Anticipation Day

All the hoopla of the past few weeks comes home to rest today as my Christmas officially starts with the arrival of my daughter and the FBR. It’s hard to overstate how much I’ve anticipated this appearance. I think, as a self-proclaimed Christmas fanatic, I can unequivocally state that seeing Christmas through the eyes of young children is the very best way to experience the event. Their unfiltered joy and wonder of the season’s trappings harken back to my own at a similar age. I think that’s what we all look for, even the self-proclaimed grinches. Every Christmas decoration I hung this year made me imagine what the FBR’s reaction would be. I can’t wait for next year when she’ll be joined by the BRS but I’m letting this anticipation thing get out of hand. My daughter and the FBR should be wending their way through the wilds of Connecticut as I write this.

My Staff at the Party YEsterday

We had the management office Christmas luncheon yesterday which was a lot of fun. I’m surrounded by a lot of very competent ladies and they take these things very seriously. It’s kind of cool being the boss but all of the hard work putting this together was done by these great ladies. We had a pot luck lunch, played some sort of arcane dice game, and then Yankee swapped some gifts. I ended up with a small real, Christmas tree. This was added to the seventeen or so of varying sizes my wife has adorned the house with. I was supposed to be joining my former Most Excellent Boss for a quick lunch today before the weather blows in but he wimped out.

I Photo Bombed Them

There are so many movies out right now and with Christmas and the FBR blowing into town I figured the next time I’ll be able to go to the movies will be when I return from Panama in mid-January. For that reason my wife and I commandeered a second date night yesterday to see Father Figures (her choice, not mine). This had some very funny bits during the trailer we’d seen and it turned out to be one of those where they picked 75% of the funniest lines from the movie which left us waiting for even more that never materialized. This is the first clear miss for Ed Helms as he went too overboard in making his character thoroughly unappealing. I wanted to slap some sense in him for most of the movie. It takes nearly the whole movie for him to develop some chemistry with his twin brother played capably by Owen Wilson, in full beach bum mode. They’re trying to find their father by tracing their mother’s very active 1970s sex life backwards. There are some funny moments but this falls flat despite some very competent actors. That leaves me pointing at the writing. Good premise – poorly executed.

The Bad Cinema project count rises to #87 out of 100, with Robo Vampire with hopping Chinese vampires may take the take the crown as the very worst film in this trail of tears.

Light Shorted

So, Lemons Are Pretty Sour

Today is the shortest day of the year which I think is awesome because it means that it only gets better from here. Of course it means we still have to get through the whole winter thing enroute but focusing on the positive we’ll have more sunlight to do it in. It’s easy to be optimistic with my favorite day of the year bearing down on me. We finally caught up with the FBR last night. We caught the new Jersey contingent eating dinner out and I noted the FBR seems to be completely at ease in that environment. It seems every time we see her she grows up a little – patently unfair but inexorable.

We also spoke with the Favorite Son and ABFA to confirm Christmas logistics with our holiday hosts. The ABFA reported the BRS is inducing swollen feet which is not a completely welcome development. She still looks radiant. Riggins looked on with his usual disdain because his “masters” were conversing with us instead of providing the requisite attention to him. If he only knew how much his life is about to change. Speaking of golden retrievers my daughter sent us the photo below saying it reminded her of our departed pets Skyla and Estrella. Estrella, our white colored dog, worshipped Skyla and I’m convinced died three months after Skyla of a broken heart. It brought a tear to both my wife and my eyes as we imagined them doing this in heaven with Buddy the Wonder Pooch whirling around them in his usual panicked state.

In other family news Great Aunt so thoroughly enjoyed replacing one of her knees this past summer that she’s decided to replace the other one. Apparently all these years on her feet as an ICU nurse have eroded the cartilage away to the point she’s walking with bone on bone there. Since she has to work on Christmas this year and won’t be able to join us we’re conducting a pre-emptive Christmas day celebration on Saturday at our house. We’ll have everyone there, including Keene Friend, except for Wingman who has to work. My son thinks I’m a little crazy for preparing a full turkey dinner just a couple days before the big one but that’s how we roll and Great Aunt, more than anyone I can imagine, deserves a full Christmas experience, even if she’s doing it on one knee.

But Not Enough to Quit

Wingman was telling us about his new experience as a manager following his recent promotion at work. He spent the entire day in a suit and tie. I asked him when the last time he went to work in a suit and laughed when he reported this was a first time experience for him. I shouldn’t have because he’s got me beat. The first time I went to work in a suit and tie (not counting uniforms) I was in my fifties. I am so proud of him for the fantastic job he’s done as primary care giver for the FBR’s first two years and now at his new job. I knew if he got into a profession where his people skills could be brought to bear he would be an immediate success.

The Bad Cinema project count rises to #86 out of 100, with Crater Lake Monster with a dinosaur seemingly made out of play dough and Raiders from Atlantis which was Mad Max taking a Caribbean vacation.

The Spirit is With Me

FBR Cheering on Pats to Victory

One of the enduring gifts the young give is refurbishing the joy of the holiday season that wanes without their unbridled anticipation. The FBR is certainly picking up the baton from her mother and uncle, although getting up for Christmas has never been an issue. I hope each of you finds the bliss of the season upon you. The words below are the same ones I post each year around this time.

Out on the Playground Yesterday

I am an unabashed and unrepentant lover of Christmas time, in all of its glorious corniness.  I love Christmas carols, Christmas parties, but most of all Christmas Day. I can remember Christmas as far back as the age of 3.  I still remember one special year in my early teens when I was overcome with Christmas spirit, feeling so good about the season and just general happiness that I wondered at myself. This feeling lasted until well after Christmas and no, to all you cynics out there, the feelings were not chemically assisted.  Every year since then has been an attempt to recapture that feeling. Most years I get it in bits and pieces, mostly associated with time I spend with my family and friends. I served 27 years in the Army and made it home every year for Christmas except for three years.

My wife and “kids” smile behind me, good naturedly, because they know how important Christmas is to me. I know there are those raging elements or hipsters out there that bemoan what modern Christmas has evolved to. Some say it overly commercialized or others not properly religious. It seems there are always those elements in society – “Grinchs” for lack of a better term. These seem to be people so unhappy with their own lives that they target times or traditions that bring happiness to others for scorn.

I could not care less about these self-important gas bags.  There is nothing in life more enjoyable than being around people you love and actually taking some time out of the all too busy lives we all lead to simply be together. So to all of you out there that bad mouth Christmas – get a life; the rest of us already have one and we’re going to have the merriest Christmas of all in spite of you or more correctly in homage to the love we are blessed with of each other.  Merry Christmas!

The Bad Cinema project count rises to #84 out of 100, with Fugitive Alien, a Japanese alien invasion flick with the ultimate weapon – a somersault.

Early Christmas Present

FBR After her Rookie Effort with Blossoms

I received an ongoing report yesterday of the FBR’s embracing of the Christmas season. She commandeered several of the Amazon boxes that arrived into makeshift vehicles. She also reported for duty in the kitchen to assist her mother in the preparation of Peanut Butter Blossoms, although she thought sugaring her hand was more important than the cookie dough.  It is a process. The blossoms are my family’s signature Christmas cookies dating back to my mother’s incomparable batches while I was growing up. My wife took up the mantle and I was so pleased to see my daughter picking up the tradition. The FBR will need some instruction in the art of eating the cookie though. My daughter reported she likes to lick the chocolate kiss until her face is covered in chocolate. Her mother quoted her as saying, “Mom, I look so silly. I have chocolate on my face!”

Sugaring her Hand

I think She Hangs Around Too Much with Cats

Meanwhile, on the home front my Favorite Panamanian was in full recovery mode from another evening with the Maine Musquetera. As I chronicled in yesterday’s blog they spent a solid twelve hours shopping on Saturday and returned shortly before midnight. I stumbled upstairs after 11pm to find them baking cookies while the musquetera’s daughter caught up on social media postings following her immersion in musquetera shopping excesses. I woke up yesterday to find my wife beside me but with no recollection of when she joined me. When I asked she said they got into one of their usual late night conversations while the cookies baked and came to bed around 3am. These ladies are without peer when it comes to the art of dialogue. The Mainers had to leave by 8:30am to deliver the cookies in Maine and I’m glad the daughter was along to make the drive as the Maine Musquetera didn’t look any more alert than my wife did.

The Man, The Myth, The Legend

True testament to her fatigue is her willingness to join me in the Man Cave for the afternoon of football. There was a method to her seeming madness as she promptly fell asleep for the better part of the afternoon. She even slept through the first half of the thrilling Patriots-Steelers game which I found a tad on the unconscionable side. I’d always respected the Steelers until a trip a couple years ago to visit the Pittsburgh College Roommate. While Keene Friend and I were there we were exposed to a fan base that had sunk into a morass of whining. It must be the local media market because I know a bunch of Steeler fans from the Army who would have been embarrassed by their behavior.

It was therefore truly heartwarming to have Brady lead one of his signature 4^th quarter comebacks to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. I’m sure the Western Pennsylvania whiners will all be blaming everybody but themselves. They’ll call out the late touchdown called back when the Steelers player juggled the ball. The exact same thing happened in the first game of the year to the Patriots on a Gronkowski touchdown that was called back and could have changed the entire complexion of the game. The Steelers are a scary offensive team and in my view even more dangerous after their best receiver went out. Antonio Bryant and "JuJu" Smith-Schuster seemed a lot tougher than the prima donna Brown. A great early Christmas present as Brady once again served those self-important fans a healthy serving of crow. I’m sure they’ll blame everybody but the team for the last minute interception that sealed the win.

I polished off the last of the Raj Whitehall series by David Drake and SM Stirling with The Conqueror. The plot follows General Whitehall in his battle to unite the planet of Belleview after a thousand years of barbarism that followed the collapse of an interstellar human civilization. He’s sent by a very unappreciative ruler to conquer two sets of barbarian kingdoms and then, just before he’s executed, south to deal with an Islamic invasion. I’ve fallen in love with the two authors’ devotion to the tactics and strategies of the Whitehall books as they depict combat from the bloody meeting engagement level all the way to national strategy. I was hoping the book never ended but Raj ran out of enemies to conquer. I’ll miss him.

The Bad Cinema project count rises to #83 out of 100, with Assassin, a 1980s Robert Conrad TV movie about a cybernetic assassin.

Reunions with Old Friends

Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
Daughter with the FBR

Christmas celebrations are picking up some steam with a Friday night gathering at the house and yesterday’s movie. This is one of the years we get a Star Wars film involving the original story line – so, win! My wife planned a small gathering of neighbors to celebrate the holiday and the arrival of the Maine Musquetera for one of their patented shopping frenzies. I was supposed to cut short the celebrations of First Friday but I was confident in the almost guaranteed lateness of the Musquetera. She was scheduled to arrive at four and my wife wanted to kick off the dinner party at five. I showed up at five just ahead of the first guests. The Musquetera rolled into town a little before seven – I love consistency.

Friday Night - Ladies Table

Great Food

The Musquetera showed up with her college senior daughter and it was a little jarring to have the little girl, it seems like from yesterday, already a confident young lady drinking beer with me. Where have all these years come from? It was a very fun group and my wife prepared the traditional Panamanian Christmas dish, a huge pork loin. I was well into Christmas spirits when I made a FaceTime call to New Jersey to my bemused daughter and Wingman. I was vocally protesting the delay in serving cake as my wife insisted on cleaning up the kitchen before serving the fabulous cake the Maine Musquetera, renowned baker that she is, had brought. The New Jersey contingent were no help whatsoever in moving my agenda forward but we did eventually get the cake and it was worth the wait.

Great Friends

I was up at my normal time yesterday but the musqueteras had stayed up well into the wee morning hours in one of their customary late night conversations. They were supposed to launch out for holiday shopping at 8am but eventually hit the road around 11am. Timeliness is not a huge planning factor in their relationship, probably why I try to stay on the fringes of it. They still managed to get in almost twelve hours of shopping though – returning home shortly before 11pm. Even I was impressed and I’d seen their abilities before.

Christmas Outfit

Down in New Jersey the FBR had a very full Christmas day herself. She donned her abuela acquired Christmas outfit to attend an annual Christmas brunch at one of their friend’s house. She was especially pleased with the shoes which sported bows. They had a great time at the brunch which included a visit from Santa which the FBR took with a lot more aplomb than last year’s meltdown experience. They returned home and started in on their own Christmas cookie baking and the FBR was front and center helping out. She even followed family tradition by demanding a cookie for recompense for all her efforts. By the time I caught up them in the early evening the FBR was fully involved in a cookie digestion cycle which left scant room for playing games with Grampa. A very good day for her though as she is immersed in Christmas traditions.

Helping with the Cookies

Getting Paid

Left to my own devices, literally, I snuck out of the Man Cave to the cinema to see Star Wars the Last Jedi. There was no way I was going to wait until date night to see my old friends from a galaxy far, far away. I clearly remember walking out of a 1977 movie theater with my girlfriend at the time after seeing the first movie and saying they certainly set themselves up for a sequel. I had no idea I would be thinking the same thing forty years later. I can’t say a lot about the plot without revealing some of the twists which are at the heart of what made this movie so special. It does move in some unexpected directions with the new generation of actors taking firm control of the action, which is almost non-stop. Luke, the heart of the original series, is back but in a supporting role to the vibrant Daisy Ridley as the new Jedi. The movie gets a jolt of adrenalin whenever John Boyega shows up on screen – this guy is going to be something very special. The movie is a triumph and I can’t wait to see it again on date night!

The Bad Cinema project count rises to #82 out of 100, with Star Pilot a really weird Italian effort and Future Women with Shirley Eaton leading a Brazilian Amazon kingdom

Regionalized

Sun Does Rise at her Command

I was cursed by Worcester’s central location and my new facility yesterday which led to my being volunteered to host another regional conference for my company yesterday. This marked the second year in row for that “honor”. It turned out to be a very good day and the caterers showed up on time this year, a huge departure from last year’s debacle. It’s truly additive to share the issues each property is faced with and the commonality of a lot of those issues. I invited the political leadership this year and think it was eye opening for him. All that being said, it was a daylong meeting and I have problems with any meeting lasting longer than an hour.

Teddy Bear Dancing

I exorcised that frustration when I returned home and picked up my ongoing battle with my wife’s front yard Christmas deer population. They’ve been singularly uncooperative in dealing with the hilltop winds we’ve experienced over the past few days, especially the head of the deer household. They have stakes built into the bottom of their legs but they were no match for the force they’ve had to confront. I was out there last night in single digit temperatures trying the convince the male deer to grow a pair and start following the example set by his wife and kid who don’t fall nearly as much. I finally resorted to some patio stones and some guide ropes. What a wimp.

The Uncooperative one on the Left

Finally Up Again

I was lucky in speaking with both of the “kids” last night. My son and the ABFA had just returned home and Riggins the Grandpuppy had not yet set into gnawing on my son’s ankles so we had some time to talk. By the time we finished we had solved all of the Red Sox’ off season’s needs. This was followed by a talk with my daughter and the FBR. The FBR can now recite the entire alphabet song which should come in handy if she’s pulled over during the holiday season. She seems to be getting cranked up for Christmas which is certainly a family trait. We have an inbound musquetera today and assorted other elements of the Panamanian Mafia gathering at the house tonight. Let the games begin.

The Bad Cinema project count rises to #80 out of 100, with Morons From Outer Space (self-explanatory) and Prey about British lesbians and the problems posed to their relationship by a carnivorous alien.

Central Square in my Hometown
Starting to look a Lot Like Christmas

We need more “Mrs. Murphy’s.”

A fellow veteran sent the column below to me and I thought it said a lot about the quiet heroes we are surrounded by each day and who pass on without the proper respect in a world where we are all too focused on what the latest Kardashian is up to or the Twitterer in Chief's latest fiasco is:
We need more “Mrs. Murphy’s.”
You mention the name Audie Murphy around a millennial or a snowflake and you get a blank stare. You mention the name Pam Murphy around just about anyone and you get the same blank expression – except for those who may have lived in or near Sepulveda or Van Nuys, California.
I have always said the toughest job in the world is the spouse of a military person. Audie was only 46 years old when he died in a helicopter crash into the Virginia Mountains. He was bothered all his life when he came back from the war and it really affected his life. He never got the medical help he should have gotten . Not many young people know who Audie Murphy was or how big a war hero he was. Two or three of the medals he earned would make most service men proud, but to have earned his decorations in battle is truly unbelievable.

List of Decorations for Audie Murphy:
Medal of Honor
Distinguished Service Cross
Silver Star (with oak leaf cluster)
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star (with oak leaf cluster and Valor Device)
Purple Heart (with two oak leaf clusters)
U.S. Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal
U.S. Army Good Conduct Medal
Presidential Unit Citation (with First Oak Leaf Cluster)
American Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal (with One Silver Star, Four Bronze Service Stars (representing nine campaigns) and one Bronze Arrowhead (representing assault landing at Sicily and Southern France )
World War II Victory Medal
Army of Occupation Medal (with Germany Clasp)
Armed Forces Reserve Medal
French Fourrage in Colors of the Croix de Guerre
French Legion of Honor - Grade of Chevalier
French Croix de guerre (with Silver Star),
French Croix de guerre (with Palm)
Medal of Liberated France
Belgian Croix de guerre (with 1940 Palm)
Additionally, Murphy was awarded: The Combat Infantry Marksman badge with Rifle Bar, Expert Badge with Bayonet Bar .
Isn't it sad the media can tell us all about the BAD that goes on, but ignores the GOOD people? If a movie Star or politician stubs their toe we have to hear about it for Days!!!

(From the Los Angeles Times on April 15, 2010) Pamela Murphy, widow of WWII hero and actor, Audie Murphy, died peacefully at her home on April 8, 2010. She was the widow of the most decorated WWII hero and actor, Audie Murphy, and established her own distinctive 35 year career working as a patient liaison at the Sepulveda Veterans Administration hospital, treating every veteran who visited the facility as if they were a VIP.
Any soldier or Marine who came into the hospital got the same special treatment from her. She would walk the hallways with her clipboard in hand making sure her boys got to see the specialist they needed. If they didn't, watch out. Her boys weren't Medal of Honor recipients or movie stars like Audie, but that didn't matter to Pam. They had served their Country. That was good enough for her. She never called a veteran by his first name. It was always "Mister." Respect came with the job. "Nobody could cut through VA red tape faster than Mrs. Murphy," said veteran Stephen Sherman, speaking for thousands of veterans she befriended over the years. "Many times I watched her march a veteran who had been waiting more than an hour right into the doctor's office. She was even reprimanded a few times, but it didn't matter to Mrs. Murphy. "Only her boys mattered. She was our angel."
Audie Murphy died broke in a plane crash in 1971, squandering millions of dollars on gambling, bad investments, and yes, other women. "Even with the adultery and desertion at the end, he always remained my hero," Pam told me. She went from a comfortable ranch-style home in Van Nuys where she raised two sons to a small apartment - taking a clerk's job at the nearby VA to support herself and start paying off her faded movie star husband's debts. At first, no one knew who she was. Soon, though, word spread through the VA that the nice woman with the clipboard was Audie Murphy's widow. It was like saying General Patton had just walked in the front door. Men with tears in their eyes walked up to her and gave her a Hug. "Thank you," they said, over and over.
The first couple of years, I think the hugs were more for Audie's memory as a war hero. The last 30 years, they were for Pam. One year I asked her to be the focus of a Veteran's Day column for all the work she had done Pam just shook her head no. "Honor them, not me," she said, pointing to a group of veterans down the hallway. "They're the ones who deserve it." The vets disagreed. Mrs. Murphy deserved the accolades, they said. Incredibly, in 2002, Pam's job was going to be eliminated in budget cuts. She was considered "excess staff." "I don't think helping cut down on veterans' complaints and showing them the respect they deserve should be considered excess staff," she told me.
Neither did the veterans. They went ballistic, holding a rally for her outside the VA gates. Pretty soon, word came down from the top of the VA. Pam Murphy was no longer considered "excess staff."

She remained working full time at the VA until 2007 when she was 87.
"The last time she was here was a couple of years ago for the conference we had for homeless veterans," said Becky James, coordinator of the VA's Veterans History Project. Pam wanted to see if there was anything she could do to help some more of her boys. Pam Murphy was 90 when she died . What a lady.
Dennis McCarthy,
Los Angeles Times on April 15, 2010