Musings of the Chronologically Challenged™ Fourth Generation

 
ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?


SO TRUE IT'S SCARY

Southern Football vs. Northern Football

Women's Accessories:
NORTH: ChapStick in back pocket and a $20 bill in the front pocket.
SOUTH: Brand new sun dress with sorority pins proudly displayed. Louis Vuitton duffel with two lipsticks, mascara, and a fifth of bourbon. Money not necessary -- that's what dates are for.

Stadium Size:
NORTH: College football stadiums hold 20,000 people.
SOUTH: High school football stadiums hold 20,000 people.

Fathers:
NORTH: Expect their daughters to understand Sylvia Plath.
SOUTH: Expect their daughters to understand pass interference.

Campus Decor:
NORTH: Statues of founding fathers.
SOUTH: Statues of Heisman trophy winners.

Homecoming Queen:
NORTH: Also a physics major.
SOUTH: Also Miss America .

Heroes:
NORTH: Rudy Giuliani
SOUTH: Paul "Bear" Bryant

Getting Football Tickets:
NORTH: One hour before the game you walk into the ticket office on campus and purchase tickets.
SOUTH: Five months before the game you walk into the ticket office on campus and put your name on waiting list for tickets.

Friday Classes After a Thursday Night Game:
NORTH: Students and teachers not sure they're going to the game, because they have classes on Friday.
SOUTH: Teachers cancel Friday classes because they don't want to see the few hung over students that might actually make it to class.

Parking:
NORTH: An hour before game time, the University opens the campus for game parking.
SOUTH: RVs sporting their school flags begin arriving on Wednesday for the weekend festivities. The really faithful arrive on Tuesday.

Game Day:
NORTH: A few students hang out in the dorm and watch ESPN on TV.
SOUTH: Every student wakes up, has a beer for breakfast, and rushes over to where ESPN is broadcasting "Game Day Live" to get on camera and wave to the idiots up North who wonder why "Game Day Live" is never broadcast from their campus.

Tailgating:
NORTH: Raw meat on a grill, beer with lime in it, listening to local radio station with truck tailgate down.
SOUTH: Fully stocked bar, complete with bartender that has traveled with the family for generations, just in case a few thousand of your closest friends stop by before the game. 30-foot custom pig-shaped smoker fires up at dawn. Cooking accompanied by live performance by your favorite local band, who come over during breaks and ask for a hit off your bottle of bourbon.

Getting to the Stadium:
NORTH: You ask "Where's the stadium?" When you find it, you walk right in.
SOUTH: When you're near it, you'll hear it. On game day it becomes the state's third largest city.

Concessions:
NORTH: Drinks served in a paper cup, filled to the top with soda.
SOUTH: Drinks served in a plastic cup, with the home team's logos & mascot on it, filled half way with extra ice and a little soda, to ensure plenty of room for bourbon.

When National Anthem is Played:
NORTH: Stands are less than half full, and less than half of them stand up.
SOUTH: 100,000 fans, all standing, sing along in perfect four-part harmony.

The Smell in the Air After the First Score:
NORTH: Nothing changes.
SOUTH: Fireworks, with a touch of bourbon.

Commentary (Male):
NORTH: "Nice play."
SOUTH: "@#$%^^$, you slow &@#$%! &@#$ tackle him and break his $%$#@$# legs!"

Commentary (Female):
NORTH: "My, this certainly is a violent sport."
SOUTH: "@#$%^^$, you slow &@#$%! &@#$ tackle him and break his $%$#@$# legs!"

Announcers:
NORTH: Neutral and paid.
SOUTH: Announcer harmonizes with the crowd in the fight song, with a tear in his eye because he is so proud of Alma Mater.

After the Game:
NORTH: The stadium is empty way before the game ends.
SOUTH: Another rack of ribs goes on the smoker. The band starts it's post game set and planning begins for next week's game.
posted by HCL at 12:15 PM

 
>^..^< PUSSYFOOTIN'™


>^..^< It seems I hardly have time anymore to visit my own blogroll on a daily basis, so obviously I don't do very much exploring new blogs. But today I noticed (for the first time) an eye-catching blog listed in BlogSon's blogroll: LeatherneckM31. Rather interesting link here and this one too.

>^..^< The Fleet's In!!!

>^..^< Baldilocks has an interesting take on N.O. racism, but in her UPDATE she says Dean Esmay disagrees. So?

>^..^< Jim has minimal post-hurricane damage, he says. Thanks be. Mostly Cajun was not as fortunate. Rivrdog said it best when he said to Mostly Cajun " tonight, we're All Cajun, and all with you, my friend."

>^..^< Another good blog, Ramblings' Journal, has shut down, apparently due to "business pressures"... Does this seem like a trend? But only for conservatives? hummmmmmm Mike says feel free to email him.

>^..^< Northwoods Woman is learning to cook grits. WITH GARLIC!! She says "they were yummy." O.M.G.!!! Don't knock it if you haven't tried it -- ?? OK. I won't.

>^..^< Update on another hot potato, a la La Shawn.

>^..^< On October 1, the Marine Corps will debut its latest television commercial, “Diamond,” in front of a nationwide television audience. The commercial is set to air on ESPN during the first commercial break after the kickoff of the scheduled NCAA College Football game that starts at 1200 EST.

>^..^< And there's a new fraternity at Dash's alma mater, LSU in Baton Rouge.



GUEST BLOGGER
J Dale Manning
Greenville, NC

I received this:

STATMENT ON BUSH

I am really disappointed in President Bush.

First and foremost he failed to stop the hurricane Katrina before it hit the Gulf Coast. Even worse, he should have stopped it before it first hit Southern Florida. Since he failed to take this first action, one would have expected that he should have, as a second thought, moved the entire states of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana to central Texas before Katrina came ashore.

Next, he failed to keep the levees in New Orleans from breaking. You would think that our Commander in Chief would have sent Rumsfeld or at least someone in authority to put his or her finger in the dike. Here again, President Bush should have known that the levees wouldn't hold. Remember, he has the best intelligence organization in the world and they are never wrong.

If that wasn't bad enough, he failed to assemble the national Guard on a minute's notice. Aren't they, after all, the present day "Minutemen?"

I know that it took God 6 days to do His work but the leader of the free world should have been able to beat His time. (Actually it took 6 days after the hurricane to get things stabilized so maybe that's par for the course.)

Remember, he had experience when he responded to the tsunami victims. Didn't it take several weeks of continuing rescue operations to stabilize that area? With that training, he should have had everyone sitting in planes with their engines running at the end of the runways before the hurricane struck.

As a matter of fact he should keep them all at that level all the time because you can never tell when there might be an emergency. Never mind the cost of aviation fuel. What is more important, money or lives?

Bush also showed his careless disregard for property damage by concentrating efforts in the flooded areas where people were trapped. By all rights he should have been primarily concerned about getting power back on to the casinos along the Gulf Coast. Again, what is more important, a few peoples' lives or preserving the governments' income from gambling sources?

What blows my mind is how President Bush could have reasonably expected people to take any responsibility for themselves. After all, with only a few days' notice how could you expect that anyone would take the time to fill up a few jugs of water and stash a few cans of food just because a category 5 hurricane was headed their way? Besides, FEMA's suggestion of having 4 days of water and food is just a suggestion. It isn't mandatory.

Bush also failed by expecting local officials to take on any responsibility. After all, isn't it the present Federal Government's responsibility to provide everyone with everything that our ancestors used to do for themselves?

Based on all of the above it is clear that President Bush and his administration are the only possible ones to blame. This calls for a full investigation by all of those totally blameless so that they may reap as much political gain from this tragedy as is possible.

If we had any brains we would have had Teddy Kennedy in the White House, in the first place. He's already proved that he knows how to get out of hot water......I mean, high water..... anyway.......


I responded with this:

I watched a few minutes of Mr. Brown's interview with the senate committee last night. The senator from Mississippi really got me going. It was as though he expected FEMA to be there once the "eye wall" passed his region. The first thing that popped into my mind was Hurricane Floyd. It has been 6 years now and no one has offered me a ride to Tennessee to get me out of harm's way. It has been 6 years now and not one FEMA person helped me cut up a single tree in my yard. I was able to survive Hurricane Floyd without power for 3 days. Granted, I was not eating prime rib, but Chef Boy-R-Dee came in handy.

It is about time, that someone noted that it is not the Federal Government's responsibility to pull everyone out of hot water. If they keep pushing Michael Brown, I think he will be the one to tell them.

The senator from Mississippi asked "was it FEMA's plan to have the people of NO, AL, & MS loot to sustain their life". Excuse me, Mr. Brown, let me help with this one. Hell no, that was not the plan. The plan was for the dumbasses (yes dumbasses) to either buy some water and saltines or move to high ground. Let 'em sit there for a day or two and then we will get who we can. If you choose to stay (choose being the keyword for all of the NO, AL, & MS residents that get to read this) you WILL be on your own for 2-3 days. Let me give another example. Let's say that you are standing on train tracks. You hear a train's whistle. You generally have plenty of time to move off the tracks. If you decide not to move and the train runs over you, whose fault is that? Can I assume from the arguments that I am hearing that FEMA should have rescued people before the storm? As my wise man so eloquently puts it, "it's like wiping before you poop, it just don't make no sense." If you live at the beach there is a chance of a hurricane. If you live in Kansas there is a chance of a tornado. If you live in California there is a chance of an earthquake.

One piece of advise for Mr. Brown. The next time the nice senator from Mississippi asks why things went belly-up. Offer him this, "Your lack of planning does not constitute an emergency on my part." It is now time to play the political game of CYA on Capitol Hill.

Now for all of those who did move and lost their homes I am truly sorry. Living near the coast of NC, I can understand what you may be going through.

J Dale Manning
posted by HCL at 12:48 AM

 
INCOMING
from Christina, Swansboro, NC

Subject: Canadian Press On Bush
A bit more objectivity than we get from our own press and politicians.


George Bush, the man
David Warren.The Ottawa Citizen http://www.davidwarrenonline.com/
Sunday, September 11, 2005

There's plenty wrong with America, since you asked. I'm tempted to say that the only difference from Canada is that they have a few things right. That would be unfair, of course -- I am often pleased to discover things we still get right.

But one of them would not be disaster preparation. If something happened up here, on the scale of Katrina, we wouldn't even have the resources to arrive late. We would be waiting for the Americans to come save us, the same way the government in Louisiana just waved and pointed at Washington, D.C. The theory being that, when you're in real trouble, that's where the adults live.

And that isn't an exaggeration. Almost everything that has worked in the recovery operation along the U.S. Gulf Coast has been military and National Guard. Within a few days, under several commands, finally consolidated under the remarkable Lt.-Gen. Russell Honore, it was once again the U.S. military efficiently cobbling together a recovery operation on a scale beyond the capacity of any other earthly institution.

We hardly have a military up here. We have elected one feckless government after another that has cut corners until there is nothing substantial left. We don't have the ability even to transport and equip our few soldiers. Should disaster strike at home, on a big scale, we become a Third World country. At which point, our national smugness is of no avail.

From Democrats and the American Left -- the U.S. equivalent to the people who run Canada -- we are still hearing that the disaster in New Orleans showed that a heartless, white Republican America had abandoned its underclass.

This is garbage. The great majority of those not evacuated lived in assisted housing and receive food stamps, prescription medicine and government support through many other programs. Many have, all their lives, expected someone to lift them to safety, without input from themselves. And the demagogic mayor they elected left, quite literally, hundreds of transit and school buses that could have driven them out of town parked in rows, to be lost in the flood.

Yes, that was insensitive. But it is also the truth; and sooner or later we must acknowledge that welfare dependency creates exactly the sort of haplessness and social degeneration we saw on display, as the floodwaters rose. Many suffered terribly, and many died, and one's heart goes out. But already the survivors are being put up in new accommodations, and their various entitlements have been directed to new locations.

The scale of private charity has also been unprecedented. There are yet no statistics, but I'll wager the most generous state in the union will prove to have been arch-Republican Texas and that, nationally, contributions in cash and kind are coming disproportionately from people who vote Republican. For the world divides into "the mouths" and "the wallets."

The Bush-bashing, both down there and up here, has so far lost touch with reality, as to raise questions about the bashers' state of mind.

Consult any authoritative source on how government works in the United States and you will learn that the U.S. federal government's legal, constitutional, and institutional responsibility for first response to Katrina, as to any natural disaster, was zero.

Notwithstanding, President Bush took the prescient step of declaring a disaster, in order to begin deploying FEMA and other federal assets, two full days in advance of the storm fall. In the little time since, he has managed to co-ordinate an immense recovery operation -- the largest in human history -- without invoking martial powers. He has been sufficiently presidential to respond, not even once, to the extraordinarily mendacious and childish blame-throwing.

One thinks of Kipling's poem "If," which I learned to recite as a lad, and mention now in the full knowledge that it drives postmodern leftoids and gliberals to apoplexy -- as anything that is good, beautiful, or true:

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise .

Unlike his critics, Bush is a man, in the full sense presented by these verses. A fallible man, like all the rest, but a man.
posted by HCL at 11:34 AM

 
HOORAY FOR REDNECKS!


Guy, of Charming fame, makes frequent references to rednecks, mostly poking fun at himself. So when I received the following e-mail, I immediately thought of Guy and all the wonderful rednecks I have known. But Guy is only a pretender to the King of Rednecks throne. My BlogDaddy, Ol' Chuck of redneckin, carries the scepter and wears the crown!!


Here's just a little something on behalf of all our redneck friends and families!

We have enjoyed the "redneck" jokes for years. It's time to take a reflective look at the core beliefs of a culture that values God, home, family, and country. If I had to stand before a dozen terrorists who threaten my life, I'd choose a half dozen or so rednecks to back me up. I hope I am one of those. If you feel the same, pass this on to your redneck friends.

Ya'll know who ya' are...


You might be a Redneck if:

1. It never occurred to you to be offended by the phrase, "One nation, under God."

2. You've never protested about seeing the 10 Commandments posted in public places.

3. You still say "Christmas" instead of "Winter Festival."

4. You remove your hat and bow your head when anyone prays.

5 . You stand and place your hand over your heart when they play our National Anthem.

6. You treat Viet Nam vets with great respect, and always have.

7. You've never burned an American flag, but would kick someone's butt who did.

8.. You know what you believe and you aren't afraid to say so, no matter who is listening.

9. You respect your elders and expect your kids to do the same.

10. You'd give your last dollar to a friend.

Rednecks take a lot of flack from folks around the country, but there is something to be said for the values they uphold! If you got this email from me, it is because I believe that you, like me, have just enough Red Neck in you to have the same beliefs as those talked about above.

[Received this email from three different keypals: Ty, Don, and Eddie.]
posted by HCL at 5:02 PM

 
INCOMING
From: M H Pridgen [mailto:mhpridgen@earthlink.net]
Sent: Saturday, September 24, 2005 8:37 AM
Subject: Fw: Letter to Editor
I know the writer and served with the writer's spouse while in the Air Force. . mh pridgen

----- Original Message -----
From: JRSilvius@aol.com
To: neweraletters@lnpnews.com
Sent: Friday, September 23, 2005 1:32 AM
Subject: Letter to Editor


A Salute to the Military

When "Katrina" hit the south, it was the members of our military who risked their lives to rescue others.... regardless of race, color, or creed. It was NOT the liberal administrators, who forbade military recruiters from being on their campuses, hanging out of those helicopters!

Once again, it is our military who is preparing to aid those who will be affected by "Rita". They never "fail to show up" as approximately 200 screeners did at a Houston Airport, nor do they walk off the job as did 200 policemen in New Orleans. They will be helping with rescues, recovery and keeping the peace while others will be in Washington, D.C. setting up a "Counter Recruitment Contingent" as part of the Cindy Sheehan Anti War Rally on Sept. 24th thru 26th! While Cindy Sheehan is capitalizing on her son's unfortunate death in Iraq, by participating in a speaker's bureau, our valiant service men and women are trying to give the people of Iraq a chance to exercise the same freedom she is enjoying here.

Having been a military wife and having had more than twenty members of our family serve in the military I know the daily sacrifices they and their families make. It means getting less pay than their civilian counterparts, separations, and sacrifice.

How difficult it must be for those serving in Iraq to hear citizens of their own country not only question the validity of the job they are doing....but empathize with those "insurgents wanting to kill Americans." Our service men and women deserve more than that.

They need and deserve our support and prayers.

So, thanks to each and every member of our military for the job they are doing every day both at home and overseas! I am grateful, proud and appreciative of all of you!

Jean A. Silvius
165 N. Grant St.
Manheim, Pa. 17545
Tel:1-717-665-4551
posted by HCL at 3:05 PM

 
INCOMING
from Ty, Winston Salem, NC


Subject: McComb aftermath of Katrina
To my friends and family: From a McComb Resident


WHAT I HAVE SEEN SINCE KATRINA:

The poor and the wealthy hurt by the storm.

Black, white, Hispanic, Oriental and Indian all hurt by the storm.

Christian people giving, giving, giving.

Churches going all out to minister in Jesus' name.

Neighbors going door to door helping one another.

Thugs and hoodlums going door to door looking for someone vulnerable.

Ice and water being fought over as police tried to keep the peace.

People coming up from New Orleans taking over empty houses because shelters are full.

Out of town volunteers coming with food and staying for now a week still serving it.

The Churches all over this part of the country doing what Christians do in a crisis.

The Red Cross doing a great job in the shelters.

The Salvation Army doing a great job in the community.

Four Hundred crewman from everywhere bring back the power to our homes, churches and businesses.

Lines at service stations a block to a mile long.

National Guardsmen patrolling the streets of Mc Comb along with Kentucky policemen protecting us from the hoodlums and thugs of Mc Comb, Pike County and New Orleans (the most dangerous city in the world before Katrina.)

Drug dealers working outside shelters.

Doctors, nurses and other hospital personnel working tirelessly, even sleeping in the hospital to do the job God called them to do.


WHAT I HAVE NOT SEEN:

The ACLU setting up a feeding line.

People for the American Way helping in the shelters.

The NAACP doing any work whatsoever.

The American Atheist organization serving meals in the shelters.

Jesse Jackson directing traffic at the gas stations.



I could go on but you get my message. It's the Christian people with love and compassion who do the work.

The gripers in Congress should come on down and get in line to pass the water and the ice. Are you listening Hillary, Chuck, Teddy and all the sorry loafers we call Senators and Congressmen? They don't have a clue as to what this life is all about here on the Gulf

posted by HCL at 6:15 PM

 
INCOMING
from Jimmy, Ayden, NC


In Katrina I Didnt See Racism,
I Saw Brotherhood
by Rabbi Aryeh Spero
Posted Sep 7, 2005

UNDIVIDE AMERICA
In New Orleans, beginning Tuesday morning, August 30, I saw men in helicopters risking their lives to save stranded flood victims from rooftops. The rescuers were White, the stranded Black. I saw Caucasians navigating their small, private boats in violent, swirling, toxic floodwaters to find fellow citizens trapped in their houses. Those they saved were Black.

I saw Brotherhood. New York Congressman Charlie Rangel saw Racism.

Yes, there are Two Americas. One is the real America, where virtually every White person I know sends money, food or clothes to those in need - now and in other crises -- regardless of color. This America is colorblind.

The other is the America fantasized and manufactured by Charlie Rangel,Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, who constantly cry racism! even in situations where it does not exist, even when undeniable images illustrate love, compassion and concern. These three men, together with today's NAACP, want to continue the notion of Racist America. It is their Mantra, their calling card. Their power, money, and continued media appearances depend on it.

Often, people caught up in accusing others of sin neglect to undergo their own personal introspection. They begin to think they alone inhabit the moral high ground. It is high time these men peered into their own hearts at the dark chamber that causes this unceasing labeling of their fellow Americans as racist. They may find in that chamber their own racism -- against Whites.

There is only one real America. Beginning Friday morning in Houston, thousands of regular citizens poured into the Astrodome offering water, food, clean clothes, personal items, baby diapers and toys, love and even their homes to the evacuees who had been bused in from New Orleans. Most of the givers were White, most of those being helped were Black. But there was Jesse Jackson, busy on TV, accusing the country of not putting Blacks -- i.e., him -- on some type of Commission he is demanding. Where was he early in the week? Not sweating with others from around the country who had scraped their last dollar to come help. With Jesse, its always about Jesse.

After decades of hearing accusations from Jesse, Al, Charlie, the NAACP and certain elitists about how racist America is, it would have been refreshing to hear them for once give thanks to those they for years have been maligning. These self-anointed spokesmen for the Black community lead only when it comes to foisting guilt and condemnation, and not when it comes to acknowledging the good in those they have made a career in castigating.

As a Rabbi I have a message I wish to offer to my fellow members of the cloth, Reverends Jackson and Sharpton: It is time to do some soul searching. Your continued efforts to tear this country apart, even in light of the monumental goodness shown by your White brothers, is a sin.

There are no churches in the world like the American churches. And there are no better parishioners and members of churches anywhere in the world. These churches are saving the day. Their members -- infused by the special and singular teachings of our unique American Judeo-Christian understanding of the Bible -- are, at this moment, writing an historic chapter in giving, initiative, and selflessness. They are opening their homes to strangers. They are doing what government is incapable of doing.

America works because of its faith-based institutions. It always has. That is what makes it America.

So next time the ACLU tries to diminish and marginalize the churches, saying there is no role for religion in American public life, that an impenetrable wall must be erected separating the citizens from their faith, cry out Katrina.

Next time the ACLU goes to court asking that U.S. soldiers not be allowed to say Grace in the Mess Hall and that communities be forbidden from setting up a nativity scene, ask yourself: without the motivation of Goodness sourced in Faith, would people offer such sacrifice? Where else does this Brotherhood come from but the Bible which teaches Thou Shall Love Thy Neighbor as Yourself.

I saw brotherhood on Fox News, where 24/7 reporters used their perch as a clearing-house for search-and-rescue missions and communication between the stranded and those in position to save. In contrast, the Old-line networks continued with their usual foolish, brain-numbing programming. Those who always preach compassion chose profit over people.

The New York Times has utterly failed America. Its columnists could have used their talents and word skills to inspire and unite a nation. Columnists such as Frank Rich and Paul Krugman, however, revealed their true colors by evading their once-in-a-lifetime chance to help and instead chose to divide, condemn, and fuel the fires and poison the waters of Louisiana. In them, I saw no Brotherhood. The newspaper always preaching compassion verifies Shakespeare's "They protest too much."

Similar elitists here in the northeast and on the west coast have over the years expressed their view of the South as unsophisticated and Texans as cowboys. Well, the South has come through, especially Houston and other parts of Texas, whereas, as I write this on Labor Day, the limousine moralizers are lying on east and west coast beaches thinking they're doing their part by reading Times editorials and calling George Bush racist. How sanctimonious life becomes when proving you are not a racist depends not on living in a truly integrated neighborhood, but by simply calling others racist.

Like so often in history, facts trump platitudes. Reality reigns. Those who always preach brotherhood, thus far have acted devoid of it. Those who for decades have been accused by elitists of not having compassion are the ones living it. They are: the churches, the military, and the sons and daughters of the South.

Rabbi Spero is a radio talk show host, a pulpit rabbi, and president of Caucus for America.
posted by HCL at 4:06 PM

 
EPILOGUE


An oversight on my part last night as I was posting the late, late Indigo: I meant to tell of the icing on the weekend cake. That was my daughter coming down from Greenville, taking me out to dinner and spending the evening with me. Time with her is always so much fun.

So we were at Outback sitting in a booth right beside the bar. The place was packed. Lots of returning Marines were there to celebrate homecoming and have a fine meal. The Freedom Way fence was festooned with banners of "Welcome Home" on the way to Jacksonville because many returned to Camp LeJeune yesterday. Two young Marines were waiting to be served at the end of the bar and it occurred to me that it would be a nice gesture to buy them a 'welcome home beer'.

Finally getting their attention in the noisy bar, I told them "I'd like to buy you a welcome home beer."

The one who proved to be the spokesman replied, "We're not drinking beer, mam. We're drinking mixed drinks."

"Fine. We'll put those on our tab." The spokesman said he was from Maryland and today was his birthday. Good timing. They both looked to be 20-21. Don't assume the 21, since the "carding" rules can be very flexible when the Marines come back from Iraq. The more reticent young gentleman was a North Carolina boy from Raleigh. (Or to be more correct, as my daughter pointed out, they were MARINES -- not boys!!!" Hey, at my age, almost every male I see is a "boy" -- even the gray-haired bloggers who refer to themselves as "geezers" -- all BOYS to me!)

Their drinks arrived and they turned back to us with big smiles and thank-yous. "WE thank YOU." I said. "And by the way, what kind of drinks are those?" The drinks looked different from any I had ever seen. The cute little Maryland spokesman, with the million dollar smile, grinned and looked down at the floor a couple of seconds before he answered. "It's a 'Sex on the Beach', mam." he replied sheepishly.

"Oh?" says granny. "Tell you what. Go down Highway 24 past Swansboro, turn and drive over the Emerald Isle bridge to the beach and maybe you'll get lucky." They laughed uproariously all the way back to their table.

Welcome home, Marines!! Semper Fi!
posted by HCL at 12:05 PM

 
WEEKEND REWARD

Good things come to she who waits. After waiting out a hurricane, an x-ray report on the Rotty with cancer, the yo-yoing of Sprint Telephone's "service", plus a few personal conundrums, TGIwasF and a quite wonderful long weekend was upon me.

As promised, BlogSon GOC arrived on Friday from Winston Salem for an inspection. He "inspected" alright. Inspected the beach shops and tourist attractions for post-Labor Day sales!!! He's a smart shopper too! And true to his generous nature, he shopped for everybody but himself. I think the only thing he bought for himself was a newspaper, but he remembered everyone back home with surprises from local beach gift shops. And one for me too! Plus, BIG PLUS, he's a good cook! It was a great visit and a much appreciated break for me from the usual dull weekends of the fall.

BlogSon Sailor has a Saturday morning radio show from Las Vegas. He wrote about it on his blog a few weeks ago, but until this past Saturday I've been unable to hear the show. What a lucky coincidence that BlogSon GOC was here to listen to it with me. Very good musical selections, Sailor-son.

To complete the trifecta of BlogSons, I received an interesting e-mail from BlogSon Greene. The first time I ever recall having contact with all three blogsons in one weekend! That would almost be a BlogFamily Reunion, ya think? Anyhow, I want to share the e-mail from BlogSon Greene, so here it is: (thanks, BSG)

Our friend Rick Egan is in Iraq for the SL Tribune. Here's a message he sent me today. Unbelievable to get this kind of information straight from the front lines of the War.
The time here in Iraq is about 8 hours ahead of Mountain daylight time. It is 9:42 pm Monday night here and it is 11:42 am Monday morning in Utah.

We just got back from a very cool thing tonight. We drove over to Camp Ail, it is on the FOB, so we only needed our Helmet, you must have a helmet if you are driving in a Humvee. We met Sgt Fall and a guy named Chesire, and walked over to Camp Ali to meet the General of the ISF (Iraqi Security Forces) The Iraqi army.

He was a huge guy and like every other Iraqi male had a bug thick mustache. He was very interesting and candid. He answered all of Matt's questions, even the tough ones, and was a very good sport about it. He said that they not only need more men but the men they do have need a lot more training, Matt asked him if they were ready to take over if the US Army pulled out tomorrow. He said no, because they do not have an airforce or the weapons and other equipment that they need. He would not give a time table of when they would be ready (the American guy would not even let him tell us how many men he had in his Brigade) but he did say he wants his soldiers to be better than the US marines and said that eventually his Army will be ready to take over so the US forces can pull out. Matt asked what would happen if the forces did pull out and he said there would be much bloodshed and it would not be a good thing; they are not ready to take control yet.

It was interesting because the General yesterday was talking about numbers, saying they needed 5000 troops, but according to the IFS general, the numbers do not matter as much as the training and the weapons and other things they need such as an Airforce and stuff like that.
Matt wanted to talk to some of the soldiers so he asked the General. He pressed a button on his desk and in minutes there were 6 soldiers marching in and standing at attention. It was great. Matt asked the interpreter if he could have them relax, so he did, and eventually they all sat at the table with Matt and he asked them questions one on one for a half an hour or so.

Those soldiers were very open and fun to listen to as they spoke through Carlos, the interpreter. Carlos is getting $1000 a month to be an interpreter for the US military. The average salary is probably closer to $50 a month but as he said, it is a very dangerous job. Because it is dangerous, most interpreters wear the full army gear including dark glasses. Some even wear a face mask for their protection and do not allow us take their photos because it is that dangerous. Interpreters are the major target of the insurgents. Carlos does not care if we take his photo because he is from southern Iraq, but he still does not take off his helmet or glasses.

Probably the next most dangerous thing for an Iraqi male would be to join the army. Some of the soldiers had stories of their family and relatives being killed when they found out that they were in the army. Most of them are from other parts of Iraq, mostly Bagdad. When they go home to visit their families, they leave their guns and their uniforms on he base and go home as regular civilians. Matt asked them why they were in the Army if it was so dangerous, and they said that they wanted to help the country and that joining the Army was the best way to do that. All six of the soldiers we talked to were in Sadam Hussein's Army. They were all very cool, most of them probably in their mid to late thirties.

The general said that we were the first journalists that have ever talked to the Iraqi soldiers. It was very cool and afterwards they all wanted their photo taken with us so we crammed altogether for a group shoot.

We missed the evening Chow, it ended at 8 pm, so we may go to the midnight Buffet, but I am so tired that if I fall asleep, I am going to just keep on sleeping!

Peace,
rick
posted by HCL at 12:50 AM

 
POST-OPHELIA

Thinking about the stress and hardships visited upon the people in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, my personal stresses of the week are insignificant. Thanks to the e-mails, comments left on blogs, and telephone calls, I have had a lot of moral and spiritual support from you kind people in the Blogosphere and CyberWorld. Here are a few random examples:


From Utah
"I’ve been out of town and hope you’re doing OK with all your woes. Are you evacuated? I hope. Let us know when all is back to what we call normal. If you still have power, you are probably alright…for now. Hope it stays that way. Hang in there!!!"

Yes, I have a few "woes", but doesn't everybody? The (lol) "hurricane" is going by my house as I type. Shakespeare wrote a play about this one, but in the aftermath of Katrina, I guess it's only normal to overreact! The "reporters" are laughable! Some I've seen on tv are standing a few miles from my house and trying to act "scared" for the camera. -- LOL Thanks for asking. No, I'm not evacuated. No one on my street has left and only a few of us have even boarded up windows -- and even then, only the ones facing the water.


From Alabama
"You still hanging out on the North Carolina coast in the rain and wind?"

Yep. Ophelia's winking "eye" just passed over my house. Not much to it, actually, but Gov Easley played CYA to the hilt!! There were some areas of the coast north of me that caught some bad wind and rain, but Big O mostly dodged my house. I was amused at some of the tv reporters who were trying so hard to make a dramatic presentation when there just wasn't that much drama!


From Florida
"Looks like you are getting hit about now. Hope you are safe. I have thought about you every time I see a weather report. TAKE CARE, HEAH?"

Piece of cake from here on out. Ophelia's eye went over my house about an hour ago. It's still raining like crazy, but the wind is not as bad. Thanks for thinking of me.


From Oregon
"Hey you! Are you taking care of yourself? Keep seeing on tv that you've got yourself in another fine mess."

Yes, everything is under control. At times like these I really appreciate all you taught me! LOL Thanks for asking.


From Texas
"How's the hurricane treating ya? I read that you were planning to evacuate, did you? We've been thinking about ya."

Everything was lined up for evacuation if the hurricane reached Category 2 - but since it stayed Cat 1, I stayed here. Lots of rain, lots of wind. But the max damage was some shingles blown off the roof -- Standard Operating Procedure when you live on the coast. We got lucky with this one. On down the coast - north from me - the people at Hatteras and Ocracoke were hit pretty hard, but I guess they're used to that too.


From Florida
"You told me you were going to head out with your daughter! Stay out of harms way, hear?"

Sorry for misleading you and others. It just didn't seem worth all the effort to pack up and leave for a Cat 1. Cat Ones are all in a day's work around here. Daughter was freaked, but I wouldn't go!


From Washington
"We were freaked too, Indigo. Doesn't take much to go from cat 1 on up. You are in our prayers and minds; stay safe."

Other than really ugly skies this morning, I'm back to regular status, except for a few missing roof shingles. Thanks for your support and prayers, all you guys.


From Wisconsin
"Indigo is getting hit by Ophelia; please keep her in your prayers."

I ain't down yet!! Big O's blinking eye just passed over my house about a half hour ago. Lots of water, but that's about it. Thanks for the prayers. See? They worked! Clean-up tomorrow. And that's already arranged so everything will be shipshape just in case I have an "inspection" Friday!


And sure enough, from the BlogSon: "I'm going to be off on an inspection tour of the North Carolina coast in the morning - eyeballing the situation for myself and checking that Indigo has been truthful with us all."


Many thanks to everyone for helping me through this crisis. Who sang "I'll get by with a little help from my friends"? Having a Senior Moment and can't think of his name!
posted by HCL at 11:40 PM

 
HERE'S THE THING
(to quote Monk)

What with today being 9-11, all news this week having been strife in or about New Orleans, learning my companion dog has cancer, and I may have to evacuate for Ophelia, I am postless. UFN again.
posted by HCL at 12:55 AM

 
FROM THE TWILIGHT ZONE

This was published in National Geographic 11 months ago.

Louisiana's Wetlands @ National Geographic Magazine
NGM Oct. 2004 Site Index- By Joel K. Bourne, Jr.

It was a broiling August afternoon in New Orleans, Louisiana, the Big Easy, the City That Care Forgot. Those who ventured outside moved as if they were swimming in tupelo honey. Those inside paid silent homage to the man who invented air-conditioning as they watched TV "storm teams" warn of a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico. Nothing surprising there: Hurricanes in August are as much a part of life in this town as hangovers on Ash Wednesday.

But the next day the storm gathered steam and drew a bead on the city. As the whirling maelstrom approached the coast, more than a million people evacuated to higher ground. Some 200,000 remained, however—the car-less, the homeless, the aged and infirm, and those die-hard New Orleanians who look for any excuse to throw a party.

The storm hit Breton Sound with the fury of a nuclear warhead, pushing a deadly storm surge into Lake Pontchartrain. The water crept to the top of the massive berm that holds back the lake and then spilled over. Nearly 80 percent of New Orleans lies below sea level—more than eight feet below in places—so the water poured in. A liquid brown wall washed over the brick ranch homes of Gentilly, over the clapboard houses of the Ninth Ward, over the white-columned porches of the Garden District, until it raced through the bars and strip joints on Bourbon Street like the pale rider of the Apocalypse. As it reached 25 feet (eight meters) over parts of the city, people climbed onto roofs to escape it.

Thousands drowned in the murky brew that was soon contaminated by sewage and industrial waste. Thousands more who survived the flood later perished from dehydration and disease as they waited to be rescued. It took two months to pump the city dry, and by then the Big Easy was buried under a blanket of putrid sediment, a million people were homeless, and 50,000 were dead. It was the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States.

When did this calamity happen? It hasn't—yet. But the doomsday scenario is not far-fetched. The Federal Emergency Management Agency lists a hurricane strike on New Orleans as one of the most dire threats to the nation, up there with a large earthquake in California or a terrorist attack on New York City. Even the Red Cross no longer opens hurricane shelters in the city, claiming the risk to its workers is too great.

As you hum "woo woo, woo woo" to yourself, go here for the rest of this prophetic article. Really eerie.
posted by HCL at 6:24 PM

 
KATRINA RELIEF LINKS

HELP THE KIDS
posted by HCL at 11:25 AM

 
FORREST GUMP HAD A GREAT IDEA


Following his lead, this and this and this is all I'm going to post about that. There are springboards all over the blogosphere. Just click anywhere.
posted by HCL at 12:16 AM

 
UPDATE: The Best Day of My Life

This beautiful e-mail from my beautiful daughter arrived this morning. I must share it. ---- Indigo



Mother,

The blog was great! I enjoy hearing heartfelt stories as you know, especially about you and Daddy. Thank you for sharing this one. Kathy said is was certainly all true. I told her 'you don't have any idea', because she didn't know him at his best.

I can remember going around Carol's house and seeing her Dad in action and was in awe of how a father could treat his family as he did. Of course, back then I wasn't mature enough to understand or realize what a near perfect family we had. However, I did know enough to know I didn't want to be in a family like Carol's. I could never understand how anyone could be afraid of their Daddy until I met him. She would always say, just ignore my Dad. Even that young I felt a sadness for her, because I couldn't ever imagine ignoring your Daddy.

I've told many people that you think you love your parents more than anything, but you can't begin to know just how much until you have children of your own.

Yes, I am so thankful for all the special times we spent together. Sometimes it was super fun, others it was just part of the learning process of parents helping their children grow up. It seems whatever we were doing I was always proud and thankful that you and Daddy were mine. All Dale's and my friends thought you all were so awesome, funny and sweet that some times I almost felt jealous of you. Our house was definitely the hangout, as you well know.

I too think of him everyday and miss him dearly. It makes me angry and sad that my grandchildren will never know him as we did, but only through our stories. I am thankful that they will remember you. That is another reason that I wish you could spend more time here.

Well, I didn't mean to run on, but some of us don't blog, so I guess we get a little "long-lettered" (winded). Just suffice it to say as I said before, I thank God for you and Daddy and all you did and sacrficed for Dale and me.

None of us know what the afterlife will be, but if it is how I imagine it, Daddy is up there still teaching kids to have fun and do the right things and make wise choices and wisecracks in a polite way. He also has a crowd of people around him wherever he goes and is making the grumpiest of angels laugh and enjoy heaven.

I love you and thank you,
Kristi
posted by HCL at 11:50 AM