tattooed biker and smacked him in his face, kicked his bike over, ripped
out his nose ring, and threw it on the ground. I yelled, "Now, back off
.. Or I'll kick the shit out of all of you!"
St. Peter was impressed, "When did this happen?"
"Just a couple minutes ago."

Let it hit you!

1. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

2. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their
conversational skills will be as important as any other.

3. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you
want.

4. When you say, "I love you," mean it.

5. When you say, "I'm sorry," look the person in the eye.

6. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

7. Believe in love at first sight.

8. Never laugh at anyone's dream. People who don't have dreams don't
have much.

9. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only
way to live life completely.

10. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.

11. Don't judge people by their relatives.

12. Talk slowly but think quickly.

13. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and
ask, "Why do you want to know?"

14. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

15. Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.

16. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

17. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and
responsibility for all your actions.

18. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

19. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to
correct it.

20. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your
voice.

21. Spend some time alone.

22. A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your
heart.

WHOOO HOOOO!

I totally just scored a flat screen LCD monitor for FREE!!! The box says it's 19 inches... but I think a man must put that there because it seems to be only a 17 inch screen... But, either way, it was free and works good (after I straightened a pin that was bent on the connector). YAY! It pays to know a thing or two and pays even more to actually LOOK at what is going on.
That little mistake just cost her a new monitor, there's $200 down the drain.

Distance = Rate x Time

How often do you REALLY sit and think about how quickly life is passing you by... to be honest it passes you by at the rate of 60 seconds per minute, every minute. Does it really mean something? Anything? Nothing? Hmmm.
We get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number, really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that's so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four or five times more. Perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless.
Paul Bowles

LMFAO!

WHERE YOU ARE NOW AS OPPOSED TO WHERE YOU WANT TO BE

If you want to create the life of your dreams, then you are going to have to take 100 percent responsibility for your life as well. That means giving up all your excuses, all your victim stories, all your reasons why you can't and why you haven't up until now, and all you're blaming of outside circumstances. You have to give them all up forever. You have to take the position that you have always had the power to make it different, to get it right, to produce the desired result. For whatever reason -- ignorance, lack of awareness, fear, needing to be right, the need to feel safe -- you chose not to exercise that power. Who knows why? It doesn't matter. The past is the past. All that matters now is that from this point forward you choose -- that's right, it's a choice -- you choose to act as if (that's all that's required -- to act as if) you are 100 percent responsible for everything that does or doesn't happen to you.

If something doesn't turn out as planned, you will ask yourself, "How did I create that? What was I thinking? What were my beliefs? What did I say or not say? What did I do or not do to create that result? How did I get the other person to act that way? What do I need to do differently next time to get the result I want?"

It is not the external conditions and circumstances that stop you -- it is you! We stop ourselves! We think limiting thoughts and engage in self-defeating behaviors. We defend our self-destructive habits (like drinking and smoking) with indefensible logic. We ignore useful feedback, fail to continuously educate ourselves and learn new skills, waste time on the trivial aspects of our lives, engage in idle gossip, eat unhealthy food, fail to exercise, spend more money than we make, fail to invest in our future, avoid necessary conflict, fail to tell the truth, don't ask for what we want -- and then wonder why our lives don't work. But this, by the way, is what most people do. They place the blame for everything that isn't the way they want it on outside events and circumstances. They have an excuse for everything.

You can change your thinking, change your communication, change the pictures you hold in your head -- your images of yourself and the world -- and you can change your behavior -- the things you do. That is all you really have any control over anyway. Unfortunately, most of us are so run by our habits that we never change our behavior. We get stuck in our conditioned responses -- to our spouses and our children, to our colleagues at work, to our customers and our clients, to our students, and to the world at large. We are a bundle of conditioned reflexes which operate outside of our control. You have to regain control of your thoughts, your images, your dreams and daydreams, and your behavior. Everything you think, say, and do needs to become intentional and aligned with your purpose, your values, and your goals.

OY!

It is really time for an upgrade... I think it's looked like this for way too long now. It does rock, but rocks sink. And I think this one is sinking much more rapidly than I would like. It is time to move on. I would also like to add a small slideshow to kinda highlight those 'special' moments caught on camera. I think it will be fun. I am completely out of idea's for a new blog... I want something jap and fresh, but I've used my fill.

OMG! I just remembered that I have a DVD to finish for my family reunion that was in FKN July! WTH? It seriously won't take me that long to finish it but I just haven't gotten around to it lately. School and family and work keep me plenty busy! I really hope that over Christmas break that I will be able to finish it tho. It will not be one of my best, I'm afraid, because I think I out-did myself with Brittani's wedding DVD. GR. Maybe I should have toned that one down eh? What do you think sis? Hehehe. Not really, I enjoy putting my soul into my dvd's, that and it very obviously shows when I do. And seems much more appreciated. But nonetheless I really need to get ontop of that. Oh, and I really need to get on my English paper. GR. What a headache.

No applaud please, just throw money.

I barely made it to class on time, with about 30 seconds to spare, even
after waiting to go around this accident that happened on the connector.
Even so, class today was awesome. I gave my presentation in English and
got a round of applause (which was more than some got, one just got
confused looks from everyone and no one clapped). They envied my laptop,
mainly because it's fkn awesome, then awed over the price I paid for it.
(Please no more stroking of my ego, I already KNOW that I'M the MAN!).
Then I quoted my sources and got another round of applause because no
one in the class did as much research as I did. So that was kinda kewl
too! Then in Philosophy we continued our debate over the existence of
God. I am continuously amazed at how heated those conversations get. But
it was awesomely intense! I freakin love philosophy. But now I have tons
of homework to do and that's the part I hate. GR!

9 Things I Hate About Everyone!!

1. People who point at their wrist while asking for the time.... I know where my watch is pal, where the hell is yours? Do I point at my crotch when I ask where the toilet is?

2 People who are willing to get off their ass to search the entire room for the T.V. remote because they refuse to walk to the T.V. and change the channel manually.

3 When people say "Oh you just want to have your cake and eat it too". Damn right! What good is cake if you can't eat it?

4 When people say "it's always the last place you look". Of course it is. Why the hell would you keep looking after you've found it? Do people do this? Who and where are they? Gonna Kick their asses!

5 When people say while watching a film "did you see that?". No Loser, I paid $12 to come to the cinema and stare at the damn floor.

6 People who ask "Can I ask you a question?".... Didn't really give me a choice there, did ya sunshine?

7. When something is 'new and improved!' Which is it? If it's new, then there has never been anything before it. If it's an improvement, then there must have been something before it, couldn't be new.

8 When people say "life is short". What the hell?? Life is the longest damn thing anyone ever does!! What can you do that's longer?

9 When you are waiting for the bus and someone asks "Has the bus come yet?". If the bus came would I be standing here, dumbass?

YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2006 when...

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.

7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you
didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.

10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your
coffee.

11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile.
: )

12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.

13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.

14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.

15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list


AND NOW U R LAUGHING at yourself.

Yea, Varily, I say unto thee...

You may walk through the valley of the shadows of death but it is not the evil that will kill you... it's those big fucking dogs!

What's love got to do with it?

A friend at work spoke to his stay-at-home wife. She quizzically asked what he took for lunch. His reply, "I was in a hurry so I just grabbed a can of tuna and some crackers."
To which she replies, "Would you like me to bring you something?"
Well, duh. That would be nice of you. He was scheduled to meet her at a place in town and upon his arrival she hands him a bowl with some mayo in it. You know, for his tuna. Forget bringing some leftovers to reheat, or even a burger from somewhere.... Nope, all you get is a damn bowl to mix your tuna in. Enjoy your lunch!

Expresso Wisdomo

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to
visit their old university professor. The conversation soon turned into
complaints about stress in work and in life. Offering his guests coffee,
the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of
coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal,
some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to
help themselves to the coffee.

When all the alumni had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said:

"If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up,
leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it's normal for you to
want only the best for yourselves, this may be the source of your
problems and stress.

"What you all really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously
went for the best cups and were sizing up each other's.

"Now consider this: Life is the coffee. Jobs, money, and position in
society are the cups. They are the tools that hold and contain life.
They do not change the quality of life. Don't let the cup dictate how
the coffee is going to taste."

Note from Yoshi: I wish we could all be so wise. How can you apply this
to your life? Do you focus on the cup? How does your coffee taste?

Is it just me?

Is it just me, or does all the hype over the elections make no sense to anyone? Seriously, I think that they will always have problems with the voting. They always have, it's never been a "smooth" thing. It's always about the recounts and there always seems to be three sides to every story. Like this year and the Propositions... I just don't get all the hype. Now I am mildly amused that the marriage prop didn't pass. People in this country are so closed minded that they think it's their business to stick their noses into everyone's else's shit. Why? Mind your own damn business. WTF? The last thing anyone needs is a closed minded ape trying to tell them how to govern their own lives. Not only is it not welcome, it's fkn rude. Keep out of it, unless you are specifically asked to participate. And might I add, open your mind a little. We are in a day that is defined by the outrageous, maddening, crazy and belligerent actions of our society. How then is it so common for people to go around with blinders on? Open your damn eyes and take a look around, it will amaze and frighten you.

No fkn wonder they're confused and retarded.

Have you ever wondered how a woman's brain works? Well....it's finally explained here in one, easy-to-understand illustration:

Every one of those little blue balls is a thought about something that needs to be done, a decision or a problem that needs to be solved. Good thing a man's brain requires only two balls.

National DO NOT CALL for Cell Phones

JUST A REMINDER...18 days from today, all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sale calls. YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS.... To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222. It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of your time. It blocks your number for five (5) years.

OH YEAH... and one more thing,

A lady wrote the best letter in the Editorials in ages!! It explains things better than all the baloney you hear on TV.

Recently large demonstrations have taken place across the country protesting the fact that Congress is finally addressing the issue of illegal immigration. Certain people are angry that the US might protect its own borders, might make it harder to sneak into this country and, once here, to stay indefinitely. Let me see if I correctly understand the thinking behind these protests.

Let's say I break into your house. Let's say that when you discover me in your house, you insist that I leave. But I say, "I've made all the beds and washed the dishes and did the laundry and swept the floors; I've done all the things you don't like to do I'm hard-working and honest
(except for when I broke into your house).

According to the protesters, not only must you let me stay, you must add me to your family's insurance plan, educate my kids, and provide other benefits to me and to my family (my husband will do your yard work because he too is hard-working and honest, except for that breaking in part).

If you try to call the police or force me out, I will call my friends who will picket your house carrying signs that proclaim my right to be there. It's only fair, after all, because you have a nicer house than I do, and I'm just trying to better myself. I'm hard-working and honest, um, except for well, you know.

And what a deal it is for me!! I live in your house, contributing only a fraction of the cost of my keep, and there is nothing you can do about it without being accused of selfishness, prejudice and being an anti-housebreaker. Oh! yeah, and I want you to learn my language so you can communicate with me.

Why can't people see how ridiculous this is?!

LMMFAO!

One year at Thanksgiving, my mom went to my sister's house for the traditional feast. Knowing how gullible my sister is, my mom decided to play a trick. She told my sister that she needed something from the store. When my sister left, my mom took the turkey out of the oven, removed the stuffing, stuffed a Cornish hen, and inserted it into the turkey, and re-stuffed the turkey. She then placed the bird(s) back in the oven.

When it was time for dinner, my sister pulled the turkey out of the oven and proceeded to remove the stuffing. When her serving spoon hit something, she reached in and pulled out the little bird. With a look of total shock on her face, my mother exclaimed, "Oh my God, you cooked a pregnant bird!" At the reality of this horrifying news, my sister started to cry. It took the family two hours to convince her that turkeys lay eggs!
Yeah...SHE'S BLONDE!

True or False?!

Can you guess which of the following
are true and which are false?



1. Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning.

2. Alfred Hitchcock didn't have a belly button.

3. A pack-a-day smoker will lose approximately 2 teeth every 10 years.

4. People do not get sick from cold weather; it's from being indoors a lot more.

5. When you sneeze, all bodily functions stop, even your heart!

6. Only 7 per cent of the population are lefties.

7. Forty people are sent to the hospital for dog bites every minute.

8. Babies are born without kneecaps. They don't appear until they are 2-6 years old.

9. The average person over 50 will have spent 5 years waiting in lines.

10. The toothbrush was invented in 1498.

11. The average housefly lives for one month.

12. 40,000 Americans are injured by toilets each year.

13. A coat hanger is 44 inches long when straightened.

14. The average computer user blinks 7 times a minute.

15. Your feet are bigger in the afternoon than any other time of day.

16. Most of us have eaten a spider in our sleep.

17. The REAL reason ostriches stick their head in the sand is to search for water.

18. The only two animals that can see behind themselves without turning their heads are the rabbit and the parrot.

19. John Travolta turned down the starring roles in "An Officer and a Gentleman" and "Tootsie."

20. Michael Jackson owns the rights to the South Carolina State anthem.

21. In most television commercials advertising milk, a mixture of white paint and a little thinner is used in place of the milk.

22. Prince Charles and Prince William NEVER travel on the same airplane, just in case there is a crash.

23. The first Harley Davidson motorcycle built in 1903 used a tomato can for a carburetor.

24. Most hospitals make money by selling the umbilical cords cut from women who give birth. They are used in vein transplant surgery.

25. Humphrey Bogart was related to Princess Diana. They were 7th cousins.

26. If coloring weren't added to Coca-Cola, it would be green.

Got it figured out?????????

They are all true.... Now go back and think about #16

Dr. Laura *The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands*

1. Men Need Women, and This Need Gives Women Huge Influence. Dr. Laura
states the point as follows: "[M]en are simple creatures who come from a
woman, are nurtured and brought up by a woman, and yearn for the
continued love, admiration, and approval from a woman." Women have great
power and influence over men, and wives in particular have tremendous
power over their husbands. How they use this power essentially controls
the relationship, because women are the masters of most relationships
and marriages. That's why Dr. Laura says that she probably won't write
The Proper Care and Feeding of Wives: wives already have most of the
power and their marriages depend, for the most part, on them.

2. Women Err in Favoring Children Over Husband. A friend once told this
writer that once a woman has children, her husband is relegated to the
moral equivalence of a piece of furniture. How sad if this is true in
many marriages. Here's how Dr. Laura puts it: "Once wives became
mothers, they had no time to be wives. The men would even compliment
their wives on being great mothers, but expressed considerable pain over
not being shown love, affection, or sexual interest. The typical reply
from a wife challenged with this was 'I only have time to take care of
one person, and our child is that person. I'm just too tired for you.'
This puts fathers in the ugly and uncomfortable position of feeling
competitive with and resentful of their children, whom they love so
much."

3. Men and Women Are Different. That men and women are deeply different
ought not to be notable, but for the fact that it is so often challenged
today. Dr. Laura says that society tries to make both men and women
"unisex." But men are happiest being men, and women are happiest being
women, with few exceptions. The differences start to manifest themselves
very early. In one study Dr. Laura mentions, a barrier was placed
between 1 year-old babies and their mothers. What did the little boys
do? They attempted to get around the barrier or knock it down. The
little girls? They cried until their mothers' picked them up. Men tend
to respond to things physically, women verbally. In fact, the two sexes
are just right for each other.

4. Not Every Thought and Feeling Needs to be Said. Women tend to be so
verbal, so expressive, that they can tire out men easily unless they
exercise some restraint. Dr. Laura reports that wives generally
overwhelm their husbands with communication. "Husbands imagine (so
foolishly) that their wives are telling them something they actually
need to know because they're supposed to do something about it.
Otherwise, men can't imagine why the 'communication' is happening at
all. It confuses them, frustrates them, and their response is to turn
off. That's when they unfairly become labeled insensitive." Husbands and
fiances are not girlfriends or psychologists, and women who want
attention should adjust their communication style accordingly when
speaking with them.

5. Men Are Not Mind-Readers. Most men are not very intuitive compared to
most women. Many women "get caught up in the absurdly romanticized
notion that 'if he loved me, he'd just know what I'm thinking, what I'd
like, what he should say.'" If a woman wants her man to do something,
she should just ask him plainly, without nagging, and show appreciation
when he does it. To act otherwise, as many women do, shows arrogance and
lack of respect for the husband's difference, and it leads to
unhappiness in the marriage and in the family.

6. Man Is an Embodied Soul. No, Dr. Laura didn't put it that way;
"embodied soul" is a Catholic concept. But that concept is what
underlies her discussion of how important it is to a man that his wife
try to keep up her appearance. What does it mean that we are embodied
souls? It means that our bodies are integral parts of who we are. We are
not just souls. Our bodies are not like clothing that we can take on or
off. There was no time during which we had only souls and not bodies,
and in eternity as well we will have bodies. It is through our bodies,
in fact, that we communicate to our loved ones and to the rest of the
world. One thinks of the beautiful line from the old Anglican marriage
rite: bride and groom pledge to each other "with my body I thee
worship." It is ironic, but in many cases men--sex-crazed pigs in the
minds of many women--actually have a truer understanding of the beauty
of the body and the meaning of the marital embrace than their wives do.
"Objectification" may come as much or more from the woman's side as from
the husband's if the woman sees her own body as being separate from
rather than an integral part of herself. Dr. Laura writes: "In reading
all the letters from men, I was struck by their depth of sensitivity
about the issue of women's appearance. It wasn't an impersonal, animal
reaction (as it is with women the men don't personally know), it was a
deeply personal one. The wife's comfort with and appreciation of her own
body and femininity, and her willingness to share that with her husband,
actually fed his sense of well-being, his feeling of being loved as a
husband and valued as a 'man.'"

7. Infidelity by Omission. Brides and grooms make a number of vows, not
only of sexual fidelity. Marital vows include and imply words like love,
honor, protect, and care for. "[W]hen one breaches those vows by
neglect, is that also not a form of infidelity? Perhaps we should start
looking at the act of intentionally depriving a spouse of legitimate
needs as infidelity, too, because it stems from being unfaithful to the
intent of the vows."

8. In the Bedroom. To her credit, Dr. Laura gives due place to the
importance for marriage of the marital act: "The bedroom is the
foundation of marriage and family." St. Josemaria Escriva, founder of
Opus Dei, that supposedly conservative institution within the Church,
put it this way: "The marriage bed is an altar." Enough said?

9. Women Should Appreciate Men's Masculinity. Dr. Laura relates a trip
she made recently to a swimming pool. A mom and a dad were wading with
their infant child. Mom held the child against her chest, cooed to him,
and swooped him up and down. She passed the baby to dad. He turned the
baby's face outward and swooshed him forward and up into the air. "Mom
equals protection and nurturance. Dad equals autonomy and adventure. It
is the perfect balance that helps produce a functional, secure human
being." Too many women, though, act like Alice Kramdens, constantly
belittling their husbands, shooting down their aspirations, treating
them like children. Dr. Laura writes: "When a wife treats her man like
he's one of her children, when she puts him down or thwarts his need for
autonomy, adventure, risk, competition, challenge, and conquest, she
ends up with a sullen, uncooperative, unloving, hostile lump."

10. Thou Shalt Not Covet. Dr. Laura contributes a novel (to this writer)
and insightful contemporary application of the commandment, "thou shall
not covet." Specifically, she understands it as a rebuke to people who
want it all, especially feminists. "Perhaps the feminist notions about
women having power if they do it all has obstructed too many women's
ability to realize that in real life we all make choices, and that the
true joy and meaning of life is not in how many things we have or do,
but in the sacrifice and commitment we make to others within the context
of the choices we've made. The Tenth Commandment, about coveting,
reminds us that none of us can have everything there is nor everything
we want. Without enjoying and appreciating our gifts and blessings, we
create a hell on earth for ourselves and for those who love us."

Part II

The daunting task of unpacking became too much for me. I spent a good
portion of Sunday running through the house and rearranging stuff, as
well as unpacking. It's a very difficult thing to find time for. There
is just not enough time in the day. It would be extremely helpful if I
had some help with the unpacking but after she unpacked the kitchen, it
seemed that it was time for a break and she hasn't picked up a box
since. HELLO??? You were just bitching cuz Brae isn't helping out but
it's okay for you to not help while I unpack stuff??? Oh yeah, the dog
show is much more important than unpacking the house. Then you come home
and bitch to me because your feet hurt! Excuse me?! While you were
lounging around and having fun at your precious dog show, I was home
busting my ass on homework and unpacking things. If anyone deserves to
bitch it surely isn't you. There are plenty of excuses to go around and
God knows you certainly use your share of them, but excuses don't keep
the house clean. Excuses don't unpack stuff while you take a nap or sit
on your ass. Drop the excuses and pickup a fuckin box.
And the next time you 'don't want to hear about it' just remember this,
the next time you whine about your back, I don't wanna hear it, because
you are unwilling to do anything to prevent the aches. If you'd exercise
a little every day your back would be much stronger and you're aches
would cease. The main reason your back hurts is because you don't have
any stomach muscles to balance the load. If your stomach muscles were
stronger you wouldn't have a sore back. At least not near as often.
Don't take my word for it though, do your own research on back pain,
you'll find the same answer.
I'm done.

Spooky? Or Just Stupid? Friday the 13th

Today is Friday the 13th... What a strange day to have such superstitions about. It's really just another day and yet somehow hundreds of people freak the hell out about it. Why? What basis of reason can be attributed to such a moronic act? It makes no sense to me. Course, neither does some stupid bitch who blames my coding for her stupid convoluted mistakes. Don't blame me because you have a mental handicap. It's your fkn fault, blame yourself, retard! But I guess that's life eh?
Becca's parents are in town (this only happens once a year during the dog show) and I'm am REALLY trying to be understanding and give her all the time she wants to spend with them but I am finding it very difficult to just sit back and be mellow when she doesn't get home until 9 or 9:30. The kids bedtime is at 7:30 and I am usually ready for bed by 8:30. I'm growing tired and very cranky and the lack of sleep and frustration of nothing getting unpacked is really getting to me. We get home a little after 4, she leaves at 5 or 6 and does absolutely shit during the time she's home.
Now don't get me wrong, I am trying my hardest to get my homework done and get my time put in at work and whatever free time I have I spend moving things around and unpacking things, but I don't have any free time during the week. I half expected that things would slowly get unpacked and put away, and all I can seem to get her to do is sit on the couch. What will if fucking take to motivate her? I'm at a loss. It's very frustrating when I bust my ass on homework all night and she can't even unpack a single fucking box! I'm about ready to fucking lose my god damn mind!
In addition to that, I haven't been feeling well, I have a cough that is about to kill me and way too much stress to even begin to deal with. Then this morning she is whining about my car sputtering on her when she was shifting, so I told her what she was doing wrong (because I know my car) the idle was too low or she was pushing the gas to much, and she fkn argues with me about it. HELLO?! Who drives the car more? Who knows that car better? ME!! Don't fkn argue with me when I tell you how to resolve your issue! If you don't like what I have to say, don't ask. It's really that simple. It's no wonder Dylan thinks that it's okay to argue with everything that's said, he learned it from his mother!
I will be much happier and less stressed when the house is unpacked and I can actually relax for a change. I really like being in school and learning things and homework doesn't bother me too bad, but I'd really like a couple nights a week to just do what she does.
One other thing... while I'm bitching, I don't think it's right to have dogs in the situation that our dogs are forced to live in. Granted, they now have a large yard to play and romp around in, but they only get to be outside for 5 hours a day. They are in their crates until we get home (just after 4), then they get let out until bed time (usually around 9) and then it's back in the crate. They are in the damn crates 19 hours a day! How humane is that? REALLY?! Come on. Dogs don't deserve that. No animal deserves that. I think it's inhumane to treat them like that.

Read On!

fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too

Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.

 

i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh?

Part I

As October dawns I am faced with the continually daunting tasks of School and work as well as moving. The house is huge and will be a benefit for all of us. The toll of the cost is surmounting but doable. There seems no end to the paycheck to paycheck way of life. Although since Tron and I have been together things have gotten increasingly bountiful. Bills are getting paid and we have a very comfortable life. The common arguments relating to finances that haunt most relationships seems to be void in ours. She seems to be a bigger tight wad than even I am. She likes to have money in savings and doesn't see a need to spend every dime we make. For this, I am eternally grateful. Tron, I love you. There are few words left that I could use to explain how much.

---To Be Continued---

I Will Never Forget

"The sky is lit up like the Fourth of July!" I shouted from my safe confines. "There are explosions all around me. You can hear the thundering of the F16s overhead. Even through the noise and turmoil these soldiers continue their attack and they are ruthless." I was the reporter shouting back the 'play by play' of Operation Desert Storm to my close friend who was behind a desk in some news studio back home. I was full of excitement and energy; the kind that you can only get from a heated battle. I had never witnessed death first hand. This was sure to be a spectacle that I would never forget and, to date, I have not.
"The explosions are more than a mile away and I can feel the impact of each one. Using this amount of ammo, we are sure to win the battle. It won't be much longer before they run screaming and beg us to stop." I reported. "We are losing very few men and morale is high!" My friend replied, "Thank you for the update, and now, your local weather."
"The forecast looks good, a bit colder than yesterday but not much snow through the weekend." I explained, now taking the role of the weatherman.
At twelve years old my swift imagination put me closer to the action than the T.V. ever could. My friend and I were recreating the news cast we had just watched. The war seemed more comparable to a violent story book than reality; it was so surreal. We laughed and played while soldiers fought. War, at this point, meant that people I didn't know, went somewhere I couldn't go, to do things I couldn't do. I had no clear picture of what really happened during Desert Storm. Even now though, I enjoy those childhood imaginings of being a journalist.

The Impact of a Tape

My hands trembled slightly as I inserted the freshly stolen batteries into my mother's tape player, which I had conveniently lost two days prior. My body was flooded with the excitement of getting caught and the thrill of being disobedient as I continued my task of getting the tape player to work.
Surrounded by lush trees and a canal, I was certain that no one would ever find out what we were doing. The only other person that knew what was going on was a very close friend of mine, Patrick, who supplied the tape of George Carlin that, I was assured, would provide a sore gut from laughter. I never thought that almost 2 decades later I would write it down for the world to read. I continued my struggle with the tape player and finally, with it operational, we inserted the tape. My naive mind became inundated with so much vulgarity that it was difficult to capture what he was actually saying. But I recall several lines from the tape that day, some of which, although unknowingly, changed my opinions of war and the directors thereof. The most vivid of these is, "I see [war] largely as an exercise in dick-waving. That's really all it is: alot of men standing around in a field waving their dicks at one another. Men, insecure about the size of their penises, choose to kill one another." What a profound impact this had on me, because as the innocent pre-teen that I was, I had no conceivable notion as to the reason for such activity.
However, it contorted my conception of war, in that; war was no longer a serious thing. It suddenly became a contest of which country had larger genitalia, which I found very humorous. It wasn't until much later that I realized the all too serious and dramatic aspects of war.

If I Knew

If I knew it would be the last time
That I'd see you fall asleep,
I would tuck you in more tightly
and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.

If I knew it would be the last time
that I see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and kiss
and call you back for one more

If I knew it would be the last time
I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise
I would video tape each action and word
so I could play them back day after day.

If I knew it would be the last time
I could spare an extra minute
to stop and say "I love you,"
instead of assuming you would KNOW I do.

If I knew it would be the last time
I would be there to share your day,
Well I'm sure you'll have so many more
so I can let just this one slip away.

For surely there's always tomorrow
to make up for an oversight,
and we always get a second chance
to make everything just right.

There will l always be another day
to say "I love you,"
And certainly there's another chance
to say our "Anything I can do?"

But just in case I might be wrong,
and today is all I get,
I'd like to say how much I love you
and I hope we never forget.

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone,
young or old alike,
And today may be the last chance
you get to hold your loved one tight.

So if you're waiting for tomorrow,
why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes,
you'll surely regret the day,

That you didn't take that extra time
for a smile, a hug, or a kiss
and you were too busy to grant someone
what turned out to be their one last wish.

So hold your loved ones close today,
and whisper in their ear,
Tell them how much you love them
and that you'll always hold them dear

Take time to say "I'm sorry,"
"Please forgive me," "Thank you," or "It's okay."
And if tomorrow never comes,
you'll have no regrets about today.

Vietnam???

It seems like every day in English we are watching a movie or have a projector in the room for some shit or another. Does it ever end? I thought we were suppose to be doing a research paper, but as of yet I have not seen an assignment. All we have been doing is reading and watching movies and listening to lectures. I spose it's good tho because it gives us a good background on the Vietnam War. This is the topic of our "Research Paper"
If you know something about it PLEASE send me an email or reply to this post. Even if all you have is an opinion, please post it. I need as much input about the war as possible. I have seen and read horrific things about the war, but none of them come from a first hand or second hand source. Those are the kind I need. What did you do during the war? Did you even know it was going on? Note: For those of you who were not alive during the war... It should go without saying that you probably don't know much about. However, if you have an opinion, I would like to hear it.
Thanks to all who participate.

We Will NEVER Forget!!

REMEMBERING September 11th.

"Today, we've had a national tragedy. Two airplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center in an apparent terrorist attack on our country.

"I have spoken to the Vice President, to the Governor of New York, to the Director of the FBI, and have ordered that the full resources of the federal government go to help the victims and their families, and to conduct a full-scale investigation to hunt down and find those folks who committed this act.

"Terrorism against our nation will not stand.

"And now if you [would] join me in a moment of silence.

"May God bless the victims, their families, and America.

"Thank you very much."
It's hard to believe that it's been almost five years since George Bush addressed the country from the Emma Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida, on September 11. The attacks changed the way our world looked on the outside and the way we all felt inside.

Our hearts broke for those who lost their lives and for their families. Even before the dust settled, we pulled together to send support. And everywhere you turned – on cars, buildings, boats, and homes – you would see it, the American flag, the symbol of freedom.

Time passes by. The rubble has all been cleared. The flag still flies high. Widows remarry. Life goes on, and yet…

"I've left things otherwise the way they were after September 11," a Pentagon worker said of her office. "A lamp shade is tilted sideways, pictures are still crooked. I keep them that way as a reminder; some things we shouldn't forget."
And we should not forget.

Friends

A girl asked a guy if he thought she was pretty, He said...no.

She asked him if he would want to be with her forever...and he said no.

She then asked him if she were to leave would he cry, and once again he replied with a no.

She had heard enough. As she walked away, tears streaming down her face the boy grabbed her arm and said... You're not pretty you're beautiful. I don't want to be with you forever, I NEED to be with you forever. And I wouldn't cry if you walked away...I'd die...

SO NOW I WILL SAY:

I like you because of who you are to me...A true friend.

Remember:

"A good friend will come bail you out of jail... But a true friend will be sitting next to you saying

WE screwed up! "

Proud to be your Friend!

I've learned...that life is like a roll of toilet paper.

The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.

I've learned...that we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.

I've learned...that money doesn't buy class.

I've learned...that it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.

I've learned...that under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.

I've learned...that the Lord didn't do it all in one day.

What makes me think I can?

I've learned...that to ignore the facts does not change the facts.

I've learned...that the less time I have to work, the more things I get done.

It's National Friendship Week.

Show your friends how much you care.

HAPPY FRIENDSHIP WEEK TO YOU!!!!!!

YOU ARE MY FRIEND AND I am honored.

Every gay man I know drives a Ford Focus... Is that just a strange
coincidence or did I miss the memo????

SCHOOL UPDATE!!!

Well, I'm into my second week of school and it's turning out better than
I ever expected. I actually enjoy my classes and I think I can really
make a go at this. Just the fact that I'm a student again is weird
though. I kinda wish that I was a senior already... but I guess you have
to work for that... That's what I'm told.
I like taking classes... Math still sucks; I think it will get easier
though... At least that's what I'm hoping for. My professors are really
kewl. I don't have one that I hate, just one that's a little old and set
in his ways. He bears a striking resemblance to Yoda... but his grammar
is a little better. And he seems to form complete sentences, most of the
time.
English will be tough. We haven't really done much yet, but I can tell
there is gonna be a ton of homework later. I think the research will be
a lot of fun though... It's Vietnam! I know absolutely shit about that
war and it will be good for me to learn some more about it.
More later... Must get some work done.

Take Your Sweet Time

Live. And live well. BREATHE. Breathe in and breathe deeply. Be PRESENT.

Do not be past. Do not be future. Be now. On a crystal clear, breezy 70
degree
day, roll down the windows and FEEL the wind against your skin.
Feel the warmth of the sun.
If you run, then allow those first few breaths on a cool autumn
day to FREEZE your lungs and do not just be alarmed, be ALIVE.
Get knee-deep in a novel and LOSE track of time.
If you bike, pedal HARD...
and if you crash, then crash well. Feel the SATISFACTION of a
job well done, a paper well-written, a project thoroughly completed,
a play well-performed. And if you eat, then SMELL.
The aromas are not impediments to your day. Steak on the grill, coffee
beans freshly ground, cookies in the oven. And TASTE. Taste every ounce
of flavor. Taste every ounce of friendship. Taste every ounce of life.
Because it is most definitely a gift.
Kyle Lake

MORE????

Today I have been pondering what it would be like without you around. That scares me, just the fact that I'm thinking about it. I thought you would do anything for me? I thought you want this and need this to work out. You sure don't act like it most days. I don't know why. It seems that the slightest thing I do can cause you to go into a rant and get all butt hurt. Why does it have to be like that? WHY? I just want to be able to let go sometimes, just be myself and not have to worry about what I'm gonna say that will piss you off. This is fucking retarded that I have to walk on eggshells because if I say something wrong you might just have a fit and fall in it. Can you explain why? I have tried to figure you out, over and over, God knows that I have done everything I can think of to please you, and yet you cannot be pleased. WTF is wrong with ME? You liked me the way I am. I am still me. Why do you seem to hate me now. You say you love me but it doesn't feel real. It feels like a script, like you have to draw it out of yourself. It seems to take so much effort to even get you to come to bed with me. When did you stop caring? I can't even remember the last time you said "make love to me". It seems that sex is always the first thing to go down the tubes and I should have known... I should have fucking seen it. 4 or 5 months ago... I should have fucking seen it. Maybe this really is all my fault. Maybe I changed and somehow now I'M the asshole that I have been frantically trying not to become. Maybe my worst fear has happened and it's time to flush the toilet cuz I can't take this shit anymore.