Invitations and Choices

Opening up the mailbox these days can be an occasionally jarring experience. Just as I'm getting used to regular invitations from AARP to join that over 50 club, I recently noticed a letter from a different organization offering membership: the United States Marine Corps. Except it wasn't sent to me. It was addressed to my son, who just turned 17.

I examined the envelope. It was smartly designed and inviting to a young man beginning to think about his future - with offers of free gifts just for talking to a recruiter. It reminded me of an advertisement I'd seen for the Army almost 40 years ago in Boys Life magazine. I remember it vividly to this day. Nothing in the ad looked like the army. No olive drab. No tanks. No rifles. Just a full page ad showing twelve pictures of one guy kissing twelve different girls. "With the Army's delayed enlistment program, you now get 12 months to say goodbye." Hey. Sign me up. Except I was only 14, so those girls and the army would have to wait.

I can't say for certain that reading those pages led me toward serving in the military, but they probably helped. By 1982, my first year in college, I was on my way to becoming an officer and completed Army basic airborne parachute course.

I would go on to finish several programs of military training over the next 13 years. But something special stands out in my thoughts of that first school and those three weeks in the heat of North Georgia. I'd never seen anything like it before. All I remember of day one was green and yelling and sweat and a towering First Sergeant that didn't like the length of anyone's hair. I was hooked and though I switched from Army to Navy, I went on to serve in the military until 1995.

One thing that is striking about that Army ad from Boy's Life is that it would never get published today. Not with the political correctness running rampant through the military and Washington DC these days. There is a near pathological effort to deny the reality that males and females in close working situations develop bonding relationships that can go beyond military tasking or mission. Of course there are rules that prohibit this. But it happens anyway. Add in the off-duty time, parties and alcohol and you get what we have today. Much more opportunity for physical and sexual contact which will obviously turn into both real and falsely alleged assaults. What happens to senior officers who point this out? Who talk about a culture of "hooking up" in the civilian world that they see happening around their own kids? These officers and opinions are carpet bombed with expressions like "blaming the victim." U.S Senators, representatives and talk show hosts grow livid and see this as another battle in the so-called "war on women."

So what do I say to my own kids if they are considering serving in the military? I suppose there will have to be a good conversation there. Issues such as sacrifice, hard work, commitments away from family will be discussed. But also the topics of career choices, alcohol, fraternization, and ultimately, is this best for you?

I've thought about this a lot. Experienced several years around a military that is evolving to include females in many more roles. We are moving toward a day when they will be allowed in every combat role. At that point, we will have to decide that, as a nation, if the draft is again necessary, will we include women? In equal proportions to men? Will we really want to fight that way? My guess is the answer will be, no. The policies will change. Quickly- because there are enemies of America out there who will not go to war with the same equal opportunity theories that we are now obsessively embracing. They will simply want to see us die - in numbers that will be higher because we were less prepared that we maybe should have been.

I think less about the question are my son and daughter ready for the military, than is the military ready for them? Will the skills they need to survive a battle be effectively taught, or will time be squandered with instruction on "diversity appreciation" or "how to recognize and prevent harassment?" If and when they sign up and get a little time to say goodbye, can we all say to them that the training they get will focus on just two things: winning the fight and returning home safely?

Asiana 214 - How About No Comment

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvspy/epic-ktvu-fail-anchor-reports...

"When you think about automation, it can do a lot, it can assist the pilots. But there are two pilots in the cockpit for a reason" - Deborah Hersman / National Transportation Safety Board, this week

"Tim, there is a trash can in the kitchen for a reason." - My mom, 1972

Anyone who has ever followed aircraft accident investigations since the birth of cable TV and the 24 hour news cycle should know exactly what NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman is doing, and its not just scolding. She is auditioning for her post-government job as an "expert" regarding air-accidents for MSNBC, Fox or one of the other chattering news channels.

There is really no earthly reason to comment or speculate on anything at this point. Volumes of facts are hidden now but will eventually be known. There may be pilot error or there may not. What is sure, though, is that partial conclusions and hints as to the reason for an accident made on a official basis and then repeated/interpreted/twisted by the media will be remembered forever. And that is a tragedy. Because those ideas may be dead wrong and the gift of technologies that lead us to the truth are more than compromised. They are corrupted- all for the sake of a quick answer.

Many months will pass before this accident is figured out. Good people will work very hard to come up with the reason for lives lost and damaged over the weekend. Soon enough, an extraordinarily safe industry will be made even safer.

But in the meantime, along with the victims, other good people may be harmed. Recklessly, because one government official in a highly responsible position wants to someday be another crash-expert-on-call with CNN. Our lawmakers will not stop this. The media, in it's unquenchable thirst for new information, speculation and conclusions, certainly won't either. Especially when those speculations come from the media's food source: the people we are supposed to trust who carry badges, sport large yellow letters on their jackets, and get to be the ultimate deciders of cause. Unfortunate behavior by people who hold the power to ruin lives as quickly as an airplane out of control.

Evening Parade at the Marine Barracks - Washington D.C.

For those not familiar with Evening Parade, let me describe it this way: Very very few of us will ever be able to see what a United States Marine does best. We will never be locked up in an embassy with an angry foreign crowd outside, protected by Marine sentries on duty. We won't be on a foreign beach as the steel and human tide of an amphibious assault commences and The Corps goes to work. We won't stand next to a Marine artillery weapon as it roars and spins salvation over the heads of comrades engaging an enemy downrange. We will never be on the flight-line of a forward airbase as Marine aviators and their support crews launch jets and helicopters into a hostile night sky. We will, in short, probably never be found among the most threatening people and places on earth wanting only to turn towards home while the Marines will head the other direction. Where they are needed most. Toward the fight.

What we are able to do, with a little luck and patience, is attend an event that U.S. Marines arrange, practice and execute very well: Evening Parade.

Every friday evening in the summer at the "oldest Post in the Corps"  Marine Barracks 8th and I, Washington D.C., we are afforded the honor of seeing some of our finest in military uniform: The United States Marine Band, The United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps, the Marine Corps Color Guard, the Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon, and Ceremonial Marchers.

It is a ceremony that lasts 90 minutes - from twilight to dark on the parade grounds of the post. It is inspiring to those who currently or have ever served in the military and to everyone else who benefits from the sacrifices of these good men and women. It's been performed since 1934 and on the list of our country's best military demonstrations, it should be the absolute last one that ever goes away. From "Welcome..." to the last note of Taps fading away in the darkness, you will be moved and proud and thankful for all the United States Marines can do.

http://www.barracks.marines.mil/Parades/EveningParade.aspx

Home-Built Micro Smoker

I've already got a gas grill. It works fine. Seemed like a larger container than necessary to smoke foods efficiently, and sometimes I have an afternoon to spend on the porch with charcoal, applewood, beer and a book.

To make a smaller oven for smoking,  I bought two stainless steel chafing dishes from the local catering supply store. A small wire cooling rack fits nicely to hold whatever you are smoking. Cast iron fire box is on the left.

Pre-lit charcoal briquettes and wood are placed in the firebox:

Soon to be dinner is seasoned with some dry-rub. There is foil covering the wood chunk to prevent flames:

A lid made from the other chafing dish, the same size. Two L-brackets and wood from an old broom make the handle. Offset a little for circulation:

Added another wood chunk. Now we're cooking:

A few hours later. Smoker temp just above 200 and meat temp around 140.

The inside is a nice salmon-color and much of the fat is rendered away by the smoking :

A New World of Baby Making

"...it's a buzz kill on dates when you feel compelled to ask the guy sitting across from you, clutching his craft beer, "So do you think you might want kids someday?" 

"In my case, egg freezing gave me the confidence to go back on Match.com at nearly 40 and proudly tell men "I can have kids whenever I want. It feels so nice not to have to rush relationships." Eight months ago, I met a wonderful 45-year-old single dad who wants more kids and wanted to hear all about my frozen eggs. Four hours after meeting at a New York wine bar, we were kissing in Central Park in a warm September foggy mist. I don't know if it is me or the eggs, but I am more relaxed in this relationship than I have ever been in my life."

These quotes came out of a recent Wall Street Journal article by Sarah Richards on the topic of freezing her eggs before committing to a man and having a baby. I thougth it was a fairly provocative essay for the Journal and imagine it got a lot of letters.

When I was a single guy, sitting through those many dates and beers, hardly anyone ever asked me if I might want to have kids some day. Maybe they did consider it a "buzz-kill." Or maybe they simply assumed I was a typical male of the species and (if they thought me worthy) the answer was probably yes. Even when I met the right woman, we only discussed it in the most general terms, ("two would be fine, I guess") before marriage. Then after a couple of anniversaries and in our mid-30's, it seemed like the right time. Today we have a couple of great kids. I think for many or most people it happens this way.

So there was something a little cold and mathematical in that essay by Sarah Richards. She spent a lot of money to delay having a baby from 38 to her mid 40's and relieving the anxiety over it all. Her choice, I guess and that's fine. A lot of us spend money keeping brown in our hair. Thank goodness for a free society with laboratories seeking profit.

How about some more math: If you are close to 50 when the baby is born, are you ready, willing and able to be "the worst parent ever" when they hit those teenage years?  The image of a fifty-something playing catch with his small child is fine and cool but how is it going to be handling teenagers a decade later? I'm in the middle of it now. Those young adults are tough and heartbreaking and wonderful. They are not listening and they truly are. They are as challenging or more than anything I have ever done.

Is well past middle age the best time to be a parent when the going is arguably the toughest? Will you be healthy enough for it? Will you be ready for immersion in the life of a teenager when you are officially a senior citizen?  Will you (and this question should apply to every-age parent) not give up?  I know the answer for many people will be yes.

Talk about that over those glasses of wine. Or at least after you make out. Just some time before the eggs thaw.

Updates on Ted Baze's Condition

July 7,2013
Dad is getting slowly better each day! He is back home now and will celebrate his 79th birthday next week! Thank you very much for checking and sending wishes for better health. We are very grateful for all your friendship and support.

Laundry Room Remodel

The Before Picture

Note the previous owner's use of orange in the room: Formica countertop, cabinet door knobs, pastel paint. Also, it is hard to tell in this picture but the washer and dryer sit about 2" below the rest of the tiled floor. I decided to fill that in to make the entire floor even.

All appliances, cabinets and sink removed. Now it is easier to see the floor below the w&d that I filled in with concrete. About 2 60# bags worth.

Tile installed. New upper cabinets with undermount lighting. Glass mosaic backsplash, Why? About a hundred bucks in materials. Why not?

The after picture. Every bit of orange exterminated

The opposite side of the room. The screen-door-looking-thing is storage for an ironing board.

Lined with cedar so the room smells nice!