"Like soldiers in the winter night with a vow to defend. No retreat. No surrender..."
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Remember Me...
Well, if you're travelin' in the north country fair,
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline,
Remember me to one who lives there.
She once was a true love of mine.
Well, if you go when the snowflakes storm,
When the rivers freeze and summer ends,
Please see if she's wearing a coat so warm,
To keep her from the howlin' winds.
Please see for me if her hair hangs long,
If it rolls and flows all down her breast.
Please see for me if her hair hangs long,
That's the way I remember her best.
I'm a-wonderin' if she remembers me at all.
Many times I've often prayed
In the darkness of my night,
In the brightness of my day.
So if you're travelin' in the north country fair,
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline,
Remember me to one who lives there.
She once was a true love of mine.
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline,
Remember me to one who lives there.
She once was a true love of mine.
Well, if you go when the snowflakes storm,
When the rivers freeze and summer ends,
Please see if she's wearing a coat so warm,
To keep her from the howlin' winds.
Please see for me if her hair hangs long,
If it rolls and flows all down her breast.
Please see for me if her hair hangs long,
That's the way I remember her best.
I'm a-wonderin' if she remembers me at all.
Many times I've often prayed
In the darkness of my night,
In the brightness of my day.
So if you're travelin' in the north country fair,
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline,
Remember me to one who lives there.
She once was a true love of mine.
-- Dylan
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Seven Spanish Angels
Of them all, I think that this was my father's favorite song. It's easy to see and hear why...
The First Day of Training, A Stripes Classic
This was filmed at Ft. Knox, where I first went through Army basic training. I often have said that going through basic training once was enough for me. I guess Uncle Sam had other ideas.
So, lighten up Francis! I'm walking out of there "a lean mean fighting machine!"
Adapt and Overcome
As trained military men, I am confident in our abilities to accomplish any mission for Queen and Country.
Mission Preview
Here is just a preview of Hawkeye and Trapper's upcoming mission to the Far Side of the World.
Needless to say, the free world is in safe hands.
Reenactment of the Battle of Pearl Harbor
Maybe someday the ladies will do a reenactment of the 1st Gulf War. I love the British.
God Save the Queen!
Lost In Translation - Trailer
For those of you who haven't traveled to a Japan, or any other foreign land, and tried to find yourself, then you might not 'get it'. However, even if you haven't, if you try hard enough, you can find the messages about the meaning of life in this wonderful film.
Blade Runner Documentary, On the Edge of Blade Runner: 1 / 6
As I wrap up my time at home, and I have time to kill watching YouTube, I found this documentary about my all time favorite movie. If you've been to Tokyo and Osaka, Japan, then you know that the world of Blade Runner does exist. If you haven't seen the movie- get off your ass and watch it.
For the Love of Henry Blake
Even in the most dangerous of situations, you have to find a reason to laugh.
One Last Weekend At Home
It is 6 am here at my house and I am in the last stages in preparing for my one year odyssey overseas. The fact that I will not see my wife, my mother, my family, my friends, and of course my dogs, still has not quite sunk in. It will though, once that plane takes off and the journey has begun. Thankfully though, technology has made the world much more smaller (as well as more dangerous).
The fact that my departure tomorrow occurs on Mother's Day, and the day before my wedding anniversary only makes leaving that much harder. Please pray for my wife while I am away. I know that she will be lonely when I am away. She is the most wonderful woman in the world.
The road ahead will be difficult, and the training will not be easy. The fact that I am a nearly 40 year old officer makes it both harder and easier than it was the last time I was sent to combat training. Easier, because I am a officer, and harder, because I am a 40 year old officer. I've been down this road before, having to prove myself, time and time again, but this time much more is at stake, and of course the enemy is real. That is why I try to keep a sense of humor about it, because it is so serious, and I know that whatever decisions I make will in fact impact the lives of others. Because without humor, seeing the bright side of life would be impossible.
Time for Coffee!!! The final weekend at home has begun.
Friday, May 11, 2007
I Heard I Was In Town
Last week I made a trip back home to see as many old friends as I could, before I begin my journey and head to war. After a brief two day visit to my old haunts while saying my goodbyes, the words of how I felt, at that moment in time, came on to my IPod, as I pulled onto the highway and headed back into the city.
Came to see friends
Walk old streets again
Grab a bite and beer by the sea
It caught my attention
The old town has grown
That's why I came alone
But I've been treated well
I raised all kinds of hell
When a full tank was only a fin
Ain't it quite funny how things turn around
I heard I was in town
I was a madman in a pickup truck
So many years ago
Changes have come like the storms of the season
But time here still moves slow
Passed the old joints
My favorite haunts
Where we'd stay for twenty or ten
Ain't it quite funny word gets around
I heard I was in town
I was a madman in a pickup truck
So many years ago
Changes have come like the storms of the season
But time here still moves slow
Came to see friends
Walk old streets again
Maybe strike up a tune with the moon
Don't it seem funny
Word gets around
I heard I was in town
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
The Far Side of the World
(Jimmy's boy goes to war)
------------------
Ramadan is over,
The new moon's shown her face,
Soon I'll be halfway round the planet,
In a most unlikely place.
Following my song line
Past bombed out shacks and shops
Behind a Humvee packed like sardines,
With double armor platting piled on top.
I ran away from politics,
It's too bizarre at home.
Away I flew, tuned into Blue
"Maybe Amsterdam or Rome"
Awakened by a sergeant,
With Babylon somewhere below.
On the threshold of adventure,
God I do love this job so.
So while I make my move
On the big board game
Up and down a desert highway,
Some things remain the same.
Girls meet boys
and the boys tease girls
I'm heading out this morning,
For the Far Side of the World.
Oh I believe in song lines
Obvious and not
I'd ridden them like camels
To some most peculiar spots.
They run across the oceans
Through mountains and saloons
And tonight out to the desert
Where I sit atop this dune.
I was destined for this vantage point
Which is so far from the Sea
I've lived it in the pages of Saint-Exupery
From Paris to Tunisia
Casablanca to Dakar
In my childhood dreams
I was riding long before I flew
Through the wind and sand and stars.
Caravan
Ride that hump
And Babylon's a jillion bumps
Sleeping bags and battle flags
Are coiled and furled
That's the way you travel
To the far side of the world!
A Sunset framed by lightening bolts
Burns a lasting memory
And a string of tiny twinkling lights
adorn the sausage tree.
While the embers from the log fire
Flicker, fly, and twirl
Then drift off toward the cosmos
From the Far Side of the World.
In my dreams it's either Christmas and my birthday
and so to that extent
The Masai not the wise men
Are circling my tent.
I teach them how to play guitar
They show me how to dance
We have rum from the Caribbean
And Burgundy from France.
Then it's New Year's Eve in Zanzibar
With Hawkeye and the boys
High up on the rooftop
You can relish all the noise.
They are dancing on the tables
People bouncing like gazelles
For our discharge here is ushered in
With air raid horns and bells.
Time to sing time to dance
Living out my second chance.
Cobras and sleeping bags are coiled and curled
That's the way it happens
On the Far Side of the World.
Back at home, it's afternoon
Six thousand miles away.
I hope life for me will still be there when I get through
Attending this soiree
There are jobs and chores and questions
And plates I need to twirl,
But for now I guess I have to take my chances,
On the Far Side of the World.
And that's the way it happens
On the Far Side of the World.
(Jimmy's boy goes to war)
------------------
Ramadan is over,
The new moon's shown her face,
Soon I'll be halfway round the planet,
In a most unlikely place.
Following my song line
Past bombed out shacks and shops
Behind a Humvee packed like sardines,
With double armor platting piled on top.
I ran away from politics,
It's too bizarre at home.
Away I flew, tuned into Blue
"Maybe Amsterdam or Rome"
Awakened by a sergeant,
With Babylon somewhere below.
On the threshold of adventure,
God I do love this job so.
So while I make my move
On the big board game
Up and down a desert highway,
Some things remain the same.
Girls meet boys
and the boys tease girls
I'm heading out this morning,
For the Far Side of the World.
Oh I believe in song lines
Obvious and not
I'd ridden them like camels
To some most peculiar spots.
They run across the oceans
Through mountains and saloons
And tonight out to the desert
Where I sit atop this dune.
I was destined for this vantage point
Which is so far from the Sea
I've lived it in the pages of Saint-Exupery
From Paris to Tunisia
Casablanca to Dakar
In my childhood dreams
I was riding long before I flew
Through the wind and sand and stars.
Caravan
Ride that hump
And Babylon's a jillion bumps
Sleeping bags and battle flags
Are coiled and furled
That's the way you travel
To the far side of the world!
A Sunset framed by lightening bolts
Burns a lasting memory
And a string of tiny twinkling lights
adorn the sausage tree.
While the embers from the log fire
Flicker, fly, and twirl
Then drift off toward the cosmos
From the Far Side of the World.
In my dreams it's either Christmas and my birthday
and so to that extent
The Masai not the wise men
Are circling my tent.
I teach them how to play guitar
They show me how to dance
We have rum from the Caribbean
And Burgundy from France.
Then it's New Year's Eve in Zanzibar
With Hawkeye and the boys
High up on the rooftop
You can relish all the noise.
They are dancing on the tables
People bouncing like gazelles
For our discharge here is ushered in
With air raid horns and bells.
Time to sing time to dance
Living out my second chance.
Cobras and sleeping bags are coiled and curled
That's the way it happens
On the Far Side of the World.
Back at home, it's afternoon
Six thousand miles away.
I hope life for me will still be there when I get through
Attending this soiree
There are jobs and chores and questions
And plates I need to twirl,
But for now I guess I have to take my chances,
On the Far Side of the World.
And that's the way it happens
On the Far Side of the World.
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