HEY HI HELLO

And Happy Veterans Day, to all who have earned that distinction...

My war was Viet Nam. When I graduated, it had about 1 year to go. At that time, the draft board was using a lottery system to see who'd go, and who would stay. My number was 335. It was not my time to go.
I would have gone, if I had been called. And, after seeing, through films and documentaries, and partly through some fragmented ex-soldier lives, the kind of war it was, I'm thankful I wasn't called.
The kind of chaos ever present in that war would have destroyed me.
I believe that near death experiences bring out the best and the worst in us. The insanity of the constant jungle pressures would have creamed me. I fully admit this, and I salute the survivors.
Although I am opposed to the war in Iraq, I fully support our soldiers over there. I can't wait for it to be over, and for them to come home again. The armed forces is forcing all our enlistees to stay 13 months longer than they were supposed to, and spend that time in Iraq. I find this horrendous, especially considering that they've already done their time in that purgatory.
I have faith that the coming election year may have a large impact on this war. It's time to come home.

Okay....

Off the soapbox.

Laura had a truly moving piece of music on her "I ate the Sandbox" blog today. Beck, do you read her stuff? It's a riot. She is almost deranged enough to be one of us. She's at:http://www.iatethesandbox.blogspot.com/

Check it out, Bean.

Hey....

Yesterday, Steve Case, brand spanking new Preacher Dude had his town hall debut!
Actually, it was in the Crossroads Church, but, anyways, it was primo.
The worship before he spoke was a blast. Then the choir sang a medley of patriotic songs. Very fun. Finally, Steve spoke about Ruth, one of the heroes of the Old Testament. The girl who did what she had to do. Without chopping off any heads either.
I can judge a preachers effectiveness almost immediately by how much of the sermon I retain. It usually falls somewhere between "what did he just say" to "wow..I still remember the first point...".
Steve made it to the top, with almost total recall today, a full 24 hours later.
Amazing. And entertaining. I can't wait for his next time up there, which he claims will be in "6 or 7 years..". Hope not!

Anyways, maybe later this week I'll have some valuable insight to share with all you zillions of fans out there in blog-land.

OH YEAH!

So, have fun today. If you have the time, play bloons here on this page. I finally beat the game, all 50 levels, and it may be my life's single finest achievement.

YOU GET THE POINT!!