I have a confession to make.
Sometimes, I really don't want to sit down and write this blog.
Sometimes, there are better or more important things than sitting at the keyboard and pounding out lines of deathless prose.
Sometimes, those things disappear if not done at the moment.
This weekend was one of those times. The weather was gorgeous, the grass was knee-high, and the lawn demanded attention. Further, after a week of travel followed by work, the soul demanded renewal.
Long story short, I blew off writing in favor of being out doors in the sun. I blew off writing for the thrill of guiding my anemic lawn mower across uneven tufts of grass and broad-leaf weeds, making them all even. And I blew off writing in favor of digging in the dirt.
This weekend, I spent some quality time living in the moment, surveying my small lot, picking up sticks and, yes, watching the grass grow. In my head, I drew plans for flower and vegetable beds to come. I made a list of materials I will need to make the vision into reality. And in those simple acts, I was renewed.
It began to rain shortly after the work was completed. It has been raining ever since.
For me, gardening is an act of renewal.
For you, there may be other activities, other sources for gaining or regaining perspective. Some people golf, or watch baseball, but for me, it has long been gardening.
What do you do to gain perspective?
What do you do to feed your soul?
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Saturday, April 14, 2012
The Men Stayed at Charlie
Today, it's a footnote in history. In April of 1972 it was national news. Today, it is remembered mostly by men who were there. And when Fire-base Charlie in the central highlands of the Republic of Vietnam fell forty years ago I was there.
Fire-base Charlie was situated athwart a North Vietnamese infiltration route in a mountain pass northwest of Kontum City. It was manned by the 470 officers and men of the 11th Airborne Batallion, Army of the Republic of Vietnam and one American adviser.
From almost the moment it was occupied on 12 April 1972, Charlie was under continuing vicious attack. Over those three days, the ground defense was bolstered by air strikes and Army Cobra helicopter gunships controlled by the American adviser, call sign Dusty Cyanide. By the afternoon of 15 April, conditions on Charlie were desperate. Defenders, out of ammunition, held their positions using hand grenades, knives, clubbed rifles, Air Force tactical air and Army attack helicopter support.
I flew in support of Charlie twice on April 15th. After a mission early in the afternoon, we were replaced by another team from my company, the Pink Panthers, who, when they expended, were replaced by a team of Cobras from the 57th Assault Helicopter Cougars. The Cougars were relieved by another team of Panthers and we were launched on a second mission at dusk. We followed battle by radio as we flew northward.
We checked in with Dusty Cyanide in time to hear "You broke the attack!" and "Shoot 50 meters north of the big fire." The problem is, we could see no less than three big fires an and three or four smaller ones. Otherwise, the mountains were pitch black. We settled things by putting a pair of rockets 50 meters north of the largest fire in the middle and were told "That's it Panther - put it right there!" and, a pass or two later, "OK Panther, you broke the attack." and "We abandoning position" and, I think a direction of egress." We put the rest of our load between the big fire an the assumed position of the friendlies. The next thing we heard from the out-of-breath voice below us was "You broke the attack. We're clear, heading down the mountain," and then nothing.
When the survivors had been recovered, Dusty Cyanide, sent us his gratitude via newsman Peter Arnett. The message was "Those first guns were good. They broke the attack. But that last team was shit hot. They broke things up and covered our escape." Peter Arnett came by our Company Club to deliver the message in person.
For his actions on Firebase Charlie an in getting the survivors off the mountain, Major John Duffy, Dusty Cyanide, was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. He deserved more.
The 1972 South Vietnamese Literature Award went to a book titled "The Red Flames of Summer" by Phan Nhat Nam. The book was based on survivor accounts of the actions at Charlie. A popular song called "The Men Stayed at Charlie" followed.
Of the 470 men who initially occupied Charlie only 35 walked off.
The rest stayed at Charlie.
Fire-base Charlie was situated athwart a North Vietnamese infiltration route in a mountain pass northwest of Kontum City. It was manned by the 470 officers and men of the 11th Airborne Batallion, Army of the Republic of Vietnam and one American adviser.
From almost the moment it was occupied on 12 April 1972, Charlie was under continuing vicious attack. Over those three days, the ground defense was bolstered by air strikes and Army Cobra helicopter gunships controlled by the American adviser, call sign Dusty Cyanide. By the afternoon of 15 April, conditions on Charlie were desperate. Defenders, out of ammunition, held their positions using hand grenades, knives, clubbed rifles, Air Force tactical air and Army attack helicopter support.
I flew in support of Charlie twice on April 15th. After a mission early in the afternoon, we were replaced by another team from my company, the Pink Panthers, who, when they expended, were replaced by a team of Cobras from the 57th Assault Helicopter Cougars. The Cougars were relieved by another team of Panthers and we were launched on a second mission at dusk. We followed battle by radio as we flew northward.
We checked in with Dusty Cyanide in time to hear "You broke the attack!" and "Shoot 50 meters north of the big fire." The problem is, we could see no less than three big fires an and three or four smaller ones. Otherwise, the mountains were pitch black. We settled things by putting a pair of rockets 50 meters north of the largest fire in the middle and were told "That's it Panther - put it right there!" and, a pass or two later, "OK Panther, you broke the attack." and "We abandoning position" and, I think a direction of egress." We put the rest of our load between the big fire an the assumed position of the friendlies. The next thing we heard from the out-of-breath voice below us was "You broke the attack. We're clear, heading down the mountain," and then nothing.
When the survivors had been recovered, Dusty Cyanide, sent us his gratitude via newsman Peter Arnett. The message was "Those first guns were good. They broke the attack. But that last team was shit hot. They broke things up and covered our escape." Peter Arnett came by our Company Club to deliver the message in person.
For his actions on Firebase Charlie an in getting the survivors off the mountain, Major John Duffy, Dusty Cyanide, was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. He deserved more.
The 1972 South Vietnamese Literature Award went to a book titled "The Red Flames of Summer" by Phan Nhat Nam. The book was based on survivor accounts of the actions at Charlie. A popular song called "The Men Stayed at Charlie" followed.
Of the 470 men who initially occupied Charlie only 35 walked off.
The rest stayed at Charlie.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
All Things New
I love springtime -- the lengthening days, the brightness of the sun, the birds and birdsong, the return of warmth to the air and color to the world. Early flowers push themselves through the frozen earth, eager to add color to the still gray world around them. Then suddenly spring bursts upon the world with light and warmth and flashes of vivid color.
The sky turns the brightest of blues. Opening daffodils, tulips, even dandelions provide yellows and reds, purples and oranges to the mix as they open. Trees blossom and bloom, each adding its unique contribution to the beauty around them. Leaves return to the trees in myriad shades of green, each tree different from its neighbor.
It is as if the world were created anew and waits, clean and fresh scrubbed, to greet the future.
Spring marks a season of new beginnings.
Farmers and gardeners prepare fields and plots for planting, anticipating a bumper crop or an abundance of fresh vegetables and flowers.
Baseball teams assemble players and practice anticipating the new season, each hoping to make the playoffs and win the a championship -- even the World Series.
School children anticipate summer. "This will be the best vacation yet!"
Seniors in high school and college anticipate spring commencement and freedom outside the halls of academia.
Springtime sweethearts may plan summer weddings.
Christians celebrate Easter and Jews Passover in remembrance of God's mighty acts to emancipate His people. In each case, they celebrate a new beginning.
As human beings, we like new beginnings.
New beginnings represent opportunities to do new things, or do old things better. New beginnings allow us to do things differently, to do things over, to make right things we've done wrong, and to repair things we've messed up. New beginnings allow us to learn from the past and grow into the future.
Albert Einstein is quoted as saying "To continue to do the same things and expect different results is lunacy." New beginnings set us free from the lunacy.
It is written that old things are passed away. None of us can change one jot or tittle of the past.
Old things go and new things take their places not only in springtime, not only at Easter or Passover, but daily and every morning.
Do you need a new beginning?
What is the very first thing you need to do to make it happen?
Why not do that one thing now?
And be happy. It's a new beginning.
The sky turns the brightest of blues. Opening daffodils, tulips, even dandelions provide yellows and reds, purples and oranges to the mix as they open. Trees blossom and bloom, each adding its unique contribution to the beauty around them. Leaves return to the trees in myriad shades of green, each tree different from its neighbor.
It is as if the world were created anew and waits, clean and fresh scrubbed, to greet the future.
Spring marks a season of new beginnings.
Farmers and gardeners prepare fields and plots for planting, anticipating a bumper crop or an abundance of fresh vegetables and flowers.
Baseball teams assemble players and practice anticipating the new season, each hoping to make the playoffs and win the a championship -- even the World Series.
School children anticipate summer. "This will be the best vacation yet!"
Seniors in high school and college anticipate spring commencement and freedom outside the halls of academia.
Springtime sweethearts may plan summer weddings.
Christians celebrate Easter and Jews Passover in remembrance of God's mighty acts to emancipate His people. In each case, they celebrate a new beginning.
As human beings, we like new beginnings.
New beginnings represent opportunities to do new things, or do old things better. New beginnings allow us to do things differently, to do things over, to make right things we've done wrong, and to repair things we've messed up. New beginnings allow us to learn from the past and grow into the future.
Albert Einstein is quoted as saying "To continue to do the same things and expect different results is lunacy." New beginnings set us free from the lunacy.
It is written that old things are passed away. None of us can change one jot or tittle of the past.
Old things go and new things take their places not only in springtime, not only at Easter or Passover, but daily and every morning.
Do you need a new beginning?
What is the very first thing you need to do to make it happen?
Why not do that one thing now?
And be happy. It's a new beginning.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Feed Them on Your Dreams
"Teach your children well,
Their father's hell did slowly go by,
And feed them on your dreams..."
Their father's hell did slowly go by,
And feed them on your dreams..."
--Crosby, Stills & Nash
I recently received a video entitled "We Stopped Dreaming" -- you can see it yourself at http://www.wimp.com/stoppeddreaming/. The premise of this video is that our collective dreams enabled our nation to put a man on the moon; that dreams make tomorrow come; that dreams enable the world of tomorrow and the life of tomorrow; and that we have stopped dreaming. Were I to believe this, I would conclude that tomorrow is as gone as yesterday, leaving the only gray sameness of today stretching into an interminable future.
This country was built on dreams: dreams of land, dreams of liberty, dreams of personal accomplishment. Dreams are the substance of possibility. If you can't visualize the possibility of something better, then, whatever it is, you can't make it so.
Dreams require an attitude of abundance, an attitude that says "I have everything I need to make my dream happen. As a nation, we lost our dreams sometime in the late 1960's when books such as The Population Bomb told us that there weren't or soon wouldn't be enough resources to go around. And we believed them. We believed them even more after spending time freezing in the dark and waiting in gas lines during the oil embargo of the 1970's.
Today, we are told that certain futures are "impossible" and we believe it. We are told that if we have and use the resources we have to make our dreams happen that we are being selfish.
How poor we are. Of all nations, the most richly blessed are most fearful of scarcity.
"But," we are told, "by using more than 'your fair share', your are depriving someone else of enough." And, we are told "There may not be enough to last. Scarce resources need to be conserved and hoarded or else shared equitably among all." Each variation of these statements is presented with an air of high snootiness.
We are made to feel guilty for having achieved, guilty for wanting to achieve more, guilty of wishing for more and better and guilty for dreaming and striving to make those dreams -- our vision of a desired future -- into reality.
No dreams? What a crock of crap! More like no guts to go and to dare what must be done. More like too much contentment living within limitations we are told we have and not enough courage to live abundantly in all circumstances.
We haven't stopped dreaming. We've have been brainwashed into living in a world where dreams are severely limited and where youth are taught to dream only that which they are told is socially correct and acceptable.
When I was a youth, I dreamed of a world in which space flight was routine and mankind had colonized the moon and near planets. I dreamed of a world where the land yielded abundant food and the transportation system provide the means for food to be distributed to each not according to his needs, but according to his wants. I dreamed of a life of adventure and discovery. And I dreamed of a life in which I was free to work at something useful and left alone to enjoy the fruits of my labor.
To the extent possible, I fed my children on my dreams and watched them thrive.
What are your dreams?
On what dreams are you feeding your children?
What shapes your vision of the future?
Friday, March 23, 2012
Simple Rules
I have learned that life is best lived by following a few simple rules.
God transformed twelve tribes of slaves into the nation of Israel by giving them ten simple rules and an asking them time and again, "What part of 'Thou shalt not' do you not understand?"
Today, Benjamin Franklin, arguably one of the most erudite men of his day, is remembered more than anything else, for the simple rules he published in Poor Richard's Almanac.
"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."
"A penny saved is a penny earned."
"Waste not time, for it is the substance of life."
My Mom and Dad raised four children using a few simple rules. Rules like "Don't hit your sister", and "You take care of you, and let (whoever) take care of (whoever)." And Moms' personal favorite, from the Disney movie Bambi, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say nothing at all." Dad's favorite seemed to be "Remember, whether you're digging ditches or directing a corporation, it's all food on the table." For the most part, Mom and Dad lived the rules they taught us each and every day of their lives and today each of us children can justifiably claim to be reasonably responsible and productive adult members of society.
And, like my parents before me, my wife and I raised our family to observe a few simple rules, the most important of which were always stated as
"Rule 1: No fighting.
Rule 2: If a fight breaks out, remember rule 1."
And there were others, like "Always try a 'no thank you' helping," and "Take all that you want, but eat all that you take." And also "If you sign up for a team sport or activity, then you owe it to the team to continue that sport or activity until the end of the season."
Today, I am proud to report that each of my children can also justifiably claim a place as reasonably responsible and productive adults.
In future posts, I may present a few more of the simple rules that have benefited me in their application. But, in the mean time, I'd like to know, what simple rules have you lived out to make you into the person you are today?
And what other simple rules might make your life better?
God transformed twelve tribes of slaves into the nation of Israel by giving them ten simple rules and an asking them time and again, "What part of 'Thou shalt not' do you not understand?"
Today, Benjamin Franklin, arguably one of the most erudite men of his day, is remembered more than anything else, for the simple rules he published in Poor Richard's Almanac.
"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."
"A penny saved is a penny earned."
"Waste not time, for it is the substance of life."
My Mom and Dad raised four children using a few simple rules. Rules like "Don't hit your sister", and "You take care of you, and let (whoever) take care of (whoever)." And Moms' personal favorite, from the Disney movie Bambi, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say nothing at all." Dad's favorite seemed to be "Remember, whether you're digging ditches or directing a corporation, it's all food on the table." For the most part, Mom and Dad lived the rules they taught us each and every day of their lives and today each of us children can justifiably claim to be reasonably responsible and productive adult members of society.
And, like my parents before me, my wife and I raised our family to observe a few simple rules, the most important of which were always stated as
"Rule 1: No fighting.
Rule 2: If a fight breaks out, remember rule 1."
And there were others, like "Always try a 'no thank you' helping," and "Take all that you want, but eat all that you take." And also "If you sign up for a team sport or activity, then you owe it to the team to continue that sport or activity until the end of the season."
Today, I am proud to report that each of my children can also justifiably claim a place as reasonably responsible and productive adults.
In future posts, I may present a few more of the simple rules that have benefited me in their application. But, in the mean time, I'd like to know, what simple rules have you lived out to make you into the person you are today?
And what other simple rules might make your life better?
Friday, March 16, 2012
Spring Time Thoughts
Spring Morning:
Haiku in Three Verses
Birdsong greets my day;
many differing voices
reflecting their joy.
Robins sound the note.
Mockingbirds add harmony.
Crows are always bass.
Doves coo the alto,
A woodpecker adds rhythm,
All sounding gladness!
Springtime arrived unannounced this week. Temperatures, lately mired in the chill of February, have suddenly become more typical of late May. Trees, bare and naked a week ago, are now clothed in pink, yellow, and white blossoms. Birdsong has returned to early morning, and yellow dandelions to my lawn.
You would think that after more than sixty-six years I would have learned to expect the annual change and that springtime would somehow become routine and familiar. I am pleased to report it has not. To me, each spring and each spring day is entirely new and full of promise. More than any other time of the year, in the early spring I find myself greeting each morning with heightened expectation.
What new thing will I discover today? What sights? What sounds? What smells? What touches? What tastes?
What new wonder will I discover? What old wonder will I become reacquainted with?
All are welcome.
Spring is about newness of life and newness of spirit. I am renewed with each spring morning.
How will you make your life new this spring?
How will you renew your spirit?
Friday, March 9, 2012
On Birthday Presents
I still have the little John Deere somewhere. The paint is faded and rubbed off allowing the gray iron to show through. The hard rubber back wheels no longer stand straight, having worn on their axle. And the exhaust stack may be bent, but the farmer in his straw hat still sits proudly in the seat, ready to plow another round on the south forty. The little tractor remains among my most precious possessions, proving the truth of the slogan "Nothing works like a Deere!.
The following year, when I was five, I got a gold-colored cap pistol with ruby red grips. That year, I began riding the range with Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, the Lone Ranger, and Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, radio cowboys of the early 1950s.
Of the birthday presents I have received since then, most have been forgotten, with one notable exception.
On the thirty-fifth anniversary of my natal day, my wife presented me with our fourth child, a nine pound two-and-one-half ounce daughter. I got to carry her from the delivery room to the newborn nursery, a short walk during which we shared the secrets of the world. Since that day, she has made me very proud to be her dad. Sharing my birthday with her is one of the proudest things I get to do.
So, Happy Birthday Alicia, and many, many more. Have fun learning to be your new age. You are and will always be the best birthday present your mom gave me. Ice cream will be consumed in your honor.
Which special birthday presents do you remember?
What made them special?
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