A Veteran's Story

Somewhere in Germany
on a joint America German missile base, two US Army Sergeants started walking
in the lightly falling snow towards the missile pads. It was December 31, 1986 and the time was
almost midnight. It was soon going to be
1987.

Sitting on the missile pads were three Pershing missiles,
each tipped with tactical nuclear warheads. Each programmed with a top secret
target ready to launch in 10 minutes or less.

Back in those days the enemy was the USSR and the Warsaw
Pact countries. Iraq was something you hung a hat
on. Afghanistan was someplace where
Rambo fought Russians with the Taliban for our entertainment.

The two Sergeants, with their collars turned up against the
cold, arrived at the missile pad’s entry control point. Another young sergeant on the other side of
thick bullet proof glass asked for ID.
All three sergeants were in the same platoon, they ate in the same
dining facility, ran physical training and went to the rifle range and easily
recognized each other on site. But, when
dealing with nuclear weapons everything was done by the book. The two sergeants willingly gave up their ID
card so that could gain access.

Once the ID was verified and the sergeants signed in, they
made their way to each launch pad. At
each launch pad, a US Soldier and a German Soldier stood on guard duty. They were required to stand there for two
hour watching a cold green missile lying quietly in its cradle. The Sergeants made their way over to each
guard, shook their hand and wished them each a Happy New Year. It was all they had, no fireworks, no
clicking of glasses; just a simple hand shake and a wish for a brighter future
for the year to come.

The point of the story is that somewhere, a soldier, sailor,
or airmen is awake, standing guard, unceremoniously, just doing his job, while
the rest of us sleep. A simple act that
guarantees we can continue to enjoy our freedoms. To all veterans everywhere, a hearty Thank
you!

By the way, if you hadn’t guessed by now, I was one of those
Sergeants trudging through the snow that night, so long ago to wish my soldiers
a Happy New year.

Baseball Season and TV Programs

Baseball season is here and anybody that knows me, knows I love baseball. My team of choice is the Braves. The home opener was last night and I was there. It was great for about 4 innings and then the sky opened up. If you live in the Atlanta area and bad weather is on the way, all you have to do is turn your TV to WSB TV and Glen Burns will spend two hours showing you pixelated images of bad weather, possible tornado sitings, hail and thunderstorms. Monica Pearson can just go home. To be fair there was lots of bad weather in the surrounding Atlanta area.

Anyway, the rain started falling and ground crew came out and covered the infield. I waited a couple of hours but it wasn't letting up. But by the time I finished the Marta ride home, play had resumed. The Braves win in 10 innings, 6 to 5 at 1:30 am. It all good though, I had my beer, pizza and bag of salty peanuts without have to get a co-signer.

I've been watching the show "Life on Mars". Its about a cop, in NY City and he get hit by a car and is transported back to 1973, but he still has 2008-09 memories. I guess it wasn't getting the viewer-ship so ABC was getting ready to pull the plug. Before they did they at least finished the story line. The ending was so lame! The main character, Sam Tyler, is a cop in 2008, gets hit by a car and wakes up in 1973, then wakes up on a space ship on a mission to Mars mission. The people on the mission with him are all the people he interacted with in 1973. It was so lame but I guess it was better then pulling the plug on the show in mid season.

Adventures in Unemployment

Its been a week since I was let go from my employers. It was tough to do. The more I hung around that last day the worst it got. A part of me wishes that they had let me go the day they told me my position was being eliminated, but I guess its better to look for a job while you still have a job. It was still tough, because I made so many good friends and contacts there.

I went to the unemployment office last week. It wasn't as painful as I feared. The first obstacle was finding a place to park. I had to park at a different office building about two blocks away. It was raining that day, but fortunately for me it had stopped by the time I had parked.

The place was crowded, but not overly so. Maybe the rain kept people away. I got there at the right time, they were having another briefing in about 20 minutes so I didn't have to wait to long. Note to self: next time I have to go to the unemployment office, bring a pen. They have tons of forms to fill out and only have these little Putt-Putt Golf pencils to use. After the briefing, they released us to the computers where the rest of our info is uploaded. Its a good thing having computer skills. I was done in short order and was free to leave and enjoy the rest of my day.

The toughest thing about being unemployed is finding something to do. I actually have a lot of honey-do projects that need to be done but I'm having trouble getting motivated. I am still searching the job boards for the next big thing but I need a hobby. That's a lie, I do have hobbies, just need to do them. I guess I'll get tired of watching TV in a little bit. I did contact a college to look into finishing my education. Hmm..that's a funny statement, finishing your education. I don't think I'll ever finish my education, because I learn things all the time. My wife doesn't understand how I can watch the Discovery or History Channel. I just find that stuff interesting.

Blogging Again

Blogging is so two years ago but here I am again after a long break. Everybody is Twittering or Tweeting. I don't think I can do that, I don't think I have anything that interesting that I have to record my every move, 140 characters at a time.
Currently I'm looking for work. My company is struggling with their bottom line just like everybody else, so unfortunately for me, my position has been cut and I'll be out the door. Not something a 53 year old military veteran is looking forward to.
One thing I've learned, during my job search, is that I need to go back to school to get more looks at my resume. I've been wanting to get more into the Network Support side of the IT Support field, and I kick myself for not seeing this earlier. If I had taken some Network courses, maybe even becoming Cisco Certified, I could have made myself more valuable where I currently work. But that's just human nature, one gets comfortable in doing what they are doing. Once I know where I'm going after the 31 of March, I'll be better able to plan where to get the education I want. I've already checked out a couple of schools, and as soon as my personal planets align, I'll be hitting the books.
I still don't keep up with my blog like some people do, but check back once in a while and I might have something to say.
Funny thing I saw the other day while driving on the Peachtree Industrial Blvd (its in Atlanta). I came up behind a car that was marked "Student Driver" and as I passed the car, the driver was on a cell phone. I guess if you can't stop drivers from talking on cell phones while driving, might as well teach it.

Making life simple

Well, I've decide to post most of my thoughts over on my yahoo 360 page. I'm going to keep this open and have a link to my 360 page. I don't know how many times you have to keep posting something to keep it open but one day this may be gone.
http://360.yahoo.com/nite_breeze_30097

Proud Papa

Wow, he finally did it! My son finally graduated from college, after a about 6 years he can now go proudly into the work force. I have so many mixed feelings. I want him to go on and become someone (he is already someone, but you know what I mean) and on the second hand, when I look at him, his is still my little boy. I just want him to go and make the best decisions about life as he can, and if he has any questions, I have 5 email accounts, and 2 cell phone numbers and one work numbers, and my door can always be knocked on. I still call my dad when I need help. I am so proud

Sending The Wrong Message

I like Saturday morning cartoons. I watched them when I was a kid, I sat beside my son and watched them when he was growing up and I still watch them. I've come to the conclusion that Saturday morning cereal commercials are sending the wrong message.

They are telling our children that is ok to steal and not share. Look at the Fruity Pebbles or Coco Pebbles. Fred refuses to share his cereal with Barney, so Barney is forced to steal them. Its the same with Trix. The children won't share with the rabbit so the rabbit has to steal the Trix..silly rabbit