Although it might be fun to memorialize certain stories from my time in the service, that isn't what this is. This is my philosophy where it regards my job. I learned a long, long time ago that getting to "the top" just wasn't in the cards here. I didn't know the right people, neither would I kiss the appropriate ass necessary to get to "the top". I did my job, did it pretty darn good, and kept my nose clean.
A funny thing, though. I've seen lots of folks come and go here. Most of 'em, I don't know where they went to, and don't really care. What I saw in these folks was the drive that I had years ago, the notion that they could make it to "the top". When they saw that, alas, that wasn't in the cards for them, they left. Maybe they went somewhere that their drive and determination could pay off. Good for them. I hope they found what they were looking for. Me, I'm just happy being a soldier.
What brought all of this on? Well, you see, there became open a promotion to mid-management. In a perfect world, that would be just in my wheelhouse. In the real world, that position was decided long ago, to be filled by the husband/wife/son/daughter of Mr./Mrs.________. The folks who actually run the shop are keenly aware that Mr./Mrs.________ would be most pleased that their husband/wife/son/daughter got the position and Mr./Mrs. __________ would continue to bless the company. And, as Walter Cronkite said, "that's the way it is".
Where the fun comes in is that we have three young idealists who all have that dream - that this is the job that is most certainly theirs. Why, nobody has worked as hard as me! This is my reward! Now where's the phone book. I've got to look up "BMW". Then, as is already pre-ordained, the day came when none of the three got the job. Husband/wife/son/daughter is almost finished moving in to their new office. I hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth. I sympathize and cluck with them at the unfairness of it all. Three months from now, all three of the dreamers will be gone. I'll be digging my foxhole.
Thursday, December 09, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
Scout's Honor
So, the History Channel has this show on called "Apocalypse Man". It's a former Marine giving survival tips for us puny humans if/when the apocalypse hits. I found it to be somewhat cheesy but interesting. I learned a few things that I did know or hadn't thought of before.
But, it got me to thinking. If a ever find myself in some post-apocalyptic scenario, I am certain that I will be able to hold my own, because of one chapter in my life: Boy Scouts. Don't laugh. I was in scouts for about eight years. At that time, I didn't know or didn't give a fuck about gay scoutmasters or gay scouts. All I know is I had some cool-as-shit adults that supervised us and cool-as-shit friends that were scouts with me. I learned three things in scouts that may be the three most important things to survive in a post-apocalyptic environment: 1) First Aid, 2) Knot Tying and 3) How to live off the land.
Now that I think about it, our scout leaders may have been one of these survivalist types, but I don't remember any batshit preaching or the like. All I know is that we went out in the woods, deep in the woods, rain or shine, summer or winter, one weekend a month like clockwork. If it was during school, we'd go Friday afternoon to Sunday night. If we weren't in school, sometimes we went for a week. The adults that went with us were unbelievably patient with us teenagers. They spent hours teaching us, showing us these skills, some of which aren't real easy to learn or remember. We learned how to build a shelter, and actually built them, no matter where we were (OK, we didn't build snow shelters, being in Louisiana, but we sure learned how to build them). We learned how to start and build a fire, using several non-match methods. We learned how to build animal snares and traps and, more importantly how to build human snares and traps. We used ropes and learned how to tie knots, used the aforementioned ropes and knots to climb trees and cross rivers. We learned how to navigate with and without a compass, how to find water and make sure that the water we drink won't make us sick. We learned what to do if we were injured, or snakebit, encountered a bear or other large predator, or got too cold or too hot.
What amazes me most of all is I retained almost all of this knowledge. Maybe it is something hardwired into the survival gene of humans, I don't know, but for whatever reason, I am grateful. The likelihood that I'll ever have to use all of these skills to survive in a "Red Dawn" type of scenario before I shuffle off this mortal coil? Real slim. But, it's nice to know it's there in my head.
But, it got me to thinking. If a ever find myself in some post-apocalyptic scenario, I am certain that I will be able to hold my own, because of one chapter in my life: Boy Scouts. Don't laugh. I was in scouts for about eight years. At that time, I didn't know or didn't give a fuck about gay scoutmasters or gay scouts. All I know is I had some cool-as-shit adults that supervised us and cool-as-shit friends that were scouts with me. I learned three things in scouts that may be the three most important things to survive in a post-apocalyptic environment: 1) First Aid, 2) Knot Tying and 3) How to live off the land.
Now that I think about it, our scout leaders may have been one of these survivalist types, but I don't remember any batshit preaching or the like. All I know is that we went out in the woods, deep in the woods, rain or shine, summer or winter, one weekend a month like clockwork. If it was during school, we'd go Friday afternoon to Sunday night. If we weren't in school, sometimes we went for a week. The adults that went with us were unbelievably patient with us teenagers. They spent hours teaching us, showing us these skills, some of which aren't real easy to learn or remember. We learned how to build a shelter, and actually built them, no matter where we were (OK, we didn't build snow shelters, being in Louisiana, but we sure learned how to build them). We learned how to start and build a fire, using several non-match methods. We learned how to build animal snares and traps and, more importantly how to build human snares and traps. We used ropes and learned how to tie knots, used the aforementioned ropes and knots to climb trees and cross rivers. We learned how to navigate with and without a compass, how to find water and make sure that the water we drink won't make us sick. We learned what to do if we were injured, or snakebit, encountered a bear or other large predator, or got too cold or too hot.
What amazes me most of all is I retained almost all of this knowledge. Maybe it is something hardwired into the survival gene of humans, I don't know, but for whatever reason, I am grateful. The likelihood that I'll ever have to use all of these skills to survive in a "Red Dawn" type of scenario before I shuffle off this mortal coil? Real slim. But, it's nice to know it's there in my head.
Monday, July 05, 2010
What Kind of World?
A month ago, I went to my Mother's family home in north-central Arkansas for a reunion. It was nice seeing my aunts, uncles and cousins again. One of my cousins who I am very close to just had a baby girl, Madison. She was born on February 2, 2010 and is, by my observations, one beautiful girl. If history has any intelligence, the film "Groundhog Day" will be a classic and shown or available when Madison is old enough to watch film.
Madison was a little over four months old when I saw her. Her whole life is ahead of her. What kind of world will she live in? Even by the time she graduates high school the world will certainly be a different place than now. Just judging from twenty years or so ago, the world will change a lot. Cell phones went from a novelty to necessity. Cell phones went from just phones to miniature computers. Computers and the internet have brought together the world like no one could have imagined. But what's going to happen by the time Madison graduates high school and beyond? To me, and other folks who are dreamers, there will be a time when war, poverty, disease will be gone. It isn't going to be easy. There'll be war, oppressive government, social unrest before then. I hope not. I hope we figure it out without too much trouble. In twenty years, though, I'll wager there'll be changes. Big changes. There'll be surprises and horrors. There'll also be God's handiwork at its finest. In 2017, a total solar eclipse will track across the United States, from the northwest to southeast. And to top that, in just seven short years later, in 2024, another total solar eclipse will track across the United States, from southwest to northeast. Madison will see them both and marvel at God's glory. She'll see the worst in people and the best in people. She might see horrific things that will make the gulf oil spill seem like a mud puddle, but she'll also see our glorious world, the mountains of Wyoming, the deserts of Arizona, the coasts of Maine and the vast prairie of the Dakotas. She'll grow up in a changing world, a different world, but I think it will be a world still much the same. People will still help each other, people will still fall in love, and people will live to make this world a better place. When she's old enough, Madison will help, too.
Madison was a little over four months old when I saw her. Her whole life is ahead of her. What kind of world will she live in? Even by the time she graduates high school the world will certainly be a different place than now. Just judging from twenty years or so ago, the world will change a lot. Cell phones went from a novelty to necessity. Cell phones went from just phones to miniature computers. Computers and the internet have brought together the world like no one could have imagined. But what's going to happen by the time Madison graduates high school and beyond? To me, and other folks who are dreamers, there will be a time when war, poverty, disease will be gone. It isn't going to be easy. There'll be war, oppressive government, social unrest before then. I hope not. I hope we figure it out without too much trouble. In twenty years, though, I'll wager there'll be changes. Big changes. There'll be surprises and horrors. There'll also be God's handiwork at its finest. In 2017, a total solar eclipse will track across the United States, from the northwest to southeast. And to top that, in just seven short years later, in 2024, another total solar eclipse will track across the United States, from southwest to northeast. Madison will see them both and marvel at God's glory. She'll see the worst in people and the best in people. She might see horrific things that will make the gulf oil spill seem like a mud puddle, but she'll also see our glorious world, the mountains of Wyoming, the deserts of Arizona, the coasts of Maine and the vast prairie of the Dakotas. She'll grow up in a changing world, a different world, but I think it will be a world still much the same. People will still help each other, people will still fall in love, and people will live to make this world a better place. When she's old enough, Madison will help, too.
Thursday, April 01, 2010
The sky, the magnificent sky
Last night was a clear night for south Louisiana. The stars shone as bright as they could, given the light pollution, which unfortunately existed some miles outside of Baton Rouge. It was clear enough, however, to see something not seen often around here - the planet Mercury. Soon after sunset, I found a clear view to the western horizon. Venus, the evening star, was all dressed up and ready to dance. As promised, in Venus' 4 o'clock position, was a fainter but definitely visible Mercury. Wow. I could imagine, hundreds and thousands of years ago, people watched the night sky and saw how the stars' pattern remained the same, except for what were the planets. That must have confounded those ancient astronomers - what were these possessed points of light that moved separately from the template of stars? What sort of genius were Copernicus and Galileo to figure out that we're part of a solar system of planets orbiting our sun?
Several years ago, when I was working a summer job, one of the employees brought a telescope on a clear night. Although I was a faithful and hard-working employee, I was still on graveyard. I could hear my boss telling his supervisor: "Yeah, Ingram's good - he's real good - he's just not ready for the show yet." Anyway, this fella was a bit of an astronomy buff. He set up his telescope, tweaked it, and said "Take a look." I said "What am I looking at?" He said, "You'll know". I put my eye to the lens and saw - it all its glory - Saturn and its rings. I was like the cartoon character whose jaw dropped four feet. It was one thing to read about and see pictures of Saturn and the rings, but quite another to actually see it! Wow, I thought. So those science books weren't lying to me after all. He next then focused on Jupiter - I could easily see the four moons Galileo saw, as well as Jupiter's cloud bands. I couldn't see the Great Red Spot, though, and my astronomer friend confirmed that it was on the other side of the planet. Still, though, truly amazing.
Something about he night sky that always draws me to look, to really look. To imagine those worlds out there, the life on those worlds. Some silly part of me imagines the space station Deep Space Nine out there, Benjamin Sisko, Garak and Julian Bashir. I've been lucky enough to be out in the wilderness, hundreds of miles from a city, and see the night sky so full of stars I had trouble making out the familiar constellations. It's a bit of a letdown, even a little depressing, as I watched Venus and Mercury, to know the other thousands of stars that are out there, but unseen in that particular night sky.
Several years ago, when I was working a summer job, one of the employees brought a telescope on a clear night. Although I was a faithful and hard-working employee, I was still on graveyard. I could hear my boss telling his supervisor: "Yeah, Ingram's good - he's real good - he's just not ready for the show yet." Anyway, this fella was a bit of an astronomy buff. He set up his telescope, tweaked it, and said "Take a look." I said "What am I looking at?" He said, "You'll know". I put my eye to the lens and saw - it all its glory - Saturn and its rings. I was like the cartoon character whose jaw dropped four feet. It was one thing to read about and see pictures of Saturn and the rings, but quite another to actually see it! Wow, I thought. So those science books weren't lying to me after all. He next then focused on Jupiter - I could easily see the four moons Galileo saw, as well as Jupiter's cloud bands. I couldn't see the Great Red Spot, though, and my astronomer friend confirmed that it was on the other side of the planet. Still, though, truly amazing.
Something about he night sky that always draws me to look, to really look. To imagine those worlds out there, the life on those worlds. Some silly part of me imagines the space station Deep Space Nine out there, Benjamin Sisko, Garak and Julian Bashir. I've been lucky enough to be out in the wilderness, hundreds of miles from a city, and see the night sky so full of stars I had trouble making out the familiar constellations. It's a bit of a letdown, even a little depressing, as I watched Venus and Mercury, to know the other thousands of stars that are out there, but unseen in that particular night sky.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
The best decision I ever made
Today is the anniversary of the best decision I ever made in my life. That decision was to join the Army. I was out of college, working at a pizza joint, and not getting a lot of encouraging responses on my job hunt. I had applied to officer candidate school several weeks before, and March 16th was the date I received news I was accepted. The recruiter told me that I pretty much had to make the decision that day. I did, and signed my name. The reason it was such a good decision is hard to explain. First off, I never became an officer. I finished basic training as an honor graduate, and thought that I was well on my way to my career as an Army officer. After two weeks of OCS, I knew that this was not what a wanted. When I dropped out, I served the rest of my hitch as an enlisted.
What made it such a valuable experience for me was the whole package. In basic training, you learn lots of common sense, practical stuff. Because I was stationed in Germany, I got to see and live in Europe for three years. I met several of my dearest friends in my life in the Army. The experience is really something that has to be lived, and can't really be described. I guess, maybe, what made it such a good thing is that I really felt like I did my duty for my country. It helped me get into law school, the G.I. Bill helped me through law school and helped me get my job after law school. Lots of things, if given the chance to do over, I'd do different. Not this. I'd serve again, and am proud and thankful for all of my fellow citizens that serve as well.
What made it such a valuable experience for me was the whole package. In basic training, you learn lots of common sense, practical stuff. Because I was stationed in Germany, I got to see and live in Europe for three years. I met several of my dearest friends in my life in the Army. The experience is really something that has to be lived, and can't really be described. I guess, maybe, what made it such a good thing is that I really felt like I did my duty for my country. It helped me get into law school, the G.I. Bill helped me through law school and helped me get my job after law school. Lots of things, if given the chance to do over, I'd do different. Not this. I'd serve again, and am proud and thankful for all of my fellow citizens that serve as well.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
March 11
March 11 is a memorable date. The reason why I remember the date and the event that goes with it, well, let's say it is probably one of the big mysteries of the human psyche. The great film, Citizen Kane has a timeless line in it that, when I heard it, made me understand why I do remember this date. During the film, one of characters, Mr. Bernstein, when being interviewed about remembering past events, said this memorable line:
"A fellow will remember a lot of things you wouldn't think he'd remember. You take me. One day, back in 1896, I was crossing over to Jersey on the ferry, and as we pulled out, there was another ferry pulling in, and on it there was a girl waiting to get off. A white dress she had on. She was carrying a white parasol. I only saw her for one second. She didn't see me at all, but I'll bet a month hasn't gone by since, that I haven't thought of that girl."
My first crush was in sixth grade, on a girl named Anne. I can't remember how, but I discovered that her birthday was on March 11. Sixth grade boys being sixth grade boys, I was, of course, too scared to give her a present or card to her face. So, after much espionage/tradecraft worthy of John leCarre, I made sure a neatly wrapped paperbook of "The Island of the Blue Dolphins" found its way to a place where she, and only she, saw it. She picked it up and, before I could see if she opened it, I determined that it was too dangerous for me to stay around. Later on, in the days that followed, I heard titters and snatches of conversation that gave me reason to believe that she had, in fact, opened it, liked the book, and did not have a clue who gave it too her. It is possible that her phantom gifter remained a secret all of these years.
Anne and I were good friends and I still crushed on her throughout junior high and high school, but not as bad as sixth grade. I don't have a clue where she is now, or if she is even still around. I'd like to think that I'll see her sometime soon, and, if I do, will admit to what I did. March 11 will always be to me the day that is Anne's birthday, and every year on that day, I think fondly of her and hope she is doing well.
"A fellow will remember a lot of things you wouldn't think he'd remember. You take me. One day, back in 1896, I was crossing over to Jersey on the ferry, and as we pulled out, there was another ferry pulling in, and on it there was a girl waiting to get off. A white dress she had on. She was carrying a white parasol. I only saw her for one second. She didn't see me at all, but I'll bet a month hasn't gone by since, that I haven't thought of that girl."
My first crush was in sixth grade, on a girl named Anne. I can't remember how, but I discovered that her birthday was on March 11. Sixth grade boys being sixth grade boys, I was, of course, too scared to give her a present or card to her face. So, after much espionage/tradecraft worthy of John leCarre, I made sure a neatly wrapped paperbook of "The Island of the Blue Dolphins" found its way to a place where she, and only she, saw it. She picked it up and, before I could see if she opened it, I determined that it was too dangerous for me to stay around. Later on, in the days that followed, I heard titters and snatches of conversation that gave me reason to believe that she had, in fact, opened it, liked the book, and did not have a clue who gave it too her. It is possible that her phantom gifter remained a secret all of these years.
Anne and I were good friends and I still crushed on her throughout junior high and high school, but not as bad as sixth grade. I don't have a clue where she is now, or if she is even still around. I'd like to think that I'll see her sometime soon, and, if I do, will admit to what I did. March 11 will always be to me the day that is Anne's birthday, and every year on that day, I think fondly of her and hope she is doing well.
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