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