Midnight,

The Vietnamese New Year

Cpl. Clide Dillenberg and I sit on the edge of our foxhole taking our turn at watch. Clide, My friend and mentor says the VC and NVA don’t fight during Tet.
Then we hear Puff the Magic Dragon overhead a few miles to our front.
Suddenly a red SiFi ray gun like stream of tracers come from the blackness of the night sky with a long moaning droning sound.
Why are they firing Says Clide. They(The NVA & VC) don’t fight on Tet?
Something isn’t right here.

Daybreak, It has been raining most of the night and we are wet and cold even though it is in the upper 70’s. We mount up with the rest of Fox Company 2nd. Battalion 5th. Marine Regiment to do a sweep 13 clicks(Kilometers) west. Very hilly and we are carrying full gear and demo (Demolition supplies, C-4, det cord, fuse, blasting caps, fuse lighters.) about 65 lbs of gear not counting rifle, amo, canteens etc. We force march (Fast walk) 13 clicks west.up and down steep hills through dense jungle.

Mid day, No enemy encounter we, get a call form Battalion HQ. “Get back to LZ (cleared Landing zone) to be flown to a hot situation”. We force march double time. 13 clicks back at a slow to medium run.

The Chinooks are waiting when we reach the LZ. Pile in we can rest a few moments before making sure our battle gear is ready.

“:HOT LZ AHEAD!”

“We are going in Hot. ” We fly over the City, it is a big modern city with multi story structures. Hue! The provincial Capital The 2nd. largest and most modern City in South Viet Nam. We fly down the Perfume River and over the bridges Heavy gunfire form the ground and from our Choppers.

Hue City is divided in two by the Perfume River. The Modern City holds all the Government buildings and a Branch campus of Ohio University. The other side holds the Citadel ( An ancient Castle built in the pre colonial days).

We land a small park. The Gate drops, Everybody starts running out.
Machine guns fire on us as we run. We hit the ground and do squad rushes until we make it to the MacV compound. Safe inside after dragging and carrying our wounded and dead brothers to safety. We collapse for a few minuets while the skipper (Captain Mike Downs) Checks in with Battalion and the other company CO’s and we check on and treat our wounded.

Hotel company, Echo company and Gulf company will join up from 3 directions and try to capture the modern side of the City. Fox will cross the bridge and try to help units if 3/5 who are fighting at the Citadel.

We start across the Bridge and all is quiet. As we approach the other side of the Bridge the NVA open up with Machine gun fire. No where to go but back.
We drag our wounded and dead back off the Bridge and Back to the MacV. The Battalion CP orders us to go down the street along the river to the provincial Capital HQ.

As we were to find out much later several NVA Divisions have overrun the City overnight and now control everything They have killed anyone associated with the South Viet Nam Government or the US thousands of bodies were recovered later from mass graves. The streets are littered with rubble, blown up vehicles and body’s.An NVA flag is flying on the flag pole just 6 blocks away at the Provincial Capital office Building.

This section of the Modern side of the City has several important Government buildings now held by the NVA. Our objective is to find a way to recapture the Capatal buildings. Every where we attempt to go we are met with overwhelming fire. We finally start down the back yards of some Government officials mansions. Ahead we see several NVA run into a bomb shelter in a back yard. (A grass covered mound covering a concrete bunker with doors at both ends.

Engineers up!”

Cpt. Downs wants us to blow the door off one end of this bunker. We sneak up under cover fire and throw a satchel of C-4 against the door and run. Kaboom! the doors blow off both ends and a huge fire ball comes out of the bunker on both ends. When the fire goes out we go in to find 5 charred NVA officers bodies. The bunker had held something explosive and our explosion detonated what ever was inside.

Across the street the 106MM recoilless rifle mounted on a mule ( A small flatbed one man vehicle) is blasting away at the buildings where we are receiving fire from. He fires and the enemy is dead! We finally make it to the medical college. Imagine my surprise, an Ohio boy finding an Ohio University medical school in Viet Nam in the middle of the largest single battle of the entire War.

Working building to building we clear them and kill, capture or run them out.

Nightfall. The NVA have retreated back into their buildings as have we.

One on and one off watch all night 2 hour watches. Clide and I are in a Dental school building. I’m on watch. I sit in a dental chair swiveling 360 degrees and watch all the windows while Cide sleeps. This is so surreal siting in a dentists chair in the middle of Hue in the middle of a War.

Morning.

The word is passed. Gas masks! We are going to gas (CS Gas, a form of tear gas) the NVA across the street and then rush the building. The grunts rush in and kill all the NVA in the building. Cpt. Downs and his radioman head for the door to cross the street. Mike, the Skippers radioman goes through the door first right in front of the Skipper, Clide and I. Kaboom! We are all hurled to the floor. Looking up, Skipper is covered with blood and flesh as are Clide and I. Mike?A P40 rocket right in his face. The whole top half of his body is missing.

Late morning.

A government building of some kind across the street contains a large vault of some kind. We are told to blow it up and recover whatever important documents are contained inside. We were unsure how much C-4 to use. We don’t want to have to do this again.

Baloom!

The explosion blows the vault door completely off and halfway destroys the vault itself.Piasters (South Vietnamese Currency) are flying everywhere. It is a Bank! We just blew up a bank vault and money is flying everywhere. The Skipper looks through the rubble and we find very few documents.

The Capital compound is surrounded by a 8′ high concrete wall we cannot climb over it because they just pick us off one by one as we attempt to climb over. “Engineers up!” Cpt. Downs wants us to blow a large hole in this wall so we can rush the NVA in the compound. More C-4. A UPI news reporter is asking us if he can film us blowing up this wall. We said sure but you need to be way back. He takes a position 50 yards back where he can still see the wall but has some cover. Kaboom! The reporter is on his back, unhurt but a bit shell shocked. Our guys rush the buildings inside the compound and in minuets we have regained control of the buildings in the Capital compound.

“Who has an American Flag?” says Captain Ron Christmas of Gulf company. “I do sir says one of his men.” Bring down that Garbage(NVA Flag) and run up our colors.” as the NVA Flag comes down and Old Glory is raised,You can see it all over the City, fighting Marines all over the City see the flag going up and Cheers go up form everywhere. We suddenly are over come with emotion and patriotism as we realize the similarity with Iwo Jima.

The Canal Bridge.

Snipers!

They killed one of our guys from a building across the canal bridge. We killed them and the next morning more took their place. The Skipper said to clear that house ( a 3 story concrete house.) and get those snipers! We cleared the house but each night they come back in.Cpt. Downs asks us to set up a Command detonation form the other side of the canal from a office building where we had our battalion command CP. We hid 6- 20 lb satchels of C-4 in the rubble at key structural spots in the building that would bring the building down with an electronic remote device controlled from the room on the other side of the canal.

Nightfall,

We watch the house with a twilight scope form our window. NVA start coming in, we can see them moving past windows. We watch for several hours while more and more move into the house. Once we see no new occupants we hit the switch and blow the building up. It heaves up a bit and then collapses into a pile.

Next morning we search the rubble to find how many bodies. 6 NVA soldiers and one woman and one small child. The horror of finding the child was overwhelming and devastating for me for ten years.

“Blow the bridge!” says Cpt. Downs. The Lt and 2 other engineers from our Battalion are handling some of the demolition load. They bring shape charges to set on the bridge to blow it.

As they are setting the charges, gunfire, the LT goes down. The other men scramble for cover.

The Lt is down in the middle of the bridge and no way to get him without exposing ourselves to heavy enemy fire. Clide says “Lets push a jeep out there and we can have some cover from behind while we recover the LT. Clide and I push the Mighty Might (A Small Jeep) out to the center of the bridge right over top of the LT and pull him up into the back of the jeep. Then pull the jeep backwards to safety. The LT is hurt bad, several abdominal wounds. he is medicvac’d out and survives. The Grunts finally kill all the NVA in the area and we blow the bridge late that day.

Nuns!

We are searching for enemy soldiers all over the city when we come to a Monastery of some kind. Every one seems to be gone. We go inside a building with a long corridor and walk down
3 Nuns come out of a door at the end of the corridor and walk towards us with their hands crossed in their selves and their heads down. As we pass they bow and say nothing continuing past 20 feet they suddenly turn and pull AK 47’s from their robes and raise them to fire. we are quicker and cut them down. G-2 tells us sometime later that the NVA have found several Female’s disguised in other places in the City as well.

The Perfume River.

We could no longer cross to help 3rd Battalion on the other side of the river since we blew up the bridge so we took boats across from west of the city and crossed to meet up with 3rd. Bn. 5th. Marines and we took back the Citadel after heavy fighting in the next 2 days. We spent the next several weeks chasing the rest of the NVA all over the country side.

After 42 days and nights we were relieved by units from 101st. Army Airborne division.

We had killed and wounded More enemy in that 42 days than in any battle in the entire war. we sustained a couple hundred dead and wounded from that campaign and inflicted several thousand enemy casualties.

One of the greatest battles in Marine Corps history and in US Military history.

Our skipper Captain Mike Downs, Clide and I survived without a scratch. Cpt. Downs finished his career as a Brigadier General and is retired, Clide survived his tour and lives in Minisota.

This has been an interesting week and I have had a bit of a learning curve of late. I will start with how I feel about friends.

I try to be a good friend. I don’t seek people out. Sometimes I will meet people in my daily life and we hit it off. As a result I think it important that once you have built a rapport with someone it is your responsibility to do the right thing. I expect the same in return but have discovered more times than not most people don’t see things the same way I do. Maybe I have unrealist views. Women can sometimes be katty and it is not always easy to find a man to be friends with unless he is gay.LOL On a positive not, he could give me great tips on clothes and makeup. That could be the best of both worlds I think. He just can’t be too flamboyant. I have my limits on that! He wouldn’t have PMS and we could both check out the guys! Talk about making lemonade out of lemons!

I have been contemplating this for the last few days and I have come up with some possible reasons as to why this happens. Our society has become a throw away culture. We have become so inclined not to work at things. Friendships, marriage, you name it. With myspace and Facebook, there is very little personal interaction. On-line dating is another problem. All of it is very surface. No one really gets to the real person anymore. How sad. There is also the “Girls Gone Wild” behavior. Our children and the younger crowd seem to think that there will be no consequences if they run wild through the streets or on the internet for that matter. Friends are no a commodity anymore and if it feels good, do it.

I have only a few friends and I still only trust one of them…myself. It has to be this way. It has caused me to be more cynical and closed off but few know this as my general attitude is one of optimism. I am a fighter and a survivor. I don’t give up on myself and have faith in the knowledge that in the end I will prevail. I also do not want my son to feel that he has to be suspicious of his fellow classmates or contemporaries. He has to learn his lessons the same way I have learned mine. I can’t always protect him can I? I will be there to hold him up though. He knows that I always have his back.

I took him to the rodeo last night and we had a blast! It was fun just to be out with him. We watched the action and he is no longer afraid of clowns. He actually likes the rodeo clowns. I explained to him what they did and how important they were to the cowboys. I still think he is not too excited about the other brand of clowns though. I agree with him on that one.

Too many children don’t get the exercise that they require. Video games and other technologies are turning our children into future overweight, unmotivated adults. Many are overweight now. They have no reason to go outside and if it suggested many children cringe at the thought. They wouldn’t know what to do. When I was growing up, I spent all my time outside exploring my world. I grew up on a farm and loved being in the pasture with my horse and my dog Rex. That was where I found my peace. We were not allowed to watch TV. We had one but watching it was very limited. I read. I love reading and grew up with the World Book Encyclopedia. I read each one of them. I hid them under my bed and if my sisters needed one they knew where to find them. I full of knowledge as a kid and find it troubling how the written word is often going by the wayside.

My 6 year old doesn’t have video games whatsoever. He actually plays outside! He knows how to entertain himself as his brother is staying with his father for awhile in the Washington State area. People comment on how he is able to keep himself occupied. Why is this so amazing? I guess they are so use to their children being glued to the gameboy or the remote.He is athletic. He runs, jumps and climbs trees. I have rescued him a couple of times. We have an old tree out back. Several month ago I saw him up in that tree. I thought nothing of it as he would climb it all of the time. As I was checking on him I saw him still up the tree. I waved at him and he did not appear to be in distress. Well about an hour passed and the kid was still there. At this point I knew he is not up that tree for his health. I called to him and he starts yelling, “HELP!” His leg was numb from sitting on it and he had gotten wedged between the trunk and the branch. I was laughing so hard as I extracted him from the offending tree. He did not know whether to laugh or cry. I guarantee you that the tree has not been climbed since!

I have been having some discussions with a Russian on the VAJoe site. I am not sure if this person is actually from Russia but regardless I have to add this before I close.

Russia and Putin are up to their Cold War tactics. There is a stragetic component to all of this as far as the Black Sea ports goe. Putin wants to maintain control of the region so that the ports can be used by Russia.

http://www.ocean.udel.edu/blacksea/geography/index.html

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/216560.html

I found this in my research. It may have some teeth. Read it and make your own decision. From what I can tell this whole thing started somewhere and there are many irregulars fighting.

The bottom line is it comes down to oil and the control of the energy in that region by Russia and Putin. They are throwing in some ethnic cleansing as well.

I have been very busy as usual. Working, taking care of the home and dealing with all that comes with being a mom. I also recently discovered a new and potentially dangerous threat to those of us who walk the streets…homeless people on second rate bikes with no breaks!

I was on a delivery to a local downtown pub during the lunch rush. I bring joy in the form of flowers so all are happy to see me. So after the pleasant experience I was exiting the establishment and out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash of movement. I jumped out of the way just in the nick of time! A man on a run away bike was heading towards me. The man is yelling a warning that he had no brakes! Just great! I was a nano second from tasting the pavement. The funny thing is, this pub was full of lawyers. Talk about irony. He felt bad I’m sure. I was laughing more out of surprise and the patrons who saw it happen were laughing with me. I wonder what would have happened if I had bit the dust though…

Why he was on a busy sidewalk in the middle of downtown? I just count my blessings as he was rolling down hill and was coming fast. He was loaded down with all that he owned so the impact would have been more powerful and I am sure I would have been hurt. I wonder how many attorneys would have come to my aid? Oh that’s right…The guy was homeless! He has NOTHING! Therefore they would have defended his lack of judgement and I would have somehow been at fault for not looking both ways as I exited the business and looked for a bicycle on the sidewalk coming at me. My poor judgement would have been the reason I left some of my DNA in the cobblestones. Gotta love the lawyers! Most of them were defense attorneys. I am just glad I am nimble on my feet!

As you see I have a disdain for the legal profession. I think it has become more deep seeded of late. I have been observing how the system seems to backfire on those of us who do the right thing. It comes down to money. We have a problem in our community that involves a “wink and a nod.” I’m sure it’s a common practice throughout the country. To be quite frank, most of the cases are decided on the golf course or within the local country club. The attorneys and the judges all know each other. They throw a few back or play a few holes and the next day they go into the courtroom and play out the charade. It is a well known secret here and I find it so unethical.

When it comes to attorneys, I wonder if they are the second oldest profession…just a thought.

So many attorneys feel they are smarter than the rest of us. They tote their law degree and look down their noses at the rest of us. They know that we can’t do anything legally without their help. I have tried but all of it requires an attorney and their connections. I have been caught up in a situation that requires me to go back to court and file a petition against my ex for contempt of the parenting plan not to mention the divorce decree itself. My biggest concern is my child. Do you think I can find an attorney to help me? NO! They want big bucks. I don’t have that. I have a dead beat dad to deal with who is abusive as well. Yet I have to be the one to file against him. I have tried to find a PRO BONO attorney. No such luck. These blood suckers are too worried about their cars and fancy homes. It would be beneath them to help a small child and his mother find justice. Instead they defend drunk drivers, killers, pedophiles and the like. Gee thanks! My dislike of these blood suckers grows daily.

I look at my child each day and see what he has to go without and know that we are being mistreated not only by his father but by the legal system. If you don’t have the cash you can’t buy the justice. Nice. I have contacted legal aid and they won’t touch my case as there is a divorce decree and a standing parenting plan. They have told me to try and find a PRO BONO attorney. What a crock!

My rant against the legal profession is over for now. On to a much lighter subject…

Mr. Bob has given me moments of great laughs. His biggest frustration of late has been his son’s inability to use punctuation. Now this also includes Bob Jr’s not putting an aprostrophe in the name Lowe’s as he writes a check. Now his reasoning is somewhat complicated and very argumentative. He feels his son is recreating the English language and doing things his own way. Truth be told, he is on a time limit and he misses the little details that really don’t mean too much. But Mr. Bob in his infinite desire to create an argument will do so and therefore we all sit around as he rants. It’s good stuff. I have to suppress a smile or just get up and walk to the other side of the office. He really is an unwilling comedian and yes I think alot of him. But he is funny! Just don’t want to ever be on his bad side. Bob Jr. just sits there and lets him go. He has health problems. Heart, diabetes and had a couple of strokes. He has learned not to get upset over what his father has to say anymore.

I have also made a decision this week regarding the discipline of my 6 year old. My son is all boy and seems impervious to most forms of discipline. So I have incorporated fitness into his new behavior modification. I found that this has a calming effect not only on him but on me. He has his 1 lb weights and we do push ups, upper body and cardio. He actually gets a kick out of it and he is worn out by the time I get done with him. We are both laughing by the time our workout session is over that not only is all forgiven, a lession learned, but we are stronger. That kid has some muscles!

My slow pitch game went great…it was rained out! HA HA HA

I am going to leave out my political opinion this week as I am doing some research and will have more to add regarding the subject next week. Those of you who keep up with me on VAJoe know how I feel but of course I will reiterate on my blog as I see fit. I have much more to say on the subject so will have to see how this week goes with the canidates and all those the rest in D.C. I’m sure a week will make a difference.

By Jim Spiri

July 10, 2008

It’s all about oil, at least that is what many would have us believe. I tend to usually take a different view on things when I’m not exactly sure what on earth to believe. Such is the case these days when I fill up my little pick-up truck and hand the cashier a $50 bill, and get no change. Let’s take a look and ponder a few choices before I need a $100 bill next week.

Four years ago while home on R & R from Iraq, I made a decision to purchase two vehicles that get over 30-miles per gallon each. It was costly, but turns out it was a wise decision. Glad I did it. My suggestion to everyone is that if you can do without a gas-guzzler, downsize as soon as possible. I do not think that gasoline is going to go down in price. On the contrary, I’m preparing for $7 a gallon gas, or higher. Just the way it looks to me that it is going. Adapting.

On the campaign trail lately, there has been lots of talk about drilling our way out of this so called oil shortage. Obama says no to off shore drilling, McCain says we need to consider more wells in the ocean. No one is talking much about ANWR, (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge) up in Alaska, and quite frankly, I hope it stays that way. Here’s why.

Firstly, without inundating the readers with all kinds of graphs, charts, figures, calculations, etc., I choose to just speak (write) in terms most all of us can understand. I know that currently there are literally hundreds of wells drilled both on land in the US as well as in our territorial water boundaries that are not producing one drop of oil for all kinds of reasons which with a little research one can figure out the answer is money. Secondly, there is a real push in the US these days to cut back and tighten our belts which has for the most part resulted in if not a decrease in consumption, at the very least a stemming of the rate of increase in consumption. Simply put, demand is adjusting to supply, or at least it looks that way at the moment. Thirdly, just this week, T. Boone Pickens, the Texas oil and gas baron has made a real timely media blitz telling all of us that this time we cannot drill our way out of this problem. He has proposed a rather large investment into wind generation which for an oilman is a big step. I think he’s on to something. Improvising.

But let’s come back to Alaska and chat a bit about ANWR. I have noticed the oil companies are also doing a media blitz these days. If one looks deeper into the reasons behind the blitz, it is not hard to figure out that what they are saying is, “give us Alaska, we’ll give you all the alternatives you want and maybe a penny or two drop in gas prices at the pump. I for one don’t think I’m going to buy into that one right now. Maybe later, but not now.

I’ve been to Alaska several times in years past. I find the state by far the most beautiful and most intriguing of all 50-states, including my own home state of New Mexico, which I cherish. The first thing one notices all throughout Alaska is how untouched most all of it is. I have yet to go to the far north extremes of Alaska, but, I’ve been close. I do not think now is the time to disturb it and for good reason. I’m a realist. I know that eventually those J. R. Ewing types will get their hands on it. But if they were smart, they’d think about what I’m saying for a moment.

I’m for more off shore drilling in our territorial waters. I believe the technology has already proven itself and new ideas are forthcoming resulting in safe methods to increase our domestic production levels. We’re already in the ocean in a big way as far as oil wells go and increasing the number of wells would indeed help, as long as the owners decide to bring the oil they’ve hit up to the surface to the market place. The same can be done and should be done with the oil fields in the lower 48 states. Just in Colorado and Wyoming alone, the potential in the oil shale reserves are mind boggling. All that is needed is good old fashioned American ingenuity, like we had when we decided to land a man on the moon in 1969. We can do it. Overcome.

The reason keeping Alaska waiting in the wings with its reserves in ANWR is a good idea is strictly economic from my point of view. We are a nation that over the last few decades has watched its’ savings go down the tubes. Basically, the typical family has no savings for a rainy day. Holding the oil in Alaska in the “bank” so to speak, is the best leverage we can use on the global oil market. We don’t need it right now. What we need is to utilize what we have available to us such as the off shore potential that we can readily access much faster than anything ANWR would produce. It’s the conservative thing to do. It’s a smart move if you look at it through an economists eyes. We know it’s there, we know we can use it, but why spend it up when there are other, less expensive options out there that have already proven themselves?

If we do indeed go for more off shore drilling then at the same time we need to build several more refineries and update the ones currently in use. It is a well known fact that a great deal of the problem is refinery related rather than supply limitations which is what we are bombarded with daily by the PR firms assisting the big oil companies. One of these days Iraq is going to come on line in full throttle oil production allowing us to eventually leave the area for the most part, maybe. I say let the Kurds control Kirkuk and the supply of oil will flow. They are the wisest ones in the mix in the region. Let Iran make one false move and they won’t have the capacity to produce one ounce of oil. In the mean time, let the wells in the lower 48 pump to overflowing amounts. Open up more off shore sites. Let American ingenuity loose and watch what we can come up with. Listen to T.Boone Pickens on this one.

And by golly, let’s just leave Alaska alone for a rainy day. Treat it like a really good savings account. Let technology advance to a point where the environmentalists are happy and the methods for getting all that oil up there are perfected to such an extent that even the oil companies will be happy. It’s the smart economic thing to do. Don’t spend the reserves yet. The day will come fast enough. In the mean time, let the caribou run wild, let the wildlife flourish, leave the tundra alone. That oil ain’t goin anywhere. It’s been there for a long, long time. Who knows, maybe with all this global warming going on it will turn into an offshore site anyway and we’ll be more than prepared by then….!

Sincerely,

Jim Spiri
Jimspiri@yahoo.com

I have been on a bit of a learning curve this week with lawn impliments. I am battling the 4 stroke weed eater and so far I have won with only minor injuries suffered. I thought that it would be pretty easy as far as using it for more than 2 or 3 hours. What could go wrong? Well if you factor in the weight of the machine even with a shoulder strap, the heat and the fact that when using this machine along a rocky drive way, (one can become the target of many rocks) it can be a bit of a bear at times to deal with. I have safety glasses and jeans etc…Men should wear cups if you know what I mean! I have actually bled when the rocks hit my legs and arms. The lawnmower is not much better but so far it hasn’t caused me any harm unless you consider being bored to tears a work related injury. I will be laboring away in the lovely Tennesse heat until this fall. I go back to school and will be working in an office.

From this Hellish experience I have discovered I can whip out a pretty good yard and can take the heat. In the end I feel as if I have conquered something…don’t ask what just yet as I am still trying to figure that one out! The heat and hilly 7.5 acres have become some sort of metaphor. That is all I can say at this point. More to follow on this subject.

I do think that as a single mom I have a need to show my son that his mom is working hard and making it. For the both of us. He is still a kid but he is starting to get it. Maybe that is why when at the end of the day I am satisfied that I did something even if some may not consider it glamorous and fun. I get dirty. Very dirty. I smell like sunscreen and Deep Woods Off. I suppose that can be an attractive look and smell…not really!

Nothing is free in this world. Not even the government programs. Someone pays. That is why I am working. I don’t want to be one of those who would rather sit around and watch the world go by. I will not be one of those individuals who gets fat and complains that nothing is fair and wonders why they are getting the short end of the stick. I HAVE the stick! I OWN it and I am swinging it. I control what I do. I do not answer to DHS and other government programs. I will live on peanut butter and hotdogs if I have to before I take anything from the government in the form of a handout. That is just me. I have a goal. I will be finished with my school in November.

It go to the local Wal Mart and hate going. I put it off until the milk, bread and orange juice is gone. Then one must take the dreaded journey. First let me state that as I go through the parking lot to find the farthest possible spot, there are others who will actually drive around for 10 minutes trying to get as close to the handicap spot as possible! They should have parked in the back forty. But they have a goal too. One day they will be parking in the handicap spot themselves. Not because they couldn’t prevent it but because they neglected themselves. Is it really that difficult for some of these people to walk a few extra feet and put forth the effort to get some exercise? I think not! They gladly walk through the chips and candy isle. Hope I haven’t offended anyone but if I have struck a cord with someone, just start parking a bit further away from the entrance and walk a bit further to the store. It will surprise some how much they really need to walk. It is the best exercise and almost everyone can do it unless they suffer from an illness that absolutely prevents it.

Speaking of health and fitness I have to discuss the gym that I attend and how I feel about the gym system overall. I have gone to the YMCA for over 2 years. I don’t run with the crowd and do my own thing but have been observing the “desperate” wives club in action over the last few months. Even the staff call them this. They have all the connections, the rich husbands and plastic surgeons on speed dial. It is rather hilarious actually. I laugh at them for the most part but also find them annoying overall. They take up space and get in the way. Part of the problem is that their hubbies have made big donations to the Y so they have the run of the place.

Lately I have found myself and my son caught up in some of their petty drama. I have considered all of the possibilities and have come to this conclusions. I may be wrong but don’t really think so. Call it my sarcastic and cynical view of the world…

They have the BMWs, Mercedes, Lexus SUVs etc…Their nails are done each week as is their hair. They have the best of the best in everything. Their homes are near the country club or in an exclusive gated neighborhood. They are “better” than the rest of us. But I don’t think so.

Here’s the rub… I believe they live in continual fear. Fear that they will loose it all. Fear that their husbands aren’t doing the right thing. You know what I mean. Fear that their homes are really guilded cages and the cars and all that they have are just a way of keeping them happy. Many are looking the other way in order to maintain the lifestyle to which they have become accustom to. I am a reminder of how marriage can go from being good one day and going terribly wrong the next. I am also a stark reminder that they too may have to go out in the cold, cruel world and actually have to WORK! OMG! What is that? They have maids! Ha I smile as I type because I know most of them have never had to work hard and they would miss their beautiful nails. I was totally unprepared and I wasn’t rich to start with. So I am willing to work hard to pay survive.

My son is also being bullied by some of their children at the YMCA camp and in one incident 2 boys who were bigger than him ganged up on him. He is 6 years old. He was pushed by one boy and the other grabbed his arm. My son punched the boy who was restraining him. MY child was suspended for 3 days for hitting the boy. The other 2 were written up. Interesting. I have an issue with this. The staff even acknowledged that he was defending himself but they have a “no hitting” policy. Okay that makes no sense if it is in self defense and the staff who are actually just out of high school and immature in many ways were not able to assist my son. I am proud that my child defended himself BUT I did tell him that he had to “play” their game. That life is full of games. We may not agree with certain things but in order to get through life we have to play by certain rules. I talked to the camp director and told her that I don’t want a child who is complacent. One who will be bullied and will let someone grab him, kidnap him and do unimaginable things to him. I want my son to be willing to defend himself. Funny thing is she totally agreed with me. What? So now I am a bit confused by the whole matter. I don’t want him to bully others either. It is a fine line. He is learning to walk it.

Hypocrisy is alive and well at the YMCA though. Of course it is a Christian organization and I called them on it. I have a way of telling people what I think. This in no surprise to those who know me from my posts. I make no apologies for it. If I am right I stand up and take the hit. I will also acknowledge my mistakes as well. I know there are others who have complained about the summer program. I am the one willing to push it. When it comes to my children I will fight to the end. Messing with me is one thing, mess with my boys and there will be Hell to pay…

My boys will tell anyone I still have alot of army in me. I am not raising whiners. I give them lots of love and tough love also. My thinking on this is if they hurt themselves while playing and start crying about it, I will make sure nothing is broken and that they aren’t bleeding out. I will ask them their names, the day and how old they are. If they can give me this information I will tell them to get up and shake it off. Is that mean? Maybe, maybe not. But I am raising future MEN, not ballerinas. HA HA I also give hugs and kisses and tell them how much I love them. Nothing gets me more than a mom who goes running to little Johnny or who is crying after getting a little scrape in the knee and holding him. Kissing him and asking if his “boo boo” hurts him. Sure it hurts! There is blood and he is going to play it up and end up with a ice cream cone and a whiney streak a mile wide when he grows up. This goes for little girls as well. We are suppose to be the gentler sex but ladies we need to toughen up a bit! There is nothing wrong with strong boys AND girls. We as a nation are getting too soft. Our kids don’t know what it is like to shake things off anymore. They are into video games. They get carpal tunnel syndrome and suffer from obesity by the age of 11 or 12. I don’t own any video games. I refuse to. Go OUTSIDE and play!That’s what I did. Run, jump, ride your bike! I had a horse growing up but in town they may have an issue with my keeping one in the NEIGHborhood! LOL

I will talk to my kids after they get in trouble or hurt. We will talk about what happened and tell each other how much we love each other. I am doing the best I can and hope I don’t mess it up too bad. One day at a time is all anyone can do when it comes to our children. They are a handful afterall.

Last night was the 4th of July and I took my son out for a little drive to see the fireworks. I don’t like driving along the road in the neighborhoods. Last night there were actually people setting up their bottle rockets etc…along the road and setting off as cars passed by. I had to roll up the windows. Pretty scarey stuff considering we had an incident last week or so where a mother and your young son were in their truck waiting for someone and a group of teenagers ran up to her truck, lit a bottle rocket and she and her child were injured and the truck was a total loss. The boy is fine as his injuries were minor but his mom is still at the burn unit at Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tn with 2nd and 3rd degree burns. Charges are pending. I hope they catch these punks.

Last but not least, I am going to throw in my 2 cents over the recent events in the political arena.

I was appalled by Wesley Clark’s statements regarding John McCain’s service to this country and the fact that it doesn’t qualify him to be president. Well Mr. Clark, you were relieved from your position as the SACEUR commander for an incident or a combination of incidents weren’t you? Was this a planned attack on McCain and Obama was part of the plan. He would come out and discredit Clark? This way Obama looks more diplomatic and the “peacemaker?” But in private he gave Clark a fist bump? Hmmmmmm I can’t believe Clark is still hanging around and running his mouth as he does.

There is that little matter of the Pristina International Airport shortly after the end of the Kosovo War. While Clark was the commanding SACEUR he ordered the British commanding General Mike Jackson to take the airport as the Russians were enroute. He ordered the British General to use force. General Mike Jackson refused to start WWIII for him. Not long afterwards Clark’s career came to an end and he was basically forced out of the military. So this man has nothing to say about the character of John McCain’s service to this country nor his time as a POW. McCain’s credentials for president are not merely his service in the military but his time as a public servant. I may not always agree with him but Obama just plain scares me.

I am hoping Senator McCain makes a good VP choice. One who has a strong economic background. That is what this country needs. Hope…

Hope you all had a Happy 4th of July and enjoy your INDENDENCE! It comes at a price but is worth the cost.

Did you her about the June market numbers?

The worst June since 1930.

2 times since January we lost 1000 points in less than a week.

The worst 6 months in 40 years.

How are your Mutual funds doing?

Oil prices skyrocketing, causing food and almost everything to skyrocket in price.

No good news on the horizon anywhere.

Cost of living going up like an express elevator ,but income’s creeping up at less than inflation.

China is using an exponentially greater percentage of the worlds supply of oil
everyday as they go into an industrial revolution unlike the world has ever seen.

The average family continues to use credit to purchase consumables like food and gas at an alarming rate. 135% of discretionary spending is credit card purchases.

With NO CASH RESERVE where is that going to end?

Housing, thought to begin a rebound by 2008 is now, according to the Wall Street Journal expected to plummet for at least 2 more years.

With the Family home( The greatest investment most families will ever make) loosing value (Now about 20% average) and expected to continue, where will it all end?

I have always been a optimist. However with the current financial perspective we are preparing for an economic disaster of Biblical proportions.

Paying off all debt however you can. Storing non perishable food items.

GET OUT OF THE STOCK MARKET NOW! I cannot say this anymore emphatically. You WILL Loose the vast majority of your investment dollars and retirement dollars if you stay in.

This could be the last independence day you celebrate in long time if our predictions manifest.

Independence is dependent on having the ability to do the things you are free to do. If you re broke and desperate financially you have NO INDEPENDENCE!!! NO FREEDOM!!! YOU ARE A SLAVE!!!

Please heed this warning! We have been doing historical research to compare other times in history where economic conditions like these were present for many yers and the picture is GRIM.

History repeats itself and the crash of 1929 was nothing compared to what we will go through this time.

Don’t give up, don’t give in, there is time, if you act now to put yourself in a position where you will come out on top.

This is not a Republican or Democrat thing, this is a National thing.

I want to see you on the other side of this looming disaster, healthy and able to make a difference in the lives of others.

The People of this wonderful Nation are able to overcome insurmountable problems when they put their mind to it.

Remember this. There is NO Substitute for preparation and practice if you want to win.

If you want more specifics on how to prepare for what is to come write me at dkirk@ forwardfinancialgroup.com or comment below on this blog.

Have a well prepared Independence day.

Thank God for Our troops and there precious families around the world.

Father God, keep them all safe. AMEN.

There are three things I’ve learned in my travels around the globe. Well, maybe there has been a few more than three but for today’s purposes we’ll only bring to light three that seem important to me.

1) You don’t tug on Superman’s cape.
2) You don’t spit into the wind
3) And you don’t pull the mask off the old “Lone Ranger.”

After years of living by this so called “survival code”, I came to the conclusion that it works. In every circumstance I’ve ever found myself in, be it good, bad or indifferent, keeping an eye on the basics kept me from all kinds of calamities. So keeping that in mind, I will now do something I’ve not done too often. Some would say I do it too much, but I know the truth and it continues to set me free. It is time to take the gloves off.

It’s the first week in July 2008 now. A little over four months until the general election which will determine our next President. It’s a big one this time, perhaps the most critical one of my entire life. Or maybe it is just seeming that way to me for my life now is entering its 53rd year. I have a lot at stake as do the rest of us. Is a matter of fact, the entire nation and perhaps the world itself does too. This time last year, in a past writing, I wrote a piece directed at all the contenders for President at the time to listen to what I had to say. Two of the contenders’ campaigns at that time listened and responded. One of those contenders is no longer in the race. The other is still in the race and is the Republican (presumptive) nominee.

The Democratic nominee, Sen. Barak Obama, and his campaign, have never contacted me. Therefore, I found it fitting at this time to put out there for all to read what “Jim” has to ask and say. In keeping with my integrity, I will be respectful, but I’ve chosen to take the gloves off and address some hard questions. So…..

Dear Mr. Obama…..You are a man that wants to be President of the United States and Commander in Chief over our military which includes my son. How is it at 46-years-old, which is seven years my junior, you feel that you are prepared for such a daunting task? This is the first time a man running for President is now younger than me. I know how little I know and I know the many places I’ve been and the many, many life experiences I’ve had, and I’m not running for President. I know the constitution says you only need to be 35-years-old, but when that stipulation was written, I believe life expectancy was shorter than it is now. I’m a little perplexed on your lack of life experiences.

Mr. Obama, you and I have a couple of things in common. Both of us did not grow up with our biological fathers. Both of our fathers were from foreign lands. Mine from Italy, yours from Kenya. My father was much darker skinned than my mother, as was the same in your instance. I lived in Hawaii for a long time as an adult, you lived there as a young person. You have two daughters, and I do as well. When I fill out certain questionnaires that ask about my background, I always write in “other”, and then beside that I put the word, “American”. Which box do you select?
The reason I ask this question is many people in your campaign make a strong point that you are black. Even recently last week, you made a strong statement in an intimidating way saying that the Republicans are going to scare the voters reminding them that you are black. Your words exactly were, “oh, and did I mention he (Obama) is black?” I’m a little perplexed on exactly what you meant by this.

Mr. Obama, you have been speaking quite a bit about Iraq and the war there. I was wondering how many times you’ve been to Iraq since you seem to speak about it so much? My understanding is that you went there once for a very short time. Where exactly did you go while in Iraq? I spent nearly three years there I don’t recall ever seeing you there. I saw lots of politicians while I was there and spoke to almost every one of them. But I was loading the wounded at that time onto C-141’s and C-17’s in Balad. Maybe you were down in the Green Zone, hunkered down with some other important people who never got outside the wire. I know I didn’t see you in Mosul on the days I was on patrol with the 1st Cav, as RPG’s and IED’s were going off. I’m sure I didn’t see you on the streets of Fallujah while I was with the 6th Marines getting shot at. Maybe you saw some Marines at the embassy in Baghdad. I know I didn’t see you in Taji when I was on missions with my son. I’m really beginning to wonder where exactly in Iraq did you go and how do you explain being able to say so much and seen so little? I’m very perplexed by this.

Mr. Obama, you talk a lot lately about the economy. I have to say it is in bad shape. Especially the housing industry. At the moment, my housing situation is ok. But as we all know that could change in a heartbeat for all of us. But probably not you. You seem to have received a bit of a shady deal from your friend Tony Resco. I myself have never heard of the kind of deal you got under the circumstances you got it. And when it came to light about Resco, you seemed to have distanced yourself from him, especially now that he’s a convicted felon. I do not know with any clarity what your plan is to solve the housing crisis and the mortgage fiasco that is front and center to many Americans across the land. All I can figure out is that perhaps you are subtlety suggesting we all get our own sweetheart deal with your friend and big time contributor Tony Resco. And then, we too can drop him like he’s hot. I’m very perplexed about your plan for the housing crisis in light of your own shady dealing concerning the purchase of the home you currently reside in, in Chicago.

Mr. Obama, you have expressed a desire to become real friendly with the likes of those enemies that are out to destroy our way of life. It seems that you would like to have a big group hug with the leaders of Iran, North Korea, Syria, Al Queda, and a whole host of other folks that seem hell-bent on killing the rest of us. I’m not exactly sure where you came up with this idea. Perhaps it was from Rev. Jeremiah Wright, another person you had 20-years of dealings with that you seemed to have recently thrown under the bus when the negative publicity about him came to light. Seems to me that you have negated the saying, “walk softly and carry a big stick”, and replaced it with, “walk as loud as you want and carry no stick at all”. This perplexes me a bit.

Mr. Obama, how is it when you come to my state, New Mexico, you come all the way here and not let anyone attend except thirty women from a fancy coffee shop all lined up in front of TV cameras for some kind of image stunt? What exactly was the point you were trying to make because I for one didn’t get it. Is a matter of fact, every time you come to my neck of the woods, I’m never able to get a word in edge wise. Perhaps I’m not of the right demographic. But didn’t I hear you say on many occasions that you want to be the President of all of us? Maybe you or your handlers were afraid I’d ask too tough a question and your response or lack thereof might not look so good to the national TV audience. Either way, I’m perplexed.

And finally Mr. Obama, I can’t for the life of me figure out how you just seemed to pop on the political scene out of nowhere. I can only conclude that there must be a whole lot of folks out there like Oprah, Resco, Soros and others that are continually throwing lots of money your direction in order to keep that “rock star” image on the front pages of all the papers and in the spotlight on the evening news. I have noticed that you seem to get lots more media attention than your opponent. I wanted to ask you about the pledge you signed about keeping with your promise to go with public campaign financing, as your opponent is doing. I guess when it comes to certain matters involving millions and millions of dollars and what that money can buy, it makes no difference whatever you signed or whatever you promised. There seems to be a pattern here and it is very, very perplexing to me.

Senator Barak Obama is a very smart and subtle politician. He has risen to a place that very few on the planet ever get to. But how he got there and how he intends to remain there is quite bothersome and very perplexing to me. He now lives in Chicago and represents the state of Illinois in the US Senate. Anyone from Chicago would have known the lyrics to a song that spoke of how to conduct oneself while traveling around.

You don’t tug on Superman’s cape. You don’t spit into the wind. You don’t pull the mask off the old lone ranger and……
You don’t mess around with Jim…!

Sincerely,
Jim Spiri
Jimspiri@yahoo.com

By Jim Spiri

It’s June now, 2008. I’ve been back stateside for over half a year now. During that time I was able to visit several states, gave a few talks, saw the kids and grandkids, and tried to settle into the day to day routine of what happens next. I’m pondering the situation that all of us are facing these days and I find myself quite startled at what is going on all around me. Let’s take a look at what I mean.

The war in Iraq continues. Each day I watch closely and follow from afar what I can as best I can. It gnaws at me that I am not there at the moment. Lately, I have kept informed on Afghanistan as well. A friend or two whom I was able to patrol with in Iraq have found themselves in Afghanistan doing more of the same with less. Day to day in these two places keep me a little ahead of the curve ball stateside with all the other recent economic realities that tear at each of us like an open wound.

Gasoline prices have most of us on high alert here at home. No longer is it a matter of will prices rise, rather now it is how far will it continue to spiral out of control. I personally drive a little four cylinder Nissan Frontier pick up with a small matching camper shell on it, in the event I find needing to live out of it should the economy really tank. I’m quite thankful it is paid for (it is a 2004 with 30,000 miles on it) but even at 25-30 mpg, it still cost me nearly $60 to fill it up these days. I’m coming to the realization that soon it will cost close to $100 to fill it up, probably by this coming Labor Day in September.

Then there is the grocery store which my wife and I find ourselves going to less and less frequently these days. Seems as though it was a good time for me to lose some of that winter weight now that eating has become a luxury rather than a necessity. I’ve dropped 20-lbs, and walking 20-25 miles per week to adjust to the continual and what seems like daily price hikes at the store. I’m glad I learned the word “adapt”, in the phrase, improvise, adapt and overcome. Now it’s a matter of survival, probably always was.

Then there is the political arena that has taken the country by storm. No doubt the Democratic nomination process has been front and center lately, but during that time I found myself once again speaking with Sen. John McCain as recently as Memorial Day here in Albuquerque. Now, the real race for the White House has truly begun and just as the summer heat bears down on us here in the high desert, the same is true across the country between the two Senators, McCain and Obama. It should be quite a spectacle to say the least in the weeks and months leading up to the general election this fall in November.

Then there is this matter called employment. I have found myself working on an “on call” basis at the flight line at Kirtland AFB here in Albuquerque supporting air tankers during fire season. It pays a whopping $11 an hour, which is a dollar an hour less than I was making at the same job in 2006, prior to my departure for the middle east. It’s a struggle to say the least and I find myself vying for work hours with retired US Forest Service employees who seem to think it is comical that they don’t call me very often. None of the ones I’ve worked with here have ever been on a combat patrol yet and are quick to tell me how stupid I was to not get a real job as opposed to walking the streets of Fallujah or Mosul with America’s finest. There are times I just have to walk away from a conversation and count to one hundred or more.

During my time in Iraq dodging bullets with young warriors from all across this land, never once did anyone call me stupid. On the contrary, they gave me to eat and gave me to drink for I was the least among the brethren. I was always content.

Now with all that out of the way, it brings me to a place I seem to have visited many times since October when my journey took a break and reality seemed to be a bit on the obscure side of the spectrum. Homeward bound is a relative term. An old friend of mine who was a sailor on river boat patrols in Viet Nam back in the late 1960’s told me of a song he heard on his way home from Viet Nam. The lyric went, “ I’m getting closer to my home…” When he told me that back in 1974, I mentioned that it must have been a good feeling. He told me at that time that he would never feel at home again after his experiences in Viet Nam. I did not understand what he meant for I was just 19-years-old at the time and had not been to far away places yet. But 34-years later, I am just now beginning to understand what my friend George meant.

I’ve spent a lot of time working my garden these days. The wind here in the spring in the desert causes much grief for the avid gardener. But I keep pressing on, sowing, replanting, with a view to an eventual harvest. It’s not about saving money on veggies or the thought of growing my own food to beat the system. Rather, it’s simply about starting and finishing a seemingly unimportant task that carries much weight throughout the learning process. Seems these days having a shovel, a rake and a hoe in my hand, digging in the dirt and fighting the elements makes more sense than trying to beat the system that gives me high grocery prices, high gasoline prices or political rhetoric that makes my eardrums burst.

On Memorial Day I was surrounded by more than 2500 veterans from many wars, both from the distant past and the more recent. It is where I was invited to photograph John McCain. He did not speak about anything political so much at that venue on this day. Rather, he spoke a language that all around me, including myself understood clearly. Later that day, I spent some time with him at a different place and it was more private. There he spoke some political words and the audience was about a dozen folks including myself. I took the photos I promised I would and distributed them accordingly, for free as usual.

Earlier that Memorial Day weekend, Candi and I went to Jesse’s gravesite and placed three flags. He lays between veterans on his left and right, above and below. It was peaceful, but sorrowful. In the end, there will come a day when there will be no more tears. That’s the day I’m looking for. In the meantime I struggle with not only where to go from here, but how on earth to pull it off. It’s a simple burden. However, like gardening, there are obstacles. I know where I am, I know where I should be, it’s just all the in-between details that seem to be restricting my goal.

Adapt, improvise and overcome. I am clear it is all part of becoming an overcomer. Looking forward to each and everyone’s reply.

Sincerely,

Jim Spiri
Jimspiri@yahoo.com

VA Joe has some great features for getting in contact with other members of the military, both Active Duty and retired. We’ve also come across some useful dating/singles websites that are catered towards the military only, and they may be something our single members find fun and useful. Here’s a short spotlight on Military Dating Online:

Today we see many strides by sites like Match.com, Yahoo! Personals, eHarmony.com and others trying to attract more singles to try online dating. While big sites like the ones mentioned are becoming house-hold names, singles are naturally gravitating more towards focused dating sites that appeal to their interests and needs.

MilitaryDatingOnline.com is a perfect example. As an online personals site focused on helping military singles and civilians interested in dating military men and women, MilitaryDatingOnline.com is steadily growing to become the favorite website for singles to meet and connect with singles all around the world. With features that rival most paid dating services, MilitaryDatingOnline.com offers free membership to anyone, regardless of military status and location.

Being a part of our community gives you instant access to all our member profiles complete with photos, interests, location and much more. In an effort to keep our community active and helping you find a date, love, activity partner or friendships, we have sections of our site like:

• Community forums for you to share and participate
• Online dating blog to keep you updated on our plans for the site
• Free Horoscopes
• And much more.

MilitaryDatingOnline.com provides free online personals and dating services to singles in active duty as well as people who are not in the military but are interested in relationships with service members.

Enjoy member features like:

• Free sign ups and No membership fees – Ever.
• Unlimited messaging
• Free photos and video uploads
• Customizable profiles
• Search members by interest, city and military bases
• Meet singles all around the world
• And much more.

If you are single and want to find your match, then come on over and create your free personals account today at MilitaryDatingOnline.com

About MilitaryDatingOnline.com:
MilitaryDatingOnline.com is run by 2 people, Will and Derek. The site started off as a pet project 3 years ago to see if 2 people, living in totally different states can successfully launch a full-featured community site. After seeing the growth in online dating services for niche audiences, we decided to take it a step further and make major improvements to the site by adding more member features, expanding to more countries and so forth.