U.S Marine Combat

This is sort of a recruiting video, but it's a good watch. You might have to turn your volume up a bit; I did.

Why I Love My Wife

I remember when my wife and I were much younger, she would ask me that very question: "Why do you love me?" or, "What about me do you love?"

When put on the spot like that, I would come up with various "from the hip" answers. When given the opportunity to reflect on it, I'm able to come up with much more than I could back then. Blogger's servers probably don't have the capability to contain the full list of reasons and explanations, so I'll simply provide a condensed list here:

She's an optimist.

Well, she might not fit the mold of a true optimist, but she does have a talent for seeing the silver lining in every gray cloud. We've had our low moments, and she has always pointed out how and why things were good, or could be much worse. Any time that life or, more frequently my job, has put me in a foul mood, she always found a way to reveal the good side of things. For that, I love her.

She's strong.

I already know that she has an incredible tolerance for pain. I know what she went through when our son was born, and she was a trooper (it wasn't a normal birth). When things get tough, she tightens her belt and gets things done. She's a rock of strength. For that, I love her.

She's patient.

I might be mildly intelligent but, like most men, I'm quite capable of doing incredibly stupid things. No matter how idiotic I can manage to be, she forgives me, scolds me a bit, and points out what I should have done in place of my stupid actions. One question: Where the hell was she when I was a teenager? For that, I love her.

She's a great Marine Wife.

She knows the definitions of terms like hump, UDP, LES, field day, shitbird, and PT. She doesn't bat an eye when I tell her that I have duty and won't be home on any given night. She knows where all of my "deuce gear" is stored. When I'm on the range, she doesn't greet me with, "How was your day?" but, "How did you shoot today?" When I was in Iraq, she wrote me every day. For that, I adore her.

She's unique.

She's not the average woman. If she was, I'd probably lose my patience and end up single. She has a child-like sense of humor that I can't get enough of. Christmas is her favorite time of year (I think she loves Christmas more than the kids do). She collects pigs. She makes beautiful quilts. She can whip up a helluva meal with a package of beef, some rice, and some gravy. She can insult me while making a compliment. Her political views are similar to mine, but different enough to keep me on my toes. She finds joy in the strangest places: "This smells awful; you've GOT to smell it." She's one of the only people on the planet that knows my likes, dislikes, pet peeves, and how to push my buttons. For that, I love her.

She's kind.

There have been times when I turned a blind eye to things, and she smacked me and said something like, "Don't just stand there; do something." She ALWAYS tries to do the right thing when it comes to other people. She always insists that I do the same. She sometimes cries when she sees a dead cat or dog in the road. For that, I admire her.

In a nutshell, she's the most wonderful woman in the world. I can't imagine spending the rest of my life in a world without her. I'd fight, kill, or die for her in an instant. In other words, I think I'll keep her.

Thank You Google

I found yet another reason to have an unlisted telephone number, and yet another reason to be annoyed with Google.

Google has implemented a new search feature that allows users to simply type a telephone number into the search bar, click search, and be rewarded with the name and address of the person that the number belongs to (there's even a button to click to view a map to the person's home). Nifty huh?

Apparently, it doesn't work with every number (particularly unlisted numbers), but it works with just about all that are not unlisted.

Give it a try by entering a number in the following format: 555-555-1234

Happy Thanksgiving!

A warm wish for a happy Thanksgiving to everyone that stumbles across my little speed-bump on the information super-highway. I hope that yours went better than it did for the critter pictured above.

We had a much smaller Thanksgiving than we are accustomed to. We usually have several young Marines over, hoping to brighten their holiday a bit, but we were unable to do that with our moving situation. We still have stacks of boxes in our house, so we were in no shape to have a house full of young, hungry Marines. Instead, I had one Marine, a friend of mine that I've known for over 15 years, over to share our meal.

A good time was had by all, and it was very tame. I probably stayed up too late talking to my friend, but I enjoyed it. He seemed to enjoy it as well, and was returning from his Haikido dojo at about the time that I was getting out of bed this morning (he's a very dedicated individual).

I could get used to quiet Thanksgiving celebrations, but I will probably not get the chance for a few more years. We will probably continue to have groups of young Marines in our home for future holidays. It just seems like the right thing to do (and we enjoy it). My friend will, hopefully, be able to join us for those celebrations as well.

Moving Sucks

Don't you just love moving? I hate it. It's official; it sucks. I've done it plenty of times while a member of this gun club, but this one beats them all. We have one week; start to finish. That's our timeline. Joy.

We've moved out of the "projects," and into a house that has an extra bedroom. Since we were in a high-rise building, it will be nice to have a yard. We'll also have neighbors that are closer to our age and, perhaps, not as slovenly as the pigs that we lived with in our last housing.

Our new house is currently stacked with boxes, and we have a ton of unpacking to do (well, three tons actually...that was the final tally of the weight). My wife will be going over to the old house in the morning to clean, while I stay at the new house to shuffle boxes around, unpack, and make room for our shipment of furniture that is arriving sometime tomorrow. More joy.

I must have a short memory. I must have forgotten how much I hate moving. Perhaps there's a chemical in the cardboard that makes me forget...or I'm just forgetful.

I also started my next term at school this week. Well, the term started anyway. I didn't exactly start anything, except moving three tons of crap from one house to another. I'll get some school work done sometime this week, I hope...now which box did I pack those books in...one of the brown ones maybe...

The Road

Book Review: The Road, by Cormac McCarthy

The Road is a work of art that anyone who is having a bad day should read. Is your outlook grim? Read The Road. The setting is artfully depicted with both tone and style. Not only is the plot grim, but the writing style is as well. Throughout the work, various cues enhance the sense of nothingness and despair.

The Road is a page turner, not because it's packed with action, although there is some of that, but because it is well written, and compels the reader to seek more. Throughout the book, I was hoping for things that almost didn't come. The author's use of archaic terminology adds to the sense of primitive existence. The relationship between father and son is perfectly demonstrated, with hints at willingness and sacrifice on an extreme level.

I cannot give much more away without "ruining it" for you, but suffice it to say that this book is well worth the read. It's not a long read, and you'll find yourself thinking about it for days, maybe even weeks, after you've put it down.

Marine Corps Birthday Ball

Last night was my unit's Marine Corps Birthday Ball. A good time was had by all, including my "date." Once again, my daughter accompanied me, and she was a big hit.

I was the Commander of Troops for the ceremony, and I didn't booger the sequence of events too badly (kidding, it went off without a hitch).

PAO (Public Affairs Office) had a couple of Marines there taking copious photographs, and they took a few of my daughter and me dancing. I hope to get copies soon.

In keeping with the tradition of the Ball, the younger Marines were well behaved, and they minded their manners until the C.O. departed. Once the C.O. left, somebody told a group of young Leathernecks that were congregating around the keg that, "Elvis has left the building." The young warriors then rolled the keg out onto the dance floor, and the festivities began in earnest. Nobody got out of hand, and our entire unit had a great time celebrating our Corps' 232nd birthday.

Christmas Packages for the Troops

Lubbock Marine Parents are at it again. It's that time of year. These fine folks are putting together countless care packages to send to forward deployed troops for Christmas. Stop by and lend a hand. Tell 'em I sent you, and you'll get a year's supply of sunrises for free!

Healthy Hobbies

Hobbies can be a healthy way to pass the time. I've enjoyed my hobbies in the past, and have adopted a new one.

I enjoy playing golf, and usually get out every weekend for a round. I also enjoy writing little tidbits to post on this blog. For my current college class, I had to build a website. Not a cheesey single page that merely demonstrates a few HTML features, but a real website with a purpose. I've discovered that I thoroughly enjoy it.

I secured web hosting for my site and registered my own domain. Nothing screams amateur like a URL of "mysite.someoneelseshost.com". Having a real host and domain presented some new challenges. Not only have I had to learn much more about HTML than I thought I would, but I've also had to learn how to use FTP, or File Transfer Protocol, to publish the content of my site. It's much easier than I anticipated.

Some FTP software allows you to edit your pages right on the host's server. I opted for a free FTP client, and it does not have that feature. I edit my pages on my laptop, and then upload the new version to the server with my FTP software. Since I've fallen in love with HTML Kit, I prefer it that way. HTML kit is an editor that allows me to edit my pages and, with a single click, preview them either in my browser, or right in HTML Kit. Pretty nifty. It also has some trouble-shooting tools that I've (thankfully) not had to use yet.

In a nutshell, building a website has been fun, and it has been a great learning experience. I fully intend to keep it going after the class ends. I recommend that others take a stab at it. Who knows what kind of things you can come up with when you let your imagination run free?

Busy Little Bee

Once again, I'm busy as can be. School, work, family, yadda yadda yadda.

School is coming down to crunch time, and I have a big pile of stuff to get accomplished over the next couple of weeks. I don't mind, but it doesn't leave much time for blogging. Quite honestly, there hasn't really been anything interesting going on here to blog about. I'm between stories at the moment, but I'm working on a doozie. My final project for my English class is a short story that I'm sure will amuse some, and anger others. Oh well; can't please 'em all.

Some of my millions of readers have already read a snippet of the story, but it has undergone a few major changes since I posted that tidbit. My Editor In Chief rejected my original plot idea and made a "polite suggestion" that I change it ("I hate it; it's well written, but a horrible story," was part of the conversation).

I was fond of the original plot idea, but fully understand that many people would not find it amusing at all. The current version may be gentler, but still has plenty of conflict to keep the imagination running on all eight cylinders.

Once the dust settles, I'll post the finished product and, perhaps, spend more time writing on here. Until then, the world will just have to do without frequent posts on Write On The Right.

If you are craving stories from military folks, you can always check out the latest fare at Writing Along. Tell 'em I sent you, and you'll get a free one year supply of air!