Thanks to my friend Paul for emailing this to me.  I rarely forward such emails but do appreciate receiving them.  Occasionally ones like this one make it to my blog.

Being one of those emails, I have no way of knowing if this story is true, but SSG Darrell "Shifty" Powers did indeed pass away on 17 June this year.  The fact that we hear about such things through email chains and such goes directly to the point of this story.  So here's the email.  Thanks again, Paul!

"We're hearing a lot today about big splashy memorial services.

I want a nationwide memorial service for Darrell "Shifty" Powers.

Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy Company of
the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Infantry.
If you've seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the History Channel, you know
Shifty. His character appears in all 10 episodes, and Shifty himself is
interviewed in several of them.

I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn't know
who he was at the time. I just saw an elderly gentleman having trouble
reading his ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was at the right
gate, and noticed the "Screaming Eagle", the symbol of the 101st Airborne,
on his hat.

Making conversation, I asked him if he'd been in the 101st Airborne or if
his son was serving. He said quietly that he had been in the 101st. I
thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served, and how many
jumps he made.

Quietly and humbly, he said "Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so, and
was in until sometime in 1945 . . . " at which point my heart skipped.

At that point, again, very humbly, he said "I made the 5 training jumps at
Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy . . . . do you know where Normandy
is?" At this point my heart stopped.

I told him yes, I know exactly where Normandy was, and I know what D-Day
was. At that point he said "I also made a second jump into Holland, into
Arnhem." I was standing with a genuine war hero . . . . and then I realized
that it was June, just after the anniversary of D-Day.

I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France, and he said "Yes. And
it's real sad because these days so few of the guys are left, and those that
are, lots of them can't make the trip." My heart was in my throat and I
didn't know w hat to say.

I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in Coach,
while I was in First Class. I sent the flight attendant back to get him and
said that I wanted to switch seats. When Shifty came forward, I got up out
of the seat and told him I wanted him to have it, that I'd take his in
coach.

He said "No, son, you enjoy that seat. Just knowing that there are still
some who remember what we did and still care is enough to make an old man
very happy." His eyes were filling up as he said it. And mine are brimming
up now as I write this.

Shifty died on June 17 after fighting cancer.

There was no parade.

No big event in Staples Center.

No wall to wall back to back 24x7 news coverage.

No weeping fans on television.

And that's not right.

Let's give Shifty his own Memorial Service, online, in our own quiet way.
Please forward this email to everyone you know. Especially to the veterans.

Rest in peace, Shifty."

It took awhile.  I have been back in the states since March, but haven't really been "home" until late last month.  So I finally got most of the rest of my life uncluttered and took the time out to dust off the hobby studio.

I seem to suddenly be up to my ears in airbrushes.  An old friend of mine sent me a huge cache airbrishes of his dad's who recently passed away.  I had also just invested in a new Iwata Eclipse that I hadn't even had a chance to take out of the box before I left for Afghanistan.  I had recently started using the Badger 100 GXF as my daily workhorse, and an old Badger 150.  But then two boxes of airbrushes and associated hardware arrived while I was away, and I just got done sorting through it all and seeing what was in good repair, useful to the work I do and so on.  Here's what came in the boxes:

A beautiful old Thayer and Chandler Model AA - mint
Paasche V - mint
Paasche VL - x2, one near mint, one in a baggie in peices
Paasche H - x2, one very used, one in good shape
Badger Crecendo
Two Floquil airbrushes, one single-action, one double action.  Good shape (I am not familiar with these.  Though of good quality, they are clearly modeler's quality and I suspect no longer produced)
Testor's Model Master - well used

I don't do a lot of conventional modeling.  What I do generally requires better artist/professional quality so the single-actions and modeling airbrishes aren't too useful to me, but you never know.  Some of these, like the Thayer and Chandler and Paasche V are real gems.  So this lets me retire my old Badger 150 (my old SA Badger is long retired), and I now have at least four airbrushes in what looks to be my normal rotation, and perhaps more.  For certain, the Iwata, T&C, Badger 100 GXF and Paasche V.

So that puts the total count of airbrushes in my arsenal at fourteen (I think).  Sheesh!  I need to get a hobby!  Oh, wait...

So I hooked up my new compressor (I use a Porter-Cable industrial), new three-hose manifold, quick-releases on all the Paasche and started painting tonight!  Okay, I am finishing up some kits that were sitting on the bench for the past several months while I was gone, so it was all brush work.  Still, I am pretty excited about all the new airbrushes, and have a few new kits on the shelf waiting to go!  Woo hoo!

If you are not familiar with Dirty Jobs or Mike Rowe, I urge you to check out the show.  It's exceptional.  Mike is hilarious and illuminating.  He makes some very interesting points about work, and he would know.  He also has a great new website devoted to the subject.  This video is a little long but definitely worth the watch.  I especially liked his point about following your bliss, the people who do these jobs, and their level of happiness.

I linked to this hearing loss demo from somewhere else.  It's actually a pretty interesting and useful demonstration for folks with relatively normal hearing to know what hearing loss is like.  I have a moderate haring loss (far right on the demo), I just fall off the table at the higher frequencies.  Some sounds are lost to me forever, even with hearing aids.  Coupled with tinnitus, and my fairly recently developed hyperacusis, makes life - well, interesting for me.

Anyway, I read various blogs and such on deaf and hearing loss, and came across this demo on hearing loss.  I played all the examples and thought, this sucks!  I can't hear shit!  My sound card must be broken.  

Then I realized that I wasn't wearing my hearing aids.  Oops.

Okay, I thought it was funny.

Lots of people say they "support the troops".  The next time you hear this, ask them what they have actually done to support the troops.  Putting a bumper sticker on your car doesn't support the troops.  It just supports the bumper sticker industry.

DD jrprongs is home doing her Hometown Recruiter thing.  It's actually kind of a skate job, but it's a nice opportunity for new troops to "show the flag" a bit around their hometown, rub shoulders with their neighbors and so forth.

We live in Virginia.  Lots of military heritage here.  I picked her up after she was released today and we ran a couple of errands, one of which is to buy groceries.  She was still in uniform.

Now I don't often like to make comparisons between those who have served and those who haven't, but you can usually tell the difference.  There's just something in the way a soldier (Marine, sailor and - sorry, but it has been my experience that it is almost always to a lesser degree - airman) carries him or herself.  Most of the time anyway.  My DW b_anderson and I have noticed there are some categories:  Some who have served, even for a short time, you can tell it stuck with them for life.  They will always be a soldier.  It just stuck.  Some, no matter how long they were in, it never took and you can barely tell they ever served.  This is rare in people who have made a career out of the military, but there are a few.  And there is the rarer ones who have never served, but it almost seems they have.  They seem to have been born with military bearing (some folks who work, or have worked, in certain professions seem to think they "have it".  They are almost always wrong about this).  There are also those who have never served, but have been around the military so long and so deeply that it doesn't matter.  They may not have served, but they serve the servicemember, and they know what it takes.

All that rambling leads to this:  It is true that it takes something special to enlist today while our country is at war.  Regardless of why the person enlisted; college money, economy in the toilet, whatever, they still enlist knowing they will likely get deployed.  Regardless of how you feel about the war, our country called.  Some answered.  To digress yet again: just before I left for Afghanistan a friend, young, a bit idealistic perhaps, but very nice guy made a comment that he "hates war".  I think he was surprised with the answer that came back from my wife and I.  We said we hate war too, because we are the people who have to go to them.  I'm not sure most people consider that when they talk to professional soldiers.

Anyway, back to our story:  At the grocery store today, my DD, still in uniform, less than six months in the Army, was stopped for the first time by a random woman who shook her hand and thanked for her service, for enlisted and for doing what we do.  DD didn't know what to say to this.  We never do.  It's a wonderful feeling and a great sentiment - but embarrassing.  We serve.  It's what we do.  But that simple gesture means a lot to us, to know we are appreciated.  I have been in the Army long enough to have seen this attitude towards the military change almost 180 degrees.  It's good to know people appreciate our service.  The old saying goes, "No one loves a soldier until the enemy is at the gates."  Well, some people still realize America - not just the military - is at war.

So, if you know a soldier, thank them.  If you are a member of a group, club, office, coven, church, and so on which has a soldier deployed, send them something to let them know they are appreciated.  A small box takes so little effort for a group to put together and send, but means so much to the servicemember downrange.  Don't just talk about it, do it.

Our dd, jrprongs is back home!  At least for a little while.  We just got back from South Carolina and her AIT graduation this morning.  The graduation ceremony was pretty cool, though I remember them being a lot shorter before the days of multi-media presentations.  

In any event, it's good to have her home.  I missed my kid while I was away.  I know she'll be off to Korea soon, but for now, I get the opportunity to get to know my daughter all over again.  The change in her is dramatic.  She's grown a lot and I think we are seeing a new phase to our relationship, and I like what I see.  She has finally taken charge of her life and is doing something real.  She's proud, strong and fit.  I can see it in her.

By the way, part of the graduation ceremony consisted of this Army recruiting commercial.  Now I am not wild about the "Army Strong" slogan, though it still beats the hell out of the mercifully short-lived "Army of One".  Anyway, if you are not familiar with this video, here it is.  If it doesn't stir something in you - well - if you don't get it, you don't get it.

I am finally checking out of the hotel this morning.  I finally get to go home.

I would add a "W00t!" but I am just too tired and just too ready to finally be home.

This appeals so much to my sense of cynicism. I couldn't stop laughing after the first paragraph.

On a side note, it's good to see that Mueller has a handle on this.

So-Called Stimulus Could Lead to $50 Billion of Fraud

Posted using ShareThis

234 years ago today the United States Army was established.  I have been proud to be part of our Army for 28 of those.  I am proud of my wife's b_anderson  service, and now my daughter jrprongs carries on the "family business", about to graduate AIT and head off to Korea.  She is the 4th generation (that I know of) in my family to serve.

Today, we are an Army serving a nation at war.  It takes something special to serve today.  Regardless of how you feel about this war, or war in general, from establishing our freedom at Valley Forge, to the horror of Gettysburg, the hellish winter at Bastogne, the frontiers of freedom in the Cold War and now the mountains of Afghanistan, Soldiers are there when our country calls.

Raise a glass to a soldier today, and remember absent friends.


Soldier's Creed

I am an American Soldier.
I am a Warrior and a member of a team.  I serve the people of the United States and live the Army Values.

I will always place the mission first.
I will never accept defeat.
I will never quit.
I will never leave a fallen comrade.

I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills.  I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.
I am an expert and I am a professional.
I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.
I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.
I am an American Soldier.

Any President, even, or perhaps especially one so rabidly popular as Obama, requires oversight.

Does it bother anyone to have over twenty cabinet-level executives, people who report directly and only to the President, have been installed with no congressional oversight and no accountability?

Really folks.  And especially my liberal friends out there - and I really hope some of you out there will respond to this - do you really trust the government that much?  Think about it.  What if this were a Republican administration?  Be honest.

Okay, so we nationalize the auto industry and bail out the corporations again.

Not being a socialist, I am usually not a "spread the wealth" kind of guy, but something confuses me.

How does closing auto dealerships help?  Why are these guys getting screwed when their parent company gets a boost?

Anyone?

Turns out my dd, jrprongs is going to Korea for a year.  We're hoping she gets her hometown recruiter duty so we can spend a couple of weeks with her before she goes.

Unfortunately, her b/f is going to Ft. Bliss (may the Gods give him strength), then overseas somewhere, so they will be separated for awhile.

That's all the news that's fit to print.  My mobilization is winding down.  I start terminal leave on the 22nd, then will have to see what the deal is with my civilian job - or I will have a new job.  Will keep you posted.  I don't plan to be back to work on the civilian side until at least 1 August.  I need the time off.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

I am not from Minnesota and have never visited there.  I don't really care.  But I mentioned to a native (relatively conservative) Minnesotan recently that I think Al Franken should win the election.  Why?  well, this is the state who elected Jesse Ventura as Governor.  As George W. Bush had said about Palestine (and I paraphrase), that when democracies vote, sometimes they vote for Hamas.

So, I think Al Franken should win, and I think two groups will be getting what they deserve here - the two groups who collectively and undeniably make up the majority in the Minnesota election - those who voted for Franken and those who failed to vote against Franken.  Many who did not vote I am sure thought, "There is no way Al Franken can win.  No one would be that stupid."

Oh yes, people can be that stupid.

Apply this to any election you wish.  If given the opportunity to vote, do so.  There may not be anyone or anything you want to vote for, but there will certainly always be something you want to vote against. 

I sent a dear friend a copy of Time Enough for Love.  She hasn't read any Heinlein before.  Okay, maybe I could have started with Starship Troopers, or Methuselah's Children but this one seemed appropriate.

Anyway, I ordered from Amazon.  I had noticed there were several one-star reviews.  This caught my interest, as I consider TEFL one of the Master's best works.  So, out of morbid curiosity, I read them.  Here's a sample:


"The author of this book is very narrow-minded in his beliefs"

"Basically, the core message of the story is that sex is never wrong"

"People should have as much sexual fun as they can."

"Religion is perceived as an irrational roadblock to sexual pleasure."

"The writing. Atrocious. Heinlein puts too much faith in dialogue. I say too much because he can't write it."


Discuss.

Spent many of my "free" hours in Afghanistan working on re-writing my Book of Shadows.  I'm done with the bulk of it, but still have some work to do on it.  My last BoS is literally falling apart.  Unfortunately, I also used the book for my Tarot notes.  So I am now re-writing them in their own notebook, while reviewing and meditating on the cards afresh.  I always refer to my notes during a reading, as my divinatory interpretations of the cards have evolved over the almost thirty years I have been reading.  So the Tarot notes are vitally important to me as well.

So, as soon as I get done with all that, I can finally retire my old BoS.  It's hard to believe that this is my third Book of Shadows, not to mention my e-BoS.  Granted, my first was not much more than a pocket-sized notebook and didn't last long, but still...

I am really looking forward to the Midsummer gathering.  We had such a good time at the Beltane gathering.  We hadn't been to a gathering in such a long time, and is one of the primary reasons we are on sabbatical.  That said, we want to integrate at least one, probably two gatherings (probably Beltane and Mabon since they are local) a year as part of our regular coven activities.  We also need to get way more involved in the Open Hearth Foundation.  b_anderson and I as fhe coven are sponsors of the foundation, but due to my deployments, we haven't been able to go to any of the events lately.  This is one of  the things I am always talking to the coven about when we talk about community involvement (we have a table available at the Spring Ball every year that will accomidate the entre coven).  A big part of why my DW and I are involved as Wiccan leaders is specifically for community involvement, and I feel like we have been getting way too involved with running the coven and have not been emphasizing the community to the extent we should.

Now that all our coveners are initiated Witches, this is one of the main directions I want to push the coven in.  Put the coven to work in the community.  Whenever we get new dedicant Witches, we need to be sure to emphasize this aspect of coven work more.  I don't think we've put enough importance on it in the past, but I intend to change that.

Thoughts, folks?