Two Years......

It was two years ago yesterday that Tres, The Big Gold Dog, passed away peacefully at home. Much has happened since then but it seems like only yesterday that he was here.....and at the same time, a lifetime ago. I think of him every day.

A trip east....?

Life really is interesting and sometimes really interesting things just appear out of the blue.

For the last year I've been trying to make arrangements on my own to go to Afghanistan to do photography. I had lined up media crendials and the paper work to become an "embedded" photographer with the army. The problem was securing transportation. To pay for travel out of pocket is extremely expensive and my efforts at securing a ride over on a military aircraft have not panned out...

So it was with a great deal of serendipity that a call came from an old friend several months ago offering me a paid trip with the army, not to Afghanistan but to Iraq. The friend is a recently retired senior army general who now consults for and advises the army. He told me that an infantry division would be deploying to the oil rich sectors of Iraq in January and that they wanted someone on board who knew the oil business...and the army. My name was suggested. Talks ensued in which I told commanders that I'm not really an expert in any one area, but my strong suit is knowing a lot of people who are so why don't we put together a consulting team of many experts from the differing areas of the oil business. The idea was well received.

So after a call received today, I guess I'm officially a US Army consultant for Iraq. The consultant who is hiring other consultants. We will be hosting, in Midland, a large group of the divisions staff officers and commanders for an "oil business 101" seminar after which we will be on call as the situation dictates in Northern Iraq. Trips over are likely, hopefully very short trips.

Interesting to boot in that the division I'm working with, is the very same one I served in all those years ago.

Gone West...

Ed, "Too Tall" Freeman was one of the four Medal of Honor recepients from the battle at LZ Xray portrayed in the film, We Were Soldiers. Today, I received the following sad news from someone who knew him best.

folks:
please be advised that an american hero crossed the river this morning bound for Fiddlers Green:
Maj. Ed (Too Tall to Fly) Freeman (Medal of Honor, Ia Drang Valley) died in a Boise hospital where he had been in intensive care and on life support for a number of days.
Ed was great company in a foxhole or a watering hole, and a great loyal friend of everyone who ever spent time around him.
Ed's best friend for only about 60 years, Bruce (Old Snake) Crandall, and Bruce's wife Arlene spent time with Ed saying their goodbyes--and continuing their long-running argument over which of them was the Second Best Pilot in the World-- last week.
Bruce told Ed that to prove he was the BPITW Bruce would get a chopper for the burial and sling-load Ed's coffin right into the grave.
We all mourn the loss of one of the Cavalry's two best pilots in the world.
Details of funeral home, funeral arrangements etc. are below.
Garry Owen!
Joe Galloway

Sad News....

I remember the sadness at the passing of The Big Gold Dog like it was yesterday. Now....I can share that feeling with Janie and her family on the loss of their dear friend and companion, Zoie.
Sounding Forth....with sadness

Birthday...

Today is my Dad's birthday, he would have been 85 years old. Having spent so many years watching his health decline, I like to look at many of the old photos like the one above to remind me of what a great and active life he had. I miss him immensely.....

Blogging for Fair Havens..

Blogging for Fair Havens organizer and grand master Jimmy Patterson is smiling here because we've just reached our goal of $10,000......just a little more than half way through the 24 hour event!! Thanks to all... and there is still time to donate using the link above!!

Blogging for Fair Havens

Things are going well in the HEB parking lot as local bloggers led by Jimmy Patterson are busy raising money for Midland Fair Havens. Local luminaries like Midland Mayor Wes Perry [above] are stopping by frequently to show their support. With only 8 hours under our belts, as of 3 o'clock, a grand total of $7,800 has been raised towards the total goal of $10,000. You can still make your pledge! Check out Blogging For Fair Havens

Blogging for Fair Havens..

This Saturday, July 26th, I will be in the HEB parking lot high atop some sort of unsafe contraption that Jimmy Patterson has arranged for in order to help a very worthy cause, Midland Fair Havens. We will be blogging for Fair Havens in an effort to raise $10,000 to help with operating costs for this very worthwhile and needed non-profit organization. Along with Jimmy and a host of other famous guests we will blogging around the clock and hopefully we will achieve our goal....and more.

Jimmy will be high atop his own 30 foot high lift and will be the online emcee for the event providing his own brand of wit and wisdom with, I suspect, a load of rewards and gifts for donors. So, tune in and help Midland Fair Havens. If you are in the neighborhood, please stop by and say hell-o or just yell from your car as you drive past. Please don't throw things, unless it's money....we are doing this for charity!

Guitar Guy.......

Some slam down guitar from a friend's son, Ryan Bell.

And the Emmy winner is......

Our good friend and spokesperson for The Springboard Center, Jeanne Cooper of "The Young and the Restless"! Jeanne was awarded the 2008 "best actress" in a daytime drama for her role as Catherine Chancellor, a role she's been playing since 1973.

A legacy of giving.....

Dollye Neal Ballinger was a remarkable, giving woman and one who keeps on giving even after her passing. While she was alive her charities included a lasting music program at the First United Methodist Church and the beautiful chapel on the campus of Midland College.

Upon her death the bulk of her estate was put under the care of the Permian Basin Area Foundation to fund projects and programs to help the people she cared about. One of those was our Springboard Center and today our executive director and board received a check for $250,000 from Mrs. Ballinger's estate through the PBAF. These funds will help us complete our new 11,500 sf substance abuse treatment center now under construction.

Mrs. Ballinger was a supporter of, and believer in, our program and knew what a difference her assistance could make. It sure will....!! Thank you Dollye!

Live onstage with Willie....

Who ever thought I'd be onstage with Willie Nelson? Certainly not me, but courtesy of his ex wife and my friend Connie Nelson....here I am onstage with Willie

Let the fun begin...

It's reunion time! Two classes from Midland High, two classes from Lee High School. I won't devulge what years these are other than to say that I graduated in the last century. Several of us at various points around Texas have been working on this for six months. Sometimes working a whole lot.

But it should be worth the effort with probably 450+ attending. Friday night is an event I organized at the Chaparral Gallery in the Petroleum Museum, Saturday night the big shindig at the Midland Center put together by a professional reunion service out of Houston. Using advanced search engines they found many lost souls. Several of us "googled" up more. I found my class president in the Seattle area. His parents relocated from Midland the year he graduated and he hasn't been back since. He's excited. Many people I've kept up with, many I haven't. I ended up with 90+ classmates on my personal list and most are coming. Too fun.....

I must rest up Sunday after they all depart, because I visit Willie Nelson that night...more fun.

The Hippy Dippy Weatherman....RIP

God Bless George Carlin, 1937-2008

A second chance...

In September of 1995 Willie Nelson performed in Midland at a very nice, relatively small outdoor show on the Courthouse lawn. My Dad was a golfing partner of the father of the show's promoter and so became the recepient of a backstage pass to the show. Graciously, he bestowed the pass on me. Backstage, in this case, meant sitting on the back of the lowrise temporary platform that Willie performed on. For most of the show I sat on the stage right next to Willie's sister, and longtime piano player, Bobbie Nelson. A great show with Willie playing a solid two hours of his greatest hits.

After the show, the pass entitled me to come to the "meet and greet" with Willie. In this case held outside his motor coach, parked on the street right in front of the Petroleum Building, which later became my office. After Willie relaxed for a half an hour or so, he descended from the motor home, shook the hands of we eight or ten fans with passes, brought out some lawn chairs and invited everyone to stay and talk. And that we did until about 2 a.m. when there were just two us left with Willie. As you can imagine it was a rare treat. Except for one thing, which I've regretted ever since...I didn't have a camera with me. I got an autograph, but no pictures.

But now, fate, serendipity or just good fortune is bringing me a second chance. In the past year I've become good friends with Willie's ex wife, Connie Nelson. Connie is a sweetheart of a woman. Kind, caring, talented and very interesting, she was instrumental in the success of our recent Troop Salute in San Antonio, arranging for bands and raising money. Connie also brought her best friend, Phyllis with her to help out. As I was eating dinner with Phyllis the topic of Willie arose. I asked her if she knew him very well. "Well yes," she said, "his sister Bobbie is my step-mother".

So when I found out that Willie will be appearing soon in Odessa, I called Connie. "Hi Connie, Willie is going to be in Odessa on June 29th, I wonder if you could......" That's all I got out before she said, "you want some backstage passes?" And so she called Willie's manager and within a day it was arranged, giving me all the names in Willie's tour group that I need to know and who to talk to about taking photographs onstage. And when I talked to Phyllis this week she added, "I'll see Bobby tonight, I'll tell her about you and ask her to make sure things go OK."

Sometimes we do get second chances in life....and they may even work out better than first chances.

Sam "Steamboat" Mokuahi....

Steamboat, with our two Army Club Tropic Lightning outriggers at Waikiki

Without friends in Hawaii anymore, I hadn't heard the news, two years old, that an old friend of mine had passed away. Sam Mokuahi was a legend in the islands. His dad had been one of the original Waikiki beachboys and Sam Jr. followed in his dad's footsteps. Sam's Newspaper story..

Sam, or just Steamboat, was the guy who introduced me to outrigger canoe racing when I lived in Hawaii. Sam was a nationally known professional wrestler in the '60's and 70's, but his passion was outrigger canoes and keeping the old traditions and customs of their heritage alive. Sam had the idea that the US Army, having a big presence in Hawaii, ought to participate in the local racing events. So he talked the commanding general of the 25th Division into forming a team......and I was chosen to be the commanding officer, such as it was.

Sam spent 6 months of his own time teaching ten novice guys how to get proficient enough to enter the big race of the year, the Aloha Week canoe race from the island of Molokai back to Honolulu. An open ocean race 58 miles in length. We made it, second to last out of 25 boats. Sam kept after us, even providing some of his beachboy paddlers as coaches and the next year, half way through the race, we were in third place out of 35 boats when our rigging snapped in 15 foot swells and we had to withdraw. When the Army withdrew it's support and our team disbanded, Sam asked me to join his private beachboy team.....the only haole [non local] on the team...something I'm still proud of.

Sam was, physically, a huge guy.....but huge also in spirit, gentleness and kindness. I have two canoe paddles from my racing days. One, made of Hawaiian Koa wood, was a gift to me from Sam. A special permit is needed from the state to cut Koa wood and Sam had one to build beautiful paddles and handmade canoes. I'll treasure my paddle all the more now. I loved the last, very fitting, line of his obit article, "A flotilla of canoes will accompany the scattering of ashes beyond the reef". Wish I could have been there.

Memorial Day....

The Greatest Generation.....my greatest hero

Wally Craig, Sgt. 179th Inf. 45 Inf Div
Anzio, Italian Campaign, Invasion of Southern France, Vosge Mountains Campaign

Hero Appreciation Day....WOW!

What do you say to a handsome, and young, 23 year old soldier who has recently lost both legs in Iraq when you are sitting with him and looking him right in the eye? As hard as it was, I said what I had come to say to all these soldiers, "This isn't much but I want you to know that I appreciate the sacrifices you've made for us and your country. And if there's anything I can ever do for you.....here's my phone number". I think he sensed I was about to cry, which honestly I was, so he said to me, "hey sir, it's OK, this is some real shit to deal with, but I have my wife with me, my buddies and the Army is taking great care of me.....I'll get through this. And we appreciate you guys thinking of us and doing this for us". And you think we don't have some great young people in this country!

This occured Wednesday night at our Hero Appreciation Day dinner at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. All the hours that I, and many others, put in to make this happen were made worthwhile in that one short conversation. It was a night that every American should experience to learn just how much thanks and gratitude we do owe these troops.

We fed and entertained close to 500 soldiers and their families, a few VIP's and a lot of just plain folks who also care about these soldiers. Even I'm not sure where they all came from, but we had over 100 volunteers assisting with everything from setting up tent pavillions, packing gift bags and serving the troops at their tables which still more volunteers had decorated at their own expense.

Here's a slideshow that gives only just a feeling of the event. Although many of the wounded troops gave me permission to use their photos, except for two, I decided I'd rather not for personal reasons. Just know that to see so many wounded and maimed young Americans in one spot is heartrending. Hero Appreciation Slideshow.

To thank all those who helped is impossible but here are a few. Recording artists The Lucky Tomblin Band, Roger Creager, Crossroads [who brought their portable stage and sound system]. ESPN who did a live broadcast, CBS7 who will be presenting a special report with interviews they did. Rudy's BBQ for a great feed at cost. Traci Cavender of Cavenders Boot's who picked up the rest of the food costs. Borden's Dairy for scads of ice cream and Union Pacific Railroad for loads of water. To my high school friends who came. For my college friends who lent a hand. For the numerous Ia Drang [We Were Soldiers] Vets who came from all over Texas to lend support. To Luke Green, the Chief of Staff of the 5th Army who took control of the ground logistics providing pavillion tents, chairs, and the manpower to set it all up. To longtime friend Teresa Goforth in Dallas who arranged for free tickets to Texas Rangers and Dallas Starz games. And to her daughter Priscilla, who emceed the program. To Judith Markelz who gives of her time in running the Soldiers and Families Support Center at BAMC. And especially to Connie Nelson, who called out of the blue to offer her help...and who got her ex hubby Willie Nelson to become a sponsor. Connie has become a very good friend and her work was tireless in finding sponsors, coordinating the entertainment and providing autographed photos of some really cool people that were given to the troops. Connie is the blonde in the black and white top in the photos. To all these and the many I didn't have time to meet personally.....THANKS!

Thanks for a great gift...

What other way to show your gratitude to the people who saved your brother's life than to pick up the phone and just say, "Thanks".

That's what I did this afternoon, reaching Dr. Amy Marvin in Houston. Amy gave my brother CPR while her husband assisted and then administered the defibrillator which shocked him back to life. Amy, and I, were close to tears as she recounted the event, "he was gone, just gone", she said, "my husband and I just lost it when later that night we phoned the hospital and talked to Mark and he said he was doing fine".

Amy and her husband Robert, with consent from my sister in law, agreed to a TV interview on the condition that it would highlight the use of defibrillators. Here's the Fox News story.

God watches over us....

My brother, Mark, has had his name in the Houston paper before in his capacity as a deputy director of NASA. But I doubt that he has ever been on the front page of the paper as he is today. And I doubt that he wants to repeat the events that got him there.

The newspaper article tells the story as one of luck, serendipity and good planning. Sometimes though, I think there is no explanation other than God is watching over us. Read the article and see what you think.....