JMR32/FarmerBob

I have granted you top billing, sir, as your profession is much more prestigeous than mine.

So how was the cruise? My turn to be jealous as I couldn't get my wife onto an aircraft carrier with a gun, sedatives, and a straight jacket. The woman is absolutely terrified of the ocean.

To continue where we left off. I completely grasp your view of flying. I know my dad would have loved for his son to have been a pilot like himself, but that certain instinctual grasp of speed and space necessary for a competent aviator is utterly lacking in me. I used to hate when the airdales would get their monthly NOE time in prior to a jump. Puking paratroopers in an enclosed space is something I will never miss.

As to your domestic arrangements, who the hell has the right to judge anyone for that sort of thing? If the two of you are happy, that's all that matters.

On being a honest-to-God, for-real, gettin' paid and everythi

Wow, getting top billing is scary! My preference is to fly below the radar, that way people are always underestimating me!
It's a shame your wife has a fear of the ocean. If it were just a matter of motion sickness I'd be able to convince her it's not a problem on today's liners. But a phobia is a horse of a different color. I have a touch of that myself. One of the things Julie has been at me for years to do is skydive with her. I see NO reason to hop out of a perfectly good airplane. Hell, I have to close my eyes on a roller coaster!
With regards to writing, it's something I've always wanted to do. Like you, I started, and trashed, dozens of efforts at novels. And hundreds of short stories. Charlton Heston was among my favorite celebrities, but I have to agree with your assessment of his conversational skills.
Like to make a suggestion. Rather

Robert. An excellent suggestion. The only obstacle I must overcome, is my tendency to intellectually step back and look for the "big picture." I believe your assessment of the future interest in the minutae of life is spot on. Getting myself mentally disciplined to stay on topic, as it were, will be the main challenge.
Knowing myself, my thoughts would would quickly degenerate in to the philosophical pontifications of yet another egocentric old fool. A wonderful idea ,nonetheless, that I shall put into practice when things calm down around here.

As to your humility regarding your profession. Rubbish and other comments. You are paid for the expression of your thoughts which is a tremendous accomplishment for anyone. We all have opinions as well as defecatory orifices. You have managed to find someone who will compensate you for yours. The opinion, that is. LOL The other we "don't ask, and don't tell", I believe.
Whe

FarmerBob,
I used the journal idea myself. It helps you to develop a "style" of writing. As with everything else, the more you do it the better you get. And I wouldn't worry too much about the obstacles or staying on topic. I have the same problem, in spades. My mind moves at light speed while my mouth and hands move at regular speed, so I'll be in the middle of a discussion and I end up "tangentializing" (that's a Bob original)into an entire new area.
Not to sound like an obnoxious professor, but use your tendencies to your advantage. Break your journal down into sections. Have a section for the "big picture". Have another for your philosophy. So on and so forth. I somehow doubt you are an old fool. And ego is, contrary to popular opinion, NOT a bad thing! Every successful person who has ever lived has KNOWN they were good. If you don't have the self confidence to stand against the tide you will be b

On a completely different note, I understand that your wife is Italian. Unfortunately about the only words I know in the language are "buono sera" and "grazi".
Visited Venice back in the 90's. Very interesting city. One of the things I thought unusual were the shops. Big signs in the window of a lot of them "Only enter to buy". They displayed their wares in the window, along with pricing, and if you walked in you were expected to purchase. Gives meaning to the term "window shopping".
I also got snarled at by a clerk for wanting to buy a ticket for an attraction with a bill way too large (apparently). Went up to the window, laid my Lira down, he said something, I mimed that I didn't understand, he said loudly "smaller", holding up the bill. When I couldn't come up with anything smaller he went into a rant. I THINK I heard the word tourist in there, and I'm sure I didn't want to unde

Thank you for the reference to that most interesting site, Robert. While I distrust most "news" outlets as sources of objective information in general and those on the web in particular, a private source news blog as this one is intriguing. The documentation of this individual's intel take is broad and diverse, and he seems to put the pieces together quite rationally. I smell a current or former intel weenie at work here. Will have to monitor his activities over the long haul to see how his track record pans out.

LOL at your Italian experiences. The French have nothing on them for rudeness. The only difference I ever noted was that they remained obnoxious even after you showed them the money.
Italy is a strange country. The cities can be as different as night and day, especially regarding Americans. Forget about the linguistical challenges. Every 20 steps is a new dialect. Half of the country can't comprehend the other half, an

Okay Robert,
Many apologies for the long delay in getting back to you.
Start by covering the points in your post.
I got the same take on 1913intel as you, and I'm betting he's a current intel weenie. He seems young, and his wife just had their first child about a year ago. He was out for a week and mentioned that was the reason. I've been on his site for a few years, he seems to have things down fairly well. Point of fact, he ran an Israeli intel article prior to Gulf II starting which reported massive Iraqi convoys crossing the border in Syria. Also reported the presence of Russian special forces operating in the northern region. Interesting?
I will bow to your superior knowledge regarding Italy. I only spent the time in Venice, so I'm limited. Spot on for the French in the big cities. I've had some "experiences" in Paris. But I have a take on the French, if you can stand a story. I was stationed in Germany back

After rereading my last post, I'll point out a couple things. The story about West Point is a good example of how NOT to write. The story itself is a good one, but the presentation pretty much sucked. If I would have spent some time proof reading I would have gotten rid of those parenthetical notations and worked the info into a coherent fashion. The flow doesn't seem right to me on rereading either. I'll blame it on the fact that it's 0428 here and I need sleep, got to help Julie move some furniture in about 6 hours.

That's one of my areas of weakness, too much parenthetical notation breaks up the reader's concentration and messes up the flow.
Also should have done more paragraphing through the post. Another point of success is to be able to constructively critique your own work. Striving for perfection is required, acheiving it is elusive. The ability to recognize your weaknesses is the first step in overcoming them.

Robert. Will get back to you Sunday. Much to reply to.lol
Bob

You touched on many great points, Robert. Due to time constraints, I will will reply to each in turn over the next several days.

My problem with our military operations over the last 15 years has been that our combat capabilities for offensive actions have become out of proportion to our sustainability for defensive actions. In layman's terms, we can destroy like other no force in history, but we can't hold the ground we take. Not enough trained grunts that are the backbone for sustained occupation operations. I got into hot water in the early 90's for proposing a TOE for specialized "peacekeeping and occupation" brigades built around military police MOS's rather than infantry. The use of good combat units in COTW, Conflicts Other Than War (God knows how out of date that term is), is a morally bankrupt policy that is unworthy of our troops and those we would pupport to aid. Grunts make lousy cops. No fault of theirs

Won't throw any new items onto the table, but just wanted to let you know I'm reading. Some great points in there, but I'll give you a chance to finish with the batch before I carry on. Will say that I agree with your "greatest generation" take. It seems to me that every generation in American history is equal to the nomenclature. The first generations, who gave up all they had to come here and tame a wild land (my apologies to the native Americans, I wish we would have found a better way), the generation who gave us our independance, the generation who fought on both sides in the Civil War, the generations who turned the USA into the industrial giant which allowed the WWII generation to perform as they did, and so on and so forth. I have incredible respect for the WWII folks, who survived the worst worldwide depression in recorded history, only to step into the horror of the worst world war in recorded history. Incidentally, th

Pardon the interruption.

<!-Quote-!>Quote:

Incidentally, the label of WWI and WWII really isn't accurate. It depends on the definition you use for a world war. I'll just mention that there were numerous wars throughout history which would fit the term.<!-/Quote-!>

The Punic Wars. Over a century of genocide, betrayal, and salting the earth over the ruins of your enemies homeland. Excellent choice for the First World War.

Again apologies please continue.

Sorry for the delay, Robert. Very busy at the farm these days.

On a more personal note. I will share my West Point "experience" with you as well.

I graduated from high school in the late 60's and faced a similar dilema. Being a fairly successful football player, I had coaches with scholarship offers breathing down my neck and my old man was really pushing for me to try for an appointment to the Point. The head coach there was also very interested and arranged a visit in my senior year. I didn't rate a field grade driver, however, LOL. Just the Coach and a couple of players. The virtues of the MA were extolled to me endlessly from the moment of my arrival UNTIL I got alone with the player/cadets.
Some great things I was told in locker room:

1. Don't come here. All we do is work our asses off and get chewed out.
2. Don't come here. Go to a REAL college and f#$%
hippie chicks.
3. Are you in

Hey, I resemble that remark about old farts! Or something like that. I was about a half decade behind you in school, the fall of Saigon took place the year I graduated. Had to get a draft number, but they weren't calling any those days. My Dad wanted me to K two birds with one S, our family had a military tradition, but NO one had ever gone to college right out of high school. My Dad had gotten his degree from Oklahoma, but it was through correspondence courses and a summer semester on campus.
Funny you mention being sick of school and books. I wasn't sick, just bored. Our family moved to our current location from Japan the summer before I went into 8th grade. The state is supposed to have a good educational system, but it didn't compare to the DOD schools. I had taken French I and Algebra I in 7th grade, but French II and Algebra II were only for 9th graders here, period. My folks fought the district but didn't win, they got told to pu

Now I'm going to begin your lessons in "journalese" and give you a critique on your last post, since what you've written would make a good journal entry.
The story about the Point was excellent! The only thing I might change if it were in an official journal would be to refer to "f'ing" the hippie chicks in a more oblique way. Use "make" hippie chicks. Don't want any more "Grandpa, what's an asshat" episodes! LOL.
The next section needs a touch of work. Absolutely drop the "what a stupid punk kid I was". At that point in your life it was the decision you made using the best info you had available at the time. Replace that sentence with something along the lines of: "Being an idealistic teen, reality hadn't intruded into my thoughts and life yet." It basically says the same thing, but now the reader will feel empathy with you instead of saying to themselves "Hey, he admits

LOL Robert. You have obliquely identified one of my difficulties in communicating, both written and verbal.
My upbringing and return to life in a rural area has affected my "style" as well as my outlook towards people. Given my family history and relative "status" in our community here, I have always had to ensure that I did not put on airs with our neighbors. Conducting myself as one of the boys, as it were, helps to maintain my sense of community with those I share this area. Last night, I was called out to help some township workers clear two downed trees from a local road. As blue collar guys, you can imagine the language used as we accomplished this endevour in a rainstorm. Thusly, upon returning home and posting, my "infantry mouth" was in high gear. As you may have noticed from other posts elsewhere in these forums, I try not to come across as the uptight old man and attempt to write more for a younger, hipper audience.

Post Script. I am most assuredly a "stupid punk grandpa." LOL

Might be true, especially considering you're an ex-football jock! LOL. I'm confused. Since it's a scientific fact that football players are not allowed to have an IQ over 25, how did you get to be an officer? They need an IQ of 30.
Ouch, I'm nasty. On the real side, nothing wrong with being blue collar and one of the boys. One of the reasons for my success as an instructor at Knox was the ability to communicate with people from all kinds of socio-economic backgrounds. You had to, because what you were giving those kids could be the difference between life and death on the battlefield. If you couldn't get through to them the end result would be very bad when the caps started flying. Julie tells me frequently that I really should have been an actor because I have so many personas!
Back in the Victorian days what you're talking about was referred to as Noblesse Oblige. And it was a good thing. People are much more willing to fo

The football player jokes, I have heard them all my adult life. The irony is that I only played in high school. "Linebacker" was hung on me by my first battalion commander when I was new butter bar. It stuck through the rest of my career until I finally gave up and embraced it. The further irony is that I was a nosetackle and tight end. LOL Even last year, I had to argue with some kid at the gym that I was not some former NFL player from Baltimore. Well, being 6'5" and 250 has its benefits and drawbacks.
Incidently, the minimum IQ requirement for an officer is 45. Anything over 70 and one is considered overqualified and a threat to good military order and discipline.

Seriously, though, this conversation has taken me down some memory lanes that I haven't traversed in years. You mentioned youthful idealism as a motive for foregoing college or the Academy, but that really wasn't the case. Do remember what America was lik

Buenissimo! Or however your wife's relatives would spell it. Thought you told me you couldn't write.
As a prof, I have no choice but to give that one a 4.0. And I looked hard for anything I could find to downgrade it. Just wasn't there.
That is exactly how you should put things down in your journal efforts. You captured the frame of mind you were in at the time, and provided a background for why you were in that frame. Just the right amount of "big picture" to let today's or tomorrow's "yutes" get a glimpse of what is was back in the day.
Okay, if I make your head any bigger you won't get through the door to do those chores.
Responding to the question of whether I was aware of the national mood during Vietnam, a resounding yes. The fact that I was a young whelp didn't deter me from an acute interest. The one thing I think made a profound difference to me was that I wasn't here to live through

Sorry for the delay Robert. Time is just flying by this summer and it seems spare for moments are in short supply.

Returning to your comments, some questions have occurred to me that I had meant to ask earlier.

Without getting into great specifics, what was your father's profession? You obviously had a untypical childhood with a lot of world travel. Almost as bad as a military brat.

What were your impressions of the other cultures to which you were exposed? Have you made it back to any of those areas to note the changes?
Never did more than pass through Japan but was always fascinated by them as a people.

Despite my jibes, you actually did well to wait a few years before enlisting. You would not likely have been impressed by the Army of the early 70's. I have never comprehended how the Sov's never figured out what terrible shape we were in back then. Do you recall the racial and drug problems epidemic i

Yeah, RL can be a pain when you want to kick back and enjoy your "old age".

Without going into unneccessary detail, Dad was an intel analyst. Not a field agent, thankfully.

Very unusual childhood, but I actually loved it. Lots of pros and cons both ways, but moving every couple years forced me into making friends quickly and coping when either they or we moved on. It also exposed me to a vast array of different cultures and socio-economic situations, which kept me from developing the insularity that people who spend their entire life in one location get. Downside is having no friend I grew up with from the cradle on, and a tendency to be unable to expose my "inner soul" to people. Also I am always psychologically thinking I'll be moving on soon, so committing is a problem. This despite the fact that I've been in the same locale for 25 years now!

Sidebar to that: I was highly ticked off at the USPS when I

Excellent contribution to the other thread. A very nice summary of modern history. Your skills as a writer were most in evidence.
People do love their prejudices though, don't they?

Interesting field your father was in. I will assume that you probably were kept in the dark about much it. No suprise there. I worked in the field in a different capacity for much of the 80's. Keeping watch on the bear as it were, but that "desk tour" put me in place to meet my wife.
Therefore, it was the best post in which I could ever have served.

As to the Postal Service? Those people are nuts. 16 years? I doubt I could have lasted 16 minutes.

The Koreans are a fiercely proud and independent people who have had a hard time of it over the last 100 years or so. I understand your difficulty understanding them. Once you do get past the bravado, however, they are a wonderful people and outstanding soldiers.
Tra Binh Dong. Bl

Hey there. Jeez, there just isn't enough time in the day any more!

Am battling for a gc award this month over on GR, am getting WAY too involved with the decent discussions going on in the forum (but loving every minute!), and of course I need to pay the bills, so RL jumps in every so often.

Have been offered an interesting on site assignment which I am strongly tempted to take up. A magazine wants an article on some history of the Old West. They are willing to pay for one week lodging in Tucson, plus the stipend for the article. It is VERY rare that any publisher offers anything except the cash for the article. I have not worked for this particular magazine before,so am not certain if they are reliable. But boy, what an opportunity! Even if it IS the middle of the summer and will be 110 in the shade.

Don't think it would have an impact on SC, as most hotels nowadays offer some form of internet access.

Re

Robert, I will get back to our conversation shortly. Time continues to be a problem a for me and participating in the "other" discussion has been eating up my limited time.

However, i just wanted to let you know what I will be doing in few hours, Sunday morning, which may give you a chuckle.

Our annual barbeque extravaganza is approaching in a few weeks and one of my jobs in preparation for this is to slaughter and butcher a yearling cow a neighbor raises for me. We need to let the meat cure for a few weeks obviously. I was just considering how our many young associatates on SimCountry would react to the realities of this process.LOL

You mean hamburgers are dead cow, mommy?

That's right, Virginia, your Happy Meal is an accessory to murder.

Back to you soon.
Bob