[July 5, 2023] Granddaughter! Perhaps you are now wondering why I’m writing these letters to you, a growing, beautiful young lady. You are the oldest of my grandchildren. And like your father and like me as your grandfather, we are each the firstborn and with that position comes special privileges and also expectations. While I am confident that… Read More »
[July 4, 2023] America’s Independence Day is special. It is more than Americans recognizing their independence from the British Empire 247 years ago; it is seen by all those who want the freedom to practice a religion of their choice, raise a family as they see fit, elect a government of their choosing, and going about their daily… Read More »
[June 28, 2023] I arrived at The Boathouse in Baghdad, Camp Victory Base, eager to get into the war. Mid-year 2006 was the beginning of the fourth year of the war, and things were going badly for the Coalition. This tour would be when I lost 13 of my good friends on the battlefield, but I didn’t know… Read More »
[June 27, 2023] It was my first day cleaning a pigpen, and I knew I had stepped in it big time. Yep, that’s me all right, taking on a job that I had absolutely no idea what I was doing or getting into. But I was also too hard-headed to admit I was over my head, thinking I… Read More »
[June 23, 2023] Looking back on my time as a kid, I’m not so sure I was using my thinking abilities properly. Yeah, the men in my town were nearly all combat veterans. I was enthralled by their harrowing experiences, cool demeanor, pretty girlfriends, tales of growing up in the boonies and swamps of Louisiana, great physical strength,… Read More »
[June 22, 2023] A couple of weeks ago, a friend was reminiscing about his childhood. We were back and forth trading some of the things we heard as youngins. Mom always came up with the right question or advice at the right moment. Here are a few of those I remembered. I found them entertaining. There are not… Read More »
[June 21, 2023] I’ll be giving a speech honoring our fallen military personnel from WWI to present this weekend. The South Jersey Volunteers for Veterans Boot Memorial will have a three-day display with the names of local citizens who gave their lives for our country. I’m one of the closing ceremony speakers. Please take a look at my… Read More »
[June 20, 2023] Picking Cotton. My first real job was picking cotton at my Grandpappy’s home in southeast Arkansas. I learned many valuable lessons, including that I was not cut out to be a cotton picker. I was ten years old in the Summer of 1962 when I picked cotton for the first time. A “real” job meant… Read More »
[June 18, 2023] Happy Father’s Day to all those who make a difference to their children. Here, I deviate from the commercial, modernist Father’s Day idea. We should not celebrate Fathers … well, in the strict sense of the word. We should be celebrating Dads. Dads are those who raise their children. To be a father is easy.… Read More »
[June 17, 2023] Work or Lazy. I was young, but I was an adult. Now was the time I chose Army life over railroad work. It was a time to choose between two radically different paths in life, one that would mean the life I know today, the other the way of my father. There was one other… Read More »