Enough already!

ONE more word about Michael Jackson - I'll scream! Even the BBC - my place to go to when US media is driving me mad with the trivial BS - they did wall to wall coverage! So my friend misericorde (I know who she is, but she's shy...) started doing RIP tweets, with a different Navy Casualty in Afghanistan. I picked it up and did the Iraq 2009. Yes, MJ was talented, but batshit crazy, drug addicted and had a penchant for strange behaviour and tantrums that were somehow allowed because "he never had a childhood"..excuse, excuse, excuse for bad behaviour - often close to criminal (if not more than close)

But what talent did THEY have? those men and women on the casualty list? did they sing, dance, write songs? Were they great cooks, comedians, runners, writers, poets, students of history, painters? Why are we forgetting to mourn them? Why are we no longer taking a moment to pay our respects to them?

We do have other problems in this country, anyone trying to sell a house (another post altogether) or find a job will understand that... but these men and women died in the service of their country, their ideals. It is time to remember that again, not just on Memorial Day, Veterans Day, July 4. Every day.

LAW

The road to Suckyville - heads down into the valley

My friend Tucker (if you haven't gone to her site, get your butt over there) talked about Suckyville. Thats the place that all deployments get to - and it is just miserable. I hit the outskirts of town last week, and this week I think I hit downtown Suckyville.

I'm tired - tired of being alone, tired of taking care of everything. When the house was broken into and vandalized, the whole who will fix it, trying to get it cleaned up so we can list it, dealing with the insurance company, was added to the regular crap, and piling on my OCD problem with making reservations for our upcoming R&R... it's all just sitting on my head and driving me batshit. I have a tendency to want to have it all perfect and did too much research on hotels in Edinburgh and Dublin, worrying that I'm spending too much - did I get somewhere nice and clean and quiet? did I get some horrid place that will stink of old cabbage with a disco across the way? I read reviews like crazy - like I said, I went nuts.

Now the whole "rent the house, don't rent the house" decision has to be made, are these prospective renters a nice couple or some meth head bunch who will trash the house some more?

And I don't have the husband to turn to and say "what do YOU think?" He just says he trusts me and my decisions... and I don't trust my own decisions.

Work - that's another FUBAR problem, with an attorney with a severe case of ADHD who is getting ready for vacation - so you can imagine how much time he's spending on anything I need to have done/answered.

Waah, waah waah. I sound like an absolute IDIOT - there are so many people have a worse time, and I'm making my own problems. and I Know It. but for some reason, I cannot dig out of this pit right now. So I think I'll wallow for a while (with visions of baby hefelumps in the mud making me smile) and I hope like hell I can see the other side soon.

OK, grump post over.

LAW

Perspective

DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Sgt. 1st Class Kevin A. Dupont, 52, of Templeton, Mass., died June 17 at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, of wounds suffered March 8 in Kandau, Afghanistan, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. He was assigned to the 79th Troop Command, Rehoboth, Mass.

I have been following SFC Dupont's fight for life at BAMC through Caring Bridge. He touched a chord with me, probably because we are the same age, he was a little younger than my husband. He didn't need to be there, he volunteered to be there, with "his guys". His wife Lisa has been a rock through this, has written in the daily.. and was always strong and sure that "Iron Man" would pull through. His family in Massachusetts held strong throughout!

My deepest condolences to Lisa and the entire Dupont family.

LAW

Iran

I am watching the Iran coverage, and there's a lot of emotion swirling around. A friend of my parents was in the Embassy, all those years ago. He was held hostage, and we saw the crowds roaring, the chanting... and the biggest sound we heard was - Death to America. We worried about him everyday. And I found this - this is our friend, and he's making the exact point I am trying to make as well.

Now Tehran is again boiling over. Twitterers are tweeting like crazy, and the demonstrators are marching again. And there are those who want us, the United States, to make grandiose statements and accuse the Iranian government of fraud. Yes, we KNOW there was fraud, that's a duh.

But we CANNOT say more. We cannot give the present regime any ammunition - we cannot let them use our support to make a point that the opposition is "under the control of America". We are still the Great Satan in Iran. We have a terrible history in Iran, of toppling an elected official and propping up the Shah who was pretty brutal in his crushing of all opposition. We cannot be seen to be doing this again. We cannot.

LAW

it's been a while... and this week just sucked!

I can finally blog this all, I was waiting to tell Chief all about the house, didn't want him to find out by email...... what? What am I talking about?.. well, gather round, my friends (and those anon lurkers, pull up a chair)

I went to MN a couple of weeks ago, and figured out what needed to be done to the house to get it all spiffed up to list for sale. A little bit here, some paint, the siding needs cleaning and re-staining, the yard needs weeding and all... After a fast visit with good friends, home I came.

My parents came out to visit that next weekend, it was my Dad's birthday (#88!) He started feeling bad when we were at the Smithsonian, looking at a picture of himself in the Second World War and it escalated... the next day we finally persuaded him that he needed to go to the ER.. and after hours of waiting, he was admitted for an Ileus. The next day - right before I left work to pick them up from the hospital - I got a call.

It was my neighbour/caretaker/realtor - and she was calling to tell me someone broke into the MN house, and spray painted the walls, and the kitchen cabinets. They drank the wine that we were using for display (the not so good/cheap nasty stuff) drank sodas, scattered hot dogs around... sigh. Why the HELL they had to vandalize the house? I have no idea.

So now - we won't be listing soon, I have to deal with insurance (but our wonderful USAA rocks!) BUT - my dad is ok, back home where they live, and going to see his own Doctor. My handyguy will be able to take care of most of it, and his buddy the paint guy thinks he can do something with the kitchen cabinets.

This next week, has to be better!

LAW