It Rained Today

It rained actually yesterday and last night.  About 3 am a huge thunder storm let loose.  All tole 1/2 an inch.some will thing they can go back to wasting water. Hopefully most will realize we need a lot more.

An Uncomfortable Evening

Last night we witnessed our oldest son graduate from the Police Academy at the local Junior College.  We are extremely proud of him and this accomplishment.  But as the evening wore on I became more uncomfortable and there was a bit of pain involved.

The ceremony, messages badge pinnings and certificate dispersal took about two and a half hours.  We sat in the gym stands and at first it wasn't too bad. Then the hard plastic seats seemed to become harder.  The children behind us became more restless, even the Ipads and phones couldn't entertain them enough to keep them quiet.  Then their parents started talking, loudly.  It soon reminded me of a high school graduation. I have no doubt why my students have no manners because I have sat with their parents in football stands during graduations and had to sush them to hear what was being said. I missed one son getting his diploma because someone in front, with balloons, stood up and walked in front of us when he walked across to get his sheepskin. That is what I was thinking of last night as I watched the clock move past two hours and the feeling in my joints became more painful.

Then I realized what I was really watching.  These 46 Police Academy graduates were going to go into the world and protect me.  They were giving of themselves to make my life easier and safer. They were leaving today the world of a person I like,and becoming a person that many people make fun of and deride while they serve me and help me.  At that point I realized I can wait over two hours with sore joints and noisy seatmates to honor the men and women that will make my life easier.

Thank you for your sacrifices and willingness to serve.

Odds and Ends

Just some random thoughts and questions wandering through my brain these days.

I want to make sausage.  I'd like to do it with a three year old turkey we have.  We call her Soup because she has to be too tough to roast and will have to be made into soup. There is a story behind the name.  The last turkey was named Dinner and you know where he ended up.  So my obvious question is, Is it too late to make sausage from Soup?

Baseball season started two days ago.  At least the official high school season in this area.  We have been practicing since September.  I have objections to this idea that one must play a sport virtually year-round. Unfortunately I will battle most other coaches on this within our area and the assistants at our school like to practice. in the fall.  I will say fall practice is better than summer.  An athlete is drawn in many directions during the summer and one less sport is good for them; gives them a little chance to breathe.

Baseball starting means I'm getting home after dark.  My muscles will have to get used to another set of motions and I will be sore for a bit, or longer.  Baseball still is a great sport, just I'm seeing another side again.

We're slowly starting to purge ourselves of stuff.  It feels good to give something to another that they can and will use. And we slowly remove the clutter. The key is to not replace it with more clutter.

Teaching sure is changing. It will be nice to be out of the education squirrel cage some day.

Have a good day.

Movie Talk, Almost a Review--Some Spoiler Alert

Yesterday my family and I saw The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.  The children wanted to see a movie as a family and this choice pleased the majority.  I was quietly reluctant.  I've read and taught the original short story in the past and I'm not a big Ben Stiller fan.  I enjoyed the James Thurber TV program as a child.  I was looking forward to a nice time with my family.

What I received instead was a thoroughly enjoyable movie to go with wonderful family. I don't remember the short story, or the Danny Kaye movie much, but this version followed the spirit of the story.  It was updated into the cannibalistic corporate world and modernized without losing the fun quirkiness of Thurber.  Ben Stiller hit the mark as the strange Walter Mitty, a touch of Everyman with the self doubt of present day man.

I don't go to the theater much and usually choose a movie that will be made better on the big screen.  I had been voting for Lone Survivor, thinking the Afghan scenery would be better seen large.  I figured that Walter Mitty could be seen on video at home and I would be fine.  Wrong. This is a large screen movie with vistas and close up facial expressions that were better in the theater.  I highly recommend this film.

Book Review: Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell

Spoiler Alert:  This book was just released as a movie of the same name.  I haven't seen to the movie, so I can't vouch for it's authenticity. This is what I think of the book.

Up front, I like this book for many reasons.  I read mostly nonfiction and even when I like the book and the subject is something I want to learn about; the books have been leaving me with the feeling I'm on a march to get through them lately.  Lone Survivor was not like that. I sped through the pages.  I like history and this is a bit of that being based upon a true story, and told by someone that was involved.  I also had motivation to read quickly because the book was a loaner.

The first third or so of the book is a quick story of Luttrell's background growing up in Texas and his journey through SEAL training, mostly the training.  I have never been in the military, nor through special forces training.  I've watched a few TV programs and have talked to a child that has been through one branch's special forces training.  We've all heard the stories of how one branch or the other has the best special forces. I am sure that each is one of the best fighting force on the planet.  The description of the SEAL selection course just to get into the real training, BUD/S, was amazing reading. Then the rest of the "training" was a story of why these are the world's best warriors.  For a non-military person, it is a great lesson and warning not to get too confident in your skills after you've shot a few times at the range, or played paintball or a video game.  These men are professional warriors that do things we dream about doing. That training  is important, especially for what is described later in the book.

A couple of the ideals Luttrell continues to focus on throughout the book are loyalty and service.  Loyalty to team and service to country. We may hear these ideal talked about, but this book shows a living example of them in practice. During the training phase and, then in Afghanistan, Luttrell recounts examples of these two traits in a way that drives home their meaning.

In many ways the title gives away the end of the story, but it doesn't give us the details that make this such a good story. During the description of the firefight and subsequent fight for survival, Luttrell mentions that the only time in his life was near to such a physically demanding event was during SEAL training. He thanks his trainers for the brutal things they did to him because it is what brought him through his ordeal.  Luttrell does a great job of tying together the multiple stories happening at the same time.  As he was being harbored by a Pashtun tribe, at their own risk, we read of what his family was living through in Texas and some of what the military was doing to rescue him.  He tells of the interfering rules of engagement that US military personnel have to fight under and how they hinder and ultimately cost lives, both US and native.  Luttrell talks of the media that had a part in the creation of the rules of engagement, and how the media presented untruths about his "death" that gave his family untold misery through this time. He doesn't gloss over many of his feelings and thoughts, but does it without the bravado that some stories are told with.  I felt I was sitting in someone's living room hearing the story told.

Part of this overall story that isn't told often is the place of the native Afghan tribesmen and their help in this conflict.  Luttrell is saved by Gulab, a Pashtun with as great a sense of loyalty and honor as a SEAL. The Taliban threatened Gulab, his family and his village with death if they didn't hand over Luttrell.  Gulab never did and has since suffered.  To this day Luttrell and Gulab talk on the phone though neither understands the other's language. Loyalty and honor doesn't always come where we expect it will.

In the end this is a story that needs to be told so that truth about life and what the world is like now can be discussed with honestly.  We need the frontline voices to help us determine our paths. For me this book and story has made me a better person for pushing the clouds away a bit more showing me what the world is like.

A Thought and an Answer

If you want something you’ve never had you’ll have to do something you’ve never done.

Borrowed from Chism Heritage Farm blog and this post.