*Twas the month before Christmas*

*Twas the month before Christmas*

*When all through our land,*
*Not a Christian was praying*
*Nor taking a stand.*

*See the PC Police had taken away,*

*The reason for Christmas - no one could say.*

*The children were told by their schools not to sing,*

*About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.*

*It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say*

* December 25th is just another ' Holiday '.*

*Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit*

*Pushing folks down to the floor in hopes they would get it!*

*CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod*

*Something was changing, something quite odd! *

*Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa*

*In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.*

*As Target stores were hanging their trees upside down*

* At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.*

*At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears*

*You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.*

*Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty*

*Are words that were used to intimidate me.*

*Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen*

*On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton !*

*At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter*

*To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.*

*And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith *

* Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace*

*The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded*

*The reason for the season, stopped before it started.*

*So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'*

*Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.*

*Choose your words carefully, choose what you say*

*Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS ,

not Happy Holiday !*

Holiday Eating Tips

HOLIDAY EATING TIPS

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday
Buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see
carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving sausage
balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It's rare. You
cannot find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who
Cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're Going
to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it.
Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's the Holidays!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point
Of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out Of
your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano.
Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim
milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a
Sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to
Control your eating. The whole point of going to a Holiday party is to EAT
OTHER PEOPLE's FOOD FOR FREE. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New
Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to
do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the
buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like
frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself
near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the
center of attention.
They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're
never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of
each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin.
Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert?
Labor Day, Columbus Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the
mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, Have some
standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the
Party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention!!!
Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.


Remember this motto to live by:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention
of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but
rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, body thoroughlyused up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"

This was one of the cute little kids that I shot while Santa was visiting on Dec 4 at one of our MWR facilities.

Graduation Day?

Graduation. Is it all its cracked up to be? Graduation is an event where the commencement speaker tells thousands of students dressed in identical caps and gowns that "individuality" is the key to success. How ironic.

In real life, isn't graduation an everyday experience. Graduating from the process every day is what life is all about. In today's world with the economy the way it is, which one of our classmates should receive a bad grade. Are we to expect the CEO's of the big important companies to be our mentors and follow their lead, or are we suppose to use the ole saying, let the blind lead the blind? It seems that they have received the "F" grade in the class today. Does it seem crazy that as a leader of your business you would go in front of congress and say to the whole world, "Hey, I don't know how to run my company properly, can you give my company some money to hold us over?" I think that is called "stupidity." Henry Ford stated that "A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business." Now what do you think he would say about the CEO that is running his company now.

I like the saying, "life is a bowl of cherries." The other part of that is "so why am I in the pits." I would say that you shouldn't want to avoid the pits. Pits are actually seeds. So going through the life process, "Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant." Robert Louis Stevenson. Seize the opportunities that surround you and do all this by six to be home for dinner.

I liken the path of life to walking in the snow. I found a nice little poem that echoes the thought, "The future lies before you like a field of driven snow, Be careful how you tread it, for every step will show. - Author Unknown

As I have been in the game called "life" now for many years and have been through many different experiences, I surely wouldn't call myself a barnstormer, but I have been in front many times leading the people that were in trusted in my care.

I have led soldiers into many different experiences to include minor skirmishes in Somalia (another story). I have led civilians to be the best that they could possibly be. I am not done by any means. I would say that the great Ralph Waldo Emerson puts it best when he says, "Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is not path and leave a trail." This is my intention. I may need to leave bread crumbs though as the road that I choose isn't always my inital destination.

Where is that? Your destination? That will be my next blog addition.

Survey

WOW, what a bargain. Nobody wanted me for President? Wonder why.

Saturday Night is All Right

Well, It is Saturday night, 10:30 in the evening and I am still at work. Yep, I have gathered some comp time during these late nights. Normally my end of shift is 8 p.m. I will probably be here until midnight tonight. I have added another 19 hours to my enormous amount of Comp Time to date. I have a total of 242 hours credited, added 10 from last pay period. Grand total = 271. Now is that a little ridiculous or what. That is almost 7 weeks worth of vacation. It sure seems that they would find someone else who wants to get paid and work some hours.

I haven't been incredibly busy during these hours, it is just that it is away from the home. Carol doesn't reap the benefits while I am at the office. I suppose when I am able to spend time with her for 3, 4, or 5 weeks, which might drive her crazy, she might then reap the benefits.

Well, guess what? No, you didn't guess. Wrong answer!! Today I turned in my final project of my masters program. Monday is my last official day in the program. I really can't believe it. Sometimes it seemed as though there would never be an end and now I am there. I know at least two people that feel my pain.

I am sure I will find something that will pre-occupy my time once I am finished. It seems that this year is filled with milestones. Passing through the 25th anniversary, finishing my degree, and now looking for a new job which isn't much of a milestone. I will tell those that were praying for a particular job that the job did not pan out. Now it is a matter of finding what will ultimately be a longer visit. I suppose if I had the opportunity to make a choice, I would pick one of two places. I have always told people that if I were to get a job in the Savannah area I would stay and retire. The second option would be that of San Antonio, Texas.

Savannah because of the rich culture that is exhibited there. San Antonio because there is quite a bit to do there. Also I would be close to great friends that also want to settle down in this area. I have made friends along the way, well at least two, and I could pick either location for settling down.

Of course I was looking at a job in Illinois which would have been an ideal spot for a bit of time. I love being in the Chicago land area. That is the job that did not come to fruition. I could have used a little bit of help from the man upstairs but I guess he has another mission for me somewhere. As humans, we get too impatient waiting on those particular missions.

Well, I suppose if it is to be, it will be.

25th Anniversary

Ah, the Silver Anniversary. What are you supposed to do when you have no little flock to throw your party for you. Typically, the offspring of the relationship all get together and throw you a nice shindig. Not only is there any offspring, there wasn't any big shindig. That in itself was kind of a bummer but considering the circumstances, I am thankful for the 25 years.

So let's just take a memory lane tour of what was happening when Carol and I got Married!!

The Baltimore Orioles defeat the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 5 of the World Series, 5-0, to win the series 4 games to 1 for their 3rd World Championship.

Microsoft Word is first released.

Michael Jackson's world famous music video for "Thriller" is broadcast for the first time. It will become the most often repeated and famous music video of all time and increase his own popularity and the record sales of the album "Thriller".

Flashdance and Return of the Jedi are box-office hits.

McDonald's introduces the McNugget.

Ronald W. Reagan was President, Population was 233,791,994 , average cost of a new home was $89,800.00, cost of a first class stamp was .20, VCR costs $399-$888, Sony Walkman with Dolby $229

Don't fall for Obama's marketing pitch

Have you ever bought a used car or fallen for a marketing scam, only to regret the choice? Do you remember how it felt being lied to? For the most part, politicians are one step below hucksters in the honesty scale. They will say whatever they need to, in order to close the sale — in this case the vote.

Why do we seem to blindly trust politicians more than we would a salesman pitching an MLM? Just like with a salesman, to know if he is being honest, you have to judge his record, either that look to see if his mouth is moving. Sen. Barack Obama is promising to cut taxes on everyone who makes less than $250,000 per year. All well and good, nice populist message there — but is it honest? The only way to judge this promise is to look at this record. Obama has never proposed a bill to reduce taxes, even though he is in the branch of government that writes this type of bill. His voting record shows he has voted to raise taxes on everyone making more $40,000 per year. He also voted "NAY" To pay down the Federal debt and eliminate government waste by reducing spending 5 percent on programs rated ineffective. These are his actions, not just the words he uses to try to buy a vote. Sen. John McCain, on the other hand, has a long record of tax-cutting and reducing government waste to show his words have meaning behind them. McCain isn't the perfect conservative, but he has a record. Obama has empty promises. We should judge both candidate's promises on their actual record, not just the pretty marketing slogans.
Why not give our politicians the same scrutiny we would give someone selling us a used car?

Daylight Savings Time

Ah, Daylight savings time. You either love it or hate it. You wake up in the morning forgetting to set back your clock and get ready to go where you need to go, in my case work.

I got up and took my shower and started getting ready for work. After I was ready, I got online to check my schoolwork. I have a paper due on Monday. I noticed the little clock at the bottom. It was an hour off. OOOOooooohhh Yeahhhhh. I forgot to set my clock back.

Well this is the good part of the year if you forget to set your clock. If you forget to set your clock when we spring forward, you end up to be an hour late. I never did like that.

The bad part of daylight savings time for me is that in Arizona where my school is they don't change at all. Now I have an hour less to turn in an assignment. Usually I could get up in the morning and finish any last minute things I needed to do and be able to turn it in by 9 am. Now I only have until 8am. The good news. . . I only have 2 more weeks of that. After that I will have my masters.

I will talk about that on another addition. . .

First Blog Ever

Well, here goes my attempt to blogging. I haven't yet had this experience.

I will keep this one short and sweet so that I can use this as a test blog of sorts.

I will speak of my newest hobby, Geocaching. What is Geocaching you might ask? Well good thing I know so that I can tell you!!

Geocaching (pronounced geo-cashing) is a worldwide game of hiding and seeking treasure. A geocacher can place a geocache in the world, pinpoint its location using GPS technology and then share the geocache's existence and location online. Anyone with a GPS unit can then try to locate the geocache. Once you get to your location, you find bacic useless stuff that other people have put into the cache and you can trade your useless stuff. Sometimes there is a coin, sometimes a bug, sometimes just stuff. You always have to sign the log that is inside and then you move on to your next useless stuff treasure hunt.

Why do it? It gets me outdoors with the dog. Most of the time, at least here in Germany, in the woods. I have had a wonderful time so far and I have only found 7 caches. Jake and I found ourselves deep in the woods on one occassion and never found what we were looking for. Huh? Well at least we got exercise, and Jake was tired.