To be poor, isn't everyone deprived of something of value?

Mostly, money is the first thing to enter one's mind - I don't have enough money - for food, shelter, for stuff I must have to survive. But many without money aren't poor. I was reading a blog post about abstinence, the not having sexual relations with other human creatures I guess... most of my life is without having sexual relations with other human creatures, my mother expected too much from me, and having human sexual reproductive activities with humans of the opposite sex was really frowned upon by her.

I never felt poor because I wasn't following the Playboy Philosophy of Mister Hefner. Certainly did like looking at the charming young ladies in his magazine, and the cartoons, and the jokes. Don't remember reading any of the writing and I was a reader, reading more books in a week than some boys read in a year.

Being poor, feeling poor, never did - although I was sure there should be more money for Earl to catch up with the Jones boy - I realized later that my parents had done very well with four greedy little grubbers to clothe, shelter and feed. And it wasn't until I was throwing my own money away that I truly appreciated how rich that life had been.

I guess if I were to be asked, not that anyone cared, I counted my riches in the family, the dinner table and card table conversations, the number of magazines and books circulating in the home, always being read. I was rich in that there was only one television and one full bathroom and when I was a senior I got my own room. (decorated for a girl?). I was rich in friends that would tease me and people that liked some of me, hoping the rest would settle down and turn out okay. It was always difficult enough to live up to my own dreams and expectations - doing it for others was nearly impossible.

There was, and probably still are hundreds of sexual education teachers that tell young people that you aren't normal without sexual activity. That abstinence doesn't work, that... well, I can teach killing as well as that sexual education teacher can teach sex, but I also know that you really aren't morally prepared for the responsibility of killing another human being in high school - although, like sex, it does happen.

If when you are a child, you learn good manners, good language, sharing and helping, if you learn right from wrong then you will be closer to being prepared for starting a human life (which is what all sexual activity is designed to do) or ending a human life (which is what all military combat is about). But you would have to see beyond the video games, the movies and television drama to find the real people all around you - and you will notice you aren't going to have sexual relations with most of them, nor even try to kill anyone of them for the good of some government guy. And that is a much better normal than I or that Sex Education teacher can illustrate.

Marry once and forever, and when sex dies, let it lie. Don't ever kill anyone, no ugly to try to not remember. Gee, I feel so rich in never having to have to have a hundred screaming fans watch me pretend to have sex in some love relationship - oh, yeah. Tom Cruise has it tougher than that forgotten soldier in Afghanistan - I guess being a short actor was tough on Clark Gable, too. I am so rich to have never been so deprived as to be an actor without a justification for my words, work or lack of height. Can't be poor all the time.

Thank you for your service...

Getting close to Veteran's Day, or Armistice Day (which I always thought veterans of that war really appreciated). Time to get specials for being there when the really smart powerful people didn't want to go, go get those specials.

I like the veterans I knew, they are all giants in my life. Lots of them from the Bible, many from mythology, bunches and bunches from History of everyone everywhere. While studying the Greek and Roman military I constantly noticed that the veterans were the backbone of the formations, were always the carbon in the steel, that make it tough and able to hold an edge... I was sure that Horatio at the bridge was my kind of guy, and Horatio Hornblower must have been a real sailor... yeah, those are people I think of as veterans.

I was lucky, didn't have to wait for Veteran's Day parades or sales to reach out and find a vet, I had the very best kind - a quiet humble man I knew as Dad. His parting comment as I left for my own military service "You aren't going to like it." . Having permitted (like I could change anything) my own son's enlistment and his service - I hope all the veterans know the love of all those they served, protected and have left behind while they did their duty. I hope all veterans know the day when they can just be quietly thankful for having survived and gotten on with the real joy of living, being in love and creating and growing a better world that they knew was out there on the other side of war. Oh, how I pray that the day comes when they step out into the light for they have had all the darkness they couldn't sleep through, and they shouldn't drag it into their dreams or allow it to weigh them down.

Yeah, I can't know what any veteran went through, but do know 'they didn't like it'. Sure they had the days, hours, minutes and seconds of pride in surviving something terrible, and the shame of not being able to save everyone, people they had come to love... but they are scar bearing, tarnished, dinged, worn and tattered.

Give them your thanks, say lots of prayers for them and their healing, and always know that only love will make it better.

So, I am going to shoot known distance...

Do much of my shooting very safely (no rounds, dry fire) or very close (25 yards or 25 meters), and all for marksmanship and instructing others in rifle marksmanship. But I am going to Idaho to a two day clinic for Known Distance and the range will go farther than I will engage. They may encourage me to take a 500 yard shot or two.

Researching I have been looking to find the Course of Instruction, so I would see how many rounds I will need. My M1 Garand is the primary rifle for this exercise, although I will take the Model 70 with optics to learn a bit about using the optics at the distances.

And not having a real sense of what is going to happen, I will make up a known distance course for myself to test my .22LR and the M1 skills and potential this Saturday, supposed to be cloudy and cool. Verify the zero on each rifle, move the target stand to 100 yards, place four inch square on white background, Shoot twice, once with each rifle five rounds, notice where the rounds hit, paste and then adjust aiming point or come ups for .22LR. Shoot again, 5 rounds, check and put four 100 yard targets up (reduced size), shoot four phases of KD AQT on those targets with .22LR. Check, which I always mean take a picture for later, post full size target on backer. Shoot 10 rounds standing in 2 minutes on it. Take picture, paste holes if any...

Move target backer to 200 yards, put eight inch black square on backer. Shoot with .22LR and M1, note results. Post full size target, shoot two and eight with M1, shoot ten rounds spotting with .22LR. Take pictures, move target backer to 300 yard line (will have to move Caravan down to target line for speed). Post 12 inch black square on backer, shoot with M1, check target. Post full size target shoot stage three with 2 and 8. Take pictures and pull backer and clean up firing point, recover brass.

Either YMCA is going to be very early or very late on Saturday, had my rest day yesterday.

I have been told that I limp...

I immediately put that remark beside the one 'looking sexy' - it depended on the voice, the moment and message. But it was followed with was it a war wound... nope, I never got wounded, that anyone could really see, by war - I love cover, really love cover. Skinny kids hide well in the depressions of little note.

Having been laughing at my fellow Men's Bible Study men, as they limp, sit and groan -- I have noticed that those that really keep working and moving, are still moving well. Those engaged in thinking, loving and smiling are even doing better than well. So I need to start back on the To Do List hanging on my wall.

Go with God
Husband my wife

and then the other measurements still unmet... I can look at them daily, doing them is another matter.

I don't have a lot of time left, or remaining here on earth and this time, time is almost up... Should I put annoying little pop-ups on my computer to drive me out to become better? Wasting more time?

Don't be negative, teach no wrong, live only right, spend time in love with love and for love... God is watching, all the time and time keeps moving on.

Part of that motivation is to get a new suit, my funeral suit, when I get light enough for six ladies to carry...
title IX adjustment. I don't want to bother my military, I need no more honors than having served and having been well remembered, surprisingly often. While putting on my Sunday best today, I looked in the mirror and said the waist would have to be at the waist and belted there, the coat would have to be hanging from the shoulders, and then I realized I want a waistcoat (vest) to be under the jacket - which would make it a real coat, then I would have to get an overcoat for the cold weather.... Winter is Coming. Where is a great tailor when one needs one? Ah well, seems like Summer of next year, or as the election season starts, right after Christmas of this year - and not something that a truly humble man would ever concern those that love him.

So I did see Ender's Game on Friday evening, enjoyed it very much, having read the book and the follow on books leading to Ender's Shadow. Great adaptation, and I really liked being reminded of why we send young people, without fears and experience up against enemies and fears of the old fools.

So, since running is off the table for now (as a training tool), I will have to aspire to walking along the road, and being offered rides by those many kind people - which I will thank and ask God to bless them.

Is time travel an important part of Science Fiction?

With faster than light, or even getting closer it has always been part of - is it an important part? There is a effort to get some science fiction writers, a new generation of them.

Military Sci-Fi Book Needs Writers, Guns, and Money

So I look at it, having read most of the great ones, and think Ender's Game becomes many other titles, Forever War touches on it, and my favorite Starship Troopers never touches it. Reminding me to go see Ender's Game today. There will never be Time Travel there will always be Time Travelers.

I am a time traveler, I study History, I have lived History and will soon just become History.

Ever wonder about the Patriots of 1775 in Lexington and Concord on April 19th? How did they become the Patriots of Tom Brady in  2013? Take that fifty some man team back into the early dawn of Lexington and place them beside Captain Parker and his muster, would it have slowed the Light Infantry companies marching onto the green, chanting Huzzah, huzzah? I always wondered when Hoo-ah got into the modern military lexicon.

Personal Short story - all real time travel:

I think you were my drill sergeant.

Answer: I have no idea if you were in one of my platoons, I was Drill Sergeant for the 1st Platoon of A Btry, 2nd Battalion. I looked at the picture books I have copies of and never found your name. But still it is possible.

You were my Sergeant!  It is really quite amazing to be able to converse with you.

We had you for the first part of our training, and then suddenly one day you were gone.  Spent several days without an assigned Drill, and then got a SFC  named H or He.  I don’t remember much about him, except that he was a bit lazy, and couldn’t sing or even march troops.  We were used to you, and we had some pride in our D&C abilities so a couple of us were allowed to take over those duties.  One of my proudest days there was the day I got to move the whole Battery a couple of miles or so, and there were quite a few spectators whose lives we were interrupting because the cattle cars didn’t show up to pick us up.  

There was an incident at the record fire range with him and one of the trainees.  Some kid from one of the other platoons allegedly cooked off a 5.56 round...they said towards him...  I know my weapon disappeared from my hands to the hands of a Drill, and we were left standing for quite some time in the culvert Firing Points facing “down range only”.  The only other thing I remember about that incident is we were put in the back room of the Orderly Room Building for several hours after we got back to Garrison...  I do not remember if that was before you left, or after.

Answer: I disappeared to work in the S3 at Battalion Headquarters, since I was having trouble being less than I thought I should be.

That whole incident was after I left, I never heard about it.  While I was there we had no trainee Drill Sergeant problems, all the problems were with officer control of training and Drill Sergeants which you would not have known about. Nothing to do with firearms, just the standards of training.

That range incident was for a couple of days pretty “front burner” amongst the trainees.  Then it was addressed in a Battery formation rather succinctly...as in “you all will shut your mouths unless asked to speak about it!”.  We did just exactly that!

I was never convinced the shot was fired back towards the range control.  From where I was, and where the trainee was, it would have had to pass pretty close to my six.  I always thought I would have heard it...but who knows.  I know the kid was a screw up, and he was a bit “off center”.  He had words with the 2LT XO earlier in the week.  I was the Training Platoon Leader, and it was witnessed by one of my guys who was assigned a Female Barracks Roving Patrol one night.  I had to tell the CSM about it, and it was not one of my favorite days.

I will write more as I remember, but know that in a part today, I am who I am due to you!  I have an evening fire at the range tonight that I have to Range Master for...we are going to open up the 1Km lane tonight...it will be all .308 and .338 stuff. 

End of Story, kind of... but there we were and now here we are. Still with troops in Asia, my father was there in 1945, Easter April Fools day, yep. This video from YouTube SPITFIRE 944 is a great story about a great story and time travelers.

How do you tell a happy camper?

He falls asleep waiting for the ferry to load so he can get home, of course.

Woke and left at oh dark thirty, catching the six am ferry to Whidbey Island, drove to the range and met up with Prescott and Cubflyr. Tracey_B drives up with truck and trailer and keys for the gate - the Appleseed is on! It was one of my best ones and I have had many great ones, but the fear of failure, failing the shooters not a safety thing, was oppressing, since I worried about having enough instructors for all the folks...

Seems that when I spoke the sky would clear up and the Sun would shine, and I had to keep talking. Wonderful people in the world, not in the news, not in front of the television, computer monitor or looking for love in all the wrong places. One just has to go out and meet them - work together and amaze each other and ourselves.

I was greeted by Ron, telling me Todd sent his regards and to mention him, I looked at Ron and said from Eastern Washington? Tdow? Yep, seems he had purchased a sling from him, through the internet and mentioned the upcoming Appleseed. Cool, and Ron shoots well, he will make Rifleman another day.

Coupeville Appleseed Now to get back to my regular programming.

Chains that bind us...

Woke from dreams of impossibility. A Command Sergeant Major going to a dinner with Commander and his wife, where we find out the unit is being set up for failure, the History already written... of course it is under the current White House - that was where the dream was really strange, since I like fighting in Southwest or Southeast Asia much better than in the home country... do pray that there is no truth in dreams, you don't want this one to happen to anyone.

Time for second cup of coffee, in my Special Operators mug. Thanks, son. I can't read Latin (I am the product of a government education system) so I pretend it is a cool mug to warm my hands with.

Freedom, Liberty and personal responsibility... all wonderful concepts. And don't we just know we are part of the experiment of government that allows men to stand tall? Except where we can't. Here in America and the world at large. How does that happen, it wasn't designed that way. Or was it? By those others out there.

First they made the government too big to ignore, and then they started to make the people depend on the government. Really depend on the government. The way it was designed was the government was supposed to depend on the people. It is just an imaginary creation without a life of its own, not like a supernatural being. But we don't have to pay attention to the government, if we walk outside of the law, and many do - or we can blend in and everyone knows we must be law abiding, cause we are nice folks, cut our yard and clean up the trash after parties and picnics. But what I am doing in private never threatens the government or the public and so they don't know. And many do.

Then there are the herds, or flocks of people that just graze away, with total trust in the government and its goodness on our lives. I do think that is most of the folks. They just want to have fun... and aren't going to lose any sleep over worry about what might be really going on. But that isn't where the chains are, for those that we should really watch out for, to be careful around, they are bound by the same chains that hold many of us - DEBT - what we owe is a burden. You can carry your brother, and never feel the weight but your debt bends your back, darkens you days and makes you do things you aren't going to find fun. How did that happen? You weren't born with debt, yes there is a national debt, and you being born doesn't mean that you owe any of it. Really, there is a bank or two everywhere, there are governments everywhere, and you don't owe any of those debts and it isn't your responsibility to repay any of them - and you haven't been paying attention to collapse of nations, banks or fool ideas. Why is your national debt your problem? It isn't, but you don't understand the chains, the reins of government or of the bankers. Borrow a little and they help you repay regularly, borrow a  lot and they start to turn you in their direction - they have become your partner.

It is only money, it is only a tool, and it is being used by people and institutions that don't love you, why are you paying any attention? Ah, so you can be concealed and free to do your own will, don't borrow, don't leave tracks and they will never notice. They only count the people that owe them and they put them in asset or debit columns - which is no way to treat a people. Chained to the money, manipulated by the godless. Doesn't matter the political party, the nation, the person, if they are part of the borrowing they are only slaves, how much did Spartacus owe? The reason he was feared, because he didn't fear -
all they had for him was death, and we will all share that individual event.