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.