Supernatural Goodbyes

One of my most sincere guilty pleasures over the past fifteen years has been the TV show, Supernatural. I was exposed to the show shortly after I retired from the Army by my Favorite Son with whom I share a fascination with the horror genre. It was a great ride as brothers Sam and Dean Winchester cut a wide swath through demonic hordes before their final confrontation with god himself, who turned out to be kind of a dick. The show could get kind of silly at times but that was part of the charm and they certainly loved to poke fun at themselves insuring that no one was taking their fantastical story too seriously. My Favorite Panamanian’s and my movie night ended early enough last evening that I was able to take in the two hour series finale, as with everything in 2020, delayed several months by the Covid. It was a fitting send off for the battle worn brothers but I’m still going to miss my regular visits to the world of the Winchesters.

Goodbye Sam and Dean

After hounding the garage door company for the better part of a week I finally have an installation date for the new garage door. I’ll have to pray there is no plowable snow until December 4^th when the new door gets installed. I will be praying because the snow blower is effectively trapped behind the currently non-functional door. We all know if it does snow I’m going to find a way to get the machine out there but that being said, if forced to do so, it is potentially not very pretty and would involve serious hand wringing by the wife.

BR3 Play Date Inbound

BRS is Ready to Go

BR3 Contemplating Abuela Hugs

My Granddaughter - Absolutely Dominating the Outfit

BR3 is Ready

When do we Leave?!

Morale will experience a huge regeneration this weekend with the overnight visit from the Favorite Son and the ABFA accompanied by their entourage consisting of the BRS and BR3. While I truly enjoyed last week’s pub crawl (bit of an understatement there) I missed having my usual pub crawl wingman in my son. I didn’t think it was fair to have him exposed to the dangers his old man was stupid enough to chance. Next year. At any rate he still wanted to come and help me celebrate which means the world to me and one of the only reasons my birthday cake survived long enough to end up in the freezer awaiting this weekend.

Screen Shots from a FBR Facetime Session

With her mom and Pee Wee

The FBR surprised me this morning with a FaceTime call. She’s fallen out of the habit over the past couple weeks which is fine since our calls usually serve as an excuse for her to delay eating her breakfast which probably explains the hiatus in calls. She has a toy guitar which plays silly tunes. Last evening during our call she got both my wife and I dancing to these tunes. She apparently enjoyed the ability to pull our strings and opened her call this morning with the same music and waited with a very judgmental look on her face waiting for us to start gyrating. The joints were creaking a little that early but it was still a fun way to start the day.

Latest Puzzle Finished

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RECURRING CHARACTERS                                           

BR3 – granddaughter #3, BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter, ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete = my daughter in law; Wingman – my son in law; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Soxfather - my brother in law; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Pittsburgh College Roommate – high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member, Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn

Wallet Panic

I seriously thought 2020 had thrown yet another curve ball at me this morning when I couldn’t find my wallet. Losing that item would be a serious setback since it includes all my IDs, including the dearly bought Panamanian ones, as well as credit cards and medical insurance cards – yes – even my newly acquired Medicare card. I was devolving into a near panic state after my initial run through the house yielded nothing. I was certain the wallet was in the house because I remembered carrying it into the house after my swim yesterday. In situations like this I depend on my Favorite Panamanian because she’s got a great eye for anything out of place (which explains our somewhat fractious conversations on tidiness).

FBR posing With Friend at her Birthday Party

After two hours of searching we were still wallet-less. I even walked down the street to see if it had fallen out of my pocket and blown down the street. At this point I had to honor an appointment at the city bulk rubbish drop off for the recently non-operational toilet that had been bouncing around in the back of my car for over a week. They would require a photo ID to confirm I was a resident of Worcester. Luckily, I still had my old driver’s license and hoped that would suffice (it did). I returned home hoping against hope my diligent wife had good news, she didn’t. I knew it was in the house but I was running out of options. After another hour and a half searching, we were both standing in our closet when she asked me about the clothes I wore to a doctor’s office visit and then my swim. I incorrectly thought I was wearing a red sweater but she clearly remembered me in something green. At this point I turned around and grabbed my War College sweater off the shelf and found the wallet! It’s a comment on how lax things have become in Pandemia because where before, when we could routinely leave the house, the wallet was always in my back pocket. Once again, my wife’s vigilance paid off.

The Gang

She’s not the only one laughing at my lapses in memory. My daughter rather pointedly reminded me that the photos I posted yesterday were not from the FBR’s birthday but Halloween night. This combined with my failure to remember the obligatory drunken phone call to the Pittsburgh College Roommate after the pub crawl has led to the Cantankerous Friend reveling online as to apparent approaching senility. My daughter provided some photos from the actual small party since hopefully this blog will serve as a historical record of the FBR’s (as well as the BRS & BR3) early life.

FBR Holding Court

Everyone Was Excited!

My daughter softened the blow by providing this heartwarming video which chronicled last year’s pub crawl, before anyone, other than some Chinese government officials, had heard of Covid 19. It was arguably the best crawl ever with both my kids attending as well as Great Aunt, Soxfather and a large contingent of high school classmates. It caught the moment I paid respect to the now defunct Scores when we walked by as well as the FBR’s arrival at the last pub after an afternoon shopping with her abuela. It was a great stroll down memory lane and provided all the motivation (as if I needed any) to recapture the glory next year.

Finished Another Puzzle

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RECURRING CHARACTERS                                           

BR3 – granddaughter #3, BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter, ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete = my daughter in law; Wingman – my son in law; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Soxfather - my brother in law; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Pittsburgh College Roommate – high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member, Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn

Sisters Day and Blown In

We’re in the annual birthday extravaganza that started last week with the FBR and ended yesterday with Great Aunt and Tia Loca. These two redoubtable women were born on the same date but to hear Tia Loca allege – decades apart. She’s one of those that starts aging chronologically backwards after reaching a certain point.  It was fun to see both of them yesterday, albeit through a video screen, and to inflict my rendition of happy birthday upon them. Great Aunt has evolved into a very close friend which was totally unforeseen during our youth where I was part of the sibling cabal arranged against “Miss Oh So Perfect”. I now count on her to be my sounding board for just about every major decision in my life. She is quite simply, the best!

M.O.S.P. and Soxfather

Tia Loca (r) and her Son Yesterdays

The FBR continued to celebrate her birthday Saturday while I was out pub crawling with my favorite people. I should add a correction at this point and reveal I was inaccurate when I stated, in my last post, we forgot to make the obligatory drunken phone call to Pittsburgh College Roommate. Apparently, and I have this from very good sources, we did make such a call. I can either plead ignorance or assigned blame to those BFB’s consumed at the Pour House. I have m no memory of the call – the evils of demon alcohol.

Bonecrusher Deployed for Birthday Cake

Extinguishing Candles with Hand Wave

A Pandemic Requirement

I Took it Easy on the Granite

Very Happy Camper

The FBR made use of the outdoor theater Wingman has created to watch football with friends while safely distanced. One of the FBR’s favorite movies is Nightmare Before Christmas (see Halloween posts) and for her birthday she hosted the pack of friends’ from her pre-school bubble to watch that movie out in the back yard. She was still bubbling with excitement when we talked about it the next day. The girl knows how to party (blame it on the genes).

FBR Entertaining in the Back Yard

Birthday Movie Night

A Big Hit

Yesterday was a weird day around the house, even for a Monday. The insulation guys showed up promptly at 8:30 and spent the better part of the day upgrading the winterization of the house. They blew is a serious amount of additional insulation into the attic space and added insulating foam to every nook and cranny they could find. They did a pre-test of how tight the house was and then one afterwards. They said the house was pretty tight to begin with but the improvements they made was akin to closing two windows left open to the elements. The best part – it was all free – paid for as part of the State’s attempt conserve energy.

Latest Puzzle Completed

Insulation Headed to Attic

Piped in from Driveway

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RECURRING CHARACTERS                                           

BR3 – granddaughter #3, BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter, ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete = my daughter in law; Wingman – my son in law; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Soxfather - my brother in law; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Pittsburgh College Roommate – high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member, Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn

Senioritis Celebration

Despite engaging in activities early in my life that raised questions as to my long time viability I have somehow reached senior citizen status with my 65^th birthday today. I remember thinking this was an ancient age back in the day but I find that I still have the same silly thoughts and impulses I did when I was much, much younger. I always wondered what my grandparents were thinking and now I know. It’s kind of scary.

Strat of the Crawl Outside Cobblestone
With Keene Friend (c) and Kindergarten Friend

Birthdays in Pandemia are a very quiet affair and my Favorite Panamanian and I will be celebrating solo today. However, I was able to accomplish a shadow of my usual riotous hometown birthday pub crawl yesterday with the gallant efforts of my Kindergarten Friend, Keene Friend, and the Cantankerous Friend. My wife had been giving me serious flak all week about doing the crawl but as we got closer I found that I really needed it. In one of those viability doubting activities I spoke about earlier I told her that I didn’t need her permission, a big mistake; turns out, I do.

Crawling with Wings

She dropped me off at Keene Friend’s house shortly after noon and went on her way for a day’s worth of shopping. Keene Friend and I ambled downtown to start the crawl at the Cobblestone Pub. We were shortly joined by the Kindergarten Friend who had done a serious amount of reconnaissance on the pub scene in preparation for the crawl. We were all wearing masks as were most of the other patrons. There ample space for the few people out and about so social distancing was possible. The college kids still don’t seem to get it and were the only ones I observed all day not wearing masks. Fortunately they always gravitated as far away from the old codgers’ table as possible

Outside Lab 'n Lager joined by Cantankerous

We started at Cobblestone because Penuche’s, our usual launching pad, didn’t open until 4. After a few introductory beers we wandered across the street to the Lab ‘n Lager to continue our libations. The Cantankerous Friend joined us at this point after acquiring what he felt were the needed daily bike riding miles. This completed the group that constituted this year’s crawl. This is, of course, a wholesale drop off from our usual contingent of dozens but it would not have been irresponsible to gather in larger numbers and it means that next year’s will be massive with a huge PR campaign leading up.

Inside Kilkenny with Kindergarten Friend
Demonstrating to my Wife we Used the Wipes She Provided

Next it was down the street to the Kilkenny Pub with its usual understated elegance. Kindergarten Friend commented that the bathroom must remind me of my Army days for the level of pure funkiness. The Kilkenny has a special place in my heart for the crawl and I always look forward to hitting it. Upon leaving I was instructed to pose in front of some large yellow wings. I’m still not sure why but we were flying by this point.

Inside Pour House

The BFB

Buddies Since Kindergarten with our BFBs

It was up to the head of the square and the Pour House next. This is where we ended the crawl last year and I was reminded it was here the FBR and my Fellow Panamanian joined us for a memorable windup celebration. We acquired our beers and I noticed Kindergarten Friend had a massive beer mug which he blithely informed was called a BFB (Big F-ing Beer). I decided I had to have one. It brought back memories of the Beer Towers of the now defunct Scores where we used to end the crawl.

Outside Margarita's

We made our turn south down Main Street as the sun set. Margarita’s was now open and we stopped in there to break up the trek to Penuche’s. None of us were feeling any pain at this point but walking in straight lines was still possible if not always accomplished. We reached Penuche’s to conclude the crawl and found it eerily quiet with only a small crowd which is definitely not normal for a Saturday evening in a college town but was welcome for pandemical reasons. While there was only the four of us and fewer bars this year, this was exactly what I needed and wanted for my birthday. Spending time with these oldest of friends was the best birthday present I could hope for in these dark times. I did miss having my usual crawl mate, my Favorite Son, but I didn’t want to endanger his health with the two little angels he’s now responsible for. Next year.

Last Stop - Penuche's
Masks Came Down for Photo Only

Extraction operations started at Penuche’s as Kindergarten Friend’s daughter picked him up while the other three of us walked the short distance to Keene Friend’s house to await the return of my Favorite Panamanian. Earlier in the day she complained that there was no way she would be able to shop the entire time of the crawl but she somehow managed and was over a hour and a half late in getting to Keene’ Friend’s house. He provided a birthday cake which I was about to blow out in completely un-Pandemic manner until I was reminded and used a very quick hand swipe to extinguish the candle. If Keene Friend had been a tad quicker I would have batted the cake against the wall but, as with the entire rest of the day, it worked perfectly. We forgot to conduct our usual drunken phone call to the Pittsburgh College Roommate but I put that down to the evils of demon alcohol.

Birthday Cake at Keene Friend's House

Hand Swipe to Extinguish Candle
As Keene Friend Lifts Cake Away to Prevent me from Blowing on it

My wife eventually loaded me in the car for the trip home. For some unknown reason I promptly fell asleep. She had a great time recounting this morning how I must have been dreaming because I kept waking up to say, “Thank You Guys!” repeatedly during the drive. I must have been reliving the crawl and thanking those great friends that made my birthday so special. There is no physical way I can thank them enough for the present of their company.

Wife and Maine Musquetera After Cake Delivery
Earlier this Week

I've got some more solo celebrating to do today. Earlier this week, in a huge surprise, the Maine Musquetera and her husband drove all the way down from northern Maine to drop off a birthday cake for me. I was truly touched for the both them to make the three hour drive down only to turn around and return after dropping off the cake. Such great friends. I'm also really psyched because she makes the best cakes I've ever tasted.

Back in Action This Morning
No After Effects!

Spousal Presents Delivered This Morning

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RECURRING CHARACTERS                                           

BR3 – granddaughter #3, BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter, ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete = my daughter in law; Wingman – my son in law; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Soxfather - my brother in law; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Pittsburgh College Roommate – high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member, Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn

2020 Breakage

Morale isn’t the only avenue of attack 2020 is employing against us. It seems, at least in our house, there has been a constant stream of equipment failures this year. I have replaced or repaired the following in 2020: Kitchen Microwave, refrigerator, driveway, heating and hot water system, garbage disposal, toilet, shower floor, car muffler, two tires, internet server, cable boxes, and my current biggest headache – the garage door. I’ve got to start looking around to see if there’s some sort of gremlin lurking around the house.

FBR Assisting Wingman with Leaf Collection

The Important Task of Leaf Pile Investigation

Rare Talent

I got a bit lucky with the garage door yesterday. It has been getting steadily worse over the past month as we wait for the replacement door to arrive. I’ve been lifting it, assisting the motor, and could tell it was getting progressively heavier to lift. The night before last I told my Favorite Panamanian that I was going to move both cars outside the next time I opened the door because I didn’t want them trapped inside. After moving both out yesterday morning, the door was closing when something snapped and the door came crashing down. It was nice to have thwarted one of 2020’s ambushes.

BRS Charming in Kitchen

Helping with Pasta Prep

Very Funny Caption From Day Care

My daughter informed me they wouldn’t be coming up for Thanksgiving this year as Covid is starting to rage again in New Jersey, as well as the rest of the country. While this was bad news it did free me up to conduct a scaled down version of my annual birthday pub crawl back in my hometown tomorrow. I’ll be masked, keeping distance, and haven’t advertised beyond a couple close friends because I didn’t want to be responsible for a spreader event. If someone does catch up with us, it will be all good. My wife was on the verge of violence (towards me) because I was going ahead with this but luckily my son talked her down off the ledge last night explaining that despite voluminous evidence to the contrary, I do possess a modicum of common sense and could be trusted. I really need this gathering of high school friends to counteract the 2020 impact on morale and repairs.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS                                           

BR3 – granddaughter #3, BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter, ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete = my daughter in law; Wingman – my son in law; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Soxfather - my brother in law; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Pittsburgh College Roommate – high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member, Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn

FBR and Veterans’ Day

Five years ago today, I received the best Veterans Day gift imaginable. The FBR arrived on the scene on that day and nothing has been the same since. She is a force to be reckoned with and has already figured out that I can deny her nothing. For the most part we’ve been kept apart during the pandemic but she still has me playing her silly games with her via FaceTime each night and I so look forward to acting like a complete buffoon if it will illicit one of her wonderful laughs. We caught up with her first thing this morning to inflict our rendition of happy birthday upon her. She was already on cloud nine because her parents had blown up a large number of huge balloons and posted a giant happy birthday poster for her. She’ll be denied the usual birthday party because of Pandemia but she was thrilled and thoroughly enjoying her day. That is appropriate because since her arrival my days have been significantly enhanced knowing she’s around. Happy Birthday oh wise and wonderful First Granddaughter. Love you.

Birthday Girl With her First Gift of the Day

Posing with her Poster

Horning in on the Day

Already One of Funniest People I know

And, At Times, Extremely Silly

My usual Veteran’s Day Post:  Today’s Veterans Day and causes me to reflect on how I ended up wearing a uniform for the majority of my adult life.  I blame my uncles.  I grew up idolizing my father’s brothers and sisters, including Uncle Pete who was killed in action on Guadalcanal. All, along with my father, served in World War 2.  My family has a long history of military service; my great grandfather’s brother, Warren, was killed crossing the Wheatfield at Gettysburg. I was a typical kid growing up in the 1960s drawn in a lot of directions by the cultural forces trying to pull the country apart.  I kind of wandered into the military after college and found a home.  I met leaders who reminded me of the gentle uncles with the steel lightly disguised behind eyes that had seen too much.  I also found a love of America these aunts and uncles had imbued me with.

I’ve written about this before and decided to repost a couple of those thoughts because they’re appropriate today when we should all be remembering the sacrifices made and thanking those who donned the uniform for the belief in this greatest of all countries. I was brought up, without ever realizing it, to have a deep abiding love of this country and serving in the military only refined those feelings. To serve in the military you have to believe in what you’re fighting for. I think, that, more than any other factor can determine an Army’s success on the battlefield. I know that a lot of civilians don’t “get it” and at times even ridicule those who profess a love of country. To be honest, certain fanatical factions of the far right have attempted to hijack patriotism as their sole property while also serving as the judge of who is “patriotic”. This could not be farther from the truth.

Patriotism means standing up for the values your country is based on, not on the convenient truth of the latest politician. True patriotism is found in hating a hateful message but loving the freedom to send it. If nothing else America stands for freedom, an escape from the notion that your station of birth determines your station in life. This is such a precious commodity. I believe in the bedrock decency of America and hold in utter contempt politicians and intellectuals who attempt to denigrate who we are and kow tow to their foreign counterparts to curry favor. They don’t fully appreciate or understand what America means to us. We as a nation comprise the most startlingly successful expression of the basic human need for individual freedom that the world has ever seen. Since we are humans, we are certainly not perfect but we, as a nation, dare to believe we can be better than we’ve been. That is the marrow of this country and the profound, immense strength that fanatics will never understand or successfully confront. 

I post this every Veterans Day because it says what being a veteran means much more eloquently than I ever could:

What is a Vet?

Some veterans bear visible signs of their service:  a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye.  Others may carry the evidence inside them:  a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg – or perhaps another sort of inner steel:  the soul’s ally forged in the refinery of adversity.  Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem.  You can’t tell a vet just by looking.  What is a vet?  He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn’t run out of fuel.  He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel.  She, or he, is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.  He is the POW who went away one person and came back another – or didn’t come back at all.  He is the Quantico drill instructor who has never seen combat but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no account rednecks and gang members into Marines, and teaching them to watch each other’s backs.  He is the parade riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.  He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.  He is the three anonymous heroes in the Tomb of the Unknowns, whose presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all the anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean’s sunless deep.  He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket, palsied now and agonizingly slow, who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and wishes all day long that his wife was still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.  He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being, a person who offered some of his life’s most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs.  He is a Soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.  So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean over and say Thank You.  That’s all most people need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded.  Two little words that mean a lot, “THANK YOU”.  Remember November 11th is Veterans Day.  “It is the Soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.  It is the Soldier, not the poet who has given us freedom of speech.  It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.  It is the Soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag.” – Father Denis O'Brien, USMC

Those are powerful words and I know it’s hokey but it still bring tears to my eyes because of their intrinsic truth.  My proudest moment in uniform was not at a change of command or a medal ceremony.  It was while I was at Washington’s Union Station, in uniform, waiting to pick up my daughter.  A businessman noticed me walked over and said, “I just wanted to thank you for serving your country.”  As stated above, that meant so much to me, more than any medal or accolade.  So, if you have a chance today, say thank you to a veteran.  He or she has earned it.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS                                           

BR3 – granddaughter #3, BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter, ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete = my daughter in law; Wingman – my son in law; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Soxfather - my brother in law; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Pittsburgh College Roommate – high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member, Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn