A little story for you...

because I am sure you are tired of hearing about my dead relationship...

Here is a story... one of the few things I have done I am proud of.

It was the spring of 1978. I was on a 3 day camp out with the ROTC. It was the second day and they had planned an Orienteering exercise for us. In two person teams we were given a map and a compass and on the map were located the positions of various markers, each marker had a custom hole punch at it, we were to chart our path from one marker to the next and run the miles between them, this is a race.

So I got assigned this one idiot with me. I had never been partnered with this guy before and he wasn't one of the people on the rifle team that I worked with regularly. We started out and hit the first marker or two easily, but things were rough between us, he always felt I had no clue what I was doing and always argued with me about the way to go. So after the second or third (successfully located by me) marker, I gave him the map and compass and told him that I had done two or three, now he could do two or three, rather than constantly berate me for finding the things accurately. he took off and I followed and I knew I was screwed. You see, once you get comfortable with a topographical map, you don't really need the compass anymore. You see the way the land lays and you can compare that to the map and know where you are... and if you have already seen enough of the map to know the major features of the land, you can then look at the lay of the land and know where you are headed without even having the map there!

So I had spent some time routing us to those markers, by studying the map, so I knew when we took off that Gomer was headed in the wrong direction... I let us go for a little while because maybe he wanted to take a route that wasn't one that I would have taken... finally he stopped and said we should have seen the marker by then, so I asked where he thought we were... he told me he didn't 'think' he knew where we were, he 'knew' where we were. And took off at a sprint, telling me that he realized what he had done. So I kept up with him and in so doing I did two things, one, you never leave your buddy in the woods, you two have a better chance of survival together than apart, and 2 lot track of where we were on the map in my mind... We had gone off that part of the map I had been studying. After about two hours he was convinced, he had no idea where we were... So, stinging inside because he knew he had got us lost he handed me the map and compass and said, "Okay bright boy, find a way for us to get back." like it was my fault. I told him to stick the map and compass in his _______ because I had no idea where we were... He started to freak out... I remembered that we were camped on a river, we had taken the trucks west and south, but had not crossed the river, so I knew if we walked east we would find the river. Going north up the river we would find the camp.

So I told my plan to Gomer, who was pretty much in tears thinking we were going to die at this point. I then told him to follow me and using the sun as my guide and my watch I started east. It was about 10 am at this point. We headed east until we hit the river, then we headed north up the river. Hitting the river meant we were going to live, you see, it was in the 80's and we had only one canteen each, so without that river we would have had it rough. We walked up the riverbank until we came to sandstone cliffs the river had cut between... so we could backtrack and try to go around or climb the cliffs. The sandstone cliffs were only about 40 feet tall so I figured we would climb them. We did, loosing skin and tearing clothing in the process, then we continued the march. Spines on tumbleweeds can be 2 inches long. we got hit by some of those. About sundown we pulled into camp.

That surprised the hell out of SF trainers, you see, they had had helicopter patrols out looking for us. So on the one hand we were in a load of trouble, but on the other hand we had rescued ourselves without help...

So we got debriefed separately and each told our version of the tail.... Then we were debriefed together so we could have our stories played out against each other and see how we reacted.... Gomer actually told them that I had given him the map and compass and told him to navigate specifically because I wanted us to get lost!

Anyway, at the end Gomer was told he he needed to spend more time learning to navigate, I was commended for saving our lives, after that episode my SF trainers always treated me with respect. It was awesome the difference in the way they treated me, I had proved something to them.

So, talk to me...

V for Vendetta

Okay, so this is a rather infantile movie, shallow and not fully developed in a great many ways, but it got one thing pretty close to right...

Governments the world over seem to have forgotten a simple fact.

Government exists to serve the people, not the other way around!

How can we remind our 'public servants' of this fact? Any ideas? What do you think we should do to try to get the attention of these self-serving idiots who we managed to elect?

Thoughts?

More on my personal misery

So, it is another sleepless night, wondering why the gal I love doesn't love me... I mean, 11 years of her telling me how much she couldn't live with out me, 11 years of her cuddling with me, 11 years of her reaching over to take my hand, toying with the hairs on the back of my neck, falling asleep on my shoulder while watching tv, 11 years of Patricia telling me how much she loved me every day... Done, over gone in a heartbeat.

So, why am I upset you say? I mean, move on, get over it. I hear that crap all the time, then I look at the idiot saying that and ask if they are married, in love, whatever... and for how long. Then I ask them, okay, tonight you get home and your significant other tells you, "I don't love you any more." and they mean it. So tell me smart person giving advice, how will you take it?

For me, 11 years is 1/3rd of my adult life. For me 11 years is about 1/4th of my entire life. And all that time my love was always focused on this one gal... One how was always telling me how we were going to grow old together... One who ALWAYS told me how she would not be like the other gals in my life, and thus would never dump me. One who always told me I would dump her long before she would ever dump me... So, was I ready for this?

So, to those people that keep telling me to 'move one' grow the fuck up. Real feelings mean real pain. If I could get over it, in virtually no time, then obviously I didn't really have any real feelings to start with.

Well, I did have feelings. I do have feelings. And All I Feel Is Pain.

The "Tramp Stamp"

I learned a new word over the weekend. Tramp Stamp. This would be the tattoo on some gal's lower back. Then I read a bunch of blogs about how 'fair' or 'unfair' it is for people to call it such... Reading those blogs made me think people are childish idiots. Maybe even go so far as to call them assholes. I mean, they were all upset that someone might judge them, or be prejudiced, by some action they take.

So, here is food for thought. Up in New England I joined the Army in 1986. I was given two weeks leave after graduating Basic and Advanced Infantry Schools and so went home to Cape Cod. It was August 20th when I got home and I was off until just after Labor Day. One day I went to the beach with my brother Joel. Two hot gals were watching me (Just out of basic training I had a 31 inch waist, 46 inch chest, and 17 inch biceps... quite the stud.) we talked and I met them at a club that evening. That was when one of the two (during some heavy flirting) asked about my haircut... You know, the standard basic training 1/8 inch stubble. I told them I had just joined the Army and was on leave. One looked at the other and said, "Why would anyone want to join the Army" then they both got up and left without a word spoken to me.

People judge you every day based on your actions. People are hypocrites. None of them want to ever be judged on their actions, they want only to be judged on their intentions. You can't see their intentions though, only their actions. Example: You are driving down route 95 at 75 miles an hour, someone passes you going 80, most people think that the person passing them is an idiot, speeding, going to fast, a hazard. However, note that the speed limit on 95 around here is 65, that person is speeding also, and legally therefore a hazard.

So, it turns out that a psychological study done shows a 'high correlation' between tramp stamps and unsafe behavior, which they define as drug use, high risk sexual behavior, and alcohol abuse.

Learning to Fly

Hi,

Well, for something like 46 years I have wanted to be a pilot. I wanted to be one, but never knew how to start, was afraid to take the financial risk, didn't have the money, never knew where to get the money... Blah, blah, blah... Bad experiences when I was younger taught me to never try to start anything until I had the whole plan laid out and financed. So I never did.

Well, a few years back I heard of this gal who wanted breast augmentation. She put up a web page to solicit donations (delivered to her via paypal) to help pay for her new breasts. She was successful in getting those donations. So, today I put up a webpage to solicit donations to help me get my pilot's license... check it out!

Britt...

Looking for my Valeria

So, having lost my love, Patricia (no she didn't die, she stopped loving me) I am in need of a new love... My heart still wants Patricia... I see her in my dreams.

But I need Dejah Thoris and Valeria all wrapped up in one... For this old John Carter.