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On the way home from work Thursday I had the chance to chat with juvat on the phone and he clued me in to the video I'm about to present to you. It's long-ish (about 28 minutes) but well-worth your time.
If we don't remember the men and women who served in Vietnam, who will?
On another, aviation-related note, I'm also immersed in Masters of the Air. It's good, real good, I highly recommend it. I'll report more on that later.
Enjoy your weekend.
Sarge, out.
It's too easy to get burned out by all the bad news. Sometimes we forget that there are still folks that care for each other. The bravery of the family man (or woman) that gets up every day to do some job for his family's needs. As much hero's that flew into battle, not to demine warriors but the daily grind is a daily battle.
ReplyDelete“Do not confuse "duty" with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect.
But there is no reward at all for doing what other people expect of you, and to do so is not merely difficult, but impossible. It is easier to deal with a footpad than it is with the leech who wants "just a few minutes of your time, please—this won't take long." Time is your total capital, and the minutes of your life are painfully few. If you allow yourself to fall into the vice of agreeing to such requests, they quickly snowball to the point where these parasites will use up 100 percent of your time—and squawk for more!
So learn to say No—and to be rude about it when necessary. Otherwise you will not have time to carry out your duty, or to do your own work, and certainly no time for love and happiness. The termites will nibble away your life and leave none of it for you.
(This rule does not mean that you must not do a favor for a friend, or even a stranger. But let the choice be yours. Don't do it because it is "expected" of you.)”
― Robert A. Heinlein, Time Enough for Love
I'd BOLD FACE but cannot so SNIP: " Otherwise you will not have time to carry out your duty, or to do your own work, and certainly no time for love and happiness. The termites will nibble away your life and leave none of it for you."
Bad news adsorbs time, and we must take control of our time as to do our duty and share love and happiness with those we care for.
It's too late to tell someone "I love you" at the tombstone.
Commander Zero said it well in today's posting on his blog:
And when it’s all over, I’ll feel like I have some control over my future instead of just being a victim of it. I recommend you do something similar. Weekends are two days: one to do what you want and one to do what you need. Invest a few hours in a more resilient future for you and your loved ones.
Mike here is slightly more eloquent than I. Well said, Mike.
DeleteMichael - I normally am on a pretty even keel day to day, but every now and then things get to be a bit much. So I rant, I rave, I go off into the woods, then I take a deep breath and return to the fray.
DeleteLots of good advice in this comment, thanks!
lol no - He writes well, doesn't he?
DeleteA fine explanation of duty! Time IS the most valuable thing you have, many don't seem to realize that.
DeleteIt's the only thing which is limited in its availability.
DeleteTo expand a bit about Michael's last paragraph, when you do retire your weekend grows from two days to seven days....... :) Considering buying Master of the Air on Blue Ray when it's released, I belong to the club that believes unless you physically possess it you don't own it. Good vid, thanks juvat and you Sarge.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt I will, I did that with Band of Brothers and The Pacific. Masters of the Air is purchase worthy indeed.
DeleteNylon12 when I retire, I've 7 days of weekend? Shiiish Don't tell my critters about that. They think I'm still employed :-)
DeleteHeh.
DeleteThe first 2 1/2 minutes are essentially an ad for the game software used to reconstruct the shootdown. Feel free to fast forward. The rest is the Back Seater telling the story. It's generally a bad idea to eject directly over the area you just bombed, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Suffice it to say, there was a lot of heroism going on in that area that day. Had to wipe my eyes quite a bit.
ReplyDeletejuvat
Gamer dude that I am (or pretend to be, I suck at it), I didn't mind, in fact enjoyed, those first couple of minutes.
DeleteBut yeah, there were a lot of heroes that day.
Hang tough. The powers that be WANT you demoralized. Don't give the sumbitches the satisfaction. Smile and be defiant.
ReplyDeleteIndeed they do, but every now and then you can't help yourself. It's when you don't get back up and drive on that you need to worry.
DeleteI'm watching that show as well and fully engrossed. I forgot about it last week so I have two episodes to watch, so I've got that going for me. It's very much like band of Brothers or the Pacific.
ReplyDeleteIt's very well done.
DeleteI don't know how you could be down after the Rant of the Union. So stirring, comrade. So enlightening, comrade. We all must do our part for our National Socialist leaders, comrade...
ReplyDeleteSo how's the new laptop working out now you've had it for a while?
The SOTU wasn't watched by me, if I want to hear a corrupt old kleptocrat speak, I'll nip over to Capitol Hill in Providence. Bunch of 'em over there.
DeleteNew laptop is working well, haven't really exercised it yet. We'll get there.
Thanks for the link, the Cam Ranh Bay references bring back a lot of memories. I spent a lot of time there over a 7 year stretch flying Market Time patrols with VP squadrons. I had occasion to fly an F-4 pilot (who was rotating back to CONUS) from Sangley Pt to Clark AFB in one of our flying club planes. He had snagged a ride in one of our P-3's from Cam Ranh after flying his last mission and was in a hurry to get to Clark. He told the story of crapping his flight suit out in the arming area, getting hosed off by the ground crew, and continuing the mission. I don't know how those guys managed to fit their giant cojones in such a small cockpit. BZ to them all.
ReplyDeleteThey were a breed apart.
DeleteI am fortunate to work with some of these MEN at our Museum. Our Docents include an F-4 pilot, and F-4 WSO, an OV-10 pilot and "Gator 6", a Huey pilot.
DeleteRob Gale
We stand on the shoulders of giants ...
Deletethank you.
ReplyDelete👍
DeleteWhen you find yourself angry (the other side of the same coin sometimes known as depression - and vice versa) at how the government is handling various problems, it's probably long past time to call the OFs together and see what we can figger out.
ReplyDeleteSome may call it treason to consider upending a government that is no longer working for the will of the greater majority of the people, one that is no longer working to enhance the weal of the people: a republican government that is, per constitution, supposed to be working within the limits of the laws: I, for one, am not so certain.
We are supposed to be living in the democratic republic of the United States of America, not a tyranny dependent upon the issuance of Executive Orders promulgated by a President whose election continues to remain under a cloud.
Wow! did I just say that!
November will be telling. I look forward to it, yet at the same time dread it. Is our country about to go down the toilet? Or not?
DeleteBad news is handled pretty much by one mechanism or the other in my brain housing group. Learned long ago that 10% of a given group screw things up for the remaining 90%. Unfortunately, We (trusty mouse in pocket) seemingly live in an inverse and growing world of “screwers-screwees”. Both groups are found across population and endeavor.
DeleteThe extreme manner in which elected officials at all levels disregard the Constitution if not established law is atrocious. One might even say it makes citizens of all stripe accomplices after the fact if criminal acts occur. While some majority of politicians appear in lockstep focused on “partei über alles”, civil servants one day may be hard put to claim “I was just following orders”.
Meanwhile on the sideline, the media, once our countries robust watchdog is now nothing more than a deaf, blind and toothless mutt – apologies to the faithful Mutts I’ve had.
Sad, but true ...
Delete