One Month Done (I'm not thinking about how long to go)

 

2013: posing with a Russian MiG used for ID by intel students.

One month ago today I started coursework here at Goodfellow AFB, Texas. Time to take brief stock of what's gone on to date. (I put a countdown-o-meter-thingy along the right column of the blog for your reference.)

• I miss my family terribly. (duh)
• Teacher becomes student: Vocabulary, index cards, PowerPoints, ya know...school.
• I am old: Half of my classmates did not exist when I entered BMT at Lackland AFB, Texas in 1990.
• Texas = awesome: Texas' natural beauty of flora and fauna pleasantly surprised me. You've never seen such beautiful cacti, heard such haunting dove calls, or melted chocolate so rapidly (it was still in the wrapper so the car interior is fine).
• Raindance: The Lord brought four straight days of rain last week (3.1") in an unheard of July string of precipitation. And it's raining Sunday night as I type. The locals are pleased.
• Old friends (I mean, we've known each other for ten years...not that they're old, but I guess I misspoke, well, er, uh...) I got to see Rob & Karen in Fredericksburg over the Independence Day weekend.
• God is good: I enjoy the Protestant chapel services on base very much. It's comforting to have a solid message and worship far from home.

1990: Airman or Maytag repair man?

• Knat Knows: Natalie's advice to see Monsters University was spot-on. The movie elicited much laughter Friday and I am primed to discuss it with her.
• Send help: I'm developing an unhealthy ease with country music. Rob got me listening to a small independent station across the street from his Fredericksburg home and my computer keeps finding ways to stream it. I'm not sure how this is happening.
• Stuff in the works: I contacted the local school district to see if we can't arrange a partner class arrangement while I'm here. I'm waiting for the teachers to return in a few weeks. I've got multiple requests out to regional oil and oil service companies for tour possibilities. I've got to see a well operation in the Permian Basin before I leave here. I'll let you know when it comes to fruition.
• Hey roomie! I've been blessed with an excellent roommate named Jay. He's a reservist from Pennsylvania who is only two weeks ahead of me in coursework. This means he'll be here for 90% of my stay. More about him later.
• Time to sleep: If you have questions or comments, please write them on a $20 bill and send them to my snail mail address. Or you can go cheap and drop me a line, send an email, check fb, twitter, and the usual methods. Take care for now and Godspeed! HF1

Welcome to training for intel-geeks & firedogs (DoD firefighter school)

#PrayForZavier

Many of you may know incoming NHS 9th grader Zavier S. He's fighting back from sudden brain surgery required for an aggressive bacteria last week. His story and guestbook can be found by clicking here. Drop him a note if you've got a moment. HF1

Texas is HUGE!

I’ve often heard it stated that everything is bigger in Texas. Let’s leave the “everything” part of that alone and just focus on Texas itself. You need to know one thing about Texas: It’s HUUUUUUUUUGE! Let’s take a look at the dimensions. You may click on the map below to follow along. Hey! You in the back: Pay attention!

You’ll notice the extreme edges: El Paso in the west, Beaumont in the east, the state line north of Amarillo, and Brownsville way down south. Got it? Pretend you’re in El Paso. You’re closer to Los Angeles, California than Beaumont! Now pretend you’re in Beaumont… just DO it! You’re about the same distance to the Atlantic Ocean as you are to El Paso. I know, crazy isn't it?!

Now that I have your attention and undivided loyalty, pretend you’re standing along a dusty road along the Texas-Oklahoma border north of Amarillo (which means yellow is Spanish). You’re closer to the poor Air Force security cop counting the rivets of a B-52 at Minot Air ForceBase in North Dakota than you are to Brownsville! And now, you guessed it. Imagine you’re in Brownsville. You’re closer to--wait for it... the Pacific Ocean in Acapulco, Mexico where Gopher and Julie welcomed guests back aboard the Love Boat than you are to the Texas-Oklahoma border. (This post continues past the map and you'd better keep reading if you know what's good for you.)

Someone recently wrote to me suggesting I go to Houston to see some of the sights. It’s almost seven hours away. That’s one-third of my way back to Wisconsin! Now you can see, this place is HUUUUGE! Take a few minutes to check just how pretty this state can be (and see what’s #1!). Click Here. I’m exhausted from considering how big Texas is. I think I’ll take a nap. HF1

Deep in the Heart of Texas

Recently the website BuzzFeed posted a photo essay of "35 photos from deep in the heart of Texas." If you enjoy scenery, this is for you. #1 comes, incidentally, from Brady, Texas (see below). The last one is taken at Lake Nasworthy here in San Angelo. Enjoy! HF1

People Really Do Talk Like This

I've been here for three weeks and some of the Air Force verbiage is getting to me. It's all fine, but fun to muse about:

After 20+ years in the USAF Reserve, I am spending some active duty time retraining into a new specialty. I get to reside on a training base with classmates born after I enlisted and experiencing the edicts, exhortations, and other directives from those in charge of our training. AF leaders have a way of speaking that often--and I say this with all due respect--borders on the comical. Take a look at this officer explaining the new tanker plane under development...

Click here for the rest of my musings. HF1

San Angelo - A West Texas Oasis

The City of San Angelo offers an excellent little video to help you understand where I'm spending the next few months. Take a look! HF1

It's Hot and Dry, but Wait...

Greetings from hot and dry west central Texas! Think of western Texas as a giant wood-chipper for moisture. Idiocracy movie fans might even call it a meteorological moisture mutilator the likes of Brawndo. It's hot (103°)and dry, so get over it! That said, everyone is anticipating Monday, where we’ve got an 80% chance of rain, a flood watch through 7 pm, and—get this—a forecast high of 78°!!!

San Angelo lies at "+SJT" in west central Texas.

However, I’m a little less excited now after greeting a stoic elderly woman at the Goodfellow chapel this morning. When I asked if she was looking forward to the cooler temps tomorrow, she simply asked, “Where you from?” When I answered Wisconsin she continued by shaking her head and muttering, “Well I’m from Texas and I’ll believe it when it happens.” It wasn’t exactly Nathan laying the smack on David, but I adjusted my own happiness forecast (Still, I closed the car windows for the first time in two weeks, just for luck). HF1

Thanks to my mother, who posted this on my Facebook page.

A Weekend in Fredericksburg



Rob & I along "Hauptstraße."

After my fourth day of classes here at Goodfellow, we were presented with the four-day Independence Day weekend. I took the opportunity to drive a couple of hours southeast to visit friends in Fredericksburg. I enjoyed a thoroughly interesting, relaxing, and fellowship-friendly time with my hosts, Rob and Karen.

Fredericksburg, a town of about ten thousand residents, boasts a crossroads of historical material and tourists’ delight. For my Sconnie friends and family, think Door County with a little bit of the Dells. For my German-loving friends, think Maibaum, Straßenschilder auf Deutsch, und Schnitzel mit ein paar Liter Franzikaner. And don’t forget my military history brethren and sistren(?): The National Museum of the Pacific War, which grew from the Admiral Chester Nimitz Museum.


In a nutshell, Fredericksburg was settled in the 1840s by a large contingent of Germans who grew tired of rising land prices and warring among the many principalities and duchies of a disorganized German region. They arrived in Indianola along the Gulf Coast and settled New Braunfels before heading to Fredburg. They have several notable chapters which you can read about here and here.

The U.S. Naval commander in the Pacific during World War II, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz hailed from Fredericksburg. I found the original part of the museum, housed in the hotel his grandfather managed to ably paint a picture of a hard-working man who over and over looked to deflect praise to his men, his team of people.  You can learn more about the Admiral here.




Volunteers greet the audience after the re-enactment.

The George H.W. Bush Gallery of the Pacific takes you on a chronological path from the opening of Japan in the 1850s through unconditional surrender and the price of freedom. I was only able to get through the Nimitz Hotel and half of GHW Bush because I had attended the live demonstration of the Battle of Tarawa landings in their “Pacific Combat Zone” two blocks away. Anyone seriously interested in this war really needs to plan a trip to Texas down the line and make a 2-3 day stop in Fredericksburg. Explore what they have to offer at pacificwarmuseum.org

I the meantime, I hung out with Rob and Karen at their lovely home on the west side of town. I met Rob at USAF Historian School ten years ago at Maxwell AFB, Alabama. Our class quickly jelled and many of our classmates are still in touch to this day. Rob and Karen hosted our entire family after Christmas 2006 in Del Rio,   


This modified grill just screams, "Murica!"

Texas where they lived then. We enjoyed their Texan hospitality and were able to enjoy some dinner across the Rio Grande in Acuna as well as other spots. Rob and Karen work in town and also run Westendhaus Fredericksburg, a one-unit B & B on the side of their property. I look forward to visiting again (and finishing the rest of the Bush Gallery!). HF1