Victor Davis Hanson has his own blog site now! Excellent. Thanks, LGF. Sorry about stealing your pig.

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I freaking hate the New York Times, but I have to give them credit today for doing an entire story on our Brigade. (Ugh, login required. Did I mention I freaking hate them?) It includes quotes from our Colonel, who is not only the most motivated guy you'll meet, but also has the highest PT score of anyone on our post. There's also a quote from our Lieutenant Colonel, who's an all-around great guy. It's nice not to read about 1-77 for a change (wink).

I'm stealing Charles Johnson's flying pig photo to capture the moment I was grateful to the NYT.

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I played volleyball in high school with a girl who had wanted to be a gymnast. I guess she had shown a lot of promise as a child and had the potential to be quite a gymnast until she hit her growth spurt and topped out at 5'11". She had to give up gymnastics and instead started playing volleyball. She was a good player; she was very strong and her height was certainly an advantage. I think she might've even gone on to play in college. But you could always tell her heart was never in it; in her heart she was a gymnast. She never let go of the gymnast she could have been, and it must've killed her to see others do the one thing she wanted to do.

Tonight as I was working at a college fair, a female soldier came to find out information about classes and started telling us stories about Iraq. She just got back on Saturday, and she captivated the librarians and counselors with her tales from down range. The other civilians seemed horrified at the life she was describing, but all I felt was jealousy. I wanted to have her job so badly. Listening to her, I felt a sadness in my heart that I cannot explain; my heart was mourning the soldier I would never become. Everything this 21-year-old girl described was a reminder of how meaningless my life seems, a reminder that I have to watch others do the one thing I wish I could do.

Here on post, surrounded by camouflage, I feel like a gambling addict in Vegas, like an alcoholic in a bar, like a thirsty man in a lifeboat. Everyone I see is a constant reminder of what I will never be: the soldier in my heart. And it hurts in a way that most of you will never understand.

But god how it hurts.

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The Chief may be home, but he's turning right back around and heading to Iraq again. At least it will get him away from the godawful tv.

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If you're me, you still call your daddy any time you have a car problem. I can explain the trouble to him in moron-ese over the phone (what does it mean when the car sounds like a Model T / smells like formaldehyde / idles like a vibrating chair / makes that grrraaarrrr noise...) and then he can troubleshoot for me so that when I finally call the mechanic, I can all nonchalantly say, "Uh, yeah, I think it's the timing belt" and act like I know what I'm talking about. It's also a good idea to get daddy to give me a price range, so that I know about what to expect.

So what's worse than feeling like a moron with the mechanic? Feeling like a moron mit dem Mechaniker. No matter how much/little I know about cars, I can't do any of it in German. I'm completely at their mercy here.

That may be why I just got a $157 oil change. Ouch.

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1 My brother does all my car work now. But he taught me a trick that works in the US, i think. Wear a "Pep Boys" t-shirt when you go to the mechanic! It makes em think you know the lingo.

Posted by: annika at March 08, 2004 07:51 PM (FFy2M)

2 Yeah, annika, but what happens when you DON'T know the lingo? I actually used to know something about car engineering once upon a time. Constantly read and reread a book on the subject for laypeople (with tons of helpful pictures). But I never learned to drive. I use my two legs instead, and if I ever got injured or sick in a foreign country, I'd be "completely at their mercy."

Posted by: Amritas at March 08, 2004 08:45 PM (L0cGq)

3 I can relate....something about a blond, female college student with liscense plates from 10 states away makes mechanics see dollar signs. Fortunately I have good friends with exceptional mechanical skills....but I still call my Papa.

Posted by: Beth at March 09, 2004 12:25 AM (S4qEY)

4 Doesn't matter even if you do know what your talking about. I'm a female Automotive Engineer and they still treat me like an idiot every time I walked into a repair shop. They think: breasts=car idiot

Posted by: Machelle at March 09, 2004 10:52 AM (W/eGG)

5 Europeans can be mean in that way: I've never seen so many swindlers. Maybe I'm naive, but I can't even imagine an American doing that. Indeed and ironically, I remember a oil change place in Victoria, Texas actually giving a German family a *discount* because they were so distressed over problems with their rental car. I would have thought all this would have stopped with the introduction of the Euro. Back when I was in Italy for the first time, I paid some Roman cabbie the equivalent of 50 dollars for a 6 block cab ride because I didn't understand lire at the time.

Posted by: Jeremiah (Esotericus) at March 09, 2004 11:39 AM (MKfKi)

6 Heh, I must also add this: even though I love Europe deeply (I study the Italian Renaissance for a living), I always have to fight an urge to fall to my knees and kiss the ground when I get off the plane after arriving home.

Posted by: Jeremiah (Esotericus) at March 09, 2004 11:46 AM (MKfKi)

7 I just got a great deal on used cars that I wanted. It was tough making a choice which of the used cars to buy, but I did it.

Posted by: Marcy Frye at April 26, 2005 07:16 PM (eSYGp)

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Friend comes over for dinner last night. Friend brings huge Akita dog. Sarah's house is not puppy-proof. Dog decides he wants to chew on Sarah's deceased grandma's teddy bear. We take it away. Dog decides yarn also makes a fun toy and tears apart two skeins, one of which is very expensive. Friend leaves for the night. Dog may not be invited back...

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An Instapundit reader is concerned that bloggers could be bribed to change their vote. Just for the record here, no amount of DVDs could get me to vote for Kerry. Not even a box set or an expensive collectors' edition or anything. Plus, I already own the Holy Trilogy, so what more could I ask for?

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Tim's getting grumpy. And when he gets grumpy, he writes well. Check out War is Hell and Debunking Senator Kerry's Comments.

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Go over and read the Best today. Teaser:

The events of the last two years make clear that there's no such congruency between broad "global" interests and the best interests of the people of Iraq, since so much of the globe argued in favor of policies which would have left Saddam in power and seemed to do everything possible to prevent the invasion. Broader inclusion of the UN and other forms of "global consent" in the post-invasion process would have seriously damaged its credibility.

MORE:

And look, Kerry fisks himself!

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In an age where we can take a photograph on a cell phone and mail it to a friend instantly, I'm getting frustrated with not being able to contact my husband. I'm printing out these letters I've been writing for him, and they're long and outdated. When one letter spans a month, it's hard to stay relevant and interesting. Oh look, Ralph Nader's running. Oh wait, you already know that by now. Um, how 'bout I tell you how much soup I have left over. What's that? You managed to read my blog in Kuwait? OK, I have nothing interesting to say that will still sound good when you read my letter in three weeks.

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I got forwarded an email months ago down from the LTC here with a note saying "Be careful what you wish for." I've been searching for this Re-inforcement by Indorsement for a while, and I finally found a blog that's linked it. Thanks, Rocket Penguin.

(It might take a few seconds to load.)

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Bunker links to an article called "Why we still don't get it, one year on" by Mark Hertsgaard. He pulls out the more pertinent quote:

But the world doesn't hate us, the American people. It is our government, our military, and our corporations that are resented. To anyone living outside the US, this may seem an obvious point.

But to many people living inside the US, especially those who are proud to be American, this is not obvious. This ticks us off.

Being American is a choice, in a way that being French or Chinese or Norwegian never could be. It is a state of mind, an espousing of an ideology, and a label that defies race and ancestry. There are many people with US citizenship that aren't truly American in their thinking, and many people in other countries who are Americans waiting to happen. Being American has nothing to do with being born in a certain country, which is why Hertsgaard's quote makes no sense to me. In my mind, being American means wanting to be American and wanting to represent what our country stands for.

I know a woman here of Turkish descent who is the third generation in her family to be born on German soil. Her grandparents and parents all lived here in Germany. She's probably close to 30 years old. She just got her German citizenship. Third generation, finally recognized.

I also know a soldier from Paraguay who moved to NYC in 2002. He arrived knowing no English whatsoever and enlisted in the Army one year later. After Basic and AIT, he headed to Germany where he enrolled in our American History course at the education center. His desire to get an education and become an American has brought him headaches and tears, trying to read a chapter in the history book when he's taught himself English in 18 short months, but he works hard at it nonetheless.

Is this woman a German? She's known nothing but Germany her whole life, but she's obviously not been accepted as a citizen until quite recently. Is this soldier an American? You bet your ass he is. He might not have all the paperwork done yet, but he wears her flag on his right shoulder and he carries her spirit in his heart.

I've met soldiers with all sorts of accents; off the top of my head I can recall South American, African, Portuguese, Haitian, Polish, and Algerian. They've all made the choice to defend America and all she stands for, to proudly wear her uniform, and to accelerate their application for citizenship so that they can live and work in her cities. Would they bother to do this if being American had nothing to do with "our government, our military, and our corporations"?

When I was young and naive, I used to try to reason with people like Mark Hertsgaard. I tried to understand why the Swiss guy hated the USA when I was the first American he'd ever met. I tried to placate the Croatian who said he didn't want to speak to me anymore because we were bombing his hometown. I tried to understand how other Europeans could talk such trash about my country and not expect me to get offended. "Hey, it's not you we hate, it's your country; can't you see that?"

If you can look at these soldiers and not see how precious the USA is, then you don't grok. If you can't see that being American means making the choice to work with all different walks of life to make the best country we can be, then you don't grok. And if you can't see that Americans are who they are because of "our government, our military, and our corporations", then you truly don't grok.

Posted by: Sarah at 05:19 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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The Best is back in full form, connecting tuberculosis and terrorism, and Kerry and tofu. For only the second time in my life, I beat him to certain punches: he also discusses how quitting the war now will lead to more serious consequences down the road. Welcome back, maestro.

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A reader sent me a funny photo yesterday. Looks like Kim Jong Il isn't the only one supporting Kerry...

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I went on a tour of Nuernberg today with my German class. One of our stops was at the Germanisches National Museum, which is constructed with an interesting entryway. Nuernberg is trying to improve its image from the city that gave us the Nuernberg Laws to a city that stands for Peace and Human Rights. The entrance to the museum was created by an Israeli artist whose name I can't seem to find on google. It is a series of pillars with the different articles from the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Each pillar has one article carved in both German and another language. And I nearly slugged a lady from my class who asked why the Israeli artist didn't include the Palestinian language as one of those featured on the pillars. I pointed out that Arabic was included, and she said that wasn't good enough and that the Palestinians should specifically be recognized. I had to force myself to breathe deeply and let it go, but I'd have liked to have socked her.

MORE TO GROK:

In my search, I found this disturbing list of words that "should be used" when talking about a Palestinian state.

Posted by: Sarah at 12:59 PM | Comments (14) | Add Comment
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The worst part of this deployment is that we saw it coming for so long. We knew in July that they'd be leaving, and it was just a matter of waiting for the day. So when my husband and I were talking the week before he left, I told him my biggest fear: it's not that something will happen to him; it's that we'll survive these 14 months and he'll come home to me, and 12 months later we'll have to do it all over again. Half of the Army was in Iraq last year; the other half is there now. Who do you think is going next year? 3ID is, the same folks who were there when it all started. That means the Big Red One's slated for the next go-round. That's what causes a sinking feeling in my stomach: he's only been gone for three weeks and I already see the second deployment on the horizon.

(This depressing thought brought to you by Tim, though it's certainly not his fault. His stuff's mostly good today; I laughed out loud at the Gangs of New York and swinging a cat.)

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I was kinda bored with the blogosphere today, just loafing at work and avoiding my German homework, when I stumbled on a post at RWN about Gut Rumbles' vitriolic rant.

Seems Rob dropped the n-bomb.

So I read lots of posts and comments from people who were de-linking Gut Rumbles because they no longer want to be associated with him, and then curiosity got the better of me and I went to the horse's mouth itself. I read all his posts and all the comments and have started to think.

My first thought: Rob actually said more than he was quoted as saying. His actual post is much longer than the expurgated versions I saw on other appalled people's blogs. It also has more "substance" than just repeating the n-word over and over. And he wrote a follow-up post as well.

So what do I think? I don't really know. Gut Rumbles has never been a place for sunshine and kitty cats, so I'm not surprised that this rant came out. And like other commenters, I think that Rob's below-the-surface message includes some valid points that just aren't considered acceptable for anyone to talk about. Do I like the way he expressed his message? I'm not as horrified as others, but I can certainly see how this would put him on the outs with other bloggers. I don't particularly like the n-word, but as a person who listens to a fair amount of rap music, I'm sorta numb to it now.

But it's still just a word. Someone in the comments section asked how it's different from using words like "Islamopuke" to describe Muslims. Another commenter said he hates the words "honkey" and "redneck", but no one gets upset when they're used. Personally I felt quite offended when people from the UK pejoratively called me a Yankee, but we've named a stinkin' baseball team after that word so I guess most people don't mind it. What happened to "sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me"?

I guess I don't have a definitive answer as to whether Rob is a racist. In my life I've met very few people who were true racists, and that included both people who were white and black. But I have met many people who get upset at the way we walk on eggshells in our country to avoid talking about race at any cost, and maybe those feelings came to a head for Rob this week.

I won't say Rob was wrong to say what he said, but I also won't say sites like RWN were wrong to de-link him. I'll just say you all can judge for yourselves.

Posted by: Sarah at 09:53 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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I got a funny email forward today:

WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT TO TURN ON THE OLE' TV TONIGHT AND SEE G.W. BUSH GIVE THE FOLLOWING SPEECH.....

My fellow Americans: As you all know, the defeat of Iraq's regime has been completed. Since congress does not want to spend any more money on this war, our mission in Iraq is complete. This morning I gave the order for a complete removal of all American Forces from Iraq. This action will be complete within 30 days.

It is now time to begin the reckoning.

Before me, I have two lists. One list contains the names of countries which have stood by our side during the Iraq conflict. This list is short. The United Kingdom, Spain, Bulgaria, Australia, and Poland are some of the countries listed there. The other list contains everyone not on the first list. Most of the world's nations are on that list. My press secretary will be distributing copies of both lists later this evening.

Let me start by saying that effective immediately, foreign aid to those nations on List 2 ceases immediately and indefinitely. The money saved during the first year alone will pretty much pay for the costs of the Iraqi war. The American people are no longer going to pour money into third world hell-holes and watch those government leaders grow fat on corruption. Need help with a famine? Wrestling with an epidemic? Call France. In the future, together with Congress, I will work to redirect this money toward solving the vexing social problems we still have at home.

On that note, a word to terrorist organizations. Screw with us and we will hunt you down and eliminate you and all your friends from the face of the earth. Thirsting for a gutsy country to terrorize? Try France, or maybe China.

To Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Yo, boys. Work out a peace deal now. Just note that Camp David is closed. Maybe all of you can go to Russia for negotiations. They have some great palaces there. Big tables, too.

I'm ordering the immediate severing of diplomatic relations with France, Germany, and Russia. Thanks for all your help, comrades. We are retiring from NATO as well. Bon chance, mes amis. I have instructed the Mayor of New York City to begin towing the many UN diplomatic vehicles located in Manhattan with more than two unpaid tickets to sites where those vehicles will be stripped, shredded and crushed. I don't care about whatever treaty pertains to this. Pay your tickets tomorrow or watch your precious Benzes, Beamers, and limos be turned over to some of the finest chop shops in the world. I love New York.

A special note to our neighbors. Canada is on List 2. Since we are going to be seeing a lot more of each other, you folks might want to try not pissing us off for a change. Mexico is also on List 2. President Fox and his entire corrupt government really need an attitude adjustment. I have a couple extra tank and infantry divisions sitting around. Guess where I'm gonna put 'em? Yep, border security. So start doing something with your oil.

Oh, by the way, the United States is abrogating the NAFTA treaty---starting now. It is time for America to focus on its own welfare and its own citizens. Some will accuse us of isolationism. I answer them by saying darn tootin'. Nearly a century of trying to help folks live a decent life around the world has only earned us the undying enmity of just about everyone on the planet.

It is time to eliminate hunger in America. It is time to eliminate homelessness in America. It is time to eliminate World Cup soccer from America.

To the nations on List 1, a final thought. Thanks guys. We owe you.
To the nations on List 2, a final thought. Drop dead.
God bless America. Thank you and good night.

Posted by: Sarah at 04:02 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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Screed away, Lileks. That was just what I needed this morning. You know when someone says something that completely throws you off guard, and you stammer and miss the opportunity to make your point? And then hours later you know what you should've said and you curse yourself for letting the moment pass? I had one of those last night.

There were a couple of stragglers at the party last night, and out of the complete blue one of them said, "Do you think Kerry will be elected President?" Now, I know that wives don't have rank, but since this woman's husband way outranks mine, I thought it in good taste to be vague, so I just said, "Well, I don't know," because it's true after all: I don't know what's going to happen. But another wife replied, "God, I hope so." The gist of the conversation was that Kerry would pull the troops out faster than you can shake a stick, and that means everyone's husbands come home, so Kerry's our man.

I wish I had said something. Anything. I was just sorta dumbfounded.

I understand the selfishness of wanting your husband to come home. I understand that we had spent 20 minutes of our meeting discussing who would come knocking on our door if our husband died in Iraq, and it wears on you after a while. And I understand that the military lifestyle takes its toll: one wife has been married six years and her husband's been deployed for three of them. But...

What I wish I'd said is this: Our husbands' job is to protect the American people. This duty is better fulfilled by their being in Iraq now rather than waiting until someone attacks on American soil again. This war we're fighting now only exists because we didn't get the job done in 1991; would you rather have your husband stay in Iraq for a year now, or return to Iraq for combat in another few years when some new dictator decides he wants to start somethin'?

I wish I'd said that. But how do you tactfully tell people whose husbands have been in the Army for years what it means to be an Army family?

An Army family means selflessness. I have to come to terms with the fact that my husband might have to die to protect other Americans from future threats. Not an easy thing to accept, but that's part of the job, and that's what we signed up for. An Army family also means understanding the complexities and repercussions of our nation's actions. I'm not saying that every Army family will fully support President Bush, but "who will let your husband sleep at home" is perhaps not the best gauge for your vote. Army families have a duty to follow and understand world events, but to be willing and ready to do whatever the Commander-in-Chief asks of them.

I'm not happy that my husband is living in Iraq. I'd rather have him home too. But I was shocked to hear other wives say that having their husband at home is the most important thing in their life. More important, seemingly, than principles and duty. Am I the only wife who gets choked up when she reads the Army values? Am I the only one who finds comfort in the fact that her husband's job requires selfless service?

Selfless service is placing your duty before your personal desires. It is the ability to endure hardships and insurmountable odds because of love of fellow soldiers and our country. Placing your duty before your personal desires has always been key to the uniqueness of the American soldier. As citizen soldiers, we claim our service to the nation, state, and community to be an especially valuable contribution.

In a sea of houses sporting Service Flags and yellow ribbons, why do I feel so alone?

MORE TO GROK:

Amritas suggests that selfless service is really a form of love.

Posted by: Sarah at 03:54 AM | Comments (11) | Add Comment
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1 I sincerely hope that you were not the only one staying tactfully quiet. Given that you said the Kerry supporter's husband outranks yours, I hope others felt they had to be tactful too. I'd be saddened if you were in the minority. Rare postings from me for a Friday, working overtime this week to help pay for a vacation at the end of the month. Enjoy while it lasts. PS. Even tho I hit Remember personal info in your comments, it is never saved from one comment to another.

Posted by: Blueshift at March 05, 2004 04:55 AM (crTpS)

2 You're not alone. I feel the same way you do and recently, in my online college course, we were asked to write a personal portait. My topic? Being an Army wife. Based on the responses to my post, I was able to make my classmates kind of understand what's it like, but they will never know unless they live it. I too find it hard to stay quiet when wives in this unit only wish for their husbands to be home.

Posted by: Lani at March 05, 2004 05:43 AM (rZmE1)

3 Selflessness...THAT is the most important word for anyone in the military. It is the essense of what makes people in uniform, including police and fire department, put up with the things they do. Too bad for this lady's husband. He obviously has a sense of honor, and look what he has to put up with at home.

Posted by: Mike at March 05, 2004 10:25 AM (cFRpq)

4 It is hard to remember duty in the face of understanding that the person you love might have to suffer or die for that duty. It is good that you understand that duty. At the same time, you should understand where the women who don't understand that duty are coming from....

Posted by: Dr_Funk at March 07, 2004 01:30 AM (RVsRN)

5 Keep the faith. There are surely times when you're surrounded by people who regard the concepts of duty and self-sacrifice as disposable items, to be abandoned as soon as the price becomes too high for them to bear. Military spouses bear a huge burden, too often overlooked. I served in another Army (not the U.S.) and have never forgotten the support of other soldier's families. Yet I never regarded the voices of those who would have had us stay safely at home as "support"--all those voices ever produced was a sense of betrayal and ingratitude. Dr_Funk: It's not important to understand where the women who don't understand the concept of duty "are coming from". If they don't understand the concept then they have no place as a military wife.

Posted by: Keith at March 15, 2004 01:18 AM (fyrCe)

6 Congrats to you madame for being a military spouse. I think you did the right think due to rank structure. its sad how ever that you had to keep silent. More people try to see the military as "just a job" but its not, never has, never will be. Statement such as the ones made to you by the higher autorities spouse are bad for moral, image and would make the common grunt wonder of the leadership abilities his or her commander would have. I would not want a Captain over me or my boys who felt he was doing merely a job and that he can come home with the changing of the Presidency.

Posted by: BloodSpite at March 15, 2004 10:29 AM (Iqzsg)

7 I'm going to stick my neck out and say that perhaps you did the absolutely the right thing for the wrong reasons? I'm a Marine colonel's wife, so I've come up through the ranks for 22 years and listened to just about every sort of idiocy imaginable from senior wives. And I'm still listening to it, because there's always someone senior. Except that, as a wife, they're NOT really senior to you. Politeness is due - to all wives, whether they're officer or enlisted - but there is no rank structure in the "wife corps". I understand the Army is less tolerant of dissent from talking with Army friends, but this is something I feel very strongly about. And I think this persists because it goes unchallenged. I might have done the same thing you did, but perhaps for different reasons. So the end result would have been the same. Ironically, I'd have been quicker to challenge the remark had it been made by her husband. You were in a social setting, and it is generally poor manners to provoke an argument in someone else's house, so I think you made the right decision - your instinct was 100% correct. You have to take the setting into account. When my spousal unit was a 2nd Lt, the BN CO used to bait jr. wives at parties and they would tamely put up with it. I got tired of it, and started coming back at him (hopefully with some wit). He was taken aback, but once he figured out I wasn't going to roll over, he rather enjoyed the contest and my husband didn't suffer any repercussions. I think the important thing was that I didn't get my pantyhose in a knot over it, and my SU already had a reputation for speaking up for himself gently but firmly. 22 years later, he's survived in spite of having quietly pointed out to several seniors that they might want to reconsider something they had just said (because it made no sense). He'll never make General, but no one expected that anyway. I've had a few run-ins with senior wives (once even my husband's CO's wife), but a sense of humor and willingness to talk it out and compromise go a long way, and I can look at myself in the mirror in the morning (well, most mornings)! I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't let rank get in the way too much - choose your battles and try to seize the high ground The younger wives are watching what you do, you sound like you have good instincts and only you can decide what the right time and place are, but if the time comes and your husband supports this, don't be afraid to speak your mind politely and firmly. I'm very lucky in that my SU has never tried to muzzle me (probably realizes it's hopeless). His attitude has always been that if the Marine Corps is going to penalize him for something his wife says, he's fighting on the wrong team. Sorry for the long post - you can see I have strong feelings on the subject.

Posted by: Cassandra at March 15, 2004 12:10 PM (6K3L5)

8 Cassandra has the right of it: "choose your battles and try to seize the high ground". A note: As a 'pro-war' sort whose friends are almost entirely 'anti-war', I've found that a simple question can often make people think again. Don't argue, don't fight, just ask. "What does your husband think about it?" "Do you think that being nice to bullies makes them less likely to attack you? (That one usually gets a double-take, they don't like to think of terrorists as bullies... but watch what happens if you can get them to do so.) Just keep trying, subtly. I'm sure you can think of your own questions. Just make them questions, not statements. Ask, and ask some more. I'll echo Cassandra again... "Sorry for the long post - you can see I have strong feelings on the subject.

Posted by: Kathy K at March 15, 2004 09:01 PM (qFRf+)

9 Thank you for your selfless sacrifice. I say this as a retiree, but also as a spouse of an active-duty military member; my wife was also active duty when we met and got married. I did not tell her to get out after 12 yrs, that was her choice. My wife and I were (are) both very out-spoken, and I have to admire your tact. I agree with Cassandra; "choose your battles." The fact that you were caught offguard by these questions indicates that this spouse was fishing for an agrument, in my opinion. Also, since you didn't know her, you couldn't know if she thinks that she "wears her spouse's rank," as we used to call it. All organizations, civilian as well as military, contain people who "play politics." But I noticed less of it in the military, than I have seen since I've retired.

Posted by: cas at March 15, 2004 10:35 PM (rZmE1)

10 My elder son left home for the Army as an 18 year old. I have seen him twice since then. He has been in Iraq for nearly a year and is now over 21! GO BUSH! Please defeat that traitor Kerry who has more faces than the "mirrored ball" in the discoteques (sp?) he frequents.

Posted by: J. Callihan, Jr. at March 16, 2004 01:58 AM (0gnRS)

11 Its probably for the best that you didn't respond. You can't teach a grown person the meaning of the words like "selfless, honor, integrity, community, discipline, and patriotism." If "Ole Cut-N-Run" wins, the woman you spoke with had better hope her husband is on the first boat out. It won't be pretty for those at the other end of the line. Soon after that it won't be pretty here either.

Posted by: Randm Pat at March 16, 2004 01:45 PM (ve9fL)

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Things to do today:

1. File taxes
2. Bake peanut butter cookies
3. Bake two loaves of "freedom" bread
4. Make a salad
5. Dust, vacuum, and tidy up the house
6. Make tortellini soup for 15
7. Have a party where I teach everyone to knit

My schedule's full today, folks! Check back tomorrow.

MORE:

The bread's rising, and I started thinking of a funny story to tell. When we first got married, I knew my husband really liked breads, so one Saturday I worked all day baking him loaves for dinner. We sat down to eat and I asked him how the bread tasted. He said it was good, and after a few seconds' pause, he said, "You know what else is good? Grands biscuits. Those are great!" I cracked up. I'd spent about five hours baking for him, and all he really wanted was a tube of ready-made Pilsbury! He still says that he didn't mean it the way it sounded, but I don't usually take the time to bake fresh bread anymore!

UPDATE:

Oh my gosh, I have so much soup left over. If I ate soup for both lunch and dinner, it would take me 12 days to finish it all. Please send me your addresses so I can mail everyone some soup...

Posted by: Sarah at 05:22 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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1 " 'Freedom' bread"!? Never heard of that before. What was your major in college? "Freedomese"?

Posted by: Amritas at March 04, 2004 06:50 AM (g4OZS)

2 Just a little joke for us francophobes

Posted by: Sarah at March 04, 2004 07:16 AM (aQeaY)

3 "I have so much soup left over." Don't drown in it. I know the feeling in miniature - I just bought a half gallon of cooked rice which is more than I need for this week, and usually I go out to eat on the weekends, so I'm trying to finish it off as quickly as possible. In my experience, it will go bad even after a few days in the refrigerator. "Please send me your addresses so I can mail everyone some soup..." If everyone did, the combined air mail charges might bankrupt you ... A

Posted by: Amritas at March 04, 2004 05:28 PM (PUjKD)

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