I've been scouring the internet for something to say, anything that would give me inspiration to blog. Nothing's coming. Anything I want to say someone else has said better.

Posted by: Sarah at 10:50 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Thanks to JCK for pointing out that I am in the running for the worth-a-chuckle category Best of the Top 3501 - 5000 Blogs, found here. And a hearty thanks to the 50 people who have voted for me and whoever it was who nominated me in the first place. You made my day.

(P.S. I noticed the competition is ecosystem-based. Can anyone explain to me how to merge my two blogs there? I have tried and tried, but I can't get tryingtogrok.com and tryingtogrok.mu.nu to be reflected as the same blog. Not that I want to move higher in the ecosystem...that would probably put me up against much stiffer competition!)

Posted by: Sarah at 04:00 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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On Friday, Charlie started getting a runny nose and red, itchy eyes. Then he passed it on to me Saturday afternoon. We're both a little under the weather today, so it looks like I'll be lounging on the couch watching Dallas for the afternoon. Read Varifrank if you need something to pass the time...

Posted by: Sarah at 08:39 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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When Red6 got home from Iraq, the furthest thing from his mind was his blog. He had been home a few days before I gently suggested to him that he put up a post saying that he was home safe. I knew, given my own nature, that many people were worried about him and just wanted reassurance that he was safe and sound. He thought it was funny that people might get that attached to him, but he put up a short post anyway (about how he couldn't wait to hang out with Bogg -- I'm chopped liver, apparently!)

I was reminded of that today when we finally heard from Jack Army, evacuated because of Hurricane Rita. I'm sure he was busy and blogging was far from his priorities, but for those of us who waited 11 days to hear from him, his safety was definitely a priority. His life may have kept moving, but his silent blog kept us at a standstill.

Glad to see you're safe, Jack.

Posted by: Sarah at 10:11 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I started a blog in the first place because I was tired of emailing link after link to my mother. I needed a place where I could compile all of the articles I wanted her to read. Over time, I realized that I'm not that original and that better thinking and analysis was being done elsewhere. I gradually stopped posting things that I knew all the other blogs were already talking about.

The thing is, I have two types of readers. I suspect the majority are blog-heads, those who read several other blogs in addition to mine and know exactly what I'm talking about when I say Turkeygate, superscript th, and "screw 'em". But I'm slowly realizing that I have a growing faction of readers who only read my blog, usually because they know me personally (my neighbor loves to recruit readers for me!) And those readers don't read LGF or RWN and thus miss out on some big stories because I figure no one wants to read another comment about how ridiculous it is that some Kos writer said that we need "streets running awash in rivers of blood" of right-wingers. But if this is the only blog you read, as it is for some of my friends, then I suppose it's my duty again, as it was with my mother, to expose you to a sampler plate from the blogosphere. Thus begins a rejuvenation here, a renewed reason to blog.

So, to start it all off, here's the latest Mark Steyn article. Did you hear that they're banning pigs in the UK (I heard it first via Hud)? The PC-meter just went to eleven. Since pigs are offensive to Muslims, you can't display any pigs in your cubicle at Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, not even Piglet. And Burger King bent over backwards because someone complained that their new ice cream logo looked like the word jihad. I wish I were making these things up. Mark Steyn tackles the hypocrisy nicely in his article, saying:

Likewise, Piglet is deeply offensive and so's your chocolate ice-cream, but if a West End play opens with a gay Jesus, Christians just need to stop being so doctrinaire and uptight.

Some may say that the pig thing is only one officeplace in the UK, that we're blowing this all out of proportion. But this general pandering to Muslims has got to stop. When the villian in movies is the flight attendant instead of the Muslim passengers, when the memorial for Flight 93 is made to look like a red crescent, and when you can't have a Piglet kleenex box without someone crapping a brick, we're headed for serious trouble.

Posted by: Sarah at 09:28 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Now that everyone and his dog has a blog, I do so understand this feeling.

Posted by: Sarah at 03:19 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Pixy Misa, he's our man
if he can't do it, no one can!

I got quite a shock yesterday to find that my website was gone. Naturally I haven't saved anything I've written, so I dealt with the imaginary trauma that everything was gone. I guess I'd better begin backing things up.

Posted by: Sarah at 01:45 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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5. Getting an email from Den Beste about cargo cult science.

4. Musing that I missed The Genius I Was and then finding out he reads my blog.

3. Getting an email from Ben Stein.

2. Hearing that Blackfive and Michael Tucker were talking about me.

1. Getting to meet Tim, CaliValleyGirl, and The Girl in person. I hope there are many more blog meetings for me in the future.

Posted by: Sarah at 05:14 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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I felt bad that Grey Eagle took what I said so personally. I certainly never meant that every single female soldier acts like a slut, and I thought I was as tactful as possible in clarifying my position twice. Everyone keeps pointing out to me that it takes two to tango, completely missing the irony: that's what I was saying in the first place. At times you'd think that the only sex that happens in the Army is rape; I just wanted to point out that men don't have a monopoly on bad behavior.

So I felt bad about Grey Eagle, but then I went over to her website and saw what she has to say about me...

I am a soldier and a combat medic, and the person your husband will turn to to save his life, treat his wounds, and evac him out, so he can bring his cheating ass home to you.

Real classy. She even finds time to make fun of the name of my blog too. And then she flat out lies about me:

There were comments where people actually wrote supporting these posts (I noticed that my comments were removed from the post on "Trying to Grok, but the comments supporting her post were left on).

I never deleted anything she wrote. I don't know what on earth she's talking about, since she filled up most of the comments sections.

I know that this issue is very personal for her, more personal than it is for me because 1) my husband was on an all-male FOB in Iraq and 2) if you knew my husband, you'd know that SPC Waterstraw is just not his type (wink). But I am more than a little disappointed that while I was merely trying to bring up an issue that we all tiptoe around, just to put it out there on the table, Grey Eagle has to personally insult me and belittle me as just an "uninformed spouse".

Cattiness and bitchitude is not exactly the best way to raise my opinion of female soldiers, is it?

[By the way, neither is implying that it's OK for married soldiers to have occasional sex downrange because they're stressed out. I don't buy that BS from the slutty wives either. But that's what Grey Eagle appears to say here:

I have seen and understand where soldiers return from patrols or convoys shaken from IED's, ambushes, being shot at, and all the other incidents that take place, where sleep is mixed with motar attacks, explosions, sucide bombers, and living in conditions that create hardship, depression, and fear to name a few. This causes the soldiers, ALL SOLDIERS regardless of gender to behave differently than when we are home. The sex, which is mostly consentual is a reflection of escape and our own mortality, and becomes living for the moment, and NOT a endless orgy of sex. What the hell do you think we do over there. It does not take away from home, spouses, the love we have, or that we wish we were home with them every moment of every day that we deployed

Please tell me I'm reading this wrong. You can't insist that females are not a sex problem for the military and then shrug off "occasional FOB sex" as normal.]

Posted by: Sarah at 05:40 AM | Comments (13) | Add Comment
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1 Sarah, Don't worry about what anyone else says; you've hit the nail on the head with your last couple of posts. When I was an infantry PL back at FT Campbell in the mid-90's, my soldiers always knew when some of the "low-density MOS" units (i.e. transpo or signal) were deploying to Kuwait. Some of the enlisted females would show up at our barracks and try to get pregnant to avoid deployment. Everyone knew it was happening, but no-one ever said anything. Naturally, the male soldiers would complain about it, but that didn't stop them from sleeping with the females. Bottom-line: you're right. It does take two to tango, but there's an enormous amount of p.c. hyprocrisy in the way the Army handles this issue. Keep up the great work! Chadd Frederick, MD

Posted by: Chadd at August 03, 2005 09:20 AM (roGJq)

2 Good grief Sarah - what have you gotten yourself into now? I agree with you. I have a good friend who was deployed for OIF I with the 101st and he commented more than once about the "issues" relating to sexual antics going on in their camp. He's a bit older, so maybe he's just got a more mature attitude plus this wasn't his first combat deployment. He's seen many. No matter what anyone says this behavior isn't good for anyone and there is no acceptable excuse in my book. I hadn't been reading her blog recently which is probably a good thing cause I might have stuck my mouth into the fray and caused more of an uproar than you. And yes , my friend is getting deployed again with the 101st and he's not real happy about it since he's stop lossed. He was to retire this month. Poor guy and his poor kids. They haven't seen near enough of him in the last 4 years.

Posted by: toni at August 03, 2005 10:23 AM (SHqVu)

3 when i was in the U.S.NAVY. in the early 90's we had women sailors on the ship.listen when you put men and women in the same workplace sex is just going to happen period.the problems that come with them are going to occur.there is absolutably no avoiding it from happening.yeah i know it's the military and you're supposed to be professional but you're also talking about very YOUNG men/women.in my opinion all you can do is try to discourage it.it's almost like driving drunk---- you know it's going to happen but when society (or in your case the chain-of-command)makes you aware of the consequences that type of behavior can be diminished.

Posted by: tommy at August 03, 2005 10:45 AM (NMK3S)

4 Sarah: This game has been going on in the military for a long time. In Vietnam it wasn't only the nurses having sex with the Drs. but the Red Cross "doughnut dollies" were running prostitution rings. When the wives complained we heard the same old thing, we were jealous of the dedicated, wonderful women working alongside our husbands. There are dedicated military women but there are also sluts. Wives have a right to complain. Women in uniform, many of them wives, need to be able to see both sides and, if they were honest, admit that they know this stuff goes on all the time.

Posted by: susan at August 03, 2005 11:51 AM (ST1ZE)

5 Sarah- see my comments to you on 1 Aug. That soldier has an agenda not to mention an ego. Consider the source.-GEO6 [BTW, I am NOT the female soldier who has insulted you. I am, however, actually grey (age and genetics)and I will let you figure out what the Eagle and O6 means... . All the best to you and the Hubs]

Posted by: GreyEagleO6 at August 03, 2005 12:09 PM (WiKxR)

6 HAHAHAHAHA!!!! Boy, if we were back in the 50's, that chick would probably buy the old 'but we could all die tomorrow, it's the BOMB!! Hold me, Darla, I'm frightened! And hey, while I'm feeling you up, mind if I give you a little poke in the honeypot?" I was a female in the Army uniform for 6 years, worked for the Army a total of 12 years, I'll call it - 85% female single soldiers have disgusting, slut morals and 15% are professional but get lumped in with the rest. 85% of male single soldiers would sleep with ANYTHING, married or furry critters, 15% have some standards. Oh, okay, let's be conservative and make it 80 -20. From her first posting, I assumed Grey Eagle was actually trying to say she was in the 15% and I was willing to buy that. But that last paragraph you quoted - woo,boy, she's in that 85% and moving fast. Spare me, lady, and I use the term loosely. When I think of all the good, no, GREAT, men I know who have died in Iraq - and I'm thinking of one in particular - I can tell you what they do when they're shaken from battle. They call their wives, they talk to their kids, they stand in line for the VTC camera. Integrity, honor, loyalty and the rest of the Army values don't fly out the window when you survive an ambush or when a single soldier drops her panties as she walks by and asks if you (her married NCO) want any of that, she's got it for you. And yes, that's a direct quote. If you lose it for a while, fine, you apologize, you do your best to move forward, you try harder to be a professional next time. But you DO NOT rationalize cheap, sweaty thrill sex and call it a noble sacrifice, helping each other with the bond of sex. (Hey, maybe we should give these cheating troops extra pay, they are apparently serving a very important function!) Camp Warhorse is not called Camp Whorehouse by all the troops for nothing. And it's not a compliment, it's an embarrassment. I'd hoped that this deployment would change my mind, that I would see women who didn't use their sexuality to get special treatment. Sadly, that has not been my experience. We are SO MUCH BETTER than this, and everyone should think so. But the only ones who can change the situation are the mentors - experienced women like Grey Eagle and others who should tell younger soldiers, male and female, that making base camp into a remake of 'The Bachelor Party' isn't what the Army is about and never will be. Keep deluding yourself, GE. I hope that you marry a military man and have to send him off with women who strip to their underwear and mud wrestle in front of him for his perusal. Oh, sorry, that's already happened over there, hasn't it? You girls, what a kick in the pants you are!!

Posted by: Oda Mae at August 03, 2005 04:06 PM (3pOhP)

7 Wow Oda Mae!!!! Now that's what I really wanted to say but didn't have the insider knowledge to tell it like it really is. Thanks for laying it all out. I've heard stories up to and including wife swapping in one of my husband's former squadrons but you really did say it all, and brought us to the present and the sorry spectacle that is going on in Iraq. Women need to learn there's a difference between being just a female and being a lady. Thanks Susan

Posted by: susan at August 03, 2005 04:45 PM (ST1ZE)

8 Oda Mae, I've sure missed your comments. Haven't heard from you for a while. Glad you're back. You're the best--you're great at not mincing words! Love it! Sarah's Mom

Posted by: Nancy at August 04, 2005 02:11 AM (DljPa)

9 Sarah - all your other comments pretty much say anything I would say...except better. Grey Eagle "outed" herself with her self-serving, hypocritical statement. There is no excuse for cheating on your spouse (and by the way...you cheat on your spouse...you've cheated on your kids too). That goes for the spouse left at home as well. It's very disturbing to see that moral relativism has a firm root in the 101st Airborne...at least in the persona of this woman. I certainly hope other members of the 101st Airborne don't share her attitude.

Posted by: gibby at August 04, 2005 12:25 PM (DrMqI)

10 Having deployed to OIF I in a CS unit (MP BN) I cannot even begin to tell the problems of the females in the unit who were open for business (not profit, just business) and the seemingly unending line of willing males married and otherwise. Fornication was and I am sure still is rampant in theatre. There arfe of course exeptions such as the NG female who won a Silver Star not too long ago but for the most part, I would be willing to forgo females in the military.

Posted by: cptham at August 04, 2005 01:32 PM (NMK3S)

11 It goes the other way, I rode SSBNs for a while. You should have seen the enlisted club the night a boat pulled out- nothing but lonely boomer widows.

Posted by: thomas at August 04, 2005 09:46 PM (XCrc+)

12 Sarah, Don't let GE get to you. You brought up an different point & one that needed some consideration. I had to deal with middle of the night phone calls where the spouse was trying to get back at the hubby so she claimed the kids were abused. Yes the KIDS! When the issue was pushed that she have them see a doctor, all of a sudden they were "getting back together." The point to this is, that it irks me greatly that there ARE people who claim abuse in an effort to strike revenge. What does this do the the female that was really raped? Screws her over pretty much when and IF is tries to report it. GE has some conflicting views. HH6

Posted by: Household6 at August 05, 2005 02:28 AM (T+Tkq)

13 OMG!! I am appaled at her (Grey Eagle)comment about consentual sex (living in the moment) and how it is a not a reflection of how they feel about their families, spouses back home, and the love they have! If you love someone you would be strong enough to be faithful to them during deployment and times when you are apart! Hopefully she is not participating in this adultry lifestyle that causes homes to be wrecked and families to be destroyed! Thanks for posting what she said!

Posted by: Deanne at August 15, 2005 01:49 PM (LiQus)

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We know we're getting old when the only thing we want for our birthday is not to be reminded of it.

Happy Birthday, Amritas...

Posted by: Sarah at 11:05 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I've gotten really lazy about posting lately because I assume you can all find the stuff I want to say on other blogs. I see stuff all the time that I want to point out, but I don't have much to add to the conversation; you'd be better off checking out Conservative Grapevine every morning instead of my blog. Hawkins has done a great job of compiling links.

I've also gotten lazy about reading blogs, which is why I missed this bait from Annika. I heard about Ulf Hjertstrom and immediately wanted to meet him and shake his hand. A Swede who wanted to take the fight to the enemy...wow.

And in reading Annika again, I remembered what I've been missing for so long. I love reading Annika. I love reading many blogs, but I've pushed it all aside because lately I just don't have the time or energy to get that involved. Bunker's absence drove me from the blogosphere, and at times it feels useless to return. However, I spent a long time catching up with Annika, laughing at this spot-on assessment of Jack Kerouac and nodding at this discussion of chickenhawks. I need to spend some time getting caught up with everyone; hell, I've even started skipping Bleats.

But first I need to get the dog to stop whining every time I take him upstairs.

I've been apathetic lately, about everything. London shook me up though, and I hope it helps me start feeling again, start thinking bigger thoughts than "indeed" when I read others' posts. I feel myself turning into an instapundit, and I don't like it.

I've been thinking about a project that I'd like to start. Bunker wrote so many posts that I indeed-ed, and I have been thinking of going back and revisiting some of the things that I wish I'd said. I'd like to work on that soon.

If the dog cooperates, that is.

Posted by: Sarah at 10:03 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Dear Bunker,

Last night I had the chance to go out to dinner with CaliValleyGirl and The Girl. We talked about how much blogs have affected our lives, and I commented on how close you can get to someone you've never met. You were definitely one of the people I meant, because you've left a big footprint in my life. Just before dinner, I picked up that copy of The Federalist Papers that you inspired me to buy, and I thought that I'd like to start reading it but that I'd probably need your help wading through its density. You are still registered as a user on my blog. I just blogged about you on Friday, and I was waiting to talk about what I've finally grokked about medals with you.

It took me an hour just to stop crying after I read Slice's post. Well, that's not true, because I haven't even stopped crying yet, but at least I've calmed down enough to gather myself. I'd give anything to have you back for one more day so I could tell you everything else I want to say, but at least I know that I've already told you the most important things. Last Father's Day, I emailed you and told you that you felt like a second father to me, that I learned from you every day and that I cherished our blog-friendship. This Father's Day you won't be here to hear it again, but I promise I will be thinking of you again on that day. I'm glad I told you once how important you were to me.

There are bloggers like Den Beste or Whittle that I wouldn't even have the guts to talk to. But I would've easily walked up to you and given you a hug. You were a real person in my life, not just somebody I read on the internet.

There's but a handful of people in my life it could hurt this much to lose.

You know, the email you sent me this week meant so much to me, when you told me that it was cool that I was staying home and not worrying about building a career. But you know what? I deleted it. I don't know why I did that. I guess I thought there'd be plenty more emails where that one came from.

I just wish I could write you one more email to tell you how sad I am that we don't have any future together. I was going to make you the chicken lasagna alfredo you were drooling over the other day, maybe in exchange for helping me with The Federalist Papers. I was going to move to Texas and join the Texas Blog Ring you started, and you were going to teach me to enjoy golf. I hate golf, but I was really looking forward to playing with you.

I never met you, but I am going to miss you so much. I cringe at the fact that I had your phone number at the bottom of every email you ever sent to me, yet I never picked up the phone. Luckily though, I have the CD you sent me of your radio spot on the Lago show, so your voice can bring a smile to my face. And the next time I'm in Texas, I'm still going to visit you, even if there won't be any golfing that day.

I love you, Bunker. I'm glad you knew it; I just wish I could've said it before it was too late.

Posted by: Sarah at 05:35 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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The Girl did this book thing, and I wanted to participate too...

1) Total # of books I own:
It took me forever to count: 528, not including field manuals.

2) Last book I bought:
The French Betrayal of America. It's not even here yet.

3) Last book I read:
Last book I completed was the highly practical How To Raise a Puppy You Can Live With.

4) Books I'm reading now:
I take 'em one at a time; still reading Once An Eagle (it's 1291 pages.)

5) Books that have been important to me:
Hmm, "important", not just "good"...To Kill a Mockingbird, The Fountainhead, Skinny Legs and All, Alas Babylon, Cosmos, Stranger in a Strange Land, This Is My Beloved, and not to forget Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (the book my husband was reading when I met him, the spark for our first conversation) and Lila (the first gift I gave to my husband, for which I received my first kiss from him.)

Posted by: Sarah at 12:52 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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1 Sara..I loved Skinny Legs and All. Thanks for the memory. Every once in awhile when my books start to overwhelm me, I gather up a box or two that I am not too attached to and take them to my used book store. I always end up bringing three boxes home. Is this called 2 steps forward 1 step back?

Posted by: Darcy at June 04, 2005 09:13 PM (GtWPf)

2 Sarah, completely off topic, but I thought you might want to know this. I was just visiting Bunkers weblog, and much to my dismay I found out that he passed away yesterday from a sudden,(and I assume a massive) heart attack. I left a message of condolence for his family there, and think maybe you will want to do the same. I am just shocked by this news, he was only 5 years older than me.

Posted by: Bubba Bo Bob Brain at June 04, 2005 11:35 PM (aHbua)

3 You must have the "long" version of "Once an Eagle." Mine is only 871 pages...I wonder if the story ends differently in the longer version?

Posted by: NOTR at June 06, 2005 01:26 PM (izx0t)

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It's brand new, but I already am a big fan of John Hawkins' new blog Conservative Grapevine. The links are succinct and interesting; it gives me a sample of many different blogs. Thanks, John!

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I found this dialect quiz via Amritas, and my results were just as I would expect:

Your Linguistic Profile:

70% General American English

25% Dixie

5% Midwestern

0% Upper Midwestern

0% Yankee

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

This makes perfect sense, since I basically spent the first half my life in Texas and the other half in Illinois/Missouri.

Posted by: Sarah at 08:02 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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So how shocked was I today when one of the 7th graders quoted my blog to me?

Apparently at least one of my students' parents reads my blog. And may I say, Mr. H, that your son is a dear. He's one of my favorites, and I actually joke with my husband that I want to "keep" him when I leave the school because he looks enough like my husband to be his child. If my son is as polite and cool as yours, I will have done well. One bad apple may spoil the bunch, but all I cling to at the end of the day is the memory of the good ones.

But it never ceases to weird me out when people in my real life cite my online life.

Like I've had much of an online life lately anyway. I just don't have much to say, and I find that the more I write, the more I get uncomfortable in my real life. I find myself wanting to comment on stuff like releasing illegal aliens, but all I can think to say is "that's messed up", which doesn't make for a very interesting blog entry. I just don't spend any time online anymore. (Part of the reason is that my chore load has gone through the roof: I'm back to doing triple the laundry! If I had the time, I would love to talk about this Amritas post too.) But my last day of 7th grade is next Tuesday, so I'll be back on Wednesday.

And can I take your kid with me, Mr. H?

Posted by: Sarah at 10:53 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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1 "your son is a dear" Whew, I was worried that the one kid who mentioned your blog was a Mike al-Moor in the making. "releasing illegal aliens" I guess you're not with the libertarian program (not necessarily a bad thing). I've had a multi-part series about immigration outlined for weeks with links already chosen to write around, but I don't know when I'll get around to even starting it. Fortunately (well, not so fortunately for America) the topic remains timely. I am going to write a sequel to that post you linked it adding a few more thoughts about women in the military. I find it very difficult to see anything wrong with imagining, say, you in a tank, though I've found at least one counterargument that may be better than "intuition" or "solidarity." I was kind of surprised by learning that DOONESBURY is in STARS AND STRIPES. Who says the military is a Rightist-only institution? Last week's storyline deals with a military recruiter. I have no idea how accurate it is, and I'll leave that for others to judge.

Posted by: Amritas at April 18, 2005 12:19 PM (+nV09)

2 Sarah, We'll all patiently wait for you to post whenever you can. We understand that life goes on, and its time to recharge those life batteries. Just keep living it and post when you have something you want to say. We can be very patient when we have to. Subsunk

Posted by: Subsunk at April 18, 2005 10:13 PM (adHXR)

3 You think it's bad now, wait till you have kids! Not that I'm complaining.

Posted by: David Boxenhorn at April 19, 2005 11:44 AM (7In5N)

4 Not that I'm complaining. Yeah, but that's because you're too tired.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at April 21, 2005 03:49 AM (AIaDY)

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Oda Mae has been a long-time commenter and a good friend to me here in our community. Her husband leaves for Iraq today with the British Army, so drop her a line in the comments section and say hi...

Posted by: Sarah at 02:18 AM | Comments (12) | Add Comment
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1 Thanks, Sarah! He called last night and his flight is changed to Wednesday morning. I can now see why spouses, even though they love the soldier, at some point say "Ah! Get on the plane already!" It's too much sometimes.

Posted by: Oda Mae at April 12, 2005 02:20 AM (qGwdI)

2 I'm new to your site, but am not new to supporting a deployed soldier. Well, not that it's old hat... All I can say is the support I get from the blogosphere has helped me through many a long day. I really wonder how I could do it without the many helping and supportive hands that hold me up when I'm feeling down. Every day though makes you so appreciative for the little things in life. A 5 min. phone call can have me smiling for days. Gifts? Flowers? Forget 'em...as long I can hear my loved one's voice I'm good.

Posted by: Sue at April 12, 2005 02:57 AM (lRLpG)

3 Oda Mae - today will be rough and sad and filled with pride - thank you for sharing your boy with us for a little while. Although we may never meet and I may never be able to thank you or Sarah or your husbands properly for what you've done so bravely - please know that we appreciate your sacrifice to our freedom and the Iraqi people appreciate it too. I'm glad you have friends like Sarah who have been there and who will be there for you. The families of our soldiers (British, American and all the others) have the difficult jobs that most of us could not hack. Thank you a million times. I'm proud to say I know a British soldier and his brave wife through an American wife of an American soldier through my computer! How whacko is that?

Posted by: Kathleen A at April 12, 2005 08:19 AM (vnAYT)

4 To one of my very favorite people in Germany--Oda Mae, Having met you, I know you will be a real trooper while Husband is gone. Your great sense of humor will get you through alot of tough times, and I know how much you mean to Sarah so you'll be able to count on her for support. You and Husband will be in my thoughts and prayers. Love, Sarah's mom

Posted by: Nancy at April 13, 2005 01:22 AM (YuW6k)

5 Oda Mae, You made me laugh Been there, done that, and everyone thought I was nuts. Hubs had FIVE sets of orders cancelled before he finally deployed. By the time he left we had been on the deployment roller coaster for more than a year. By that point I was ready to wring someone's neck. If you are going to deploy them, do it already so we can get it over with! My prayers are with you and your husband. Thank you for all that BOTH of you are doing.

Posted by: Tink at April 13, 2005 03:41 AM (S6VXg)

6 Oda Mae - Wish him the best from Tim and CPT Patti. The Lord will know we include him everytime we pray for "our soldiers". You too! Tim

Posted by: Tim at April 13, 2005 11:25 AM (UPI1q)

7 When I first saw the title of this post and the first two words, I thought, "Oda Mae's leaving? No!" But leaving is not a bad thing. First, fighting in Iraq (metaphorically or literally) is not a bad thing. (Not a controversial opinion on this blog - I hope!) Second, being Iraq doesn't mean being cut off from the rest of the world. It's possible to comment and even blog from there. There's a lot of WWII romanticism out there, but one downside to that period was the paucity of real-time communication. As I write this, your husband's plane has already left. But I am thinking of him ... and you.

Posted by: Amritas at April 13, 2005 02:14 PM (+nV09)

8 "your" and "you" referred to Oda Mae, of course. Sorry for the ambiguity.

Posted by: Amritas at April 13, 2005 02:15 PM (+nV09)

9 Welcome back, Amritas. I've missed your comments and words wisdom! Sarah's mom

Posted by: nancy at April 14, 2005 01:05 AM (YuW6k)

10 Thanks for the kind words. It's an honor to hear from you - and to post on your daughter's blog. I'm a little embarrassed, because this comments section should really be about Oda Mae and her husband.

Posted by: Amritas at April 14, 2005 03:15 AM (WnSrS)

11 Amritas, you can post anywhere about anything, I just like to read your thoughts! As to real time communication - well the British Army is a tad different. My husband is entitled to a 20 minute phone call a week. (We can get more time if we pay for extra minutes with his credit card, but he put me on a budget as to that expense before he left.) Their computers are on an internal Ministry of Defense LAN - except for the welfare ones for the soldiers, where he can check his e-mail. Even more frustrating, he's an officer like Sarah's husband. If he has one soldier waiting in line behind him, he will step aside to let his soldier get to the phone. AGGHH!! Looks like many 0200 phone calls to come. Thanks so much, Sarah, for eliciting the nice comments. My deployment won't be nearly as bad as everyone else's - knock wood. He's only gone for six months, and he gets two weeks leave in the middle.

Posted by: Oda Mae at April 14, 2005 08:17 AM (FmIVz)

12 Oda Mae, Thanks for the details on your situation. When I wrote my comment the autobiography of a WWII vet* was fresh in my memory (I finished reading it a few days ago). I'm not saying that you will have it easy, but that poor guy didn't get to see home for two years. No phones (I think), and of course no e-mail. And he came home only to find that he and his girlfriend weren't meant to be. I don't know how much contact my father had with my mother during the Vietnam War. My guess is not much. And after he got out of Vietnam, he went to college in Nebraska while my mother stayed behind in Hawaii for years. They weren't reunited for good until I was three. I'm not even sure if my father was around when I was born! *The memoir is in comic book form (the author has drawn comics professionally for almost 60 years). You can see (and buy) it here: http://www.meccacomics.com/issue-gallery.cfm?ID=12

Posted by: Amritas at April 15, 2005 04:35 AM (WnSrS)

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Dear Deskmerc,

I know, I know. I'm sorry I haven't been around much. I now have a job where I can't blog. Hell, I can't even stop talking for more than 10 seconds before the whole room erupts into roars and highlighter fights. And I don't get paid for a second after 1500, so I try to get everything done during lunch and my planning period so I don't have to take anything home. Because when I get home, I tear my husband away from his GMAT studies to just sit on the sofa and, well, sit. That's all I want to do. And we get in bed at 2100. The days are flying by, and I find myself further and further from the computer. Dang, Mitch Hedberg died a week ago and I just found out. I'm out of touch, what can I say. The only thing I really have to blog about is something that happened at school, something big, but it's really too sensitive to blog about. I wish I could though. God help the state of our public schools.

So I haven't been around. But I still think of you guys all the time. And instead of missing me, go ahead and read Notes from the Olive Garden again: even after the tenth reading, it's still better than anything I could say.

Talk to you soon,
Sarah

Posted by: Sarah at 08:13 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I can't get into my email, but I wanted to wish Tim (of CPT Patti fame) a happy birthday. I hope he reads this...

Posted by: Sarah at 12:29 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Virus be damned, I'm blogging anyway. I spent two weeks with the computer offline, trying to get rid of this stupid virus, when I finally gave up. I'll get it worked out eventually, but I plugged the ethernet cable back in.

My life is about the same as I left it two weeks ago. I'm still subbing, and while things are getting a little better, I was sort of disheartened to find that I likely will be teaching this class for another month. I yell at the kids all day long in school, and then I yell at them all night long in my dreams. I can't seem to get away from them, which is doing a number on my sanity.

The husband is doing great. He's back on a normal sleeping schedule, his feet are healing, and he's studying his tail off to take the GMAT at the end of the month. He's amazing: he attacks everything in his life with the dedication and gusto I only reserve for knitting.

I haven't read any blogs in about two weeks, and I'm not even sure where to start. However, I did feel the blogging pull when I read this nauseating tidbit via Instapundit:

List of Schiavo Donors To Be Sold

If you expressed your support to Terri Schiavo and her parents fight to keep her alive, you may begin to receive a steady stream of solicitations, according to a Local 6 News report.

Terri Schiavo's parents have agreed to sell their list of supporters to a direct-mailing firm, Local 6 News reported.

The company, "Response Unlimited" pays about $150 a month for 6,000 names and $500 a month for 6,000 e-mail addresses.

A spokesperson for the Schindlers confirmed that they had agreed to sell the information, but won't say for how much.

I really could see both sides of the Schiavo dilemma. I can imagine not wanting to let go of a loved one, but I can also imagine hating living that way myself. I thought the husband was a rather despicable man, that he kinda gave up his claims to act in Terry's best interest when he started knocking someone else up. But now I think the parents are pretty shameful too, if this story about selling donor names is true.

What a crazy world we live in.

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