WHAT IT WAS, WHAT IT WILL BE, WHAT TO DO IN THE MEANTIME

I like harkening back to the old days, of what it was, as much as anyone, if that anyone is old enough to know the difference between now and then.

How old do you need to be to know the difference between then and now?

Not that old? Fine, then how far back are those olden golden days of yesteryear?

Not that far.

Of course we all know it’s about perspective, don’t we?

Twenty years ago is not 1980, 1990, or 2000. We can agree on that on a good day.

And we didn’t just get our driver’s license, didn’t just turn 21, didn’t just get married, and didn’t just have kids.

Those are highlights of growing up and turning into an adult with the responsibility of looking after others.

I’ve got to ask if you’re following along here because too often we get lost. I don’t get lost because I’m all about keeping current, but that’s not for everyone.

You follow? Good.

The responsibility of looking after others hit me pretty good all my life, which is one reason I ran off to the Army after freshman year in college.

One of my buddies dropped out to join the Army and he needed my help? Noooo.

But we joined on the Buddy Plan.

I wanted to serve my country because I felt guilty for my perfect life? Noooo.

But I liked the idea of one-upping my brothers.

If I’d wanted to one-up my Dad I would have joined the Marine Corps like he did at the same age I was at the time.

I talked to him about it. He was a former Drill Instructor and knew whether I could take the treatment, or not.

 

Me: I’m going in for two years and the Marines are a four year minimum commitment, so it’s either the Army or the Navy.

Dad: Not the Navy.

Me: Then Army it is.

 

We often shared such long, thoughtful, conversations.

He knew all about what it was.

 

What It Is

My Dad and his brother were both Marines.

I’ve wondered how he’d feel about sending his kids to war, how it would have sat with him to think the boys he raised were no more than a new crop to harvest.

Fortunately he didn’t have to find out.

His own parents, Grandma and Grandpa G, had both of their boys in Korea.

They’d been seasoned by WWII and it probably felt like the most normal thing in the world to have their kids go to war in the Armed Forces.

They weren’t drafted.

 

President Truman authorizes the Armed Forces to use the draft if necessary during the Korean crisis. The Selective Service provided 27% of the men in uniform during the Korean War. 

 

He told me the guys his age were all fired up for Korea while they shipped over, and the guys recalled from WWII were much less enthusiastic. He said they cried a lot.

Since then it’s been one war after another, sending young men out with and without the gear they needed where they went.

From Google AI:

 

During the Iraq War, U.S. troops frequently faced shortages and failures in essential equipment, including outdated chemical suits, insufficient body armor plates, and 1980s-era gear.

Troops often wore mismatched woodland camouflage in the desert, and some vehicles initially lacked proper armor, requiring field-expedient fixes. 

With the added sentiment of ‘It is what it is’ from the old men in power, the guys went out and got blown to shit in situations the right gear may have prevented.

That’s just war, right? Or maybe it’s neglect, negligence, and chickenhawk motherfuckers pushing their career buttons.

 

Be A Warrior For A Better Future

If you find yourself in uncomfortable situations, do this: make a plan.

This is me petting someone’s pet snake. I don’t like snakes, but the owners thought it fun to let it out in group settings.

Apparently the snake liked me and wanted to cuddle.

With all of the brain power I had, I conveyed a message to the snake: I will strangle you before you strangle me.

Neither of us got strangled.

This could be a metaphor, a comparison, to current events.

If I were a little bitch I would have either run and hid behind a locked door, in case the snake knew how to open it, or attacked it from the start.

Neither was called for, so there I am all calm and collected, sending my mental message of ‘fuck up and I’ll be wearing you on my feet.’

Today I’m happy to say I don’t own a pair of snakeskin boots, but I’ve heard good things about them.

I’m also happy to say I’m the proudest dad ever with two married kids and two grandkids.

They make modern living look easy when it’s not.

 

The Hard Part?

Here I am in Dillards last week in the lady’s swimsuit department waiting for my wife.

Was I breaking a sweat? Yes, I was.

 

Wife: This is the first time we’ve ever gone to a store together for just me.

Me: I don’t think so, but, uh, here we are.

Wife: On the way out we can stop in the men’s wear for you.

Me: I’m good, besides that would ruin the breakthrough.

 

PS:

If things are leaning your way, don’t change too fast because it won’t last.

PSS:

If things are not leaning your way, figure out why and get busy.