Returning Soliders

Ed was one of those Vietnam vets, who was almost afraid to come home because of the way the troops were treated back then by the gracious public the troops so willingly (ever heard of the draft?) sacrificed to serve. Our "all volunteer" military today's sacrifice is no less.

The following was written by a fellow HP moderator who served in Vietnam and is a college professor. It was too beautiful not to share:

A Simple Request

A few days ago, I caught a brief reference in the news to the return of a handful of Marines from Iraq, met by a small but vocal group of protesters. The incident brought back more than a few memories. I feel compelled to speak to my academic colleagues.

Sooner, perhaps, than we are ready, we may be faced with an issue Academia has not really faced in a generation, large numbers of young veterans enrolling in our classes, beginning new lives and new careers.

Having stood where they shall stand, I hope I can help you to understand what they shall face and how they will behave.

They shall face, as I did, professors who will inform them on the first day of class that they may as well drop out now because anyone too stupid to avoid military service is, obviously, too stupid to pass the course work. Many will respond by scoring 100% every test you give them, getting their A's not because you "give" them A's but because they "take" those A's by brute intellectual force, driving themselves with a self discipline few who have never served in a combat zone can imagine. These young people have worked fifty-and sixty-hour days in unbearable heat for months on end, performing exacting but mind numbing tasks upon which, literally, the lives of other people depend. They shall not be overwhelmed by your reading lists. Like all veterans, they know that the rest of their life is a gift.

They shall be called, as I was called, names like fascist, rapist, and baby killer--by both faculty and students alike, often in class and to their face. But they have had worse things thrown at them. They've been trained to stand their ground under fire. More importantly, they know the truth; they know that they built clinics and schools and gave first aid to children shot, burned, cut, and blown up by an enemy who indiscriminately destroys anyone who appears to be friendly to Americans—even small children. It is easy to sit here in America watching CBS or CNN, believing you "know" what all those young people are doing. I am often amused to see professors who regularly rant about the unreality of TV falling into the very foolishness they condemn.

They shall be used as pawns in games of political propaganda by professors trying to make political statements. But these young veterans have, unfortunately, been used on occasion by foolish and inept officers who see their own military "exploits" not as something contributing to national security, but as some kind of political currency to be traded later for votes. These young vets know an "A-hole" when they see one. They know how to protect themselves.

Be warned. Often they will be smarter than you—no, not better educated or more well read—but wiser, faster. Many of them are going to graduate with honors—magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa—and then they are coming after you, coming to take your job, where they know that someday they can make a difference in how this nation treats its young veterans.

I don't care how you feel about them; they don't care either. My simple request is that you treat them fairly. Give them the chance they have earned and the grades they deserve. Don't make them fight a second war against intolerance and bigotry here in their own country.

As for me, I will embrace them as comrades.

~~Bert

My Garden

I finally got around to taking some pictures of my garden again. I planted some new bulbs, and I'm really liking them. Next year I really need to get new bark down BEFORE everything grows.

This was the garden in April:



This is from the garden yesterday:

My friend Carole sent this, and I just had to share:


Recently, in large French city, a poster featuring a young, thin and tan woman appeared in the window of a gym. It said:

THIS SUMMER DO YOU WANT TO BE A MERMAID OR A WHALE?

A middle aged woman, whose physical characteristics did not match those of the woman on the poster, responded publicly to the question posed by the gym.

To Whom It May Concern:

Whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins,sea lions,curious humans).. They have an active sex life, they get pregnant and have adorable baby whales. They have a wonderful time with dolphins stuffing themselves with shrimp. They play and swim in the seas, seeing wonderful places like Patagonia, the Barren Sea and the coral reefs of Polynesia. Whales are wonderful singers and have even recorded CDs. They are incredible creatures and virtually have no predators other than humans. They are loved, protected and admired by almost everyone in the world.

Mermaids don’t exist!! If they did exist, they would be lining up outside the offices of Argentinean psychoanalysts due to identity crisis. Fish or human? They don’t have a sex life because they kill men who get close to them not to mention how could they have sex? Therefore they don’t have kids either. Not to mention who wants to get close to a girl who smells like a fish store?

The choice is perfectly clear to me; I want to be a whale.

P.S. We are in an age when media puts into our heads the idea that only skinny people are beautiful, but I prefer to enjoy an ice cream with my kids, a good dinner with a man who makes me shiver and a coffee with my friends. With time we gain weight because we accumulate so much information and wisdom in our heads that when there is no more room it distributes out to the rest of our bodies. So we aren’t heavy, we are enormously cultured, educated and happy. Beginning today, when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think, ¨Good gosh, look how smart I am…¨

Half Blood Prince

Okay, I found a YouTube video done by HBO on Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, which comes out a week from tomorrow (have my tickets already).

Click here

All I can say is "SQUEEEEE!" It looks so good!

*takes a deep breath*

Okay, I'm trying not to get too excited about this for fear of being disappointed.


How am I doing?

Pics from the Dave & Doris King Family--Early Years

Here's my Mom, Dad,and David Jr. as a baby:


Don't you love Davey's little suit?


Here's little cowboy Davey:


This is Davey with his new little baby sister (me). My mom said he was unimpressed. I was an an RH baby, but it was some time before the doctors figured it out. Mom said I was the color of a yield sign when I came home from the hospital. Eventually I had to be completely transfused, and the doctors worried that I would be disabled mentally and physically--some would argue that I am ;)


Here's me in what I think must be my blessing dress:


Davey and me when I'm a little older--I wonder what the other guy looked like as that's quite the scrape on Davey's face:


Here's a little montage of David from school pictures. The one on the right looks like it was probably from when we were in the Philippines:


Me, a little older yet:


And a little older yet:


I don't have a lot of pictures of my younger sister, Darcy when she was very little. She's 8 years younger than I am. My folks decided not to have anymore children after they nearly lost me, but decided to give it a try. A little baby girl was delivered in September 1961, but she was stillborn because he umbilical cord strangled her. She is buried in South Korea.

My folks tried again right away, and Darcy was born on the 22nd of September in Sacramento. The doctors were all set and ready to do a transfusion, but it turns out that Darcy was RH negative like Mom!


Here's a picture of when she was getting ready for Kindergarten, when we lived in the Philippines:

More Old Pics

I found another old photo album that my mom must have put together early in my folk's marriage. I remember when she died (ripe old age of 41) my father spend hours upon hours going through 20 years of photos that they had accumulated. He told me how hard it was to remember people from that far back all by himself. I always promised myself that I wouldn't let that happen to me. Some of my albums aren't in the best order, but at least they are in albums.

Well, except for the duplicates. I hate to confess that I have a box full of pictures--most of which I think are duplicates. Ugh.

Anyway, here's a picture of my grandmother holding her twins (fraternal), Jim and Dave. They were her first children and they were 8 pounds apiece. There's eight years between the boys and Barbara.


Here are those same twins, years later when they joined the Navy--at the ripe old age of 17:


And here's Herb and Ella (their parents):


Here's another picture of Jim and Dave and I believe cousin Betty:

Matt Lewis - aka Neville Longbottom

Okay, I was recently made aware of a current picture of Matt Lewis, the actor who plays Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter films. Wow, what a change over the years!


Here's Matt from the first HP movie, The Sorcerer's Stone.


And here's a more recent picture of him. Like I said--wow.

I think that probably of all the child actors in these films, Matt has changed the most. Of course, they make him look different by wearing some dreadful teeth.

It's funny because they should probably have been making Emma Watson (Hermione) wear some big teeth until Goblet of Fire, when in the book she was involved in a magical shoot out between Harry and Draco and ended up having to have her teeth magicked smaller.