Part 1 Four years ago: I remember this flight. I remember the feelings of excitement, trepidation, and a sense of loss. The similarities back then were palpable. A few years earlier I had traveled with Sandy and Chaney to drop off Carolyn at the University of Oregon. Those same emotions manifested then as well. Four years ago we...
The Rocky Mountains look foreboding as I pass over them. Sandy and I are on our way to Philadelphia. The last time I was in Philadelphia I believe I was eight or nine years old. It's been quite some time. People have told me it has changed; some say for the better, some say for...
Ceremonial events have meaning. That is why they are largely ceremonial. They connect us with our past and provide, at least to an extent, the promise of a future. (If there were not a predictive value for future experience, then participation in a ceremonial act would be largely insignificant, an exercise in nostalgia at best). Ceremonies...
Sitting at the bar in Habana and sipping on my mojito, I watched the spinning ceiling fan keeping time with the subdued Cuban music. An older gentleman to my right was doing his best to convince a married woman that her relationship with her husband would be enhanced if she only consented to begin one...
The war is over, for in battle we lost the peace. How we lost this one will have lasting effects on how we lose the next one. The images this weekend were stark. Sycophants in the Biden administration telling us as recently as three weeks ago that the Taliban were in check and the Afghan government...
When Sandy and I dropped off Chaney at West Point last year for R-Day (the day the new cadets start their basic training) we strolled around the campus. A few months earlier a new statue had been dedicated on the plain where the cadets do their parades and ceremonies. For those of you who have...
Each time I write about Chaney and her 47 Month experience I get nervous. First and foremost I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging about her. (Ok….truth to tell I am, and I am ok with it…I just don’t want you all thinking I am!) That said, our daughter is going through a unique experience...
George S. Patton once referred to The United States Military Academy at West Point as “Hell on the Hudson”. He was writing home during BEAST barracks, an event that takes place in July when the average temperature in New York is 197 degrees with 200% humidity. When Chaney wrote home during her BEAST barracks, she channeled...
Camp San Luis Obispo Officers’ Club The fire crackled spritely as MAJ Taormina sipped his Jameson gingerly. Cigar smoke still lingered about the high-backed chair and shadowed his furrowed brow. LTC Eeke paced back and forth between the fire and some dispatches that lay sprawled across an end table, a vape device clutched in his delicate hand. Speaking to...
A-Day On Aug 11th, Sandy and I flew out to New York to see our daughter, Chaney, complete a milestone. Six weeks ago, on July 1st, she took an oath at West Point, along with 1,200 other new cadets, and began her 47-month experience at the United States Military Academy. Before a new cadet becomes a...
