Dear Spammers....you are morons

Perhaps you've seen two new techniques spammers are using to "fool" you into opening and reading their important messages.

The first is the inclusion of a .pdf file to carry their message to you. The second is sending a link to a supposed online greeting card sent to you by a friend. Both of these tactics are designed to fool ever more effective spam recognition tools. And they work; they do get through some spam filters.

The problem for the spammers is, it seems to me, that very few people are as stupid as the spammers and fall for this more than once or twice. More sophisticated users don't, although I had to check the "greeting card" spam twice when I got the first one. The subject line was enough to make me think twice... "partner has send you greeting card". Note to Russian spammers: learn English language syntax a little before attempting to fool people. Also although the message said it was from EGreetings.com the link was in a numeric IP form. HHHhmm?

The spam with the attached .pdf form was a no brainer. If you've been around the internet for any length of time you know not to open strange, unexpected files attached to emails, especially when the email address is from Italy or Russia. I just don't know anyone in either of those places who is going to be sending me a pdf file.

I quickly adjusted my Outlook filter to immediately delete this crap. The problem worldwide is that the pdf files take up "bulk" on the networks of the Internet; 100's of millions of these a day are causing problems. And possibly a whole lot more problems for you if you click on the "greeting card" link. Many of these are attached to robot spam programs that will make you an accomplice or worse yet load malware on your machine including key loggers. In fact, there is a very good chance one of my/your fine friends has clicked and become a spambot, which is why I'm getting so many of these. Which of you was it...?

Here's a guy talking about greeting card scams. This is Chris....at least the top half of him.

Civics lesson....

When I was in high school we called the study of local government, civics. Today courtesy of the City of Midland, I received more civics lessons.

Previously, I had thought I might like to work for the municipal government because you could make a lot of money by not doing a good job and getting fired. But I was naive, for today I learned that you are hired at the whim of the city and you are fired at the whim of the city; but you can also be forced to be employed again at the whim of the city. I don't think my emotions could take this. I feel for Rick Menchaca, one day a "half-millionaire" today just a poor working stiff. If I were he I would start taking some of those sick days.

But I also learned another lesson. If ever I am a city manager somewhere, doing a half-assed job and someone pays me $600,000 to take a hike, I've learned to take the offer and just quietly and quickly slink away. Don't have lawyers sending letters to those cutting the check asking for more.

And here's my prediction. By the end of the week Rick Menchaca will be the new police chief.

Twists and turns...

Life has some unusual turns. Some bad, some meaningless, some good, some just interesting.

Like last evening; I was lounging about when the phone rang. It was a major soap opera star calling, wanting to talk about media stuff for The Springboard Center for which she is our spokesperson. She is a very easy going person and we spoke for almost an hour and a half covering a wide spectrum of subjects interrupted occasionally by Jeanne excusing herself to have a word with her landscape man working on refitting her Beverly Hills terrace. When we hung up it was as if some old friend had called.

It was only after I had a chance to think a moment that I realized, that just about the last thing ever I would expect in my life would be to have a soap opera star call to chat on Sunday evening. Maybe this has happened to you, but it was a new experience for me.

By the way, if you are a fan of The Young and the Restless and care to make a "significant" donation to The Springboard Center...you may find yourself with a walk on part on the show.

Artist Polly...

Artist Polly is a friend of mine in Austin. A real live professional artiste who used to live in a barn artist's garret in Galisteo, New Mexico. Polly was an "older" woman in my days at Midland High and as such an object of much unintended affection from an underclassman. OK not just her, no offense Polly, but most attractive upperclass women were the objects of affection by the younger wannabe Romeos. That's just the way it was. Susan Light was another to mention names. Susan was a junior or senior when I was a freshman; a blonde cheerleader who went with the star football player. I saw her last summer at a reunion and my heart still skipped a beat. Polly was there too...and they're both still hot babes!

I'm sorry I digressed. I merely wanted to mention that not only is Polly a talented visual artiste, she also writes great stories. This week she relates some humorous moments in her days as a young fashion model in Niemans in Dallas. Here at PWally

Weekend looming....

It's Friday, let's just all try to get along and be happy! Hey, I have an idea.....do you wanna' dance?

Advanced Economics...

Midland is indeed the Land of the High Sky....blue sky too if you know a few advanced economic techniques in dealing with municipal entities. Recently there have been several economic models to be considered.

First is the Menchaca Effect. This allows one to collect large sums of money for doing an, apparently, substandard job and being fired. If you are skilled in the use of this effect you can even garner benefits over and above basics while being fired. The key here is for the terminated party to never use the word "sue" but to psychically imply this to your employer. The second, the Bekins Syndrome, reared it's head again today. This strategy relies on even the vaguest mention of the magic word...."move". Of course, if you are very skillful you can get money whether you don't move or you do move [see Menchaca Effect] Read more.....

Lady Bird....

Lady Bird Johnson has passed away at the age of 94. Lady Bird has seemed like the unofficial grandmother of Texas. She had been around all my adult life in an official or unofficial capacity and a lot of history goes with her. I always thought of Lady Bird as a very decent, compassionate and caring person married to someone who wasn't. I can remember when she went to

Washington with Lyndon for the first time, many adults thought that having someone named "Lady Bird" as the first lady would be an extreme embarrasment to Texans. It didn't work out that way and now all these decades later it's going to be strange not having a "Lady Bird" around.

Whenever you see wildflowers in Texas think of Lady Bird. I've heard that she was more proud of having done so much for the landscape than she was of having been the first lady. I took the picture above of her official portrait just last February while in the White House. GWB has it in a prominent place, more so than any other first lady besides Eleanor Roosevelt.

Bebel outra vez

Bebel é um babe quente. Não há nada como um singer portuguese! Seu Web site é o mais melhor demasiado. Put that in your Babelfish! But look at her website...it's superb, so are her tracks available for listening. Bebel Gilberto

I would like to add a special note to our dear friend "Jimmy". I read with saddness that the publishers job at the MRT had gone to someone else. We were pulling for you on this one. Your dramatic rise at the paper, from attic office to an actual desk downstairs had our hopes high that you would be leading the paper soon. It is sad that a fellow can't take 2 or 3 weeks vacation every month without worrying about repercussions. Hang in there.

And to Darrell: I knew you were a man of substance but never one of so much good breeding. Anyone who appreciates the cultural signifance of Go Go Dancers is on the right track in life. So for you.....here is another groovy Go Go clip, this is Go Go Dancing at it's finest. I dedicate this clip to my sister Susan, who as a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines early in it's history, actually got to wear Go Go boots to work. An experience she fondly recalls even to this day. This song is also dedicated to me, based on recent experiences.

Bebel.....!

If you've never heard of Bebel Gilberto...you have now. She's Brazilian music legend Joao Gilberto's daughter....A nice Girl from Ipanema herownself and I agree with her sentiments.

Cultural history....

I liked the 60's. Many people didn't. I did. It was an interesting time of change, but I do see why many "younger" people get tired of hearing about it. Frankly you had to have been there and besides, I think, we all tend to think of our teens as probably the best time of life. In that decade I went from being a kid to almost a man. When I was 10 y.o. at the start of the decade we hadn't even put a man in space....by the time I was 19, at the end, we were on the moon. We got color TV in my house for the first time when I was 16, 8 track tapes in cars were a huge invention as was FM stereo radio although very few people had this.

Today many "younger" people who weren't there tend to think of the pop culture of the whole decade summed up in one word...."Hippies". That's OK, but not necessarily true. Hippies as a undercurrent didn't appear till around 1965 and didn't become mainstream [is that an oxymoron?] until after the Summer of Love in 1967. Truthfully, I doubt there were ever very many real hippies, certainly not in Midland Texas. The "hippies" I knew drove new Ford Mustangs. Wannabes...

And so many of the "younger" people I know think of one thing when they think of the music of the '60s....."psychedelic". Again not until late in the decade. Actually during the first several years of the decade the avante garde music was "folk" which gave way to folk rock. This was an outshoot of the "Beat Generation" of the late 50's and coffehouse music. Some of the beat generation advocates later morphed into hippies as did the their music which went to the folk rock which was more electrified.

The folk rock music scene changed for one reason, in my opinion. The Beatles. The Beatles changed the game in 1964 and soon all those folk rockers needed to adjust to stay viable; many did and became more famous as rock n' rollers than they ever were as folk rockers. Roger McGuinn featured below is a good example.

There was a time that was/is one of my favorites in music. There was short window, probably 1965-1966, when electrified rock n' roll was picking up steam but had not gotten the hard edge it took later. The Beatles were still singing love songs, the Beach Boys were singing about surfin', hot rods and beach babes. But rock was going mainstream, so much so that prime time rock n' roll TV shows started appearing and the Monkees were conjured up so that all us young hipsters could see rock on the tube. This was a big deal as there were only three channels on the TV...total.

Today on Captured Moments I have two offerings designed to feature what was hip, groovy and cool in 1965....please don't laugh this was the happenin' entertainment in my day. Traveling back in time you will notice the ubiquitous "go go boots" [looking somehow not right on Mama Cass!] and what every show had to have....Go Go Dancers. Go Go Dancers were hot to a 15 year old kid....I still think they're hot! It's sad to me that you can't find a girl today who can do a decent "frug" or "swim". And by the way, the first rock concert I ever saw was "Paul Revere and the Raiders", in Odessa. They weren't too bad, but alas no Go Go Dancers.

Hey, it's Saturday...let's all sing along with Gilbert O'Sullivan............and his song fraught with meaning.

Friday..

Friday was mostly eaten up with an extended emergency trip to the doctor's with my Mom. A scare more than anything and she's doing fine. Scares are a way of life at almost 84 years old.

And more of Roger McGuinn....here as he was in the heyday of the Byrds. Some old hipsters will recognize the dude in the black hat as a future member of another '60s rock super group. You will also be amazed that these electric guitars seemed to be played without electrical input including the same 12 string Rickenbacher seen in the last film.

Roger McGuinn...the Byrds

Now playing at Captured Moments is a unique clip that I found through the Rickenbacher Guitar company. Here Roger McGuinn of the Byrds recreates the classic "Turn, Turn, Turn" in a modern setting. McGuinn was a star of the coffeehouse folk music set having played with the Limeliters, Chad Mitchell Trio and Judy Collins before he helped form the Byrds. He is one of the two folk "influences" sung about in the Mama's and Papa's song, Creeque Alley...."McGuinn and Maguire, just a gettin' higher in L.A. you know where that's at..."

This is a really interesting and nostalgic clip for old hipsters, as Roger plays the same Rickenbacher electric 12 string that he recorded the hit song with; the sound is instantly recognizable. Interestingly, Roger is also an ordinary blogger, viewed at Roger McGuinn

Here's another one of Roger's songs....music to the ears of every aspiring young hipster who ever bought a Fender Stratocaster guitar with dreams of sugarplums dancing in his head; like me........
Rock on......

Captured Moments....

OK, I have to admit that telephones, television and air travel are here to stay; videos on the Internet too. So after scouting around for a few video clips I was pleasantly surprised to learn how many old clips of vintage rock n' rollers there are around. I pledge myself to search the globe for some interesting ones. And where else to start but at the beginning with The Beatles. This first clip on Captured Moments took me back to the days when my Dad used to hruumph under his breath about their haircuts. Little did he know what was to come. By the late 60's he thought these early Beatles haircuts were lookin' pretty good.....

More on the 4th...

Hope you have been having a great Independence Day. We have and to prove it here are some photos from this mornings Midland Celebration

Warning: If clowns scare you.....there is a scary clown depicted.

Independence Day....

Have a joyous 4th of July!

And in the spirit of George Washington, Ben Franklin, Alex Hamilton and the gang remember the true meaning of this day! Celebrate their sacrifice and show them it was worthwhile by eating toxic foods to the point of obesity, getting drunk and blowing something up with fireworks!

Next...The Boob Tube?

An amazing bit of new gadgetry from Apple© noted in Australia by my friend Slatts

Adopt-a-Spot

Today's MRT frontpage byline story, Adopt-a-Spot was a great article highlighting the good work done by many citizens in helping control litter around town. The story also made me proud to think back to my college days when my scholastic chums and I had a similar program.

My fraternity brothers and I had "adopted" a stretch of Hildebrand Ave. west of Trinity University as our project. More specifically our stretch of road was occupied by only one building...."The Nugget Lounge". As a service to the community and to Roger, the owner, about once a week we would pick up all the litter [i.e. beer cans] that had accumulated out front and throw it out back. Though altruistic in effect, the real reason we cleaned up was that it kept municipal agencies from invetigating what went on inside.

The Nugget Lounge was one of those places that mothers of sons entering college hoped their sons would never find. In fact, places like the Nugget Lounge are one of the first places that sons entering college do find. Thanks to upperclassmen I found it before I found my classes. Roger was a sweetheart of an owner who's thought was that being 21 years old was only a "guideline" in serving beer. Having $1.50 to pay for it trumped age in importance; being 17 years old was close enough. A true free market economist!

Roger let us treat the Nugget like our own and since Trinity students basically financed it's operation I suppose it was. A dive when we "discovered" the Nugget, Roger let us fix it up to our tastes. Art students painted a groovey hippie black light tiger on the wall [Trinity's mascot] and we changed the juke box adding The Doors to the basic Ferlin Husky selection. On Sunday evenings during the Spring and Summer we intiated an elegant hamburger "buffet", served from the grill out back among the trash. Actually we had a symbiotic relationship with Roger and the Nugget. He served anyone cheap beer and we kept the Nugget open....and Roger alive.

I won't say that Roger had a problem with alcohol but when someone drinks beer 15 hours a day every day of the week, well you judge. Quite often about the 13th hour Roger would get quite "sleepy" and turn the bar over to one of the students to run while he went to lie down. I can't recall anyone ever abusing the privelage. During the cold months when Roger would go "lie down", his favorite spot was in the parking lot out front where he would stretch out in his 1957 white Cadillac with the motor running and heat on. We were especially alert during these times and would periodically send someone out to check and make sure Roger wasn't dead. He usually wasn't.

The Nugget was a place of conviviality and good cheer; home to several fraternities and for several years the Trinity football team. But it wasn't for everyone, like the faint of heart. During my junior year I started dating a freshman, "Kate", who is still a good friend [hi Kate if you are reading this in Crested Butte]. After "Kate" and I had been out a few times I thought it only proper to take her to the "in spot", The Nugget. Having only been enjoying the Nugget for a few moments that evening, Kate made the observation I can still hear as if it were yesteday, "This place is disgusting". Kate always had a sense of good taste and as far as I can remember she never went back to The Nugget in the two years we were an item. Just as well, The Nugget was more a manly kinda' place.

The Nugget fell from grace with the Trinity crowd just a couple of years after I left, being abandoned for upscale fern bars like the Bombay Bicycle Club and the Nugget slowly faded away. The building became an aquarium supply shop before being torn down sometime in the late '70s as the neighborhood redeveloped. I saw Roger once again in the early 80's when my friend Gen. Tom Hill and I took a driving tour of the area. Roger was trying to start a new bar near Trinity but it obviously was not going well and the next time I was in San Antonio the building was vacant and Roger had vanished forever. But the memory of The Nugget lingers on and honestly I cannot hear Marving Gaye's "What's goin on" or the Doors "Break on through" without thinkin of that big black light tiger on the wall at the Nugget Lounge.

We are pleased to announce...

..that Ms. Jeanne Cooper long time star of "The Young and the Restless" has agreed to become the national spokesperson for Midland's Springboard Center. More than just lip service and a famous name, Ms. Cooper lends her expertise in chemical dependency treatment and will be an active participant in the growth of The Springboard Center.

Ms. Cooper has already started taping public service announcements for the Center and will use her national exposure, possibly even on the Y&R to speak about addicition and the help offered by the Springboard Center.

If you don't know about the ongoing work and future plans of the Springboard Center, perhaps you should become more informed; hardly a family or friendship is not affected by chemical dependency in Midland. Someone you know or love probably is suffering through his or her personal demons.

The Springboard Center is built around a model not often seen; a community based private, but non-profit, facility serving all no matter ones financial situation. No one will be turned away and in partnership with Midland Memorial Hospital, Springboard will offer medical detox facilities, something not offered in this region. We are well on our way with a capital campaign to fund the new facility to be built at the corner of Loopt 250 and N. Big Spring St.

Ms. Cooper will be a great addition to the Springboard effort. Not only is she a noted name, she is a hoot to be around. Here are some pictures from our fundraising kickoff lunch.

Gratitude regained....

Today we are reminded that "gratitude is the key to our serenity".

And here's today's adventure from the world of animals.

The "Menchaca Affair".....

Had I only known what fertile ground for healthy anger management therapy would be presented with the "Menchaca Affair", I might have entitled "Mean Street Kick Ass"...Idle Rich: The Ric Menchaca Story. Today's installment.....I Feel Sick.

Shopping Around.

When it comes to taking care of the taxpayers dollars......
it pays to shop around!

A great job...even when you're fired!

Oh the outrage and indignation!

Quite possibly so.....

Some quotes with more than just a little humor.....


"Bigamy is having one wife too many. Monogamy is the same."
--Oscar Wilde

Do you know why they call it "PMS"? Because "Mad Cow Disease" was taken.
--Unknown, presumed deceased

Relationships are hard. It's like a full time job, and we should treat it like one. If your wife wants to leave you, she should give you two weeks' notice. There should be severance pay, the day before she leave you, she should have to find you a temp."
--Bob Ettinger

"You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says,'My God, you're right! I never would've thought of that!'"
--Dave Barry

Blog Think Tank...

The second annual West Texas Bloggers Rountable and Mobile Home Symposium was held today at the exclusive Harvest Caffe. The increase in membership since last years Roundtable was amazing with participants from varied fields attending. Among the members were farmers, engineers, TV stars, sales representatives, executive chefs, web designers and a few of the occasionally idle rich. A great and worthwhile time was had by all. In fact the conversation was so stimulating, most of us extended our coffee meeting into lunch. In attendance in spirit but not in person was spiritual mentor Jimmy; but he was represented graphically [the little dot of a head behind Kinky Friedman in the green room photo] and he will be reminded of our admiration for him when he gets the bill for the whole wonderful affair. Kinky couldn't make it either.....

The other members in attendance were:
The Fireant Gazette, Bleu Chocolate, Walked with the Angels, Streams, ArchaeoTex and Sounding Forth

Making News....

The star of the TV Guide Channel's Making News West Texas Style was good enough to recognize my efforts in making this reality show a national phenomenon with this fabulous photo. He especially liked my innovative idea about doing weather during the news show and,of course, suggesting that his news staff play the Hooters Girls in basketball. Keep up the good work Jose.

Bloggers Roundtable...

Many of the Midland-Odessa-Stanton triangle of bloggers will be meeting this Friday morning at 10 A.M at the "Harvest Cafe" located next to Dunlaps Dept. store at the corner of Wadley and Garfield streets. The discussion promises to be stimulating and varied with such special presentations as Jeff and Eric's dramatic PowerPoint show describing in detail their near fatal coffee related auto accident and I will be delivering my always popular lecture entitled- "XYZ: The Forgotten Consonants". All are invited to drop by....especially if you are buying.

A view of "Shangri-La".....

A stunning view of "Shangri-La" taken in March by one of my contacts there, a very good photographer in her own right it looks like. Gorgeous landscapes and adventure around every turn in the road, literally, what more could one ask for.....

Travel Wardrobe......

Good news in planning my travel wardrobe. I think that I have found a Kevlar body armor vest. Slightly used but functional.

Vacation Images: Stills ...and Video?

The trip to "Shangri-La" has taken a new turn. One of the local TV stations, the best one frankly, is graciously putting together a professionally done DVD of our West Texas Troop Salute for distribution to all those who helped with the event. We are doing an hour long version, a 15 minute version for the Internet and a short 3-5 minute cut for mailing out with a promotional package for next years event.

While working on the DVD with the News manager of the best local TV station I mentioned my plans with the newspaper for visiting and photographing in "Shangri-La". TV guys, I think, don't like to be out-done by the press media so the manager asked if I would like to either take a videographer from the station with me, or perhaps take one of their cameras for nightly reports...hopefully live. He even mentioned the words, "you could work for us for the time you're there".

This sounds promising as "working for" might imply that some of the expenses that are sure to occur beyond the travel plans I'm working on might be covered. He also assured me that getting my press credentials though them would be no problem. Press credentials are the key to going on vacation in "Shangri-La". In the meantime things are progressing. I've now been assigned my own personal travel guide who is in "Shangri-La", he's with the 82nd Travel Agency. They sound very professional and full of good ideas for fun things to do and see while on vacation there. So professional that he has already sent me a list of vacation clothing and items I need to bring. That damn Kevlar body armor keeps coming up.....

Nuthin' to do....?

Nuthin' to do in Midland. If you can't find some interesting things to do on a Sunday afternoon, you're not trying hard enough. There's always something to do...like borrowing a NASCAR vehicle and takin' her for a little test drive!

Gary P. Nunn......

It was a great evening to be at the Museum of the Southwest. Many friends, a pleasant night and getting to meet and photograph Texas music legend Gary P. Nunn. Gary invited me to shoot from the smallish stage. He wanted some of the shots and for my trouble I got an autographed Gary P. Nunn hat. I wanna' go home to the armadillos, with country music from Amarillo and Abilene.... Here's some shots.

Vacation plans

My summer vacation planning is still underway. "Shangri-La" awaits. I am now in direct communications with a government official in Shangri-La who is helping with my planning and getting the red tape taken care of. Since Shangri-La is now officially being overseen by the international community there are a few more forms to complete, but it's not bad.

I've also discussed my accomodations and hosts and it looks like the best place to be is at the 82nd Motel at the corner of Pleasant Dr. and Nirvana Ave. I am still in need of Kevlar body armor however, I think they suggest this since the golf club is very crowded and they worry about visitors getting hit with golf balls. Whatever, but if anyone has any body armor I'd like to borrow it. Thanks.

New look....

In an effort to move into the 21st Century, I've been updating a few websites to handle the higher resolutions that have become more standard. That, and I bought a new high resolution monitor that makes me [well almost] use a higher resolution setting than the old favorite 800x600. At 3000:1 resolution my photos look superb on the new flatscreen, but the websites looked....well dated as many of you know.

In addition I'm attempting to make them a bit more "cross browser" friendly for the few non conformitsts and liberals who use things like Mac's and Firefox. People like that FireAnt Guy and a few others I've run across. Hope this views a little more easily.

Memorial Day....

Memorial Day, a day of remembrance and gratitude for the gifts that those who have served, and are now gone, have given us. My Dad and I, over the years, grew to love to be together on Veterans Day. Now he is gone and I am left with his loving memory on this day, the last living veteran in my family. The greatest gifts in my life were given to me by my Dad, seen above [front right] aboard the liberty ship Rensselaer Victory in 1943 on his way to land at the beaches of Italy. One of the men pictured in this photo, his best army buddy, was killed the day they landed. I don't know which one it is because we found this picture and many more after my Dad was gone. His absence is with me every moment of the day.

Summer Plans...

I'm sure you've heard the old adage, "be careful what you wish for, it might come true". Even crazy, far fetched ideas that you know are crazy and far fetched.

Over the last year I've taken, literally, 3-4,000 sports photos, mainly for Midland High School. And I've loved it; met some nice new people and had fun being in the midst of the action. But, frankly, I got a little blase over the last several months. How many images of "guy on 2nd base, guy on 3rd base, guys in football pads" can you snap before they all start to look the same. Well about 3-4,000 I guess, because that's where I am.

One of the key elements of photography, that people forget, is that to get good and intersesting shots, you first have to be where the good and interesting shots are. So, over the last month or so I started to think of somewhere to go where there would definitely be good and interesting shots. There is a country I'll call "Shangri-La" that I've always been fascinated with, more so in recent years because it's been in the news. And my interest increased when I was in Washington in February and spoke to an old Army friend who is now a senior state department attache. He had recently returned from a years posting in Shagri-La and related that Shagri-La was one of the most interesting, historic and beautiful places he had ever been. I spoke with him again this week and he said he had met numerous photographers roaming Shangri-La taking photos for various news agencies and they all seemed to be faring well.

So, as crazy as I knew this was, I at least wanted to see if it might possible for me to get to Shangi-La too. I started with a local media outlet, whose assistance I would need, fully expecting them to ask for my release papers from the Nut House. Instead I was told that this seemed like an interesting idea and pending corporate approval, they would be interested in assisting me. Next using a contact I had met in Washington I got the name of the federal official in charge of media affairs in Shangri-La. Knowing a few leaders in his branch of the government helped, since I could use their names to establish that though possibly insane I am not crazy nor a subversive. He was very helpful and told me if I wanted to go to come on...and where do I want to be and when do I want to come!

I had thought that by this stage in my inquiries some official would have just simply said, "hell no you can't go to Shangri-La" and I would have said simply "OK at least I tried". But that's not the way it's working and it's looking like Shangri-La may be a distinct possibility. There are some key points to be resolved including travel, my hosts in Shangri-La and communications questions. But today I received the form necessary to be a "legal" photographer in Shangri-La.

It looks like such a friendly place, Shangri-La, but I wonder due to some of the questions on the form

Do you have your own body armor/kevlar *required

Do you have any disability that prohibits you from running?

In the unlikely event of emergency, death or declared missing list next of kin for notification.

What kind of vacation resort asks those questions?? :>]

Some Days...

Today, 24 May, would have been my folks 61st wedding anniversary. Some days are sadder than others, but the loss of my Dad is an everyday thought with me. Still, living through 60 years of marriage as my Dad did last year is a blessing and a tribute mainly to my Dad's patience and understanding. Last year at this time he was still healthy enough to enjoy the day.

The Spring Game....

Fall like temperatures made Thursdays MHS Spring Game all the more festive. Good game previewing the Dawgs, good company and good food! Spring Game photos.

Are you ready for some foootball!

Thursday's weather is supposed to be very cool, almost autumn like, which should make you think of football. We'll pawdner you're in luck because Thursday evening is the annual MHS spring football game! Sponsored by the Bulldog Football Booster Club you'll have a chance to see the potentially very good 2007 Dawg team in action. With two offensive linemen over 300 lbs. on the left side, watch for more than a few plays to go that way.

Come early for a bargain priced fajita dinner. Dinner will be served from 5:30 until 7:30 for only $5 bucks! The game begins at 7:00 pm on the new and beautiful turf at Memorial Stadium. While you wait, fire yourself up with my photos from last weeks scrimmage!

Happy Mother's Day.....

It's the sound that dog owners know all too well; a sound that can be heard throughout the house no matter where one is. That is the sound of a dog in the act of throwing up. All my dogs have thrown up as I'm sure yours have. Usually no big deal to clean up, but I always react the same way.

Whenever I hear that initial "heaving" going on, I run to the spot of the action and urge, no order the dog to go outside. Honestly this has never worked. It's just to damn hard to stop a dog in mid-upchuck. I suppose we humans are like that too, so I never get too mad at the dog. They're just a sick friend. It was strange, Daphne threw up a short while ago on the exact same spot where the Big Gold Dog passed away in September..the exact spot.

Having cleaned up the small mess Daphne created; I sat down to write these short notes with Daphne slumbering at my feet. Slumbering that is until she awoke with a start and began heaving again. So what did I do....I ordered her to go outside and vomit. Dang....didn't work one my time.

Oh yeah.....Happy Mothers Day. My Mother and I had a very nice late morning brunch at the Wall Street Sunday brunch spot. In all honesty, after the last half year or so, I think that my Mom and I apprectiate each other more than we ever have before. Thanks Ma!

Ma and Me....

Since my Dad's passing my Mom, I think, likes to have me accompany her on errands and appointments that she deems more important than most. I don't mind; it's good to see her willing to be out and about and taking care of business. Usually these "important" appointments involve doctors visits and talking to financial institutions. I don't mind going as it's good to be out with her and frankly I can keep an eye on what's going on. She's still sharp as a tack and able to handle most things, but she's just not used to financial transactions involving large sums of money. I think she likes to have me there as a comfort factor.

Today it was to the bank, the purpose of our visit was to simplify affairs which meant closing several saving accounts she and my Dad held jointly and open one solely in her name, turn some cash into CD's and adjust her checking account balance. While driving to the bank she had announced, "you know I think I might have a little too much in the household checking account". "OK", I said, "about how much do you have there"? Always knowing things to the exact dollar she announced the figure. It was high five figures....almost to the six figure point!

I reminded her that her monthly bills were negligable and perhaps that was too high. She agreed and while at the bank transfered some into savings. She now only has a mid five figure checking account balance. I suppose that's progress.

She also announced that she thought she might buy a new car. That would be good for her. Since I drive her many places now, I suggested a vehicle that would be comfortable and agreeable to both of us. Something like a Corvette. At least she could buy it with her household expense money. We'll see.....

Be true to your school....

For all MHS Bulldog fans, and for the rest who wish they were Bulldog fans, here are my photos from Friday's second intra-squad scrimmage. But oh how I'm dated. The accompanying theme music was a big success; it even includes the correct fight song. The booster parents loved it....but most asked who recorded that music. If you are of a certain age, there is no doubt who the track is by, is there?

Vietnam Statistics....

Perhaps you've seen these facts on Vietnam and the men and women who served...if you haven't they may be of interest:

9,087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the official Vietnam era from August 5, 1964 to May 7, 1975

2,709,918 Americans served in uniform in Vietnam

Veterans represented 9.7% of their generation

241 men were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War

The first man to die in Vietnam was James Davis, in 1958. He was with the 509th Radio Research Station. Davis Station in Saigon was named for him.

58,148 were killed in Vietnam

75,000 were severely disabled

23,214 were 100% disabled

5,283 lost limbs

1,081 sustained multiple amputations

Of those killed, 61% were younger than 21

11,465 of those killed were younger than 20 years old

Of those killed, 17,539 were married

Average age of men killed: 23.1 years

Five men killed in Vietnam were only 16 years old

The oldest man killed was 62 years old

As of January 15, 2004, there are 1,875 Americans still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War

97% of Vietnam Veterans were honorably discharged

91% of Vietnam Veterans say they are glad they served

74% say they would serve again, even knowing the outcome

Vietnam veterans have a lower unemployment rate than the same non-vet age groups

Vietnam veterans' personal income exceeds that of our non-veteran age group by more than 18 percent

87% of Americans hold Vietnam Veterans in high esteem

There is no difference in drug usage between Vietnam Veterans and non-Vietnam Veterans of the same age group (Source: Veterans Administration Study)

Vietnam Veterans are less likely to be in prison - only one-half of one percent of Vietnam Veterans have been jailed for crimes

85% of Vietnam Veterans made successful transitions to civilian life.

86% of the men who died in Vietnam were Caucasians, 12.5% were black, 1.2% was other races.

Vietnam Veterans were the best educated forces our nation had ever sent into combat. 79% had a high school education or better.

Football....!

MHS Bulldog football has been underway for over a week with the first major scrimmage held today. Here are some "fonky" photos.

Chance encounter....?

Most of us have been there, anyway those of us who have a conscience and who care about people and try to do right by them. Which frankly is most people I think. Most. Perhaps you've been in the spot where a relationship, be it business, family, marital or just with a friend, has gone terribly wrong. The result is broken feelings, hurt and sadness. Hopefully we do not dwell on these events longer than is necessary to grieve the loss and perhaps consolidate our learning experiences in these matters.

But, I think, most people do wonder what went wrong, where was each party wrong and/or right, in effect what is the truth of the situation; but with human relations things are complicated and multi-dimensional so really there is no solid, one truth. I'm no different than others in wondering these things. I also know that over time the human mind and ego can establish it's own set of truths about events of this sort and I do wonder if the things I've come to believe are based on the facts, or on what I perceive or want the facts to be.

Tonight as I waited in a restaurant for a take-out order to be prepared, a person walked up to me, said "Hi" and asked if I remembered them. We had met only casually once or twice some years ago and as they remined me of the circumstances of our meeting and the reason, it came back to me. The subject of conversaton turned to the common factor in our meeting those years past and as this person spoke about their take on "why" a certain sad situation in my life unfolded as it did, it was as if they had been reading my mind about some of the reasons I had developed as to "why" things had happened as they did.

Honestly, it was rather sad hearing these things, but I did take away some small belief that my reality has some valid truth. And this isn't about right or wrong; right or wrong doesn't matter much in these circurmstances, sadness trumps right or wrong; right or wrong doesn't restore anything. As we say in AA..."Would you rather be right all the time or would you rather be happy".

What's Next...?

Well, I guess putting on "extravaganzas" has gotten into me. After learning a few things about that and I suppose being a little successful, I've now been asked to assist in doing the same satellite feed/internet tricks for the Commemorative Air Force and our big 50th Anniversary shindig in Las Vegas this summer.

More exciting to me is something I've been trying to conjour up for a couple of years now.....an exhibit of combat photographers at the Museum of the Southwest. I have mentioned this to pal Joe Galloway every time he visits and bi-yearly to Tom Jones, director of the museum. Joe is still in for rounding up his old Vietnam photo buddies and while visiting over the weekend, Tom Jones said he's ready to put it on the museums schedule...within the next year. He plans way ahead. Galloway knows most all of the great photographers of the war and several of the best have said they would come if we can arrange the show.

What a thrill....

What a thrill to see something you've worked on for two months come to life and run so well! The West Texas Troop Salute was truly amazing and a great experience. The show came off virtually without a glitch, some small ones yes, but putting that into persective, two months is a short, short time to assemble all the acts, speakers, volunteers, equipment, media and to have communications connections in place and having it all work...it's a testiment to all those who spent so much time and effort in making it work. Amazing because of the venue and scope we had not had time to have even one reheasal. Gail Essex ran the program segment and she had it down prefectly.

I have to say that I almost....no I actually did, get misty eyed when the troops of the 1/7th Cav in Camp Taji Iraq came up on the Jumbotron. I had worked through a number of contacts in the military to arrange that, and relied on the expertise of Chuck Cooper at NewsWest 9 to set up the technical stuff. We had high hopes, but shooting satelitte beams to Odessa then to Rockhound stadium just seemed like one of those things destined to have some small snafu rendering it inoperable. No such thing; it worked flawlessly. So well that I almost blew making the most of it.

I had seen video of the troops on the Jumbotron being fed periodically into the program but had not heard any audio. Somewhere in my mind, I suppose, I was just happy with the great video. More than half way through the program I was on the baseball field when I got a call from Nick Carlton in the press box. Nick was our committee genius who ran the Jumbotron and feeds in and out. As the program was moving on, Nick called to say that he had a direct phone line to Camp Taji and the troops there wanted to know when they could talk to the crowd, they'd been seeing it all on the Internet feed we had going out.

Idiot I thought, of myself, you almost wasted what you worked so hard on. But that didn't happen, I immediately asked Gen. Sanchez who was standing with me, if he would go out and talk to the guys and gals in Iraq....and so he did and if you there you know how emotional it was as about 20 troops told us who they were, where they were from and some gave a small message such as "hi Mom". Two of the troops were from Midland and there is a good chance that the Moms were in the crowd to hear it. This made every bit of work worthwhile.

And I found out this morning from my contact in Iraq, Major "B", that the troops had the Internet feed fed thru a digital projector onto a large screen, they could see and hear us all very well. Double worthwhile.......! Thanks is not enough for all who helped, volunteered and of course attended.

Despite all my running around I did manage to take some photos. Here are some... As did the Midland Reporter-Telegram

A-OK....!

We tested our input feed and outgoing stream for the West Texas Troop Salute today at the pressbox of the Rockhounds and I'll be gall-darned if they didn't work. The feed from Iraq without a glitch and the Internet feed with a few glitches than can be corrected.

My eternal thanks to all the professionals who help me put this together. Jim Slusher at the MRT and My West Texas, Jose Gaona, news director of CBS7 and especially Chuck Cooper of KWES Channel 9 who helped design the network and knows everything there is to know about all aspects of modern communications. And, not least, all the people in Virginia and Georgia at the Soldiers Media Center and the DVID.

Testing one, two, three.....

A big day Thursday as we fire up the communications system we've created for the West Texas Troop Salute with our first live test. Signal uplinked from Major "B" at Camp Taji, Iraq up, up, up 220 miles to the communications satellite then down to the NewWest 9 studios in Odessa where the signal will be microwaved to their portable antenna at Rockhounds Stadium, piped up to the pressbox and hooked into the JumboTron where, God willing, you will see, live, troops from the 1st Cav. Division adding their spirit to the event.

On the outgo, the signal will be sent from the ballpark diamond by CBS7 up to the pressbox and then to the Midland Reporter-Telegram servers utilizing unlimited bandwidth provided by SuddenLink where it will be viewed by the world at our online viewing site. And viewed hopefully by many of our troops worldwide. With the assistance of the Army Soldiers Media Center and the Digital Imagery and Distribution System I have arranged for the event to be publicized throughout the Army, and hopefully, DOD networks. Pray for connectivity!

Counting down...

An interesting day as we count down to six remaining days till the West Texas Troop Salute. I spent a good part of the morning chatting by email with an army Major at Camp Taji, Iraq solidifying our satellite feed from his unit to the Jumbotron at the Rockhounds Ballbark. I asked for, and got, a significant unit in Iraq to participate in our broadcast.....the 1/7th Cavalry of the 1st Cav. Division. Significant because this is the unit portrayed in We Were Soldiers, a tribute to our featured speaker Joe Galloway.

And, though I didn't catch it, my interview with Jay Hendrix taped last week apparently ran in the last day or so. I know because I asked parents/wives etc. of service members to send me their pictures for our video presentation and I was overwhelmed with calls and emails in the last several days. So many pictures that I thought my email server was having problems; so, while I emailed back and forth to Iraq, I was also doing the same to Australia where my server is located. Turns out it was my router malfunctioning. But ain't communications technology something!

Tomorrow I tape an interview with Stephanie Sparkman and her show "In the pipeline". I know each and everyone of you will arise at 5:30 A.M. to watch it. Yeah right.

Progressing nicely....

Our West Texas Troop Salute, with much work from many, is progressing nicely. Today I heard from LTG. Ricardo Sanchez, ground commander of all coalition forces in Iraq in 2003-2004. He called to say he's reworked his schedule and will be pleased to be here, camping out at the estate with Joe Galloway.

Also today, the "run" of our "T" shirts began; here I am in serial #0002 of 5000. All will be given away free along with tickets to the Rockhounds game. Tomorrow morning it's back out to the stadium pressbox for the first "dry run" of our in production DVD to run on the JumboTron. It will be fun to see our work in large scale at the park.

I've never helped produce an extravaganza before...it's really pretty interesting. And by the way..that's $18,000 worth of "T" Shirts. Contributions have been generous!

Easter.....

I was given this homily recently by a caring person. It has a special significance for me on this first Easter without my Dad......

"Father into your hands I commend my spirit. Having said this, he breathed his last", Luke23:46

If you have been with someone when he or she breathed the last breath, you know the power of that breath. For some it is peaceful, while others struggle to the very last exhale. The creed tells us that our only hope in life and death is that we belong to God! In Luke, the acquaintances of Jesus stood and watched. We are invited into an intimate moment with God---to draw close, to watch and to listen for the last word and breath.

I continue to give thanks that I was with my Dad when he breathed his last breath, and that it was peaceful......

Coming together....

Wow, there is really a whole lot of work involved in putting together a public extravaganza like the West Texas Troop Salute but it's starting to come together. Speakers mostly set, bands arranged for, entertainment booked, 5,000 T-Shirts ordered and boy scouts lined up to put one in each seat. 2,500 flags ordered, media arrangements made, booths lined up and ready to be manned. Video in the works by "A Shot in the Dark Productions" for the JumboTron presentation, Pamela Hamm, Mike Barker, Jay Hendrix all on board to lend a hand in addition to blog pal Jimmy Patterson lined up to MC the event, and Darryl Ward welcome to come along too!

And today, one of my main concerns, video feeds in from Iraq and streaming video out to the world....looks like it may just all work! I spent a good part of the morning at the Rockhounds pressbox with news directors and tech people from CBS7, NewsWest 9 and the good folks from the MRT's My West Texas online reviewing the plans and coordinating with the Rockhounds media director. Feeds by satellite in, broadband stream out and numberous DVD's to run on the JumboTron.....can do they say. Good news to me. And this afternoon Jim Slusher of My West Texas and I got the webpage with the video site ready to go...all we need now is a feed and with the help of the US Army Media center it will be ready to be seen by the military [as well as the public] throughout the world. We hope......and pray!

Thank you is not enough for the news media mentioned above as well as numerous people at the Pentagon and in the Army Media Center in Georgia, and for the sponsors and volunteers who have given so freely of their time and assets. The support is amazing....!

Hey dude, that's me........!

It's not too unusual these days, but very thoughtful, when someone sends you a YouTube video on a subject he knows you're interested in. What is cool is that while watching you find yourself not only interested.....but actually in the video.

George at Sleepless in Midland sent me a video filmed at Chaparral Racing a couple of years ago. This was the day that owner Jim Hall drove the last remaining car from his garages to it's new home at the museum which house these wonderful machines. I was invited out to photograph some of the events. I'm the guy in the tan shorts, white shirt and tan vest appearing about half way thru this short video. Cool, thanks George.

I'm now an investor in a clothing business in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. And here I thought I'd never have that opportunity!

After reading an editorial in todays paper about an organization that gives microloans to deserving businesses in third world countries, I thought I would check them out. What an amazingly simple, cheap and efficient way to directly help someone who is willing to help him/herself out but needs a little financial assistance. $100 here in the U.S. is, nowadays, small folding money.....in Tanzania, it's a huge amount. The power of the internet at it's best.....

I'm thinking that perhaps I'll get a "deal" on some clothes, help someone in need and probably get my money back. Amazingly, at this point, almost 100% of the loans have been paid back. Check them out.....

Hopeful.....

I spoke on the phone today with an army Lt. General, one of the former commanders of all ground forces in Iraq. He told me he loved our idea for The West Texas Troop Salute and said that if he can clear one item from his schedule he will be here as one of our featured speakers. I won't divulge his name in case he can't come, but he'll be a great addition to our lineup. See you there on April 21st.

Busy....

I been bery, bery busy lately as have several others on this project. Things are shaping up nicely, we've had tremendous support. It should be an exciting event. Hope you'll put April 21st on your calendar...
West Texas Troop Salute

Go directly to jail.....

On April 26th I'll be going to jail. I know several people will say, "it's about time". Perhaps, but I'm going for a worthy cause, to help support the Muscular Dystrophy Association and their annual fund raising. A sheriff's deputy will make the "arrest" at the Bedford estate around 10 a.m.; I'm sure many of the neighbors will say to themselves, "what's he done now?" Good question but the scorn of my neighbors will be worth the effort. I'll be escorted to the jail inside the Texas Roadhouse where I think visitors are welcome and can throw rancid vegetables at the "prisoners"...for a price.

My goal is to raise $1300 dollars and bust myself out of the hoosegow. I hope you'll help and to that end there is a personal website set up to help you make your donations online if you choose. Please visit the Free Bubba website and help out.

Good dog.....!

I've been busy in my spare time with the April extravagnza [it's gotten to that stage] that we are now calling, "West Texas Troop Salute" and in doing a couple of websites for paying customers. No Eric not as good as yours...but they get by and maybe for a tad cheaper. Nothing much going on except the usual like; my Mom had an MRI today, my sister had an MRI today and my brother is going in to M.D. Anderson to have some things checked out...just the usual. Usual for me it seems over the last months and years.

But heck, life goes on, and in this brief moment I just wanted to compliment D. Daphne Dog. Besides being a special pal when I needed one, after my trip to Washington away from her, she's acting like she was in obedience school in my absence. She's learing to walk quite nicely without pulling me down the street and she even has caught on to the command "hold" when we cross the street....stops dead in her tracks and waits for me to say, "OK" before she moves again. This is quite amazing if you'd seen her just last year.

But my pride of dog was at an all time high today. The boy scout whom I bought my super-duper W. Texas fertilizer from came by to deliver the goods today. He came in while I wrote the check and while patting D. Daphne he asked if she could do any tricks. Don't ask Daphne and me that question twice. D. Daphne was in rare form running through her whole repretoire. First I said, "where's your toy?". Like she was shot out of a gun she ran to where she'd left it, nearly knocking the poor scout down when she ran back into the living room. Then it was, "where's your bone?" Bingo, drop the toy and she's off to fetch the rawhide we call a bone. She's a smart cookie, she knows the difference between bone, toy and ball and usually right where she left each one, even a day ago!

Next came the difficult numbers in her program. "Daphne, lie down....now roll over". She didn't miss a beat, even throwing in the rare double roll. Then a new one we're working on..."sit up". She's just catching on to this but I'll be darned if she didn't sit right up on her haunches at the first command. This one makes even me laugh because she gets this dumb looking grin on her face, ears back and looks very much like a prairie dog sitting outside it's hole. Good dog. The scout was so impressed that he went and got his Mom from the car so we could run through it all again. Really good dog.

So after that performance I gave her, what has become a preferred treat, an oatmeal cookie. We go through a lot of oatmeal cookies Daphne and I.

Some family time...

I spent the day Sunday with the only family I have left in Midland, my Mom. I was glad that she had decided that she wished to go visit the Scotch/Irish Festival and grateful that she was able to have such a good time revisiting our heritage. My Dad's family is what is known as Ulster-Scots, Scotsmen who transplanted to Northern Ireland. By the luck o'the Irish, there was an Ulster-Scots Assn. booth at the fair where Mom was able to recount the family history...something she knows well after having done extensive geneologic investigation with two trips to County Antrim N. Ireland, the Craig family homeland after they came from Scotland. My first two names, Wallace and Howard, are derived from ancestoral family ties in Scotland. The director of the Assn. was interested in talking with my mom, we have some interesting relatives, including my Great Uncle, the first Prime Minister of N. Ireland when it was known as The Irish Free State.

While at the fair and talking family history, my mom told me she had opened a box that had belonged to my dad's sister. She apparently had been in possession of this box of memories since my aunt died over a decade ago, but had only recently opened it after my dad's death. In it was a big album entitled, "His Service Record" which I had never seen before. The album had been supplied by the Department of the Army to families of service members so that they might save service records, pictures and memories of their loved ones while away. What a treasure drove of memories of my dad. Many pictures of my Dad as a teenager and a soldier, notes on his whereabouts and biographical data of his family.

What stirred my sentiments the most were pictures of my dad and his buddies on the liberty ship Rensselaer Victory on their way to landing in Italy in 1943. My dad never wanted to talk much about his experiences fighting in Italy, saying that his best buddy was killed in action they day they landed. I wonder which one of the guys in these pictures it was...? I wish I'd had these images while he was alive to ask him. Aboard the Rensselaer Victory

Spring clean up.....

Today was the day I dread, to some degree, every year. The first mowing and real yard cleanup since Fall. Apparently, if by signal, many others in the neighborhood had the same urge.

It was the day for mowing up the dead grass, blowing the dead leaves from the flower beds and picking up the multitude of sticks dropped from the trees due to winter ice storms, wind storms, dust storms and rain storms. Not too bad this year and I was gratified to see that by watering the back lawn almost every day over the winter, that it is in better shape than it has been in years. Everything is ready to apply my Boy Scout high nitrogen fertilizer.

The work is not done however thanks to the variety of trees on the estate. They're always dropping something; the pecan trees are preparing to drop "lint" and the insidious live oak trees shed their leaves this time of year. Good trees, green all year, but a real pain in the keester now. Now for a shower. I'm always amazed in West Texas that after having soaked the lawn yesterday in preperation for the mowing, still a cloud of coughing sneezing dust is raised from the lawn. Why I'm amazed, I don't know, I've been mowing lawns out here off and on for 47 years.

Connected...

As mentioned a week or more ago, I'm involved in organizing a salute to the troops in conjunction with a Rockhouds game on the 21st of April. Now officially known as "West Texas Troop Salute", much has happen since my last mention with a whole lot more to be completed.

Since I knew that I was going to be in Washington around some interesting people, I borrowed a Video Cam and did interviews with several Medal of Honor winners, Army Generals and actors with the idea of incorporating these shorts into our longer DVD program to be shown on the stadium JumboTron. Mission accomplished. One of my other missions was to find some influential "boots on the ground" at the Pentagon who would support our efforts. Among those I met was a deputy secretary of the Army whom I've talked to since; he was supportive and helpful. But sometimes the "doers" with the connections are lower down the totem pole and I found one of those in LTC. Lisiane M.Y. Valentine. Yes those are her real middle intials.

LTC Valentine, as luck would have it, is a graduate of Trinity University ROTC, as I'm I so it was a great stroke of fortune to have run into her at one of our receptions. I talked with Lisiane today and though promised support from higher up the chain of command, I got action with her. She assured me that our plans to transmit our program to all interested military units worldwide could be accomplished, and also that my other "dream" to have live feeds to the stadium from Iraq is something that can be arranged. I asked her if she would mind giving me the phone numbers of people I should contact. Her answer was, "don't worry, I'll set it up for you....I have friends". This among many other things she's going to help us with indeed do make her M.Y. Valentine!

I feel ill........

Things are going swimmingly.....especially in the photo business. We're selling our We Were Soldiers photos by the droves. People are buying multiple sets, including a dealer in Dallas who orders photos summing up to four figures in each order. Therefore I email and talk to my partner, Joe Galloway, in that part of my photo business several times a day. Life was seeming to go so well lately that I knew something was up.

In an email tonight Joe had to add this tidbit......

ps: you heard that 2 days after we all left washington they shut down the crystal gateway marriott for total decontamination. damn place was infected with the 3 NORA virus--the pukin and shixxxx disease that affects all them cruise ships. glad we didn't get it. think ol chip did.

Someone needs to be taught a lesson over this...I think I'll sue. But whom, ah yes, the reservations were made in the name of the Secretary of the Army. I'll sue the Secretary, oh yeah, he was fired two days after we left. Some days you just can't win!

Trip Tidbits....

Some final thoughts and obeservations......

Though it's never occured to me, probably the last thing I ever thought I would do in my life is to ride all over Washington D.C. in an actual by-gawd "motorcade" with motorcycle cops front and back, sirens wailing. "Motorcades" for two days delivering us to the front doors of the White House, Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery. I tried to remember my humility during these rides; I once actually waved at a peasant when we slowed at an intersection! I have to say that "motorcading" gets in your blood and will, I'm sure, rank right up there in my most memorable experiences in life.

It is a crushing blow to ones ego to get home, have to drive your own car back to your modest home and discover that in actuality you are nothing more than a peasant yourself.

I'm continually proud of the quality of men and women we have in our armed forces today; enlisted, sergeants and officers. All of the officers and most of the sergeants have college degrees, are bright, intelligent, dedicated and capable. These young people could be advancing rapidly in the corporate world but instead chose to serve their country. For this we all should be deeply indebted.

Being from the "old army" I'm continually surprised at the large number of women serving in the army; and at the jobs they do. In talking to the diminuitive, very young appearing, warrant officer who was the bagpiper who played at our Arlington reception, I asked her how she got a "cush" job like being a bagpiper in the army, she replied, "oh no sir, bagpiping is part time, I'm a Ch-47 helicopter pilot in my real army job". A Ch-47 is a big two rotor cargo chopper. I wanted to ask her if she was old enough to drive a car.

There is a cost for so many women in the army. I had a long chat with another attractive and intelligent young woman who is a captain in the army. She lost her right arm to a roadside bomb in Iraq last year. She's in the photo spread, but I won't tell you which officer she is...if you can't tell it doesn't matter

When I was a lieutenant in the army the very sight of a full colonel was enough to start me quaking. As I grew older I ended up with two close friends were four star generals. At our event their were several four stars, many three stars and down the list. A full colonel was like a private. Funny how perceptions change.

I met many interesting people with some surprising results. One of our close group receieved the Medal of Honor in 1968 for actions in the same battle as Bruce Crandall. His daughter-in-law is a Major in the US Army and was born in Vietnam. I met another women, a Lt. Colonel who I also learned was born in Saigon. I introduced the two at the Pentagon reception and watched as they almost wept as they conversed in Vietamese. How strange, two American field grade officers, one the daughter in law of a Vietnam Medal of Honor awardee speaking Vietnamese in the Pentagon. Both were born in 1965, the year in which Bruce earned his award.

One of my four star general friends, Dick Cody, is now second in command of the army. When I introduced myself to the Commanding General, he said, "oh your Dick's friend he said to tell you he was sorry that he was out of town, can I give him a message for you." How good that made me feel. Later when a "mere" two star general told me he worked directly for Gen. Cody I asked if he would deliver a written message for me, "of course sir". I quickly wrote the message on a cocktail napkin and gave it to him. He opened it with a very surprised look on his face as I walked away. The message said, "Cody I'm gonna' kick you ass, Wallace". No telling what that two star thought. Cody emailed me later and said he'd had quite a laugh.

In the White House and Pentagon, no video equipment of any kind is allowed, however the general who briefed us on our Pentagon visit said that we were welcome to take our cell phones into the building. He also added that as soon as we stepped into the building they "mysteriously" would not work. Mysteriously was his exact word.

The Pentagon is one humongous building and if I got lost I would wish my cell phone would work so someone could find me. It is also actually quite nice inside with a floor of one leg of the building being a shopping mall with the same stores you'd see in any city. They have a good captive market, 25,000 people work in this one structure.

Houston Intercontinental aiport is one humongous building[s] and it sucks! Washington Reagan Airport is not humongous and is really one of the best airports I have experience with.

There were people I knew on the plane from Midland to Houston/Houston to Washington and from Washington to Houston/Houston to Midland. A nice feeling.

Military people, as a rule, are the finest group of people on earth.

Trip Photos

Picture this.....

I'm still recuperating from 4 days of fairly continuous activity....and sorting through 500 photos culled down to 100 representative shots. Here they are in the link below. They follow the main events over two days starting with the actual Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House followed by lunch in the East Room with a marvelous and huge portrait of Lincoln over the fireplace. The next set of photos are in the "Hall of Heroes" at the Pentagon where every person who has been awarded the Medal has his name inscribed. Finally there was a fabulous reception given by the Secretary of the Army at Arlington National Cemetery. The reception was held in the visitors center which is currently displaying a series of art work, portraits of every single service member killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan up until 2004. A number of women among them. There were over 1300 faces now gone....haunting. I viewed one from Odessa and one from Stanton. Here are my Medal of Honor photos.

Home again.....!

Well if you like dining at the White House, riding around Washington in limos with police escorts, sirens wailing, being delivered to the door of the White House and the Pentagon, having two army sergeants at your beck and call, dining with the Secretary of the army it's commanding general and Hollywood actors and staying on the "presidential" floor of the Marriott Crystal City then this trip was for you! Personally, I enjoyed the hell out of it! It's a tough adjustment coming home and having to drive your own car. Bummer!

Honestly I have never been so humbled and honored in all my life to be around such men as my friends of the 1st Cav who fought in the Ia Drang and especially honored to be considered such a friend to the Medal of Honor recipient Bruce Crandall and his wife Arlene that I was invited to be one of their honored guests. So honored that I had an adjoining room to their family suite. A once in a life time experience puts it only mildly.

I took over 500 pictures of the events from the ceremony to the pentagon "Hall of Heroes" induction, to our private reception at Arlington National Cemetary. I'm putting together a CD for the Crandall's, Ia Drang Vets and other guests. Also I'll have a slideshow of the highlights on the web soon.

Coming home was made a little easier seeing D. Daphne Dog wagging her tail furiously when she saw I was home......!

Pullin' Pitch......

Pullin' pitch is a helicopter pilots term for flyin' out. That's what I'll have done by the time you read this. Zero early thirty flight through Houston and thence on to Reagan International in Washington. All ready to go tonight.

-Boarding passes printed: Check
-Clothes Packed: Check
-$28 in spending money on hand: Check
-Daphne in capable and glamorous hands: Check
-Johnny's Bar-B-Que sandwich for the President: Check
-Camera, lenses and video cam powered and loaded: Check
-Books, mats and photos for autographs packed: Check

Guess I'm ready to go. I'll be away for awhile unless the President wants me to help with the Mid-East situation or empty his trash in which case I'll stay longer. Should be fun with many friends and even two folks from Midland who live around the corner being in attendance. I have 3 Gb. of photo memory, which in medium format on my camera should be about 1500 photos. I'll post a few upon my return, or perhaps Dubya will let us use the computer in the Oval Office to add a few to Eclectic Photography. See ya....

Salute the Troops....

Mark Saturday, April 21st down on your calendar for what we anticipate will be an extraordinary event. I am involved with a small group of local citizens who wish to show that we do more than "support" the troops, we appreciate them!

On April 21st, in conjunction with the Rockhounds baseball team we will salute our troops and veterans. We have lined up a stellar group of speakers including Joe Galloway, author of the piece noted in the last post. Also, saying he is planning on it, is the Commanding General of one of the service branches [Sepmer Fi] and I am in contact with two other major military commanders who have personally led operations in Iraq, as in the whole show.

Through one of our members who is in the music business we are talking to two major recording artists, both showing great interest if they can arrange their schedules. Three high school bands, so far, have signed on, Jimmy Patterson will "live stream" the event to the world and I'm working on getting video interviews with area troops stationed in the Mid-East to say hell-o to the home folks via the "JumboTron" at the ballpark. Since Joe Galloway and I will spend three days next week with many of the notables featured in "We Were Soldiers", we have a good chance of snagging their participation including two Medal of Honor awardees.

Of course, the main focus of our salute will be on veterans and active duty troops involved in defending America and probably most importantly to recognize the area families whose sons and daughters have paid the ultimate price for our freedom. We are working on contacting them.

We met today with the general manager of the Rockhounds and not only did he give us the green light to proceed, he was more than enthusiastic in offering their support. Our event should start around or 5 p.m. with the baseball game starting at 6:30, although our events and tributes will also be running between innings. All this for maybe a buck or two more than the price of a regular baseball ticket. Oh yeah, did I mention Vietnam era helicopters landing in the outfield. I snagged permission to do that today too!

Shameful....

By Joseph L. Galloway
McClatchy Newspapers

There’s a great deal more to supporting our troops than sticking a $2 yellow ribbon magnet made in China on your SUV. There’s a great deal more to it than making "Support Our Troops" a phrase that every politician feels obliged to utter in every speech, no matter how banal the topic or craven the purpose.This week, we were treated to a new expose of just how fraudulent and shallow and meaningless "Support Our Troops" is on the lips of those in charge of spending the half a trillion dollars of taxpayer's money that the Pentagon eats every year.

The Washington Post published an expose, complete with photographs, revealing that for every in-patient who's getting the best medical treatment that money can buy at the main hospital at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, there are 17 out-patients warehoused in quarters unfit for human habitation.Some of the military outpatients are stuck on the Walter Reed campus, a couple of miles from the White House and the Capitol, for as long as 12 months. They've been living in rat and roach-infested rooms, some of which are coated in black mold.There was outrage and disgust and raw anger at this callous, cruel treatment of those who have the greatest claim not only on our sympathies, but also on the public purse. Who among the smiling politicians who regularly troop over to the main hospital at Walter Reed for photo-op visits with those who've come home grievously wounded from the wars the politicians started have bothered to go the extra quarter-mile to see the unseen majority with their rats and roaches? Not one, it would seem, since none among them have admitted to knowing that there was a problem, much less doing something about it before the reporters blew the whistle.

Within 24 hours, construction crews were working overtime, slapping paint over the moldy drywall, patching the sagging ceilings and putting out traps and poison for the critters that infest the place. Within 48 hours, the Department of Defense announced that it was appointing an independent commission to investigate. Doubtless the commission will provide a detailed report finding that no one was guilty-certainly none of the politicians of the ruling party whose hands were on the levers of power for five long years of war. They will find that it all came about because the Army medical establishment was overwhelmed by the case load flowing out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, brave soldiers who were wheelchair-bound with missing legs or paralysis, have been left to make their own way a quarter-mile to appointments with the shrinks and a half-mile to pick up the drugs that dim their minds and eyes and pain, and make the rats and roaches recede into a fuzzy distance.

All this came on the heels of my McClatchy Newspapers colleague Chris Adams's Feb. 9 report that even by its own measures, the Veterans Administration isn't prepared to give returning veterans the care they need to help them overcome destructive, and sometimes fatal, mental health ailments. Nearly 100 VA clinics provided virtually no mental health care in 2005, Adams found, and the average veteran with psychiatric troubles gets about a third fewer visits with specialists today than he would have received a decade ago.The same politicians, from a macho president to the bureaucrats to the people who chair the congressional committees that are supposed to oversee such matters, have utterly failed to protect our wounded warriors. They’ve talked the talk but few, if any, have ever walked the walk. No. This happened while all of them were busy as bees, taking billions out of the VA budget and planning to shut down Walter Reed by 2011 in the name of cost-efficiency. Among those politicians are the people who sent too few troops to Afghanistan or Iraq, who failed to provide enough body armor and weapons and armored vehicles and who, to protect their own political hides, refused to admit that the mission was not accomplished and change course.

But it's they who are charged with the highest duty of all, in the words of President Abraham Lincoln in his Second Inaugural in 1865: "to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan." How can they look at themselves in the mirror every morning? How dare they ever utter the words: Support Our Troops? How dare they pretend to give a damn about those they order to war? They've hidden the flag-draped coffins of the fallen from the public and the press. They've averted their eyes from the suffering that their orders have visited upon an Army that they've ground down by misuse and over-use and just plain incompetence.This shabby, sorry episode of political and institutional cruelty to those who deserve the best their nation can provide is the last straw. How can they spin this one to blame the generals or the media or the Democrats? How can you do that, Karl? If the American people are not sickened and disgusted by this then, by God, we don’t deserve to be defended from the wolves of this world.

I'm deeply honored to be invited to such a once in a lifetime event. For someone who has served in the armed forces it doesn't get much better than this. It's a humbling experience. I also had to chuckle; the last time the Secretary of the Army requested the pleasure of my company, I spent five and a half years in uniform.

Treasures from the past...

Sometimes amazing things just simply arrive. My Dad was raised in St. Louis. His mom was divorced when he was young and much of his childhood was spent with his mom's sister and her husband who lived in the same neighborhood. His Uncle Louis Roth was as much a dad to him as an uncle. His first cousin Patsy was like another sister and

in fact my mom was Patsy's best friend, which is how they met. He spent as much time with the Roths as he did at home.

A remembrance from all those years ago arrived in the mail Saturday. A DVD of all the Roth family movies from the years 1934 to 1962! The Roths, being good Germans, had been technically minded and apparently owned a very good movie camera. I must have inherited my love of photography from those German genes, for these are not what you think of when you think of "home movies". Especially from the 1930's! Most are similar to documentary film quality I've seen from the era. There are even color films which must have been state of the art at the time.

Being a family of photographers, my dad included, we do have many old photos from the years in the films, some of which I have, but there is nothing like seeing your dad moving about when he was 12, 13 or 14 years old. And seeing all the relatives you've always known as "old people" magically in their prime again is an amazing if not emotional experience. I had never seen even still photos of my grandmother when she was in her 30's, so seeing her as a young woman was transfixing. She was quite a babe! Many of the movies were taken in my dad's old neighborhood so I got to experience what his life must have been like, even seeing him with his friend's pet monkey; something I had heard about many times.

Here are a few shots of my dad that I pulled from the hours of movies. I watched for 2 hours last night and am only half the way through. A truly amazing gift.

The Intrepid Ones....

I finished making my plans today for my trip to Washington to witness my friend Bruce Crandall receive the Medal of Honor. It should be a great trip seeing many friends I've met through Bruce and Joe Galloway, including Gen. Hal Moore. Some people from the movie too, and some old army friends of mine.

But I'm reminded in the following slide show who the real heroes are....please take a look and remember too.

The Intrepid Center

Yeah right....!

If ever I did believe in Valentines Day and true love......well that idea has been knocked right out of my head.

Medal of Honor.....

Though friends have known for some months, our good pal and frequent visitor to the estate, Bruce Crandall will receive the Medal of Honor this month for heroic actions in Vietnam over 40 years ago. The official announcement has just been made by the President's office. As regular readers know Bruce's story was portrayed in the Mel Gibson film, We Were Soldiers. Bruce was played by Greg Kinnear in the film. The award and recognition is long overdue, but appreciated by Bruce and his wife Arlene. It's been in process a long time, too long.

It's been an honor in the last week to help get ready for the ceremony; working with the PI office of the Secretary of the Army I've provided photos of mine and of Joe Galloway for use on the website and at the event. After some years in the Army as a lowly peon officer it's been a little disconcerting getting telephone calls from the office of the Secretary of the Army.....from Colonels addressing me as Sir. Here's the initial copy of the "official website".

It's a great honor to be able to call Bruce a good friend, the next time he's in town we'll have a big shindig and as you can imagine, I'll have pictures galore when I get back from the ceremony!

Sad, Part II.......

As I retrieved the newspaper this morning I saw the headline, that a man had been killed yesterday on the railroad tracks downtown. Not a totally unusual occurence in Midland; but as always I wondered, "who cannot see or hear a train coming while crossing the tracks".

Then I read the name of the victim, Martin Chapman, resident of the Salvation Army. I knew Martin. Not well, but I had talked with him enough to know his story along with some of the demons that bedeviled him.

How strange I thought, when coupled with yesterdays post; here is a woman who came from nothing to be a media darling and is now dead and in Midland we have a man who was once somebody, who died on the tracks while a resident of the Salvation Army. Both gone for, most likely, the same reason.

Sad...

I've been out of touch, I've been busy; I'm the real father of Anna Nicole Smith's child and I had to go testify.

That having been said, what a sad affair. A zoo, circus and clusterfark all rolled into one. To have the media fauning over the story like this is aggregious....but what did we expect, the only reason Anna Nicole is media worthy is that the media told us she was.

That having been said too, I feel sorry for Ms. Smith; really. To have ended up being nothing more than a media event is sad. But as I've learned, the way we live our lives does matter; I don't know what caused her demise, but I can guess and it proves that how we live can actually end up killing us. A life of self centerdness and self absorption is a dangerous thing. Or as they say, "what goes around comes around". We usually reap what we sow.

Down memory lane, slowly...

I try and go by to see my Mom every day now that my Dad has left us, I'm not perfect about it, but I try. I usually stay for a half hour or so to make sure she's doing ok and to see if anything needs to be done around the house. She's doing ok and since she has lots of help, things are usually running smoothly now. Many times we just talk and let Daphne run wild in the backyard, but recently we've been looking

around my Dad's room for things that need to be tended to; perhaps some paperwork on his bureau that was overlooked or for some keepsake we've missed seeing. I must have learned it from him, keeping lot's of valuble "junk" in the top draw of my bureau, for there was a treasure trove of memories in his.

There were things he had carried, like old credit cards, old wallets, old coins and pocket knives; lots of pocket knives, many almost antiques. I took several to remind me of him. There were things he had saved from long ago; a Shell Company ceramic ashtray from the 1950's, a box of $2 bills and old coins with the appraised values written down, from what year I haven't a clue. There were things he had worn; old boy scout patches from his days as a leader in the 1960's, old skinny bowties, the kind I remember men wearing with short sleeved shirts in the early '60s and tuxedo accessories. I don't think I ever saw him in a tux, but I know he had one. There were written notes, letters and memories; the date that his sister died written on a scrap of paper, old letters from our attorney in St. Louis concerning our farm, a letter from his favorite cousin, a fairly recent birthday card from me addressed to "The World's Greatest Dad"....and a NY Time Sports section front page from October of 1939. I showed this to my Mom. She had no idea of the significance of this, nor do I. I'll wonder about this for a long time.

There were tributes to him I had never seen; a bronzed medallion given in honor of his boy scout service, a letter from Congressman Henry B. Gonzalez of San Antonio personally thanking him for his diligence while working for the FDIC later in his life....and there was the certificate shown above.

My Dad, like many of his generation, talked little of his WWII service for most of his life. Only in the last 7 or 8 years did he let us know in some detail of his experiences. He had been a sergeant, but as an almost college graduate he had been offered the chance to be an officer, but turned it down. He hated the army, he hated the war, and he hated the three years that he'd been gone. His best buddy in the army had been killed the very first day that they landed in Italy, but late in life as he talked I knew that he was very, very proud to have been a part of it all. He even went to one reunion of his old division, the famed 45th, from which he came back with a new sense of his contribution...and had an excellent time. The certificate is from the National D-Day Museum in New Orleans, signifying that he had made a contribution to it's construction and that a brick with his name lies there. If you're ever there, look for Sgt. Wally Craig. He earned his brick.

My Mom and I have also been looking through my Dad's wardrobe closet. I have to laugh everytime we do; Carol keeps saying, "try this on, maybe it will fit you". My Dad ended up being a size "Small", I'm a Large or X-Large. I have, however, taken some things including the last pair of shoes my Dad ever bought. Strangely, very modern style loafers in size 10½. He wore size 10, I wear 10½. They fit me perfectly and are the most comfortable shoes I now own. I wear them all the time and it is not lost on me that now I can truly say that I'm able to walk in my Dad's shoes. I think of him every time I put them on.....they're big shoes to fill.

The Stupor Bowl...

I've come to realize that the Super Bowl© is not the highest of national celebrations, it's just a big game to see who wins the NFL Championship....and to make a hell of a lot of money for people rich enough already. If you aren't wild over the two teams playing it becomes less of a big deal. I have a lot of friends in Chicago and I'm still pissed that the Colts left Baltimore so I hoped that the Bears would win. They didn't, no big thing to me.

If they hoped to hook me into watching the halftime "spectacle" they did a poor job. I went to use the bathroom. Having the guy formerly known as "Prince" and apparently now known again as "Prince" as the star is a mystery to me. By most accounts he never was much of a star in the first place and now he's a mostly forgotten has been second rate star. After I returned from the privy I did see that his makeup was running though. I guess it was the weather. I'm sure the Florida tourism board loves having these big sporting events in their state as an advertisement to showcase perfect weather and lure me down there. It seems like every big sporting event I've seen in Florida lately involves a lot of rain. In between rain there are hurricanes and tornados. I don't want to go to Florida even more now.

I caught enough of the game to get the drift, including the fumble by local "sensation" Cedric Benson. His big moment was a fumble which as far as I could tell was his first, last and only play in the Super Bowl©. I could be wrong, I just didn't hear his name mentioned again. So much for a week of hype for Cedric in the local papers.

Anyway, I would have watched every second dutifully like a real man, but We'd rented the "Heidi" DVD and it was due back at Blockbuster tonight, so not wanting to miss that, We preempted the game.

Reference for younger or ignorant readers: The Heidi Game

Expectations.......

Sometimes when our expectations are in line with God's plan for us we are pleasantly surprised; and with the bonus of getting to take some of the best photographs I've done in awhile.

Here's your new dog......

People know I love dogs. Therefore I frequently get messages passed on like the one below. If you would like to adopt this German Shepard please call the number included or pass it on to someone who could give this dog a good home.

I got a call from the Odessa Animal Shelter yesterday. They have a sable German Shepard female (12 mos) who is now up for adoption. Her time is up on Monday morning - Feb. 5. Jackie says she is beautiful and has lovely manners. Loves people and is good with other dogs. She was adopted and returned once already - she didn't get along with the cat in that home. Please pass this information on if you can. The last dog I e-mailed you about was saved because the message traveled - lets hope this one can be saved as well.

Contact the Odessa Animal Shelter - Jackie. 432.368.3528. As always, here's hoping for a happy ending. If I find out that she has been adopted, I'll let you know asap. If you find out before I do, let me know!