HELLO AMERICA, HAVE YOU GOT A SECOND?

BUT, BEFORE YOU GET TOO COMFY..................

Today is Labor Day in America. We will grill out, go shopping, watch sports on TV, ride our bikes, run down to the local tap or DQ and enjoy the day off. We will veg, go swimming, golf, take a drive to see the countryside. We will do all of the things we as a people like doing.

But for 68,000 men and women stationed in Afghanistan or however many there are at this moment its a another day of sheer dread, of horror, of fright, of hopelessness, of clinging to whatever a 19 year old clings to when he has seen mangled death upon his friends and having to return fire to a 13 year old enemy.

Sure, we're drawing down. But that's just a made-up term. This is the longest war in American history, and even when we are out in a couple years, we will still be there. And our sons and daughters will still be dying. Give a thought to them today and everyday. No politics, no sermon, just a reminder that this is a nation at war.

Specialist James Justice of the United States Army died last week after being shot in the head by Taliban forces while conducting combat operations in Afghanistan.

Justice was the 2,000th American killed in action in the Afghan War. He was 21 years old.

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Flashback Friday

Class, Or Lack Thereof The Dwight Vice gravestone in Oquawka, Illinois. I bring this old chestnut out every so often just to remind me that class is classless. Dwight Vice was killed in his home near Oquawka in 2001. It was one of those things that can generate crime: two guys thought Dwight had a lot of money stashed at home because of his pot-selling sideline to supplement his fishing job. Not really one of those big drug deals gone-bad things. Marijuana was, according to the trial, about the only stuff Dwight sold. But these two guys barge into the house and killed Dwight and attempted to kill his 11 year old kid, Darryl, before they took off with what money they could find. His son, now 23, was stabbed in the back and left for dead. He survived and is wheelchair bound and has undergone several surgeries to repair his wounds. He will be paralyzed for life. None of this is pleasant. Reading the facts of the murder and attempted murder are most unpleasant

Summer Swim

It's Monday and the start of another work week. Except for me. I have the week off because the parents of my daycare charges are taking the week off, too. This is one of those wordless posts I love on Mondays so I can put my laziness in full view of loyal readers. These pics need no words. Why muddy the waters? They were taken at the pool at Sinkhole Estates aka Death Valley. The nice thing about this pool is it is heated in winter. If one must find positives in one's situation, I suppose that is one. But, please, no more.

Florida Air Museum - Part 3

Welcome back to a pretty neat tour of the Florida Air Museum in Lakeland Florida. There's a lot to see and a couple of the old Geezer Gold Wing guys are already sitting down instead of walking around looking at the exhibits. That's John who is wore out and making a call to his wife. In all honesty, John was pretty well bushed before the ride. He told me his daughter's family was down from one of the Carolina's with the grand kids and he must have played with them too much. He's about to take off on his own and head for home, but he's going to miss a couple of neat things out on Hangar A. But, before we walk over there, we have lots yet to see here. If you saw The Aviator with Leonardo DiCaprio playing Howard Hughes, you'll remember that he went up in a plane during the filming of one of his movies to prove a point about flying. He crashed trying to execute a roll and this is a picture of the plane he crashed. Note the propeller

Existing In BFE

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