bryanstrawser.com

Year's end has always been a time of deep reflection and introspective thought for me. Much has happened - professionally and personally - in the last year. Some of which was well received, some of which was handled with grace, and some of which just passed me by....

Some thoughts and retrospection on the year closing tonight....

In March, I passed the latest milestone in my life by turning 30 on March 5th.

During April and May, we disappeared for ten days into the lovely sands and waters of St. Croix, and nearly didn't come back. An island oasis so much like heaven I thought perhaps I had died. As I look out the window today at 12 inches of snow I wonder why we didn't stay.

In late May, in the midst of some spring rain and in the flash of a moment's inattention, I crashed my five year old Toyota Camry. After the insurance company totaled out the car, I bought a snappy new Honda Civic Hybrid. Since that time, I've saved nearly $517 in gasoline costs. And I'm still quite happy with the car.

June brought us the dedication of the National World War II Memorial. At that time, I wrote of my upbringing in Covington, Indiana:

The war - even though it occurred nearly thirty years before my birth - has always been a part of the fabric of my life. Its impact on my hometown - and on the people who lives there - was huge.

My father, a Vietnam Veteran, was active in the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the American Legion. He twice serves as Commander of American Legion Post 291 - housed in an old historic log cabin in Covington's city park. As a Boy Scout in Troop 291 - sponsored by the same American Legion post, I would stop and read the plaques and study the pictures mounted on the wall.

Post 291 was named the Fulton - Banta American Legion Post. I remember an old black and white photograph of Ensign John William Banta - for whom the post was co-named. Ensign Banta was Covington's first casualty in World War II. Fulton, whose background escapes me at the time of this writing, was Covington's first casualty in World War I.

Something about the way that I was brought up - the combination of small town Indiana and the military service history of my family and neighbors - has always instilled in me a deep respect for the sacrifice of those of served - and those who gave their all. It may come from a deep understanding of freedom - an underlying theme that I heard growing up. From the 4th of July Fireworks, to planting flags as a young Boy Scout on the graves of hundreds of veterans in Fountain County, Indiana, that message was reinforced in my head over and over... and I also learned from the veterans and others who had lived through the Second World War that freedom came with a price. I knew that from the honored pictures of Fulton and Ensign Banta in the American Legion Post.

This weekend, we finally gave them their due with the dedication of the National World War II Memorial in Washington, DC.

The summer brought on a huge crush of work as I headed up efforts to prepare for the 2004 Democratic National Convention. It was a huge learning experience for me and has opened up all sorts of new career possibilities for me in the future. Hopefully, as things work out, you'll hear more about those in 2005.

September, I believe, will always be a difficult month for many in the United States. I have memories and feelings that are deeply held about the events of that day and their aftermath - but it was a simple gesture by a peer of mine that has helped me remember how I felt that day.. and why.. I wrote back on September 11th:

In the end, I think we all have the responsibility to remember what happened that day - to us - to our fellow man - here in our own country.

A few weeks ago, while having coffee with a peer in Minneapolis, our conversation steered towards the impact of September 11th on our lives - both personally and professionally.

She pulled out her PDA - tapped on it a few times - and spun it around so that I could read it.

It was her calendar - turned to September 11th, 2004 - and it showed just one word:

Remember

September also brought a new hobby - exercise. For the first time in nearly a decade, I picked up an athletic hobby and started what I hope will be a life altering experience for me. And I solidified that statement with a simple wristband signifying that change in my approach to living:

With October each year brings the World Series. In my six years in Boston, I've watched other teams play in the great dance and watched one of them go home happy. This year, after eighty-six years, it was our turn:

November brought, after nearly two years of campaigning, the re-election of President George W. Bush. I danced the happy dance when John Kerry gave a wonderful concession speech:

With that gift also comes obligation. We are required now to work together for the good of our country. In the days ahead, we must find common cause. We must join in common effort without remorse or recrimination, without anger or rancor. America is in need of unity and longing for a larger measure of compassion.

I hope President Bush will advance those values in the coming years. I pledge to do my part to try to bridge the partisan divide. I know this is a difficult time for my supporters, but I ask them, all of you, to join me in doing that.

Now, more than ever, with our soldiers in harm's way, we must stand together and succeed in Iraq and win the war on terror.

We lost many friends as a nation in 2004 as well. Two that I'll always remember were Ronald Reagan and Pat Tillman.

Former President Reagan had one of the most stunningly beautiful funerals I have ever seen. The image of the sunset to the west as he was carried to his final resting place was the perfect epitaph on this man's life.

Much was written this year about Pat Tillman - but I thought this simple tribute from blogger Sgt. Hook said it best:

We landed at one of the Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) yesterday to drop off supplies and pick up some equipment, a somewhat routine mission for us. The crew suddenly became very solemn when we noticed a ceremony being conducted about 30-meters away. A KIA ceremony.

The flag draped coffin was placed in the position of honor in front of a formation of Soldiers while a chaplain said a few words. We were all humbled and reminded of our own immortality and that everyday out here, we are in harm's way.

As taps played we rendered our salute to the fallen Soldier, hero, who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms. News of the firefight resulting in one dead and two wounded a couple of days ago had reached us. We had no idea it was Pat Tillman. Tillman turned down a big fat NFL contract with the Arizona Cardinals to become an Army Ranger shortly after 9/11.

Sgt Tillman is a hero not because he walked away from the Cardinals, but because of where he walked to. He like all the rest of the Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen, and Coastguardsmen volunteered to put himself between the bad guys and our way of life and fight for its preservation. Rest In Peace Sgt Tillman, your service to our nation is an inspiration and you will not be forgotten.

And we couldn't recognize these two without acknowledging the sacrifice of hundreds of Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coastguardsmen in Iraq and Afghanistan who died for the liberty of total strangers - and who have helped forge a country where I can sit in peace on my couch and write this recap of the past year. We will never forget you.

And so we close the books on 2004. There's much more I could write but can't because this is a public forum. There's more news coming early in 2005 along with my New Year's Resolutions - but you'll have to wait until the next year has begun before you can read those.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak a cup of kindness yet,
For auld lang syne!

And surely ye'll be your pint-stowp,
And surely I'll be mine,
And we'll tak a cup o kindness yet,
For auld lang syne!

We twa hae run about the braes,
And pou'd the gowans fine,
But we've wander'd monie a weary fit,
Sin auld lang syne.

We twa hae paidl'd in the burn
Frae morning sun till dine,
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
Sin auld lang syne.

And there's a hand my trusty fiere,
And gie's a hand o thine,
And we'll tak a right guid-willie waught,
For auld lang syne

Happy New Year, my friends.... Happy New Year...

Posted by bryan at 11:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (1)

In one of the comments on an earlier post of mine from this week, Kerri asked what a moonbat was...

Moonbat is a term used generally to describe leftist idiots like A.N.S.W.E.R., the Socialist Action Network, and others. But in the interest of being fair, I looked up the Wikipedia definition of "moonbat":

1. "Someone on the extreme edge of whatever their -ism happens to be." (de Havilland )

2. "someone who sacrifices sanity for the sake of consistency" (Adriana Cronin)

3. "... human whose cerebral cortex has turned to silly putty causing him or her to mentally slide down the evolutionary ladder to the level of a winged rat who is influenced by the moon and wants to suck your blood. Also not-so-affectionately known as a "Democrat"." (www.barking-moonbat.com F.A.Q)

4. Not liberals, but leftists. Whereas liberals are patriotic, leftists seek to undermine their national strength. Anti-war protestors, likely to call the US military "nazis," apt to blame the 9-11 attacks on a US government and Zionist conspiracy, are moonbats. Liberals who oppose the war, are not.

5. A poster at the liberal/progressive website Democratic Underground

It's my intention in 2005 to showcase more of what the moonbats really stand for - and expose some of their stupidity along the way.

Posted by bryan at 10:26 PM | Permalink

Chomsky comrade and znet blogger Paul Street wrote this eveningabout driving through the midwestern United States and listening to local radio:

And so on…the usual and in-itself innocuous sporting drivel that rules the AM dial.  What made this normal radio discussion stand out in such bold relief to me was of course the backdrop of the unfolding tsunami tragedy.  Hearing all this trivial talk at this particular moment was vaguely reminiscent of the creepy sensation I got upon seeing my first television commercials after advertising was suspended for about week after 9/11/2001

My sports radio revulsion peaked during one particularly dramatic segment on WGN AM 710, a Chicago station. Three hours into my drive, I listened with amazement to the fervent, impassioned, and almost ranting discourse of a Houston Fox TV “Sports Director” on “a topic I have been living with night and day for the last 6 weeks.”

The question that has haunted this sports news coordinator for so long?  Whether or not the Houston Astros (baseball) will be able to retain their bona-fide “five- tool” superstar Carlos Beltran at his “fair market rate” of $15 million a year for seven years.  I said $15 million a year for seven years…for…playing baseball…(yes, the owners make more). 

Does the figure $15 million sound familiar?  That was George W. Bush’s initial offer to the tsunami victims, which later got shamed up to $35 million, where it still paled in comparison to the cost of the illegal and murderous occupation of Iraq – roughly $151 billion so far. 

Like most moonbats, Street finds any possible route to connect what he hears with the desire of the United States to build an "empire" and any mention of money onto the "illegal and murderous occupation of Iraq" - even if those connections completely defy logic.

And then, to top it off, Street apparantly lacks the courage to actually call in and discuss any of this - particularly with "right wing radio":

I thought about calling in and trying to make some moderately sane points about:

• the vastly disparate share of global resources that the US populace devours
• the equally vast and disparate share of global waste and pollution the US populace generates
• the ancient religious concept of tithing, which is based precisely on share of total wealth and not simply absolute amount
• the role of US neo-liberal global economic policy in impoverishing nations and people across the globe, helping make them immeasurably more vulnerable than they ought to be to the ravages of natural calamities like hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, mudslides, and tsunamis
• the relatively paltry and yes stingy size of America’s absolute humanitarian contribution, seen quite dramatically when it is compared to the “world’s richest nation’s” “defense” (empire) budget, including just its bloody and illegal occupation of Iraq (which has also killed more than 100,000 non-Americans) and/or to the gigantic tax cuts that George W. Bush has granted to his super-opulent ruling-class comrades
• the routinely selective U.S. application and denial of US economic and humanitarian assistance in accordance with imperial US political objectives and related ideological biases

Street also falls into the moonbat mode of the last few days of blaming as much of the Tsunami situation on the United States - and particularly George W. Bush - as possible.

I did find it humorous that Street posted this at 7:17pm EST and comments that we had only donated $35m to the Tsunami relief efforts when it was announced far earlier today that we had increased this amount to $350m. Wonder if any of his other facts are wrong?

Posted by bryan at 10:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Well, the moonbats are our in force over the Tsunami issue.

Over at Znet, Paul Street has this little gem:

The terrible human consequences of natural disasters and events generally can’t be fully understood except in relation to existing hierarchies and ideologies of class, race, and empire.

It was mother nature, Paul. Class, race, and empire had nothing to do with it.

Over at the Asian Tsunami Blog that Paul references in his post above were great comments such as these:

There is a good possibility that the US military/CIA let tens of thousands drown rather than "compromise" the sources of their "intelligence"

[...]

One hour before disaster struck the Thai coast the authorities knew awave was out there, but they were not sure how big it was and if itwould reach Thailand.They therefore dicided to take the risk of not warning the threatenedcoast areas because a failure in the prediction would be harmful tothe capitalist tourist economy and the prestige of the department.

[...]

I believe that the US military/CIA had critically useful information about the tsunami while it was in progress.Based on seismic (earthquake) data alone, any tsunami expert would know that a magnitude 8+ submarine thrust (subduction) event like the 2004 Magnitude 9.0 Northern Sumatra Earthquake would have a good possibility of generating a tsunami (see appended article). The US has a very large military base on the island of Diego Garcia

in the middle of the Indian Ocean where they develop and test the "Son of Star Wars" anti-ballistic missile system, among other activities. Somebody in the military must have been aware of tsunami hazard to the island due to the proximity of the southwestern Pacific archipelago. The US Navy and CIA undoubtedly have many sea-bottom sensors in the Indian Ocean for detecting submarines, undersea nuclear explosions, and earthquakes & tsunamis. I am sure that US military/CIA knew the tsunami was in progress but they did not relay this information to the countries at risk because the info was "CLASSIFIED".

Got that? We're at fault.

Posted by bryan at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Over at his weblog, Doc Searls writes about how MoveOn, Michael Moore, Soros, and others may have negatively impacted the Democrat's chances of winning this year:

But what isn't taken into consideration is the effect MoveOn, Soros, and Moore have on the red activists--it drives them into a 24/7 work frenzy. Take a look at the 2002 elections--what was one of the deciding factors? The funeral for Minn. Senator Wellstone that turned from a memorial into a partisan bashing session. In poll after poll AFTER the election, it was discovered that this event energized and focused the Republican Get out the Vote (GOTV) efforts in ways MILLIONS of dollars and a hyperconnected tech community could never match.

[...]

I had both Red and Blue friends working in Ohio on GOTV. One thing that came back to me was in Ohio, the forces of Red had 14,000 Ohioans working, and people who looked like Ohioans. The Blue team had a number of, well, purple-haired, pierced nosed, etc kind of folks that just did-not-play in rural Ohio. Maybe the Blue forces were better connected to their organization and what not, but the Red forces were just so pumped and energized they broke turnout numbers throughout the state.

Never understimate the effect of pissing off the other side. Hatred of Bush may have helped create MoveOn and given loads of cash to Michael Moore, but hatred of the left got Bush in office for four more years.

Doc and I do not agree politically but I believe he's right on the money with his comments.

The Democrats need to find a way to distance themselves from the kooks and other moonbats that make up a good portion of their party before they're going to be able to regain the White House. As I've said before, they have some "porch-cleaning" to do...

And the early signs are that they're not gonna do it.

Posted by bryan at 09:53 AM | Permalink

We'll take a moment out of our other issues today to pay tribute to the life and times of Jerry Orbach, who died yesterday at the age of 69. CNN has the story:

Actor Jerry Orbach, best known for his long-running role as New York police detective Lennie Briscoe on "Law & Order," has died. He was 69.

Orbach died of prostate cancer Tuesday night, a spokesman for the program confirmed Wednesday.

The actor had been undergoing treatment for his illness for several weeks, Audrey Davis of the public relations agency Lippin Group told The Associated Press.

He had recently been in production for a "Law & Order" spinoff featuring Briscoe, "Law & Order: Trial by Jury," scheduled to premiere in early 2005.

"I'm immensely saddened by the passing of not only a friend and colleague, but a legendary figure of 20th-century show business," said Dick Wolf, creator and executive producer of the "Law & Order" series, in a statement. "He was one of the most honored performers of his generation. His loss is irreplaceable."

One of his famous movie quotes, from Dirty Dancing:

"Nobody puts Baby in the corner...."

Three years ago, I was visiting NYC as a part of a work function. We were headed into Little Italy after having visited Ground Zero with some NYPD folks we had worked with. We were walking through a neighborhood when right in front of us, in his "Law and Order" outfit, carrying a cup of coffee, was Jerry Orbach. He looked like he had just walked out of a set for the show.

We all pointed, he gave us that little smile and wave, and kept on walking.

It turned out, we were walking past an outdoor scene they were shooting. Jerry was headed from his trailer over to the set for a shot.

A class act, and one of my favorite cops on television. He'll be missed.

Posted by bryan at 09:30 AM | Permalink

Much has been heaped on Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld over the last few weeks. In response, Victor Davis Hanson

The blame with this war falls not with Donald Rumsfeld. We are more often the problem — our mercurial mood swings and demands for instant perfection devoid of historical perspective about the tragic nature of god-awful war. Our military has waged two brilliant campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq. There has been an even more inspired postwar success in Afghanistan where elections were held in a country deemed a hopeless Dark-Age relic. A thousand brave Americans gave their lives in combat to ensure that the most wicked nation in the Middle East might soon be the best, and the odds are that those remarkable dead, not the columnists in New York, will be proven right — no thanks to post-facto harping from thousands of American academics and insiders in chorus with that continent of appeasement Europe.

Out of the ashes of September 11, a workable war exegesis emerged because of students of war like Don Rumsfeld: Terrorists do not operate alone, but only through the aid of rogue states; Islamicists hate us for who we are, not the alleged grievances outlined in successive and always-metamorphosing loony fatwas; the temper of bin Laden's infomercials hinges only on how bad he is doing; and multilateralism is not necessarily moral, but often an amoral excuse either to do nothing or to do bad — ask the U.N. that watched Rwanda and the Balkans die or the dozens of profiteering nations who in concert robbed Iraq and enriched Saddam.

Donald Rumsfeld is no Les Aspin or William Cohen, but a rare sort of secretary of the caliber of George Marshall. I wish he were more media-savvy and could ape Bill Clinton's lip-biting and furrowed brow. He should, but, alas, cannot. Nevertheless, we will regret it immediately if we drive this proud and honest-speaking visionary out of office, even as his hard work and insight are bringing us ever closer to victory.

Posted by bryan at 08:46 PM | Permalink

My brother Steve and I having a chilled adult beverage at Rock Bottom Brewery in Boston. Scotch Ale for me, the Lumpy Dog for Steve:

Galadriel checking out what she thought was her present - the Filene's Box that Steve's gift came in:

A candid photo of my father Butch at the table this morning:

Posted by bryan at 02:22 PM | Permalink

Over in Iraq, Army Chaplain Brad Lewis is blogging his experiences - in this entry he writes of dealing with the aftermath of the suicide bombing in Mosul:

After a few tense moments people began to move around again and the business of patching bodies and healing minds continued in earnest. As I stood talking with some other chaplain, an officer approached and not seeing us, yelled, "Is there a chaplain around here?" I turned and asked what I could do. He spoke to us and said that another patient had just been moved to the "expectant" list and would one of us come pray for him. I walked in and found him lying on the bed with a tube in his throat, and no signs of consciousness. There were two nurses tending to him in his final moments. One had a clipboard so I assumed she'd have the information I wanted. I turned to her and asked if she knew his name. Without hesitation the other nurse, with no papers, blurted out his first, middle, and last name. She had obviously taken this one personally. I'll call him "Wayne". I placed my hand on his head and lightly stroked his dark hair. Immediately my mind went to my Grandpa's funeral when I touched his soft grey hair for the last time. And for the second time in as many hours I prayed wondering if it would do any good, but knowing that God is faithful and can do more than I even imagine.

God be with you Brad....

Posted by bryan at 02:13 PM | Permalink

Via Little Green Footballs comes this little tidbit from the New York Sun:

Furious students and faculty members at the Borough of Manhattan Community College are demanding that the school abandon plans for a certificate program on security management. They view it as an endorsement of the Bush administration's Department of Homeland Security.

Like hundreds of other community colleges across the nation since the September 11 attacks, the two-year CUNY school in Lower Manhattan is hoping to take advantage of the surging demand for security training. The school's faculty proposed a program in May that would teach students about threats to homeland security and how to counter them.

At a school where the student government headquarters is decorated with a poster of a tortured Abu Ghraib prisoner and another that calls President Bush a "madman," some students and faculty members have reacted to the proposed program with intense suspicion.

While those who proposed the program argue that it will offer BMCC students sought-after skills to help them find jobs in the security industry, critics say the program is an oppressive outgrowth of the Department of Homeland Security.

Posted by bryan at 02:03 PM | Permalink

The New York Times is reporting on Hamas's strong showing in the local Palestinian Elections today:

The militant group Hamas made a surprisingly strong showing in local Palestinian elections, according to preliminary results obtained Friday,
signaling a drop in popularity for the ruling Fatah movement before next month's presidential poll.

[...]

According to preliminary results obtained by The Associated Press, Fatah won a majority of council seats in 14 towns, while Hamas, taking part for the first time in Palestinian elections, took control in nine.

[...]

Hamas has been at the forefront of anti-Israeli violence, carrying out suicide bombings and other attacks, even as it has emerged as the strongest political challenger to Fatah, the Palestinian Liberation Organizations faction formerly led by Yasir Arafat.

This is democracy? Hamas elected to lead nine towns.

Wake me up please.

Posted by bryan at 09:56 PM | Permalink

As you can tell by the new look and feel - and the new layout - I've decided to make a few changes over here.

I've been blogging for well over two years now - this blogs 3rd anniverary will come in January I believe. As has always been the case for me, the end of each year and the changing of the calendar is a time of deep introspection and renewal for me. In the blogosphere at least, this will result in some changes here.

I'm not sure that I'm going to keep the current look and feel - but it will at least serve as a bridge for the time being. There will be more changes to come as I tweak the layout, re-add the blogroll, music selections, and some other goodies.

For certain, some things are gone and won't be seen again - the moblog is gone as my current cell phone doesn't have a camera. The sidekick has been encouraging me to post a picture of the day and I may give into that pressure as well. You know women, there's always pressure ;-)

One of my resolutions for next year is to write less often - yet more meaningfully. I'm inspired by what I've read at the indomitable EjectEjectEject and his first book Silent America. While I will never be the writer that Bill Whittle is.. I do have much that I feel I can contribute.

But first, this design has to be locked down.

More to come!

Posted by bryan at 07:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Hang on tight as we're about to change the look and feel over here.

More to come.

Posted by bryan at 09:22 PM | Permalink

First thing I remember was asking papa why
For there were many things I didn't know.
And daddy always smiled and took me by the hand
Saying someday you'll understand.

Well I'm here to tell you now each and every mother's son
That you better learn it fast you better learn it young
'Cause someday never comes.

Well time and tears went by and I collected dust.
For there were many things I didn't know.
When daddy went away, he said, try to be a man,
And someday you'll understand.

Well I'm here to tell you now each and every mother's son
That you better learn it fast you better learn it young
'Cause someday never comes.

And then one day in April, I wasn't even there,
For there were many things I didn't know.
A son was born to me. Mama held his hand,
sayin' someday you'll understand.

Well I'm here to tell you now each and every mother's son
That you better learn it fast you better learn it young
'Cause someday never comes.

Think it was September, the year I went away,
For there were many things I didn't know.
And still I see him standing tryin' to be a man,
I said, someday you'll understand.

Well, I'm here to tell you now, each and every mother's son,
That you better learn it fast, you better learn it young,
'Cause someday never comes.

- Credence Clearwater Revival

Posted by bryan at 10:11 PM | Permalink

Hearts are worn in these dark ages
You're not alone in this story's pages
The light has fallen amongst the living and the dying
And I'll try to hold it in, yeah I'll try to hold it in

The world's on fire and
It's more than I can handle
I'll tap into the water
(Try and bring my share)
I try to bring more
More than I can handle
(Bring it to the table)
Bring what I am able

I watch the heavens but I find no calling
Something I can do to change what's coming
Stay close to me while the sky is falling
Don't wanna be left alone, don't wanna be alone

Hearts break, hearts mend
Love still hurts
Visions clash, planes crash
Still there's talk of
Saving souls, still the cold
Is closing in on us

We part the veil on our killer sun
Stray from the straight line on this short run
The more we take, the less we become
A fortune of one that means less for some

- Sarah McLachlan - World on Fire

Posted by bryan at 06:05 PM | Permalink

One of my daily reads for a very long time now has been Sgt. Hook.

Until recently, a company first sergeant of an aviation company, Sgt. Hook has brought to life the honorable men and women that serve us today throughout the world. Earlier this year, his unit deployed to Afghanistan where they have served with distinction.

It was clear to me that Hook was a fantastic leader - because he cared deeply about his men and women - and it showed in what he wrote. Some of his tales of courage in leadership and of the sacrifices made by his men remind me of my own humble lessons that I try to teach to my team.

For his leadership, Hook was recently selected for promotion to Sergeant Major.

I'm saddened tonight by his decision to close down his weblog.

Hook, however, ends his time here among the bloggers with one final post. A class act to the end.

Farewell, you'll be missed...

Posted by bryan at 09:34 PM | Permalink

My copy of Silent America, the new book by Bill Whittle, arrived today via UPS.

I wasn't expecting it and so when I unwrapped it I had a huge grin on my face - and nearly became teary-eyed.

Silent America is a collection of Bill's essays from his weblog EjectEjectEject about life in the post 9/11 America. Bill is one of the most gifted writers i've found on the internet. His essays bring out and highlight what I think is best about America. Not to mention that I believe Bill has captured best the essence of our country today - and how we've changed.. but yet not changed.. from our past.

You owe it to yourself to read this book. Or - just visit his weblog and read for yourself.

An excerpt from HONOR:

On October 7th, 2002 I returned to Los Angeles from Arlington National Cemetery where we interred my father, 2nd Lt. William Joseph Whittle, who died from what may have been sheer joy during a fishing trip in Canada.

My dad served in the US Army in Germany, from 1944 through 1946. He was an intelligence officer, and was responsible for recording the time of death of the convicted War Criminals at Nuremburg after the war. He saw them hanged --- he stood there with a stopwatch. He was 21 years old.

My father spent two years in the U.S. Military. He spent a lifetime in the corporate world. After twenty years as a world-class hotel manager, turning entire properties from liabilities into assets, he was let go without so much as a thank-you dinner or a handshake. Twenty years of service. He was a four-star general in the corporate world for two decades, and that was his reward.

Monday afternoon, at 1 pm, I stood underneath the McClellan arch at ANC. There were 13 family members there. There were also 40 men in uniform. I was stunned.

They took my dad's ashes, in what looked like a really nice cigar box (what a little box for such a big man, I thought at that moment), and placed it in what looked like a metallic coffin on the back of a horse-drawn caisson. His ashes were handled by other twenty-one year old men, men as young as he had been, men whose fathers were children when my dad was in uniform. Everything was inspected, checked, and handled with awesome, palpable, radiating reverence and respect.

As we walked behind the caisson, the band played not a dirge, but a march...a tune that left me searching for the right adjective, which I didn't find until the flight home. It was triumphal. It was the sound of Caesar entering Rome; the sound of a hero coming home. It was the only time during the service that I really began to cry.

My father received a military funeral: the folded flag, the 21 gun salute, the honor guard, and a Chaplain named Crisp who declared a grateful nation was welcoming their brother William home to rest among heroes.

My dad served for two years. He wrote on the back of his Army officer class graduation photo that he expected to die fighting for his country within a few months. Most everybody who signed his photo wrote the same thing.

The chaplain said, looking my stepmom in the eyes like this was the first time he'd ever said the words, that the men and women buried here had agreed to lay down their lives for their country and each other, and that THIS, not rank, or social status, or length in service, is what entitled them to be buried in America's most sacred ground.

Before the ceremony, I was looking at the headstones, and it's sad how each area of Arlington is like a forlorn vintage: here are buried the veterans who died around 1995, there is the 1982 pasture, the mid-fifties crop over on yonder hill. And standing between a Major and a Lt. Colonel, I saw a headstone for a PFC who was born in 1979, the year I entered college, and who had died in 1998. This young man, not even twenty, couldn't have been in the service for more than a few months, and yet there he lay, with the same headstone as colonels and generals and the many, many sergeants that cover those fields.

That is American honor, and nowhere else in the world does it exist in such a naked, magnificent form. Each of these men and women, this band of brothers, receiving the same heartfelt respect. For my father, who died at age 77, it was the honoring of a contract he had signed more than half a century before, defending Europe and helping bring those criminal bastards to justice. It was a contract paid in full, one that has given my family and me an indescribable sense of comfort and pride.

Posted by bryan at 06:26 PM | Permalink

Watching the Survivor Finale with the Sidekick and drinking some Hot Buttered Rum.

Mmmmm....

Posted by bryan at 08:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Posted by bryan at 04:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

David Brudnoy, long time host of the David Brudnoy Show on WBZ News Radio 1030 in Boston died a few hours ago at age 64.

When I moved to Boston in January 1999, I knew very little of the culture and politics of the city. It didn't take me long though to discover WBZ News Radio 1030.. and then only a few days to discover the David Brudnoy Show.

David had almost a calming show sense about him - and it was that voice of his that first drew me to the show. But after listening, only for a few minutes, I realized that he was indeed something special - and it was his intellect that drew me in.

David Brudnoy could interview like no one I had ever heard before. Whether he was interviewing one of the three governors that have served during my time here in the Commonwealth - or an eleven year old child who had called into his show, David made the show interesting.

Much can be said about a person simply by watching, from afar, at how they lead their lives. More can be said about a man with how they face their own death. And David faced his with dignity and a deep understanding of the short time that he had before him...

Deep Peace, David...

Posted by bryan at 09:23 PM | Permalink

Blogger David Hewson has a post up over at his blog about creating an office for writing at home.

With three computers on my desk now - and a new Tablet PC that I need to find a way to integrate - I'm running into the same problem that he was -- how to create the right atmosphere in my home office for creative and professional work.

David writes:

What I wanted of my office redesign was more space and less hassle. I think it gave me both and finally I have room for some books on my desk, not on the shelves behind. That should have been a priority from the start, but somehow the computers got hold of me, demanding I fit in with them, not the other way round.

It was, on the face of it, though quite expensive. There are a couple of ways of looking at this. I now have one computer which works all the time, on the road and at home. Before, either the desktop or the notebook was out of action. Had I replaced both they would have cost more than the notebook alone, and got less utilisation.

My home office is in the basement of a split level ranch and features two desktop computes (a Mac G4 w/ 23" LCD, a Dell P3-933 w/ 19" LCD, an Apple Powerbook G4 15", and a Motion M1400 Tablet PC). I got the tablet specifically for work though I see potential home uses for it as well. It's truly a portable notebook - I'm looking forward to really putting it through its paces in the coming weeks.

Posted by bryan at 12:02 PM | Permalink

Good God - last night I noticed that I hadn't posted a thing since November 21st. Time to play catch up.

As my loyal readers know, I work in retail - and this time of year we're just a bit busy! Life has been good at work and that's about all I need to say on that. You can read the public information about how things are going on some other website.

Sidekick's family came out for Thanksgiving, so that kept us busy as well. Work work, cook cook, clean clean, but hey, that's what you do.

My parents and brother are coming out on December 22nd, so I'm really looking forward to that.

On the technology front, I'm evaluating a Motion Computing M1400 Tablet PC. So far, I have to say that this thing rocks my world. Expect more to be posted on this once I dig out of the domestic hole I'm in....

More leaf raking today - holiday party tonight up the road a bit.

More later...

Posted by bryan at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)