Happy 30th Maggie!

For those who know my sister Maggie, give her a call. She turns 30 today and I couldn't be happier for her with Mike and little babe Aristana. Love y'all! HF1

Lugar Speaks Prematurely

I'm trying to keep it light, but Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana made himself the most recent tool of Arab propaganda on al-Jazeera with comments that our new strategy in the war has failed. I want to make it clear that while we have freedom of speech, I'm exercising my own in expressing disappointment in Lugar, who usually is more savvy than this in defense matters. Whatever your opinion on the war, the extra troops have just begun full operations. How can we judge the new strategy in its infancy? You've read about more combat deaths, but that's because we've been engaging and clearing neighborhoods of al Qaida. It's not victory, but the Coalition has experienced a lot of success the past month. Really. Check blackanthem.com for military news collected from various sources. Predictably Sen. Harry Reid, who declared our defeat in April (keep in mind that he's got his reputation riding on our defeat) has used Lugar's comments to heap rare praise on someone from the opposite party (because it reflects his position). You can keep that kind of bipartisanship. You should see the people busting tail to make this work. I guess they have to keep plugging while the senators sacrifice by skipping tonight's cocktails to try and pass an amnesty bill to open the border. Okay, I'm peeved. G'night. HF1

Funny Photo 2: Tropicana Field

Try and do that TWICE! I went to Sunday's Dodger-Devil Ray game and finally witnessed a Tampa Bay victory (1-3 with me in da house, JAAAH!). Sitting in the right field stands, I saw Dodger Luis Gonzales' two-run homer impact about 30 yards to my right. Little did I know until I read the next day's paper that he dropped it into the Rays' Tank. 30 cownose rays grace right-center field where kids can go touch them. They claim it's the first impact in the 10 year history here. Gonzales retained Dave Winfield's attorney to address certain imminent animal abuse litigation. HF1

Operation HELPING HAND

Last Tuesday I ventured up to the Haley VA Hospital in North Tampa. A Centcom-wide email invited anyone to stop by for the monthly dinner for wounded vets and their families. I did my bit baking two trays of brownies (really) and looked forward to a nice little get-together.

Boy was I wrong. I had no idea that I had ventured into the well-oiled machine of Operation HELPING HAND of the Military Officers' Association of America's Tampa chapter. The gracious blue-polo-shirted hosts directed all of us to sit and be served. I enjoyed an evening getting to know a few folks and witnessing the greatest sacrifices made by some of the families and wounded of the war. Spirits were high as Helping Handers presented each family with envelopes of gift cards and other valuable items for their stays in Tampa. Please check the program out by clicking here. It's special. (They always accept contributions if you feel so led). You can see pictures of the families and guests. Some of my mom's friends were moved by this event just by word of mouth and are beginning to send me baked goods to freeze for the next dinner (no, I won't eat the goodies).

Outback Steakhouse catered the dinner with everyone receiving a tenderloin, chicken fillet, salad, and drink. I thanked the chairman afterward for their great work as well as Outback's contribution. He told me Outback served soldiers in Iraq on a regular basis. So please patronize Outback next time you feel the craving. BUT... make sure to ask to speak to the management and thank them for Outback's support of the troops. Take a look at Outback's contributions here. HF1

Howdy Neighbors!

It's hard to believe I left Neenah just over a month ago. And while I really would like to see my family, I guess when the next-door neighbors back home show up in Orlando, it's a solid alternative! I drove up to have some supper Sunday evening and a stroll with the Vatnes at Downtown Disney. I didn't waste any money, except that double scoop chocolate-espresso cone at Ghirardelli's. And Emma/Jack/Natalie...I know what you got for souvenirs! I was there! :-)

Post Script: John (above) maintains a quality website that follows open-wheel and other racing circuits called Mecca of Speed. Check it here or on the link bar to the right. HF1

My Residence

Some of you inquired about the apartment that I moved into once it became certain that I probably won't be going overseas. Well, in a gesture of partial disclosure (can't have you thinking I'm comfortable), I submit the following photo along the veranda enroute to my parking space. HF1

Beware Psycho Ball-Hog Guy (PBHG)!

I went to a Tampa Bay Devil Rays baseball game several weeks ago to relax, enjoy a book, and see how the Rays and Royals would battle each other for the loss. Since my seat is in left field, I got there early to try and retrieve one of the ubiquitous batting practice homers and send it back to Jack (World's #1 Brewer Fan!!!). So I notice this quiet semi-elderly man (no offense to those of you who know who you are) who finally gets one but drops it onto the field. The obliging Kansas City player tosses it to him again. Then a few minutes later, a caroming homer, now a roller headed toward a young lad about Jack's age. This strange fella bolted like lighting ahead of the kid (making a donkey of himself on the way) and heroically prevented the kid from getting his own ball #1. And finally another homer produced an interesting pinball rendition among several seats before rolling to the feet of a thritysomething female patron. As she chuckled and reached for the ball, old psycho-silent man boxed her out and took ball #3! So astonished was I that I looked at another fan an asked, "Did he just do that?" The usher wanted to make something of it and the old dog just grunted when I asked him if he had been proud wrestling another adult for a $10 baseball of which he already had two. Just as I turned around he vanished. The usher said the old coot comes to almost every game. Well, the tickets are cheap, the Bosox, Yanks, Dodgers, and Angels are all due here in the next eight weeks. I will keep an eye out for the Psycho Ball-Hog Guy (PBHG). I will be his paparazzo pest (singular noun..aren't you impressed?) and show him a prinout of this blogpost. For now, as a public service, I disseminate this image (below) of the PBHG. Children and easygoing thirtysomething females beware! HF1

No Shuttle For Me!

Two Fridays ago a colleague and lifelong Floridian urged me to step out to Bayshore drive on the elegant east side of the Interbay Peninsula and watch the streak of the space shuttle. He said it's pretty cool and I would clearly see it from Tampa. I headed out half an hour early to walk the mile to Bayshore and noticed a westbound thunderhead bearing down on Tampa. So, the storm system, while producing enraptured meteorologists, blocked my view of the Space Coast. However, with a clear west sky, the entire downtown shone under the most brilliant double rainbow I've ever seen. Of course the photo can't do it justice. So taken was I that before long, "plop.......plop....plop...plop..plopploploploploploploplWALLOP rained down. I made haste for shelter at a Panera Coffee shop until I could safely hop through a labyrinth of covered sidewalk establishments back to my dwelling. The photo looks northeast from Bayshore Drive toward downtown Tampa and Davis Island. HF1

A Mixed Bag on Friday

I awoke to another not-insanely-humid morning in Tampa and jogged down South Howard (SoHo) to Bayshore for a 5am run (I'm not kidding). It seems I have figured out that the right music can take one's mind off the activity at hand. [Note: Switchfoot's "Redemption" makes you run very fast if you can keep the beat.] I ran longer than planned as my mind wandered with good songs to keep going, eliminating enough time to brew coffee back at home.

On the way to MacDill, I stopped at the local Starbucks for a large coffee. Now, imagine me in the CENTCOM uniform of the day, which are the desert BDUs, walking through a well-attended early morning queue in an artsy part of town. The young man taking my order wouldn't accept payment this one time saying that he respected those in the military and appreciated our efforts. Taken aback, I thanked him and promised to return and patronize that store. (How 'bout that, Jim in Holmen?!).

I knocked a bunch of work out in the morning as well as a haircut that, well, is at the very least striking. I don't know if I'll send photos or not yet. Yikes. I should have said "Air Force" instead of letting it default to somewhere between "Marine Corps" and "putting green." Sam V. will like it, but geez! I enjoyed my weekly kaffeeklatsch with a German officer working in the Coalition Planning section of CENTCOM. I'm starting to scrape the rust off my conversational German. Toll!

After lunch I fought traffic and reached the Tampa VA Hospital for a Purple Heart ceremony for a young Army specialist from Mississippi. His Humvee and crew were felled by an IED in January. He'd been in a coma but recently began a tremendous turnaround allowing him to stand there in his uniform. Whatever your feeling about this war, I have to say that I've seldom felt as proud and, with wet eyes, so privileged to be part of this team at CENTCOM. I thanked my supervisor for allowing me to attend. Please pray for Spc. Brian White and his continued recovery. [I will write a post soon about the monthly dinner for wounded VA patients and their families that I attended on Tuesday. That event deserves more space than one sentence.]

Random Thoughts:
The Air Force lost an F-16 today in Iraq. Read about it here.
Bob Barker's final Price is Right episode aired today. What will Jarrod do now in the 932nd Command Post? More Dr. Phil?
Keep an eye on Pakistan. Believe it or not, an imploding Iraq or Afghanistan is less dangerous than an imploded Pakistan. Read about it here.
CENTCOM's boss delivered the tough love speech to Prime Minister Maliki. Read about it here.
Way to go Brewers! Geoff Jenkins hit a "salami" as Bob Uecker likes to say. See it here.
And read about how a mom with a baby monitor has better connectivity to space communication than Russian computers. Click here.
HF1

Del Rio (?) Flowers

Our friends Rob and Karen Poteat, recently of Del Rio and now of Fredericksburg, Texas described the frustration of litterbugs' accomplishments in Del Rio. The town calls wayward trash, namely grocery sacks, "Del Rio flowers." Well Rob, it seems the proliferation of apathy reigns in almost any town. Here's a few images of "Tampa-St. Pete flowers." :-( HF1

"Come with me...if..you..want..to..live..."

Remember Nigel in the 2003 smash hit Finding Nemo? You know, the intrepid rescue-pelican who spirited Marlin and Doree off to Wallaby Way in Sydney? Well, I see plenty of Nigels when I stop by Gandy Bridge for a jog or a seat and a book (sitting is much better...but I jog every other day...I'm growing or I must be nuts.).

Emma, Jack, and Natalie, I consider every pelican Nigel. It's kind of like I think, "There's Frank" every time I see a combine in a farm field along the highway. Here's a Nigel in flight over Old Tampa Bay.

SPLOOSH! Another Nigel goes for dinner in a shipping inlet south of the bridge. This area is in the historic "Rattlesnake" area of South Tampa. It's pretty industrial, dusty, and the stuff Miami Vice warehouse execution scenes are made of (Don't worry, I didn't see anyone in white suits and thin ties). But, the nearby Rattlefish Grill is a great place to have an iced tea on the deck.

HF1

Mariner Report Cards

I saw this sign while jogging (yes, I was jogging) on the Gandy Bridge. I hope it didn't describe anyone's last Mariner report card... Happy Summer! HF1

Cool Morning In Tampa!

Wow! A cool front swept in Wednesday evening with welcome relief. My Wisconsin blood has not thinned enough yet and really hates the heat. We endured this heat in '06 at Disney, but the sensory overload of all things Mickey kept my focus off the weather. I took my grad reading and found an outdoor Panera Bread shop to sit at. I didn't even have to use the air conditioning in the car this morning! (You can tell this is a big deal by the fact that I'm prattling on and on about the stinking weather.) Thanks again for your well wishes and prayers. I'm blessed by you all. The work is so fascinating I can't believe I get to do it. I'm heading in early Friday to bank some hours and then head to a purple heart ceremony at the Tampa VA Hospital in the afternoon. I'll let you know how that goes.

Random Thoughts:
Iraqi Leader Nouri al-Maliki, despite troubles, wrote a great article to us here.
The Czech president will soon be arrested for heresy. Read why here.
The Brewers won...again, as in two in a row! Read how here.
Ruth Graham, R.I.P.
Happy Flag Day! And look what people, many of us Centcom folks, get to drive home past on Fridays. Click here.
The Palestinians achieved a two-state solution...but not with Israel. Read how here.
Keep an eye on Lebanon, Gaza, Samarra, and AFRICOM.

Take care and God Bless!
HF1

440th Airlift Wing HQ Officially In NC

It's official. The headquarters element of the 440th Airlift Wing, my former Air Force home, has moved to Pope Air Force Base in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Take a look at this tribute on Milwaukee's Channel 12 website. A small group, known as Detachment 2, will stay behind at Mitchell Field, clean things up, and lock the gates no later than February. Sad, but known since 2005. Farewell friends.

HF1

Whoa! Shattuck, Thank You!

I stopped at the PO to check the mail and wow! A huge Cheez-It case care package arrived from Shattuck. Thanks all for your thoughtful and humorous cards, gifts, etc. And thanks Mary for NOT placing Officer McKone's collection of contraband inside. What they say is true: Shattuck takes care of its own! Individual thank-you cards are forthcoming.
HF1

Gore Makes Case Against Saddam...in '92

1992 VP candidate Al Gore criticized President George H.W. Bush for not focusing on Saddam Hussein's ties to terror. I guess a guy can change his mind. But still, this C-Span video presents a great case for removing Saddam. Watch it here.
HF1

One Year of Geocaching!

One year ago I rose at 6 and departed the Marriott in Middleton, Wisconsin to look for my first geocache. I'd just received the GPS for my birthday and had to check out this curious hobby. A year and 134 finds later, I'm thoroughly hooked. Thanks to all the other "geeks" like caching#??, bnssmith, nbmc_geocachers, nitwitmn, kpeddicord, catdaddyj, sagasu, and others who I enjoy talking shop with. And thanks to my own kiddies who sometimes get a thrill and sometimes get bored out of their minds on our hunts. If you care to, read about geocaching here.

HF1

He's Got a "TS"...He Should Use It!!!

I am privileged to be entrusted with a security clearance to conduct the business I am entrusted with on a daily basis. Every U.S. Senator has the privilege to view Secret (S) and some Top Secret (TS) items as related to their duties as legislators. In case you did not hear, Democratic Leader Harry Reid declared the war "lost" a few months back. Now I read that he has declared the policy of the troop "surge" as a failure. I don't wish to split hairs, but the final brigade of the so-called "surge" just arrived in country around 31 May. As Sen. Reid and his ilk make themselves available for propaganda on al Jazeera, I wish they would take advantage of their clearances beforehand, read up on the reality at hand, and make sure soldiers have had a chance to empty their rucksacks and get their gear strapped on. He also personally insulted Generals Pace and Petraeus as incompetant. I really can't even express how I feel about this individual and the stuff that falls out of his mouth every day. Within the military, there are all manner of political views. We get into our own internal debates like everywhere. However, no one here appreciates the senator and others who constantly exploit this new kind of long struggle for electoral gain.
HF1

Crazy Guys On Bikes

No, it's not me. I still have to make my way over to the used bike store. I'm talking about another couple of guys on bikes, Lt. Colonel Kirk Peddicord and his son Colin. LtC Peddicord serves as the 932nd Maintenance Group commander at my reserve wing at Scott AFB, Illinois. He and his son just finished a bike ride for almost one month from Missouri to Oregon. They've got a neat website. This is great material for fathers and sons. Incidentally Dan, I checked Travelocity and the prices look fair for March and the boys'll be so... well I'll shut up for now and let you check the Peddicords' trip by clicking here.

Love Bug Update

A week or so ago I mentioned the annoying love bugs down here. Well, like Neenah lakeflies, they're done now. But check out these pictures of my supervisor's truck, after a love bug episode. He had been on the interstate and came into a swarm without warning.









The vehicle owner generally has a few hours to act and chisel them off with Coca Cola or other mild abrasive. As he commented, it's really a pain, but at least the bugs die happily.
HF1

Greater Tampa Hybrid Map

Here's a satellite photo that I dressed up with graphics to show where I am be-bopping around. I included "home" which is where my apartment is. I located church, Centcom, the bays, and sports teams. The Bucs and Lightning play (in season) in Tampa and the Devil Rays play in St. Petersburg. I will soon post photos of recreational areas at Cypress Point Park and Gandy Bridge. MacDill AFB, on which Centcom is a tenant organization, lies at the tip of the Interbay Peninsula. I will include some more area background as I get to it. And yes, I will step into these pictures soon enough. Back off!

HF1

Funny Photo 1: St. Petersburg

I find quite a few interesting sights as I make my way around the Tampa/St. Pete area. Here's an alleyway near Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. I tried to find a geocache before game time a few weeks back. I switched the iPod to Sgt. Pepper's immediately afterward! HF1

Thanks Mariners

Thank you students and staff known as the Mariners at Shattuck. I very much enjoyed my school year with you and look forward to seeing you again in September. Please let me know how your time is going by dropping an email or letter to the address in a previous blog post. Take care and have fun!
HF1

Spanish for "Moved Out"

Since my prospects of seeing Qatar are being stored in a mausoleum for safe keeping, I departed the LaQuinta Tampa South Sunday afternoon and moved into a 1-BR apartment about 6 miles from work. The military and local rental agencies have deals worked out where the landlords get steady business and the customers don't need to sign a lease. Whatever the kickbacks are, I enjoy living in a secure location on SoHo in Hyde Park (for those familiar with Tampa). I can't get my laptop to recognize the internet signal, so my posts have slowed to a trickle this week. I'm now a base library creature. "May I please use the internet? No, I don't have change for the printout I made..." I'll figure something out.

Tropical Storm Barry

I had hardly clicked the "post" command on my last entry than did the rains scheduled for Friday into Saturday rev up into the second named Atlantic storm of the season. "Barry" is seen right now as a big blessing because of the severe drought that's been going on (and that it's not a full fledged hurricane of course). Lake Okeechobee, that Lake Winnebago-like dot on the Florida map, was even beginning to disappear because of the drought. Hopefully this storm will be the first of more precipitation to get us on the road to recovery.

I have to chuckle at one of the advisory messages that the National Hurricane Center put out early this morning. It looks like one of those writing assignments in Mrs. Mulholland's class where a student has very little research but tries to stretch the fact or two into a paragraph. Perhaps Mrs. M's class could use the NHC's writing for language arts practice. See below:

TROPICAL STORM BARRY FORECAST/ADVISORY NUMBER 3NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL0220070900 UTC SAT JUN 02 2007A TROPICAL STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE WEST COAST OFFLORIDA FROM BONITA BEACH NORTHWARD TO KEATON BEACH. A TROPICALSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NORTH OF KEATON BEACH TO ST.MARKS. A TROPICAL STORM WARNING MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORMCONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED WITHIN THE WARNING AREA WITHIN THE NEXT 24HOURS. IN THIS CASE...A TROPICAL STORM WATCH MEANS THAT TROPICALSTORM CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA WITHIN THE NEXT24 HOURS.

Ah, gotta have a laugh sometime, eh?
HF1