Christmas Shopping

This is going to be tough this year. I haven't monetized this blog and most of my traffic is my sister and some folks in Russia. If you Russian guys are tuning in today I'd like one of those "Professional Russian" hoodies with the backwards 'R' that guy is always wearing when he blows stuff up on youtube. He's funny, and yes I'm sure he's not at the peak of his popularity but his kind of mildly subversive fun is timelessly and harmlessly funny. Except to the items he destroys and perhaps some of his friends who may or may not be missing fingers.

Yes it's not even Halloween yet, but after that favorite holiday everything moves really quickly with 2 birthdays and thanksgiving which I've you know my love of turkey and gravy, you understand the planning and work that goes into making that right.

And friends are important (more so than bacon or gravy but about equal to the two combined). Their importance of course is inversely proportional to the number of friends you have. I have very few and like heroes they're wonderfully imperfect people, like me they're a little bit different but they're all family men, and men of Honor and all very hard to shop for!

My lovely wife is hard to shop for too, she doesn't think so I'd imagine but she is. It's not because she's high maintenance or has expensive taste, not at all nor is she a demanding bully or anything like that. She's happy with attention and time spent away from the daily grind of diapers and schlepping kids to the day care, grocery store and grasshopper (Panda's word for gas station). And of course with my wonderful gift for gifting I've set the bar too high too early in the relationship in my all out hell bent for leather bid to woo her.

Mission accomplished.

Still friends are hard to find gifts for. Especially when they're all cast far and wide across the world. I wish I knew how Vinny was doing with his exotic aggressive cancer diagnosis. I'd sure like to see him again, and the rest of the Brick Flight too. Good buncha troopers. I got friends nearby I get to see some time or at least talk to regularly I'd sure like to see them away from the daily grind maybe with the wives too so we can all have a laugh and buy those guys a beer.

The First Class Mess break up was most unfortunate. We couldn't talk Kris out of separating. I can't blame him for not re-enlisting under the circumstances he felt his time was wasted there though I hope he didn't mean with the Mess. I talked to Jeff the other day we talked about catching the NY / WAS game when the G-men come to town. It probably won't happen FedEx field isn't a cheap ticket but I'd like to do that and call that a Xmas gift for all in attendance.

That would be great for some of us but some friends, like Vinny have serious problems and are in a dark place. A football game or a pint isn't going to be enough to lift them, and they could probably use a bit more help with whatever troubles them. For my part I'd like to help but I find myself awkwardly unable to find simple words of comfort even. One of my friends is having the classic marital problems for example, he tells me that its tough for him and though I've been through similar but simpler problems I can't find any thing more to say than "I'm here if you need me" I hope that friend knows I mean it, he was there for me when I needed him and I owe him nothing less.

Those are the kind of bonds you can only form under fire, be it from the enemy or an angry Colonel who wants this or that metric, spreadsheet or report you don't have ready access to. Sometimes I tell folks I've never been prouder of what I did in the Army, but I think it's less what I did than who I was with that I'm proud of. Those great friendships the 28th Infantry, USS Enterprise and 1st Class Mess I realize are what kept me going back despite all of the personal challenges, disappointments and sacrifices required to be a part of that. Yes, I've read and heard all of the stories of veterans saying precisely this and didn't always understand it. Seems I'm a very slow learner. Thanks guys, while I no longer stands the watch this year I might only be able to gift you my gratitude and a salute.

And to you professional russians, nothing to see here everything is just fine. Yes I saw recently in Pravda that you guys have put long range missiles back into Cuba right under our noses - how rascally! But Pravda is only marginally more credible than the Onion, though Iran hasn't got that memo, please inform them when you send them your annual christmas letter and box of hickory farms.

Happy Halloween Folks!