Gunfighter: A Modern Warrior's Life

Freedom Isn’t Free (not by a long shot!)

You have heard the term "Freedom Isn't Free", haven't you? If you have never heard it spoken, you are almost certain to have seen it on someone's t-shirt, book tote, or as a large sticker on someone's car or truck. Mrs. GF and I saw a car with one of those stickers on it today, while we were heading to Disney's Animal kingdom (Soccer Girl wanted to see some more animals… could I say no?)

Anyway it made me think, and it started an oft-repeated conversation between us. I'll shorten the conversation down to its most salient point, which for me is this: Those friggin' t-shirts, stickers, banners, and signs really piss me off. Do you know why they piss me off? Well, I'll tell you. That particular sentiment is a favorite of Republican/Conservative/Libertarian/Tea Party whack-jobs who chant "USA! USA!" out of one side of their faces while whining about the federal government and paying taxes out of the other.

Personally, I don't get it… how can we shout defiantly that "Freedom Isn't Free" while complaining about the costs? How can the anti-tax nimrods continually natter about President Obama's spending, while having been silent about the orgy of spending perpetrated by his predecessor? How can we say "Stay in Iraq/Afghanistan as long as it takes to finish the job" (that would be the job that Mr. Bush was never able to define), without counting the cost? Never mind the cost of lost lives and limbs… because the whack-job right doesn't care about our soldiers and Marines getting maimed or killed. After all, if they cared, they wouldn't be so effing happy to have sent those men and women to war for no good reasons in the first place... but I digress.

Look, wars cost money. Wars cost an unholy sum of money… numbers that the average person couldn't even being to visualize. The cost of ammunition; the cost of replacement parts; the cost of tanks, aircraft, and trucks… not to mention the gas/oil that it takes to fuel them, is beyond astronomical. The costs of equipping soldiers and Marines alone is staggering, to say nothing about the cost of equipping the sailors and airmen that are in the war zones.

Let's get away from wars for a moment, because our freedoms and our safety aren't just about the military are they? Of course they aren't. When you have a car is stolen or when your kids go missing, you don't call the 82^nd airborne division… you call the police. When you fall down the stairs in a household ambulance, you call your local EMS paramedics. When there is a house fire or a car fire, there are firefighters rushing to assist to you as best they can. That stuff costs money, too.

You know, the military, our intelligence services (who have secret budgets you and I will never know about), and our Police/Fire/EMS and other first responders aren't the only guarantors of our freedom. One of the other guarantors of our freedom is education. Because we all know that an educated citizenry is the first defense against tyranny, don't we? Well guess what, warriors? Public Education is the best way to make sure the largest possible number of people in our society is at least basically educated. That costs money, too.

You see, we all want things. We want fire protection, we want police and EMS services, we want a strong military, we want to be educated, we want air safety, we want safe roads, and we want government services that we feel that we need (and those services will vary depending on your age, health, income level, etc…). What Americans are really twisted up about is paying for the things that we want. Somehow, a significant proportion of the American populace has gotten into their heads, that they can have all of the things that they want, fight two wars at the same time, and cut taxes. That math doesn't work, warriors. It doesn't work at all.

No sir, freedom isn't free… and blood isn't the only price. As a matter of fact, blood is the cheapest price there is, because we have so much of it. Freedom isn't free, because freedom costs an awful lot of money. That money has to come from somewhere, warriors, and guess where that is? Yup, you got it! It is coming from your pockets. I know you don't like it, but there it is.

You want a new moon rocket/heavy launch vehicle? You have to pay for it.

You want a new class of submarines? You have to pay for it.

You want roads? You have to pay for them.    

Not enough firefighters in your town? Uh huh… pony up!

Personally, I don't like paying taxes for a lot of things that our money gets spent on. No sir, there are some things that I don't like one little bit, but I'll tell you what: you'll never hear me carping about paying taxes, because paying taxes pays for those roads that I mentioned, and the teachers and others that staff our schools, and to our police and fire services. The money that I… that we pay in taxes funds our awesome armed forces (you may have noticed that we haven't sent our folks to war with a few shotguns and muskets). Paying for those things is my duty as an American citizen, and good Americans are attentive to their duty.

So there you have it. Paying your taxes is paying for your freedom. Complaining about it only makes you seem like a spoiled child who doesn't want to take a bath, even though taking a bath is exactly what the child needs.

Now, can you people please shut up, quit your whining grow a scab and pay your share without cheating?

Updates, News, & Other Random Thoughts

You know, I have been a bad blogger of late.

I have let (all six ) of my readers/friends down. I just haven't been putting as much into my blog as I have in years past. I want to tell you, my friends, that it's not you, it's me. The good news is that I am not breaking up with you… and you sure as hell had better not be breaking up with me… I mean, who really needs a well-armed stalker?

Um… anyway, as I was saying: It isn't you, it's me. I have just been seriously busy and distracted for the past several (ok eight or ten) months. I think I told you that I got a promotion… oh, thank you, thank you! I won't bore you with false humility; I earned that friggin' promotion thank-you-very-much! Ahem, well getting promoted meant I that I have been as busy as ever, and with after school scheduling issues, let's just say that I don't have as much time on my hands as I used to. All of this is said to explain a few things, tell you what is coming here at A Modern Warrior's Life , and to follow-up on a few posts and discussions.

 

 

Bear with me while I clear the air.

 

• Heartfelt congratulations and blessings to two people that I am pleased to call great friends, Brother Mick McIntyre who was recently ordained by the Lutheran Church in Canada, has recently been installed as the Pastor of his own parish in Alberta. Likewise, my lovely friend Suzanne has been ordained by the Episcopal Church (USA), and will be reporting for duty as an associate Priest at a parish in New York City. These two people have hearts that are dedicated to the service of God and His church, and I am proud to call them my friends.

 

• Regarding my mother. I reported to you folks in February, that I had to go back to my hometown because my mother was at death's door with cancer. I think that I told you, despite what the Doctors said, that she left the hospital the day after my visit, and went home. I don't think that I have brought you up to speed on the rest of the tale. My mother, within two months of leaving the hospital, has been declared cancer-free. You heard me… I said cancer-free. While I realize that remission can last as short as several weeks, but at this point, every minute that she gets to remain above ground, should be counted as an incredible victory over the odds. There are people that scoff at the notion of miracles. I am not among their number.

 

• In the past year, I have read several books and reviewed them. Some books, I reviewed just because I wanted to share my thoughts with you, and some because I had been solicited by the publishers. One of the books that I read was called American Apocalypse, by an author who goes by the enigmatic name, Nova. Anyway, Nova had been reading and commenting at my blog even before I knew of his book, and when we discussed it, he had a copy sent to me. I read the book, and enjoyed it immensely. I told this fine gentleman that I would like to review his book and publish that review along with an interview here at my blog. Well, to my great shame, even though I interviewed this man, I haven't gotten around to posting it, for which I owe Nova a profound apology. I plan to make amends very soon.

   

• I also plan to bring you another interview with author Brigadier General AJ Tata. General Tata was a fine army officer, who is using the proceeds from his action adventure novels to support the Wounded Warrior Project. Be on the lookout, because that should be fun.

   

• I wanted to use this space for another reason tonight… or this morning… (It is nearly 3 AM as I write this, on a bit of a Vicodin buzz, as I really did something bad to my back today, and I don't think that it is in my interest to lie down). Anyway, I wrote about my next door neighbor a week or so ago and asked for some advice on how to mention her obvious pregnancy. Well, I received all sorts of comments and wisdom from many of you, and I did what I thought was best: I kept my yap shut. I didn't say a word, but wouldn't you know it, I saw her boyfriend in the gas station a week or so later, and he gave me the scoop. I was still determined to say nothing about it to my neighbor, because her behavior clearly said: "Don't say anything" Well, on Wednesday morning, as I was loading the last few vacation items into the car, we had a nice wee chat about the coming baby (a chat that she initiated). She couldn't be happier about the arrival of the baby, which should be in November. I am happy that she is happy.

   

• I have an idea for a book or series of books rattling around in my head. I may actually write a proposal and shop this one around.

   

So that is what is happening, folks.  You'll be hearing from me soon... but for now, Mickey Mouse is beckoning, and we are on our way to the Magic Kingdom. 

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!

My Summer Reading List

The other day a blogging friend of mine asked this question:  What books are you planning to read this summer.  Well, here is the answer, Kim.  I plan to read at least these few following books over the summer.  The titles are on the covers and a description of each (from their descriptions at Amazon) are beneath each.

With the discovery of another life-sustaining planet light years away, there is hope for a chosen few to leave the soon-to-be submerged Earth. Holle Groundwater is one of the candidates, having been trained for this purpose since childhood, when the ships Ark One and Ark Three were being built. But as Holle prepares to endure life aboard the Ark, she comes to realize that her attempt at escape may be more dangerous than trying to stay afloat on a drowning planet...

 
Three young historians travel from 2060 to early 1940s Britain for firsthand research. As Eileen handles a measles outbreak during the children's evacuation and Polly struggles to work as a London shopgirl, hints of trouble with the time-travel equipment barely register on their radar. Historians aren't supposed to be able to change the course of history, but Mike's actions at Dunkirk may disrupt both the past and the future. Willis uses detail and period language exquisitely well, creating an engaging, exciting tale that cuts off abruptly on the last page.

 
  With The Sword of the Lady, Rudi Mackenzie's destiny was determined. Now he returns to Montival in the Pacific Northwest, where he will face the legions of the Prophet. To achieve victory, Rudi must assemble a coalition of those who had been his enemies a few months before and forge them into an army that will rescue his homeland.

Only then will Rudi be able to come to terms with how the Sword has changed him, as well as the world, and assume his place as Artos, High King of Montival...

(Yes, I know that I said I wasn't going to read it, but, hey, it's vacation, and on my vacation, I read a Harry Turtledove novel.  Don't judge me) 

What if Chamberlain had stood up to Hitler in 1938?  What would the Nazis’ next move have been? And how would the war have unfolded and changed our world?

As armies clash, and as the brave, foolish, and true believers choose sides, new weapons are added to already deadly arsenals and new strategies are plotted to break a growing stalemate. But one question looms over the conflict from West to East: What will it take to bring America into this war?

 

 
The long war between the Empire of Manticore and the Republic of Haven is in its death throes, and the Manties are poised to win. Honor, now a duchess and admiral of the Manticore Empire and one of the few imperial leaders to believe that the Republic's new leadership genuinely wants peace, leads a delegation to the Havenite home system to begin negotiations, but an unknown enemy launches a surprise attack on the Manticoran home worlds while inciting violent encounters between the Manties and the mighty Solarian League. Fans of this venerable space opera will rejoice to see Honor back in action.

Friday Fun

...Looks like this when you do what I do.

Today, my colleagues and I are going to spend the day...

 
Playing Working with things like this.  

And this...

...and this, among other nifty little items.

 

I'll be along later to tell you how my day turned out.  

On My Mind This Morning

·     One good definition of the word “Douchebag” (as it applies to people) is this:  A Douchebag is the kind of person who will use a long merging lane as a passing lane, simply to get past six or eight cars, not giving a Tinker’s damn about the fact that this selfish act will cause further traffic slowdowns during peak traffic periods.

 

·     The term “odd man out” is overused, but so perfectly applicable at times, even in family structures.

 

·     It has come to me, over years of observation, that men and women are truly, truly dishonest when it comes to relationships.  Women want Family/Children/Security.  Men want Sex/Toys (not sextoys)/Television.

 

·     The lady that makes my coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts is a bit sweet on me.  She always makes a point of touching my hand for some reason or other.  I’m not very touchy with strangers, so it is a good thing for her that my coffee (extra cream, extra sugar) is ALWAYS perfect when she is on shift.

 

·     I have a post-academy recruit class in session now.  Today is qualification day with their handguns.  Two of them may fail… one of them is practically certain.

 

·     I got a new badge last week.  The old one will be sealed in Lucite, and will end up as a paperweight on my desk.  A paperweight that will likely find a home behind the computer monitor that I am looking at as I type this.  Why do I know this?  Because that is where my other old badge-encased-in-lucite resides.

 

·     I sometimes wonder if people treat me the way that they do because of what I do for a living.

 

·     The previous entry is bullsh*t.  I know for a fact that people treat me the way that they do because of what I do for a living.  It’s a blessing and a curse, you know.  I like the fact that I am treated with respect by many people because I wear a uniform and badge.  I am very unhappy about the people who are practically stiff with fear whenever they see me.  Good guys/bad guys?  I don’t think that it is that simple.

 

·     I would like to sleep in some day.  Sleep in and waken naturally… without having to think about what time the soccer game is… without thinking about taking the dog out… without having to get up at 0500 to go to a Girl Scout event.

 

 

This cynical post has been brought to you by “Bad Attitude” Bill, whom most of you know as Gunfighter; the letter “D” (which stands for douchebag); the number 48 (the number of bullets currently on my person); and Samuel L. Jackson, just because I think he is a cool dude.

The Church Lock-In (The Final Chapter)

Well, as I am sure you will notice, gentle reader (all three of you, judging from my stats), I am writing this on a Wednesday, which means a few days have passed since our lock-in ended on Sunday morning.  The reason I waited to post this is that I have been either too tired or too busy to get to it.  One thing is certain; I haven't been too depressed to do it.  Not.  At.  All.

I had a great awesome time with the kids, let me tell you.

First, let me fill you in on how things went after post #3 from the lock-in.  It was nearly two when I posted last, but don't believe for one minute that I was going to bed anytime soon.  Uh uh!  It was nearly 3 A.M. when the kids were all bedded down in their rooms (the three boys were in one classroom and the ten girls were in another).  Once the boys were in their room, yours truly posted himself in the sole reclining chair that I dragged from the church's narthex.  The girl's chaperon, J, was sleeping on the floor in front of the door of their room down the hall, and the Pastor (bless her) was sleeping on the floor in the corridor in-between (the couch that she had commandeered being a bit too short for her to sleep on).

 The lads didn't seem to be in any great hurry to get to sleep, so I stayed awake just to make sure that they didn't make a break for it, as I am sure they had it in their minds to do.

I settled in to my chair, flipped on my laptop, and attempted to do a little web surfing... which was a total failure, because my chin kept bouncing off of my chest.  I guess it is a good thing that the boys finally settled sometime after 4, which meant that I could go to sleep, too!

Ah... blessed slumber!  To sleep, perchance to dream…  The rest that marks the end of my day.  The complete quietude that brings.... *CLICK*   *THUMP*  Both of my eyes flew open, and in the gray light that was starting to come through the windows, I spied people coming through the doors of the church!  I took a moment to glance at my watch as I prepared to do the.... I don't know... the manly-man of the church kick-the-asses-of-the-Godless-intruders thing.  As it turns out, that wouldn't prove to be necessary.  It was the 6 A.M. Korean prayer group that meets, strangely enough, at 6 A.M. every Sunday.  See, this could have been a real tragedy, as I apparently, in my guise as very large black man coming from the darkened hallway kind of scared the crap out of a couple of the worshipers.  I wonder if they prayed a little more fervently that morning, if so, I am glad to have served as some sort of improvement to their prayer life.

Well, I was awake, and there was no going back to sleep.  Aside from the praying folks, the church was quite still.  Looking down he hallway from my post, I saw the still form of Pastor M, slumbering peacefully, so  settled in and checked my email, and tried to decide what I should do next, as wake-up time for the kids wasn't until 0800.  After checking my email, and going to Twitter, only to find that everyone else that I know that uses that service was STILL ASLEEP (the dogs!).    I decided to work some of the kinks of my back and shoulders so that is what I did. 

After stretching out properly, I attempted to do some blogging, but really, after a night of only ninety minutes of sleep, I wasn’t quite coherent enough to make any sense with a keyboard.

Eventually, all of the adults stirred, got cleaned up and prepared to herd the kids… most of whom looked pretty worn out.

The kids had doughnuts and juice for breakfast, and we all made ready to attend the 0830 church service together.  Going to the early service was a little different.  My family is a late service (1100) group… Sunday is the day to sleep in.  Anyway, since I was already at the church, and Soccer Girl was going to be playing with the hand chime group at the early service, we were all there together.  The chaperones sat with the youth group (mainly to make sure they stayed awake), and a fine time was had by all (or at least, by me).

After the service, and Sunday school, I was feeling good enough that we went to lunch and then did a little book shopping.  I was even chipper enough to make lasagna that night.  I guess a little suffering IS good for the soul, eh?

Anyway, I have to say that I chaperoned the lock-in initially out of the desire to serve the church and the youth.  What I didn’t realize was that I was going to get as much out of it as they did… or maybe even more.  Talking to those kids in group sessions was really great.  They are smart, intuitive, and fully aware.  One other thing I found out (or, re-found out) is that young people can be wise beyond their years.  A few of those kids actually startled me with some of their insights on life and on their knowledge of the responsibilities of a life of faith.

In a few days, several of those kids are going to stand in front of the congregation and be confirmed by profession of faith and affirmation of their Baptism.  I’ll try to keep my eyes dry.

Church Lock-In (3)

The midnight service was really cool... candles and all.   The only drawback was the fact that I am an acknowledged old dude, it was hard for me to stay awake (Pastor M, I wasn't dozing, I was praying, honest!)

Ater the service, the kids played "sardines", a game much like hide and go seek. 

The little middle school cherubs are now watching "Cool Runnings" which has an indirect connection to the scriptural focus of the evening (see Hebrews 12:1-2, and 12:11).

If these kids don't go to sleep soon, they may be amused by the sound of yours truly snoring away. That would be bad.

It is almost 2 AM. I need to close my eyes.

Church Lock-In (2)

Ok, Holy Grail (scavenger) hunt completed.

2 small group lessons completed.

Mass quantities of pizza eaten.

Almost time for the midnight service.

This is fun!

The Church Lock-In (1)

Have you ever done one of these things? You know, when the teenaged youth have a sleepover at the church?

I never did that in the chiurch we belonged to as a kid, but when the Pastor at our new church asked me to be one of the adult chaperones for this weekend, (and that is where I am blogging from tonight, via Blackberry) how could I refuse?

We have already played some games, and I have identified a couple of the knuckle-headed boys that I will need to watch... not that they will be real trouble, but you know how middle schoolers can be.

It is going to be a long night!

I will keep you posted.