Remembering War

Fifty years ago, I sat watching a black and white TV screen of wounded soldiers being loaded upon a helicopter in Vietnam. The ducking soldiers during fire fights and the corpse of dead Vietcong laying around burning villages and wondering what it would be like to be there. Five years later I found myself stepping off a bus into a dimly lit Army basic training reception station at Fort Lewis, Washington, this seventeen year old kid was about to become a man. It was a time of the draft and there were men who didn’t want to be where they were and the fear of the unknown. The next eight weeks would bring out the best of each man and as we all sat in a large assembly hall, waiting for our orders for our next school, my name wasn’t called. As I sat there and wondered why, an officer sat next to me and advised me, my school had cancelled and I had an option; choose a different school or go home to the Army reserves; I chose the latter.

The reserves didn’t fulfill my hopes and dreams and I found myself dreaming of active duty. Why didn’t I choose active duty when I had the chance; I was seventeen and there were thoughts of the teenage things I still wanted to do. The Vietnam War was over and the image of the military was one of disgrace. Who would choose a life in uniform; I did. Through the Cold War years of patrolling along the Eastern European border, watching them as they watched us. The cold winds of the North, blowing across the border of North and South Korea as we watched them watching us. We trained with worn and broken equipment through the years, preparing for battles which never came. The wall fell and there wasn’t as severe of threat in Europe as it had been but we were still watching the border of Korea.

There would be limited military actions, saving students on a tropical island, supporting the UK during their Falkland’s engagement and then the Middle East erupts in 1990. As we prepared for war, the dream of going into combat was about to become real. It had taken almost twenty years before my dream was to come to pass and when it happened, the dream was not one I will ever forget. Sleeplessness, fear, boredom and then action, only to be followed with sleeplessness, fear and boredom. Then the final battles, with the sights, sounds and the smell of death, which still resonates with me today. It’s been twenty-five years since I’ve been to war. As I sit and watch the color, high definition TV images of battles still raging in the Middle East and the corpse of Isis soldiers, it all comes back to me as it did, fifty years ago, the calling of the guns and war.

Veterans Day is the one day a year, I meet with many of my brothers and sisters of arms. We laugh, hug, shed tears and remember the days, long past but still burned into our memories. If you haven’t been there, it’s difficult for you to understand, we are family. Spend some time this Veterans Day and remember this, we were there for you so you didn’t have to experience what we experienced.  

Pull the media ring from your nose

How do like our current political season? Regardless of which side of the political fence you stand on, (being someone who straddles both sides), I have to agree with the candidate who touts the media chooses our representatives in our rigged political system. Having campaigned for public office and having to deal with the media, I discovered firsthand how the media manipulates, you the voter, into voting for "their" candidate of choice. Have you asked yourself; why real people don’t run for office? Because you won’t vote for them. When I ran for office, I ran as a “No Party Affiliation” candidate, in a gerrymandered congressional district in Florida. Since I had limited funds to advertise, the media felt they had limited time to contact me, return phone calls or emails or report my comments upon having had a two minute conversation with a reporter. Reading the newspaper or listening to the TV and radio announce they had spoken with the “Party Candidates” about a certain topic, and I was unavailable for comment, was a lie. Having to deal with nasty emails and letters, phone calls, people taking my garbage from the street side container is a just a few reasons why real people don’t run for office and the media doesn’t want to report these kind of activities. What the media wants to report, has nothing to do with what is required from our representatives. They tell us; negative advertisements work. What works is; the person accused has to respond to the negative ad, (as directed by party leaders), and the money flows to defend a character attack. As you watch the media circus; do you know what your candidate’s political platform is? Does what they say in front of the camera, behind a radio microphone or to the newspaper reporter match what their website says? Millions of people have already voted for the candidate the media selected for them; are you one of them? Did you really do any background investigation, check public records for your candidate or did you just follow what the media reported? If you haven’t performed your public duty and when you step into the voting booth and ask yourself; who are these other candidates on the ballot, you are part of the political media problem. We no longer elect a candidate to represent us, we elect someone who will win. To be honest with you, I have fallen into the same rut as you, many times and now I have to ask myself; is our nation winning or losing because of the decisions we have made? It's time to pull the media ring from your nose.

4th of July and the Grid Goes Down

June 30^th, 1730 hours

Richard slides his debit card through the reader to pay for the case of beer, hamburger buns and ground beef and waits; denied, the cashier exclaimed; want to try it again? Richard slides the card once more and waits again. The cashier looks at Richard, it denied again sir, do you have another card or do you wish to pay with cash? Richard reaches into his wallet, removes his last bits of cash and hands it over to the cashier. She hands him his dollar and twelve cents change on top of his receipt; have a happy Fourth of July weekend. Richard shoves the change into his pocket, smiles; you too, and walks out of the store. Richard thought to himself; his payroll direct deposit was supposed to be in the bank already because of the holiday, probably at midnight tonight. After all, it is just the thirtieth, and the first is tomorrow. He unlocks the door to his pickup, slides the grocery bags and the beer into the vacant seat beside him, starts the engine and stares down at his gas gauge with less than a quarter tank, back out of the parking space and headed to his home. Fortunately for him, he only had to go three miles and he had gas stations very close to his home and would just fill up the tank and get more cash in the morning, for the weekend. As he turned into his subdivision, the sounds of firecrackers were already going off all around the neighborhood. Richard thought to himself; it’s going to be a long night with fireworks and four teenage girls spending the weekend. As he pulled onto the garage apron, he shut the truck off, opened his door and pushed the remote button to open the garage door, reached over to grad the grocery bags and beer just as four girls in bikinis charge him with super soakers squirt guns and all four girl screaming with laughter, while doing soaking Richard as he was stretched helplessly across the center console, while retrieving the bags and beer. He quickly jumped out of the truck and started chasing his daughter as the girl ran in different directions laughing and screaming but they were too quick for him and as he turned to walk back towards the truck, the second attack began as the laughing girls fired from three different directions. Richard stopped, held his hands up to surrender, the water did feel pretty good on this hot Florida evening. Alright, enough and the girls ran away screaming with laughter. Richard returned to his now soaked truck, water dripping off his arms as he once again reached across the console, now watching for the third attack, which never came. As he walked through the garage and into the kitchen, his wife met him with a towel. You do know, they have been planning and waiting for that ambush for the last hour. Richard looked at Ella, while wiping the water from his head and face; it’s a mad house out there. The grocery store was packed, my deposit hasn’t cleared yet and I had to use the last of my cash to buy supplies. Ella reached over to the case of beer, tore open the end, pulled two cans out and handed Richard one. We have cash in the house account, we can get some in the morning and I will give you some more money, as she walked up to him and kissed him gently. You go get cleaned up, I’ll start dinner and then maybe we might be able to sit down for a moment. Richard turned the beer up and took a long swallow and headed down the hallway to his bedroom to get ready for the long weekend.

June 30^th, 2355 hours

Richard and Ella were sitting on the front porch, watching the girl light fireworks and listened to the mortars going off over the neighborhood. The thunder storms had missed them today but lightning was still flashing somewhere in the distance as Richard reached into the cooler for his twelfth beer of the evening. Ella was on her ninth beer and waved the one off the Richard was holding out to her. We do get to sleep in in the morning; which beach did the girls want to go to? Ella turned and put one hand over her eye to stop from seeing double; you got me drunk, they want to go to Crescent, several of their friends are supposed to meet them there. Richard sat back, laughed a low laugh; I always knew you were easy when you’re drunk; she giggled and slapped his arm as he turned up the beer and took a swallow.  The girls were having a fun and they turned to Ella and Richard; that’s it. You guys pick up your mess, it’s time to head inside and start settling down. Just as Richard stood up, and staggered towards the front door, the lights went out and the girls screamed. Some drunk hit a pole I bet, hold on, let me get my phone and I will show you the way. Richard staggered through the dark house to find his phone on the kitchen counter, turned the flash light on and headed back out to the front of the house. Come on in, we’ll pick that stuff up in the morning.

July 1^st, 0900 hours

Richard woke up with sweat pouring off his body and the smell of alcohol seeping out his pore. Ella was still sleeping with a glistening of sweat covering her body. Richard looked over at the clock, it was still dark and they were still without power. His bladder was screaming at him as he made his way to the bathroom, finished his morning ritual, flushed the toilet and the absence of sound of running water.  He walked over to the sink, turned the handle and only a small stream poured put for a moment and then stopped. He walked into the hallway, opened his daughter’s bedroom door and saw all four girls scattered out across the room in different levels of undress, all of them covered in sweat. He continued down the hall and looked at the thermostat, eighty-six degrees. Richard went through the house, opening windows and doors to allow the fading coolness of the morning fill the house. Richard found Ella’s phone on the counter, switched it on and tried to open the internet, nothing. He tried to make a call, but there were no bars showing. He grabs his keys and heads out to the driveway to turn the radio on in his truck to find out what is happening. He only found two stations broadcasting and they were reporting the entire eastern electrical grid was down. Avoid driving as there are no street lights and only major intersections will have police presence, please stay tuned for further information. Richard ran back into the house to wake Ella. Ella raised up and quickly fell back into her pillow, her head pounding from the hangover; you have got to get up, we have got a problem, the entire grid is down. Ella rolled over; what grid? The electrical grid, we have got to get some food and water before we do anything. There is no power, there is no water and we have got ration what we have, just as the toilet flushed in the hallway. Richard walked out into the hallway staring at a half asleep girl in a sweaty t-shirt and panties; I’m hot and thirsty, when we going to the beach? Richard looked at her and smiled; that’s not going to happen today, the electrical grid is down and we don’t know for how long. You don’t need electricity to go to the beach, she proclaimed. Richard returned to the bedroom ass Ella attempted to sit up, only to fall back down on the bed, oh, I feel horrible. You get yourself together, I’m going to go get some water and see about stocking up with some food. Richard walked out of the house, jumped into his truck and headed to his favorite gas station. The lights were on and people were inside buying supplies. He looked over at the grocery store, their lights were on and the parking lot was full. He slid his card into the credit card slot and then looked at the screen, “system down, please pay cash”. Richard panicked, he went into the store and waited in line behind those who were paying cash for cold beer, laughing about saving money on their electric bill. When it was Richard’s turn at the counter, they advised him they couldn’t process and credit or debit cards, the entire system was down, she was sorry, there was nothing she could do. Richard walked out of the store, furious! He spun his tires as he pulled away from the pump, out of the lot into the street for just a moment to go to the grocery store across the way. As he walked towards the front doors, he passed people with full carts of water and canned foods. As he approached the entrance, signs on all the doors, “Cash Only”. Richard walked towards the service counter and waited in line behind people wanting to use their EBT cards where several people screamed and cursed at the clerk behind the counter. Richard faced a now stressed clerk and asked; will you take a check? The clerk advices Richard, they could not process a check and she apologized for his inconvenience. He was in panic mode, he returned to his truck, started it up and looked at the gauge sitting squarely on “E”. He knew he had enough fuel to get back home, but that was it. He started to sweat and shake as he pulled back out onto the street, heading towards his home. What now, they didn’t have any cash on them or any laying around the house, they were in trouble.

July 2^nd, 1200 hours

Ella and Richard had had enough of the teenage girls, their constant complaining and how they didn’t understand why they couldn’t go to the beach. The stores and the banks were just stupid. Ella had about half a tank of gas in her car and they decided they would take the girls back to their homes. Hopefully they could borrow some water or food from their parents to help carry them over for the next couple days. What they found out, the other girls parents were in worse shape than Richard and Ella and they had nothing to spare. Richard, Ella and their pouting daughter went back to their home for another dark, sweltering evening. As they turned the corner to the main road back to their home, a thunderstorm was approaching them, hurry up, we can capture water in all our buckets, pots and pans, hurry. When they arrived, the storm was just moving in, Richard and Ella hurriedly gathered buckets, pots to capture water as their daughter told them how stupid this was. Richard pulled the deflectors from the bottom of the gutter spout as lightning flashed behind him. He filled three five gallon bucket as Ella filled every pot she had and drank some of the water from a small pan as the rain fell. They had enough water for that evening and the next day and flush their toilet, or so they thought.

July 3^rd, 1700 hours

The freezer had thawed and all the food had to be eaten, most of it was micro wave food. Richard fired up the charcoal grill and cooked the items the best he knew how. As Ella, Richard and Kerrie sat on the front porch eating soggy burritos and fish sticks, they watched another storm moving in and went back to work readying to capture more lifesaving water, but it never came to their neighborhood, it only increased the humidity and made for another sweltering evening.

July 4^th, 2030 hours

The water they had captured allowed them to use it sparingly to bathe. Kerrie was not happy about bathing with used water but was pleased with washing the sweat off her body. After the three of them bathed, they pulled the lever to let the water flow out, something happened, the water didn’t drain. Richard looked into the other bathroom and water was coming in through the drain and now was flowing out of the toilet, onto the bathroom floor. Richard grabbed a towel and stuffed it into the filth filled toilet bowl in an attempt to stop the back flowing sewage, to no avail, the sewage just kept on flowing. Ella shut the door to the hall bath and stuffed a towel into the gap to hold the sewage back as Richard did the same with the master bathroom toilet. They were being forced out of their rooms, into the family room as the sound of the kitchen sink overflowing with back flowing sewage from the public sewer.

July 5^th, 1620 hours

They stood under the gutter in the pouring rain taking showers in all their nakedness, they didn’t care and they were down to their last day of food. Richard went to his truck, turned the key and listened to the last radio station reporting martial law was in effect and anyone caught on the street after sundown would be shot. The house was too hot to sleep inside and the mosquitos had made it tough sleeping at night. As the family lay on the front porch, they watched light from fires erupting to the east and gunfire being exchanged. They wondered what was going to happen to them.

July 6^th, 1000 hours  

Only official vehicles were allowed on the street, people were now walking towards the main town to see if they could find supplies. A group of twenty neighborhood families passed in front of Richard, Ella and Kerrie with a woman walking up to the porch and asking if Richard wanted to come along to see what they could gather. Richard looked at Ella and she acknowledged he should go, so he joined the group on their trek to find lifesaving supplies. It had been several hours since Richard had left, Ella went into the back yard to take care of her bodily function and when she returned to the front of her house, three men on bicycles were just stepping off their bikes and looked directly at Ella as Kerrie ran behind Ella as they walked towards the women. Ella looked across the street and saw several other men on bicycles going to other homes. The one large man looked at Ella; what you got lady? Ella looked at the man’s waist line and saw the handle of the pistol sticking out. Ella and Kerrie backed up as the large man walked into her home with a skinny younger man right behind him. The large man pulled the gun from his waist line, pointed it at Ella’s face; what you got? Ella started to cry; please don’t hurt us, we don’t have anything. The third man walked around the men and started walking through the house pulling drawers our throughout the house, walking behind the women as the man went down the hall into the bedrooms. Ella could hear the man dump her jewelry box and then come walking back to Ella and Kerrie. Take that ring off your hand, Ella started crying, Kerrie dropped to the floor and crawled backwards away from the men and Ella pulled the ring off her hand, the skinny man went after Kerrie, pulled her into the family room. Mommy, mommy help as the large man held the gun to the forehead of Ella as he grabbed the top of Ella’s shorts and pulled them down as Kerrie screamed mommy, mommy. The men left Ella laying on the floor, she was numb and wondered why they let her live. She gathered her clothes, stood up and walked into the family room and found Kerrie, naked and crumpled alongside the couch, shaking. Ella put her hand on Kerrie and she shrieked, turned and looked into her mother’s eyes as they embraced each other. It would be another several hours before Richard arrived back home.   

July 7^th, 2100 hours

Fires lit the sky, gunfire was getting closer to their home. The family sat just inside the foyer as they listened to people running down their street. This is what happens to society when the lights go out; Ella asked? A large truck pulled into the neighborhood, they could hear men jumping off the truck and running up to the door. The family clung together, waiting for the rounds that would take their lives. Then the bang on the door; “Florida National Guard, is anyone in here”! Yes, yes, they began to weep as they opened the door to a soldier in full battle gear. We are here to escort you to a safe camp, can you quickly gather what you need and jump on one of these trucks. Another soldier arrived with flashlights and lit the area so the family could find items they needed. We have to get you out of here quickly, the vandals are building and moving. Richard looked at the soldier; we know, they’ve been here. They family walked towards large military trucks with other neighborhood families joined them.

Their nightmare was just beginning, they would spend two months in a safe camp. By the time they returned to their home, it had been looted and trashed. Their vehicles were gone and it would be six months before they got their home repaired, it would be another year before they got their financials in order. For the next year they traveled to shower points and government kitchens for their meals.

This was just a story from my imagination. I have witnessed this type of behavior in war zones and when the lights go out, you will be living in a war zone. May I suggest you be prepared for the grid to go down? Will you be able to take care of yourself and defend yourself for over a week?

It’s not a matter of if, but when.