Scatter Brained

Well, what can I say. It's been a while since my last post, and that's mostly because nothing worth mentioning has really happened of late. I actually have a lot of thoughts swirling through my brain right now, and I think I will randomely just jot them down until I get tired. So, here goes.

That lady down in Texas protesting the war is dishonering the memory of her son. He volunteered. He made the ultimate sacrifice, but she detracts from what he did for us with her little tantrum. On the same note, he did die to give her the right to protest. So there you have it.

I'm tired of the Natalie Halloway story. People go missing every day. Why all the attention just to her?

I'm starting to think that buying and caring for a horse might be cheaper than filling my cars with gas anymore. But, I'm not blaming the president for prices. It's the market, and the market - they say - will correct itself if left alone. At least cars don't run on Nyquil.

Cinderalla Man starring Russel Crowe is an excellent movie that everyone should see. It meant a lot to me, because my late grandfather was a Golden Gloves boxer during the same era. Chalk it up there with movies like Hoosiers, Iron Will, Rudy, and Remember the Titans.

Never pay anyone to hydroseed your land. Especially some twenty year old high school drop out with a mohawk and pierced nipples. Pay them to level it, and then plant the grass yourself, or you might end up all pissed off like me.

I love this time of year. The temperature starts cooling off, and you can tell Fall is right around the corner. Fall is the best.

Well, those are some random thoughts that tend to cross my mind about every day lately. Maybe next time I will be a little more focused on one particular topic.

Out.

Maybe a small thanks can go a long way

The other day I had to come into work on my day off for some extra training. What a day it was! For anyone new here, I work as a security officer at a nuclear complex.

Anyway, we got trained on the HK 69 grenade launcher. Yep, I got to shoot real grenades. It was pretty cool. I got a real "bang" out of it. = )

I also got to be trained on the FM 240 Bravo. For those of you who don't know, the 240 is a machine gun kinda of akin to the famous M60 that you see in all the movies. What a weapon. This is the swivel-mounted gun that you see on TV, mounted on the turrets of Humvees in all that Iraq war footage. After shooting of a belt of ammo, I actually almost felt pitty for Al Qaeda. I can't imagine squatting behind a mud wall while someone fires off bursts at you from that gun! What a nightmare that would be! At least it would be a short nightmare. But, also a HOOT to shoot. Everyone should have one!

But now the point of my whole post today. At the end of the day we did a combat scenario exercise with equipment that we call Miles Gear. Miles Gear ( and I may be spelling it wrong ) is basically a high-tech Laser Tag system that allows you to use basically a real gun, but shooting blanks.

The scenario pitted four of us against two snipers in the sage brush approx. 500 yards down range. It was a moving and tactics exercise. I partnered up with a guy named Chris and off we went leapfrogging through the sage brush desert. After about ten minutes of running, diving, shooting, crawling, and picking cactus needles out of our skin, I was exhausted! Suddenly I realized I had gained a new appreciation for our guys over there in Iraq. It was around 101 degrees for us, and I thought I was going to die from the exertion. My throat was parched, and my legs felt like rubber. I thought to myself while catching my breath behind some cover, " Man, those guys in Iraq have to do this in heat and conditions waaaay worse than this, and on top of that. . .IT'S REAL!

I just want to say, hats off to the American Military. They really are sacrificing over there for us and deserve our honor and respect. I don't care what end of the political spectrum you fall on, or if you agree or disagree with the war. These men and women deserve your respect, and your support. I can't imagine if I was there putting my life on the line, and hearing some of the crap coming out of people's mouths over here. So, here's my small and insignificant way of saying thanks to the troops. A lot of us believe in you.