Gunfighter: A Modern Warrior's Life

How I spent My Summer Vacation (2)

So, after a full night of sleep, we rose at a normal hour and put ourselves together for departure. We were on the road by 9-ish, and headed south. Which is when we hit our first snag: We had the wrong power cord for Soccer Girl's DVD player. Fortunately, we were only three quarters of a mile away from home. Good dad that I try to be, I didn't get mad… I didn't lose my cool. I just turned around, went back home, and got the cord that I thought was right. We headed back out, got on the highway, and were on our way!

   

Mrs. GF and Soccer Girl had planned to play the license plate game to see how many states we could count on our trip, and by the time we left our subdivision, we already had Virginia Tennessee, and New York. By the time we passed the Marine Corps base at Quantico (4 miles from our house) we had counted New Jersey, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and one or two others.

   

 We were cruising along and after a short time, SG decided she was ready to watch a movie, so she fired up her DVD player… or tried to. Apparently the cord that I went back to the house for, wasn't the right one either. Ah, well… she was just going to have to do without, and enjoy her multiple books and her MP3 player instead.

   

In practically no time, we made it through Richmond and Petersburg and crossed into North Carolina. We stopped for a quick lunch, and then nipped into Wal-Mart (this was in Roanoke Rapids, in case geography is your thing) to get a power cord. Instead of buying a power cord, we ended up getting a new DVD player, as buying a power cord would have cost as much money. Now, at this point you are probably thinking that this was a really indulgent thing to do, and you might be right, but from our perspective it was a relatively small price to pay to keep a certain eleven year old from getting bored on the long drive ahead of us.

   

OK, so… food and power issues resolved, we got back on the road on a beautiful (hot) sunny August day and did what we always do when we drive together. We talked. We talked about all sorts of stuff… my oddball brother, Mrs. GF's oddball mother, and all sorts of things.

   

The rest of the ride was full of the usual… looking at license plates, getting gas, looking at some the same billboards that we always see, taking note of the sometimes strange people that you always see on the road, and noticing that the corn in North Carolina was burning up in our hot, dry, summer.

By 6 PM, we were tired, but had almost arrived at our destination, and were getting off of I-95 at Brunswick, Georgia. We stopped at Zaxby's for a quick dinner...

   

   

...before driving over the F.J. Torras causeway to Saint Simons Island. We were staying at the same condominium that we used last year, and as soon as we grabbed the keys at the office, we quickly settled into our unit and went into immediate relaxation mode.

   

I hope you don't mind but I am going to throw a plug here, because I belive in supporting businesses that treat me well and give me good value for my money. If you ever decide to visit St. Simons Island, do yourself a favor and make your accommodations through Hodnett Cooper. They have lots of nice properties on the island and are responsive to their customers. We stayed at the Salt Air villas and loved the place. The unit (a one bedroom) was large, airy, and well-appointed. This was our second time staying there and we will be there again if I have anything to say about it (and I do).

   

   

So, what do you do on a coastal island in the summer, when the sun is shining and you are on vacation? I'll tell you what you do, you go to the beach! So that is what we did. I'll tell you something… St. Simons Island isn't what I would call a national beach vacation destination, and I think that this is a realllly good thing; because the beaches are wide, flat and at the time we usually take our vacations, nearly empty.

   

(Chillin', despite the heat)

   

We spent a few hours in the water and being warmed by the sun before going back to the condo to shower and change, before we went about the rest our day.

   

While we were on St. Simons, we stuck, pretty much to our routing of going to the beach in the morning, and then out and about doing the togetherness thing. One of the places that we never miss while we are there is the G.J. Ford book shop

   

   

This is a real, privately owned, book shop. It has an eclectic collection of titles, and despite its size, I challenge you to be unable to find something of interest. Fortunately, I married a woman who is always looking for the main prize in a bookstore, and on out trip to this shop, I left with a pearl of great price, a cookbook called: Glorious Grits.

   

   

One of our evenings we had the opportunity to spend an evening with some friends of ours who used to live in our area and moved to St. Simons several years ago. We met them for dinner, and then went to their house for desert. It was great to see them, and we try to spend a few hours with them every time we are on the island.

   

I won't tell you the sad tale of the breaking of my Blackberry… suffice it to say that I got it fixed.

   

All too soon, our visit to St. Simons Island was over. We had spent four days/nights, enjoying each other's company, eating fun food, hanging out on the beach, and reading much-anticipated vacation books. We had fun, and while we were sad to be leaving St. Simons, we were excited about the fact that the next morning (after a last walk on the beach) we were headed to The Happiest Place on Earth.

How I spent My Summer Vacation (1)

…and we got home in almost thirteen hours, which is not bad when you consider the unexplained mechanical problem with the van, in  Lumberton, North Carolina!

 

Wow, what a blast!  An awesome, restful, fun, exciting, and totally Gunfighter family vacation, and now you know all about it.

 

Oh… I didn’t write that stuff yet, did I?  Well, I guess I had better be about it, then, eh?

 

OK, here is the deal:  Like most of the people that are going to read this, my family life is rather busy.  Between my daughter being in school, and being involved in Girl Scouts, year-round soccer, and church activities, she has a lot going on, which, by extension, means that Mrs. GF and I have a lot going on… well, Mrs. GF has her text book adoption committee, and church website committee, and all sorts of stuff, so she is busy, too.  Me?  I drive and cook.  Anyway, we all spend a lot of time just running around and getting things done.  Even our weekends are busy.  Yeah, yeah, I know… cry me a river, right?  Well, not so much.  My whole point in saying this is to point out that, like you, we are busy, and by the time the end of summer rolls around, we all need a break.

 

Enter the Gunfighter family vacation!

 

If you have known me for a while, you already know that our summer vacations have a certain level of sameness from year to year, in terms of where we go… but you know something? No two vacations are ever alike.

 

This year got started just like any other trip… there was the pre-vacation period that begins in early January, when I make our reservations… and there is the long, eight month period of preparation.  “Wait a minute, dude?  Are you telling me that you spend the next eight months GETTING READY TO GO ON VACATION?”  Well, yeah… duh!? Preparation is part of the fun, so why not draw it out as long as you can?

 

Anyway, we spent the time saving our money, loading our two boxes of “must have” items, particularly things for my “traveling kitchen” (don’t look at me like that… I cook when I travel).  We also spend a fair amount of time talking about where we are going, and what we are planning to do when we get there (we seldom stick to plans, but they are fun to make), and playing vacation related games as in: “I am thinking of a fast food restaurant, a kind that we don’t have in Virginia, but we get to eat there in August” and things like that.  (Oh, the answer to that question is:  Zaxby’s)

 

Before too long, the weather turns warm, we enter spring soccer, and look forward to the end of the school year.  Once school gets out, we are in the immediate pre-vacation zone and the next thing you know, after summer camp and reluctant visits to see the in-laws (well, actually, only Mrs. Gunfighter and Soccer Girl have to go, which means I totally WIN), it is time to pack up and GO!

 

I won’t bore you with packing details, but I will tell you that in my family, travelling to our destination is as much a part of the vacation as the rest of it, so on the evening before we depart, Soccer Girl and I like to make our mode of transportation a bit festive.

 

 
 
 
 

So, we were all ready and it was almost time to go.  The dog was at the kennel, the newspaper had been stopped, the sprinkler on the deck had the timer installed so Mrs. GF's plants wouldn't die, after a final meal and a good night of sleep, it was time to go.

 

 

Tomorrow:  Bring On The Beach!

Patriot Day

Here in the United States, September 11th is now known as Patriot Day. Patriot Day was instituted by President George W. Bush (and an act of Congress) in 2002 to memorialize the victims of the terrorist attacks that took place on this date the previous year.

Most people in this country refer to this day simply as "nine-eleven" or 9/11, and unfortunately, spend entirely too much time talking about the attacks that occurred on this day, nine years ago. Why do I say too much time?, because compared to the numbers of innocent deaths that were caused by the attacks, the United States has more than amply taken it's pound of flesh in retribution.

The attacks of September 11^th, 2001, instigated two wars in which nearly six thousand (and counting) American service men and women have been killed; wars in which hundreds, perhaps thousands of allied service men have been killed, wars in which uncounted thousands… even hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed, continuing to this day. Well, I don't know about you… but none of this makes me feel particularly patriotic.

I started thinking about how I should mark Patriot Day, because I don't think that there is any really good reason for waving the flag on a day that has no meaning other than a commemoration of the death of thousands of people, so I did what I normally do when I need to work things out… I wrote.

Being patriotic comes naturally to me… Love of country and service to the same run long and deep in my family, but to me, patriotism means more than jingoism, so I decided that not only would I not be doing any flag-waving, I would do what comes naturally when I think about doing what is good for my country. So I spent September eleventh like I spend most of my days: I spent money on things that were made in the United States, because spending our money at home is good for our economy; I spent the day with my family, because family is what we are… or should be what we are all about; I cheered for my daughter's soccer team as they pummeled another team in their season opener, because athleticism and competitiveness are good and healthy things; and I drove my American-made car, because I believe in buying American when I can.

Do you know what I didn't do on Patriot Day? I didn't support the liars, racists, and myth-makers that propagate stupidity by accusing the President of the United States of being a Muslim (or a socialist, or a foreigner). On Patriot Day, I didn't spend one single minute grousing about my taxes (which pay for our wars and for so many of the things that people in this country want and need). I didn't talk about our loss of freedom, because there has been no loss of freedom in this country since this President came to power… the loss of certain freedoms happened on the watch of the previous President (the one that founded Patriot Day. See the Patriot Act). Do you know what else I didn't do on Patriot Day? I didn't try to deny the right of any Americans to build a house of worship. Neither did I ram the cars of some of the other parents at my daughter's soccer game… those foreign-made cars which were sporting those stupid "Don't Tread on Me" stickers so popular with the Glenn Beck crowd. I didn't do any of those things, because I don't believe that those are things that a patriot should do.

The last thing that I did for Patriot Day was to pray. I prayed for my family, my friends and coworkers, and the victims… all of the victims of war, and other senseless violence, and I prayed for peace. I did this not only because prayer is a regular part of my daily life, and not only because praying for peace is a good thing, but because I have the freedom to practice my faith as I see fit, as long as it doesn't impinge on the rights of others to practice their own faith, or to not practice a faith of any sort. That too, is Patriotic.

 

Guest Blogger: Becky

Please welcome my blog buddy Becky, the creative force behind the blog "Deep Muck, Big Rake". Becky has graciously decided to favor me (and you) by guest posting while I sit on the beach, and do other vacation-like things with my family.   Take it away, Backy!

 

Hi, I'm Becky from Deep Muck Big Rake. I understand Gunfighter is away on his summer vacation, so I'm here to talk about mine.

What did I do on my summer vacation? I stepped foot on a plane, which I swore I'd never do again. The last time I did was a nightmare. It was also when Gunfighter wrote a guest post for me.  Looks like I was due for both

We went to Norway for the summer.

"What a luxury!" someone said when they heard that.

Funny, I never thought of it like that because, well, that's where we go if I want my children to see their family. Yes, it's expensive to renew passports and buy plane tickets. But we've always believed that spending time with family is a necessity, not a luxury.

In any case, I'm glad I broke my vow against air travel (although I went with a different airline). It was the first time I traveled alone with the kids, and I'll admit I was anxious. They were amazing, and everything went off without a hitch. We were there for six incredible weeks. (My husband caught up with us three weeks later.) It did us good to be there. The kids spent lots of time with their cousins, aunt, uncle and grandparents, as well as extended family and friends.

 

We climbed mountains, went fishing, rode a ferry or two and climbed some more mountains. While my husband was there, he climbed the mountain behind his parents' house six times. (You've got to climb the mountains while you can!) He often got up in the morning before everyone else and was up the mountain and back before we got going for the day. His last hike before we left was with some childhood friends.  

Now I'm putting photos together, so we can savor the memories we made.  

What did you do this summer?

Thanks a million, Becky!  I really appreciate the help.  Now, you floks go read Becky's blog.  You will be glad that you did!

 

GF

Happy Birthday, Baby!

Right about this time, on the night you were born, I was, with the rest of my infantry platoon, skulking about in the coastal North Carolina scrub, waiting for the rest of my battalion to land from a few amphibious ships lying just off the shore. We were waiting for the lead company to land so we could shoot them up and then run like hell. We were the aggressor element for a night landing and deployment exercise for the 1st battalion, sixth Marines of the Second Marine Division.

The exercise went well, we completed our mission, and in the wee small hours of the morning, the rest of the battalion headed back out to sea, via our LVTP-7 amphibious tractors. While they went back to sea, my platoon went back to the garrison because the exercise was over. Even though we knew that we had done well, I wasn't interested. Not at all. You see, I knew that your mother was due to have you at any time. I had been in the field for a few days, and had no contact (this was before everyone and their brother had a cellular phone in their pocket).

Once we arrived back at Camp Geiger (NC), my platoon cleaned its gear, showered, and we all headed for our racks (beds to those of you who don't habla) to get some sleep. I was destined not to sleep, because just as I was about to get my head onto my pillow, the duty NCO came to me and said: "Hey! Corporal Johnson... the Staff Duty NCO needs to see you". I thought about swearing copiously, but I thought that there was really only one reason that the Staff Sergeant would really need to see me, so I dressed and ran to his office, two blocks away.

Arriving at his office, he said: "Corporal Gunfighter?? Are you married?" I said that I was. "Is your wife named Jennifer?" I said that it was. "Is she pregnant?" I said that she was, thinking that I would like to bayonet this clown in the throat... "Well congratulations, Marine! You are the father of a baby girl!" At that moment, all of the personnel in the battalion duty offices congratulated me with handshakes and punches (we were Marines, we didn't hug, we punched)

I went back to my company area in a daze. As I went to the pay phone, I saw my pal Jim, who had been stationed with me in DC, across the quadrangle. I shouted to him that "it's a girl!" and dashed to make my calls.

After calling my parents, I roused up the little weasel that was our company clerk and told him to do my leave form, so I could head home. Since your mom was still in the DC area, and had given birth at the U.S. Air Force hospital at Andrews Air Force base. I jumped in the car around noon (I slept for about two hours) and headed north. I made good time, and arrived to meet you only 12 hours after you were born.

I was stunned.

I was speechless.

When I think about it, I still am.

Twenty one years later, you are an amazing young woman. An unassuming young person who loves her family, her church, her friends, and are a friend to everyone you meet.

I am so proud of you.

Happy Birthday, babe.

Love,

Daddy

 

The Church Picnic

Have any of you ever been to a church picnic?  I am almost certain that if you are an adult that was raised in one of the mainline protestant denominations, you probably have.  If you haven't, let me tell you how this usually works:  A date will be set, usually around the time that schools are letting out for the summer, and a location will be settled upon.  Now, some churches will hold their picnic in the park and some will do it right there on the church property if they have the space.

Once those things get done, the church service will be organized (and if you are a Lutheran, the service will be a lot like it is on any given Sunday morning inside the sanctuary) ; games are organized, and people will bring food.  Lots of food.  Yes, the church picnic can be a lot of fun... especially if the weather cooperates.

Well, yesterday (I'm writing this on Monday), was our church picnic, and boy let me tell you, we had a good time.  Our "Worship on The Lawn" service was a big success!  There were so many people that we needed nearly twice as many chairs as had been set out (which was easy to remedy, enter Gunfighter and SoccerGirl to carry more folding chairs).  As I said, the service was well-attended; and well-done.  Our pastor delivered a great sermon and was aided in this by the pastor of the Korean congregation that shares or church. 

Of course, you can have a church service without music, but it probably will be a lot less fun, and since Martin Luther was such an advocate of singing during the service, what kind of Lutherans would we be if we didn't follow suit!  So what did we do?  We sang!  We sang lots of songs, from the old standards, to some newer songs, and for some songs we were accompanied by our VERY robust (and very talented) brass ensemble.  We were also treated to a really beautiful hymn sung by our Korean friends.

As if all of these things didn't combine to make a great service, we had the good fortune to have our puppet team assist the pastor in delivering the small children's sermon.  Soccer Girl was beyond thrilled that she was going to be able to get to use her very own puppet (which we bought in Florida when we were there recently).

So the there yo have it, a fine picn... what?  What do you mean "what about the food?"  Well, ok, I'll take a minute to talk about the food.  Dude, there was so much food it wasn't even funny.  Burgers, hot dogs, salads, beans etc.... but the real treat (at least for me) was that some of the Korean members of the congregation prepared that most wonderful of dishes, Bulgogi!  Oh, man, it was so good!  Thinly sliced, tenderized, marinated beef, with a big rice cooker full to the brim, and a great smoky, sweet, slightly hot chili sauce to go with.  TO. DIE. FOR. (especially if you like the Korean food like I do).

I feel that I should mention the desserts, mainly because there were so many brownies and other sweets there, you could have killed two platoons of diabetics.  Lastly, there was Jell-O.  That's right, Jell-O.  As you know from reading this, you can't have a gathering of Lutherans that includes food where someone (or several someones) doesn't bring Jell-O.  Only this time something went... wrong.  Wrong I say because this Jell-O was BLUE!  BLUE, I tell you.  I've never heard of such... Lutherans are supposed to rock the GREEN Jell-O!  How am I going to explain this to Casey?

Anyway, the service was over, we were done eating, and Soccer Girl had gone on the moon-bounce at least twice... once bouncing along with Pastor Meredith (who is a very energetic newlywed young woman of thirty years)... It was finally time to go home.

Good times.  Good times.

Addendum:  I found out last night (wed.) that on average, the attendance at the church picnic hs been around 40 to 50 people... this year, we had over 200!  Woo hoo!

Good Times!

You know, I had a really good weekend. 

 

On Saturday, my youngest played a great game of soccer, and while playing in the goal, made a really great over-her-head save.  She also had a fine second half on the field, making important plays in defense, midfield, and forward.   

 

After the game, we had to hustle home so Mrs. Gunfighter could get SoccerGirl ready for the county-wide ensemble and solo competition, while I went and got lunch (and gas in the car).  By the time I pulled up in front of the house, they were ready to go.

 

We got to the school where the competition was being held right on time, and found her practice room.  She didn’t have much time to practice before she was called in to perform.  Alone.  In front of a judge.  As it turned out, Mrs. GF and I were allowed to be in the room as well.  I was able to serve as the official Roadie, and fulfilled my duties by plugging in the portable cd player, and on command, press the PLAY button.

 

SoccerGirl played a nearly flawless piece, and when she was done the first thing the judge said was: “do you take private lessons?” (she doesn’t).  The judge was very complimentary, and we left to go and wait for her grade.  After a long wait, the scores arrived, and SoccerGirl had been rated “Superior”!  Can I tell you how happy she was?  Can I tell you how proud we were?

 

It was a fine, fine day for the Gunfighter family.

 

Sunday was a good day, too.  We were enthusiastically received as new members into our new congregation, and that pleased all of us.  On top of that, we had beautiful weather, new books for the whole family from the Barnes & Noble store in Springfield.

 

Once we got home, we went in to serious chill-out mode and did some reading, had some music, and I made ready to fire up the grill!  I had already done most of the prep work on the skewers that I was going to grill, but I still had to put it all together, which I did in a fairly short amount of time.

 

My friends, it was time.  Time for a time honored tradition.  Time for manliness.  It was Time to Grill!  I staged everything that I needed (including beer, ipod/headphones and my Kindle), and piled the charcoals into the grill.  That’s right, charcoal.  None of your namby-pamby gas grilling for me. 

 

 

So, I lit the fire, dug the flames for a couple of minutes and got down to serious grill time activities.  I queued up The Clash on my ‘pod, and rocked out to “Rock The Casbah”, which can only be appreciated at high volume.

 

So dinner was good… marinated pineapple chicken/potato skewers, and grilled marinated Brussels’ sprouts… and then it was TV time, which means that it was time for me to fall asleep in my chair while watching part five of HBO’s miniseries “The Pacific”.

 

Lest you think the weekend was over at this point, think again!  Remember, I’m off on Monday… so let’s talk about that, too, ok?

 

Well, since it was Monday, it meant yard work.  It was the day for cutting grass, trimming the hedges, edging, weeding, and what have you.  So I spent my day doing the things that I mentioned, but couldn’t end on that notes, so after SoccerGirl helped with the clean-up, I showered and she and I did something very special together.  We went out and bought matching target bows!  That’s right, daddy’s little girl is going to be an archer (and daddy too).

 

We spent so much time at the archery shop, that we didn’t have enough time to do the grocery shopping, so we ran in to Wegmans and got a slice of pizza.  We ate in the car as we drove home, because SG had soccer practice in 40 minutes!  We made it to practice on time (after she changed AND took Charlie for a walk).

 

THAT was my weekend, folks.  Good times… Good times.

Thanks For Nothing, Lady

Dear Driver,

 

The world is a small place, it really is.  What with population rates rising, longer lives, good medical care (When people can afford it and reform isn’t being blocked by a****le Republicans), people, especially Americans, are living longer and longer lives.

 

One of the things that goes along with a shrinking world is a rising need for individuals to have their own space.  I know, at times, it seems like the only space in the world that we have is that bubble that we live in that extends from the tip of a person’s nose to about 18 inches away.  Most people call that “personal space”, and it is a good concept.  Personal space shouldn’t be violated, and it is drastically important for the individual to be secure in that space.  Personal space must be respected.

 

Respect.  respect is an important aspect of the shrinking world and the personal space that we exist in is this:  The realization that there are other people on this small planet, and that those people should be treated with the same respect that we as individuals expect from others.  In order for a society to function at it's best, people must respect others, or at least treat others like they respect them.  With respect comes consideration.  Consideration for how our own individual behavior impacts others.  I would really feel bad if people generally regarded me as an inconsiderate man.  It is consideration that I want to talk to you about.

 

Exactly what were you thinking when you parked next to me at the gas station this morning?  I realize that it was very early, and like me, you were stopping in to get your caffeine fix for the morning.  Perhaps your thinking was a bit muddled.  Perhaps you have some heavy personal things to deal with today.  Perhaps.  Despite the things going through your head, I wish you would have been considerate enough to use that rather generous parking space to park your white Kia Sorrento a few more inches away from my car.  after all, you had plenty of space to get in and out of your car, as you had two empty handicapped spaces on your driver's side.  It would have been a nice, considerate gesture to leave me more than 12 inches to crawl back into my car.

 

I just wanted to take a minute to tell you how I felt about having to make the squeeze to get into my car and finish my trip to the office... if you can believe it, I actually made it without spilling my coffee. 

 

I would like to tell you that I am sorry about the dent (and accompanying scratches) in your passenger-side door that came about as I tried to enter my vehicle, but I won't.  I won't apologize because that would be insincere.  An apology would imply some level of remorse, and frankly, I feel none.

 

Thanks for caring,

 

Gunfighter

Hot Fun In The Summertime

Well... there has been enough depressing news of late, so I thought that I would share something different with you today.

Todays's topics is that same as the title:  Hot Fun In The Summertime.  Not only is that the title of one of my favorite Sly & The Family Stone songs, it is also a state of mind... a place I  like to visit at this time of year, because despite the fact that temperatures that span from the high 30's to the high 40's have given us a tremendous amount of snowmelt, it is still winter in these parts, but spring is coming. 

Yes, Spring is coming, and it is followed by summer.  I know, it is still cold, the evidence of which is demonstrated by the fact that I nearly busted my butt on the ice as I was getting into the car this morning (I didn't fall, but my recovery was undignified).  I am tired of winter.  I am tired of snow and ice.  I am tired of the cold... and unless I miss my guess, you are too.  So, let's think about summer shall we?

Here are some random pictures from the past few summers.

This was taken with a really crappy disposable water camera at Aquatica, Sea World's water park,  in Orlando, August 2008

 

St. Simons Island, Georgia, August 2008

 

Our room, The Ocean Inn & Suites, St. Simons Island, Georgia, August 2008

 

A much younger Soccer Girl and her younger, and so much slimmer daddy at EPCOT, 1999

 

Gunfighter & Mrs. GF at The Magic Kingsdom, August 2007

 

There!  Don't you feel better now?  I know I do.

Have a nice day, people.

GF

 

 

Hello and Thank You (Magaldi)

Well, I am back in Virginia, and quite happy about it.

My mother is still very ill, throat cancer is like that, but she is feeling better, and the immediate crisis has been averted, albeit temporarily.

I'll have lots to say about my 1st trip to the old hometown in ten years, a little latter on, but I want to take a moment to thank all you you who provided me with support through your comments or private emails.  It means a lot to me that people, many of whom I have never seen face to face, would offer such words of encouragement. 

GF