I know that I shall meet my fate
Somewhere among the clouds above;
Those that I fight, I do not hate,
Those that I guard I do not love;
My country is Kiltartan Cross,
My countrymen Kiltartan's poor,
No likely end could bring them loss
Or leave them happier than before.
Nor law, nor duty bade me fight,
Nor public men, nor cheering crowds,
A lonely impulse of delight
Drove to this tumult in the clouds;
I balanced all, brought all to mind,
The years to come seemed waste of breath,
A waste of breath the years behind
In balance with this life, this death.

Happy B-DAY!

Happy B-Day Lindsey, love you lots!

Boardwalk:

Little under the weather today, some kind of sinus thing that would kill King Kong. Went to the beach yesterday and found that I like SoCal beaches better. Must have walked a billion miles along the boardwalk and managed to get moderate sunburn. Beyond that, not much going on other than waiting for deployment.

Now the boredom sets in:

OK, now the boredom has set in. Bad thing is that I knew it would be like this. I can only go to the gym so much and play cards for so long. At least next week we can assist with the new CRC class that is coming through. Probably work out at the range which is one of my favorite things. Really missing the family a lot today and would give anything to see them. While I can talk to them everyday, it's just not the same. I have been catching up with a lot of family that I haven't seen for thirty plus years. I connected with my great aunt Althea who I haven't seen in....well it has been a long time. Also my favorite cousin Dee who I last saw when I was a teenager. Good lord where does the time go. Gonna go read for awhile then play more....cards!

Goodbye

Well, I find myself in Virginia again this time waiting to deploy. It’s funny, I always ask myself what the hell were you thinking when you signed up for this. My last night home, I read Gracie the book “Never far Away”. It is about a father who is in the service and is preparing to deploy. I guess it is more of a poem than a story and it’s awesome. The only problem is that it is so sweet and tender I couldn’t finish it due to tears streaming down my face which Gracie promptly pointed out (OK, I’m a big wuss). She asked why I had a tear in my eye and I told her it was because I loved her so much and I was going to miss her. At that point she remembered the book “The Kissing Hand” which we have also read then kissed and the palm of my hand. There daddy, now you have all the kisses you want. Just put your hand on your check whenever you want a kiss. Oh crap, I'm getting another tear. Peace.

Home:

HOME!!! for two weeks anyway.

Graduation:

Well, Moose and I graduated this afternoon and are now offically employed by Blackwater. We will go home for two weeks only to return here and standby for deployment. This could take as long as four weeks or as little as two. This should put my return home around the first week of Sept, just in time to see Gracie enter the first grade. I will miss all of you but will stay in touch via internet. Peace.