Coin and Covenant

The chaplains held a "coin and covenant" ceremony last week. The idea being that a couple can come together, think about the commitment they made to each other, then recommit in a simple ceremony that would sustain the relationship while deployed.

Sounds good. We like it. We went. It was good.

Katie and I exchanged small cards with our promises to each other hand written on them. The cards were then laminated. I have Katie's promises to me in my pocket now. She has mine in her purse.

We were also given a "mizvah" coin--you've probably seen them, the "coin" necklace that is broken in two, with two parts of a prayer written upon it. It's a symbol of our unity and the hope that we will one day rejoin the coin to be together again. God willing.

It was an all-too-short moment in time when I could try to communicate to my bride just what she means to me. The words were all true, the emotions real, but I wish we had more time to reflect and experience the moment. The organizers tried to squeeze the ceremony in during a lunch break. I had a staff meeting immediately after the ceremony at 1300, so guess where my mind wandered off to. I was getting worried about making my meeting on time. Katie certainly deserves better.

The local paper sent out a reporter to cover the event and to do a report on chaplains in general. We were interviewed and the paper ran the article this morning. The picture is from the article. If you're interested you can read the article here: http://www.coastalcourier.com/news/article/16817/

Great Labor Day Weekend

We had a great time with Dave, Sue, and their kids. Dave and I hit the golf ball around (notice I didn't say we 'played' golf), we went to the beach at Tybee, and yesterday afternoon Alex and I joined them for a horse-drawn carriage tour of Savannah.

I actually learned quite a bit on that tour. Savannah is an interesting town.

The video is not the best--the music is drowning out our tour guide and I haven't figured out how to lower the background music volume on the software I have. But, the video does capture what we saw.

I wish I had video of the beach to share. The weather Saturday was perfect! The water temperature was wonderful. Just a great day in the sun...which we followed up with a nice dinner at AJ's on the island.

Visitors

It's Labor Day weekend. I have a few days off, so my brother and his family came down to visit. This will probably be the last time I see them before I depart for Iraq.

He's a good trooper. They left their home yesterday after finishing work. They drove all night and got here at about 0430 this morning. That's crazy! But, like I said, he and his family are good troopers and I really appreciate the effort they're making to spend time with us.

A community on Hilton Head Island is offering Soldiers free rounds of golf this weekend. We're going to take advantage of that later today. I think my brother is a very good golfer, so I think he'll enjoy playing there vs. playing on post. The post golf course is fine...it looks nice and is fun to play, but it lacks the same panache as playing on H.H.Is.

We'll probably hit the beach Saturday, attend church together Sunday, and they'll be off on Monday.

I'll keep you up to date on how the weekend progresses.

Braves, Outkast, Digital Images and the Marimba...say whaaaat?

I haven't updated this blog in a few weeks, but frankly I haven't had much new to say. I mean, I could tell you about my latest butt-chewin' or project-gone-wrong, but what's the fun in that?


This week, however, has been more interesting than the norm. On Wednesday and Thursday Lee and I went to Atlanta to visit with FORSCOM and get some additional training on the Digital Visual Information Distribution System (DVIDS) http://www.dvidshub.net/index.php.


We left post after my regular Wednesday briefing and got into Atlanta by late afternoon. We were able to visit with the PAO sergeant major, SGM Webster, and get some vital information we needed before deployment. The best part, though, was seeing Webster. He was the 101st PAO NCOIC my last deployment and a great NCO. Plus, he has become a good, good friend over the years. I grew to rely on his abilities and expertise in the past, and I don't know if I would have made it through Iraq last time without him.

After the meeting we went to see the Braves vs.Padres. Hey, why not? We were in Atlanta, we got some great seats from a contact we knew, so it made for a good way to spend the evening.

The funny thing is, I just saw the Padres beat the Reds when I was in Cincinnati (which you already know because you're an avid reader of this blog, right?). The Braves lost...got whipped, really. But, in all it was a good game.

Plus, Andre of "Outkast" was in the stands right behind us (seated to the far right in the picture). What? You don't know Andre? Well, all I can say is, ask your teenager or Google him.

I was trying to get a picture with my cellphone without looking like I took a picture. Was I successful?

The next morning we went to Crawford Communications for the one-day executive course on DVIDS. It was a great training session since DVIDS has changed so much since I last deployed. We gained several new tips on how to make the system work for us while we deploy.

The problem with the trip is I missed my oldest son's first cross country meet. He's a senior and just decided to join the cross country team for the first time this year. He's a good athlete and I think he'll improve mightily over the season, but he started out very well for a first-timer. He ran the 5K trail in about 26 minutes, so I think that's pretty good. I'm very proud of his gumption to go out and join the team like this.

Friday, after we returned, Katie and I went to Jake's first half-time show at the local HS football game. He plays trumpet but due to several factors, is playing marimba this year. Actually I think he prefers it. And, he seems to do pretty well for a trumpeteer.

In all, a good week.

UFC 101

As you may have figured out by now, I like to comment on the UFC fights after I see them. Last night's fight was a major disappointment for me since a) there were no really "good" fights, and b) the two people I wanted to win got beat.

First, Forrest Griffin looked silly in his loss against Anderson Silva. He went in there looking bigger and stronger than the Brazilian, but the fight ended with a beat-down Griffin begging, "No mas!" Unfortunately, the only clip anyone will see from the fight is the portion where Griffin is floored by Silva's right jab, as Silva backpedaled away from Griffin's reckless assault. Up to that point, the real damage was done when Silva clocked Griffin to the floor twice with clubbing shots to his cranium. The jab was just icing on the cake, but because the shot was not that impressive to look at, it will make people think that Griffin was TKO'd by a simple jab. Unfortunate, indeed.

The other fight where I was disappointed in the outcome was BJ Penn v. Kenny Florian. Truth in advertising alert: I do not really like Penn. He's just...I don't know...cocky? irritating? But, that's not the point, is it? He is a very good fighter--I have to give him that. And last night, he proved it again. I really thought that Florian was winning the fight through the third round, although the strategy he employed made for a humdrum affair. Florian's smothering of Penn against the fence served to tire the champ, but it also made for a lackluster first three rounds. In the fourth round, Penn finally decided to get offensive with his BJJ and took the attacking Florian to the mat. He quickly dominated the position and forced Florian into giving up his back. It wasn't long after that when Penn found the rear-naked choke to end the match.

My question is: what took you so long? I believe ego forces fighters into a striking attack when the ground game may be their stronger asset. That's what I detect was happening here. Penn could have ended the fight earlier if he had just taken Florian to the mat earlier in the bout. But, no, he had to come out with a stand-up attack first, thinking that was the best chance.

It resulted in a win, regardless, but I think it could have been just as decisive earlier if Penn had applied a different strategy.

The post-fight octagon interview with Joe Rogan, however, revealed the real weakness in Penn's game. He said, "I woke up this morning and asked myself, 'why the heck do I put myself through this'?" Penn's mind is weak. He is losing heart. The toil and strain that being a professional fighter requires is dulling his will. I question whether or not Penn will be able to push himself into too many more fights, let alone title defenses.

At a Ballgame in Cincinnati

The game was over a week ago, but this is the first chance I've had to get it posted. The new ballpark in Cincy is pretty nice...it's new, clean, and has an intimate atmosphere. I like the view we had of the field with our ability to look outside the walls to see the Ohio River.

It rained a bit during the game causing us to abandon our seats for the cheap seats higher up in the stands. It was the only place on our level where we could get overhead cover and still watch the game.

Katie's brother, John and our sister-in-law Lisa joined us for the game (thanks for the tickets,John!). Kyle was there, of course, and he was a good sport the whole time. I can tell he is accustomed to spending some time in the stands!

In all, it was a good day with the family spending time watching America's pastime.

The Cruise --What a blast!

Well, we just returned yesterday from our 5-day cruise aboard the Carnival ship, Fasciniation. We had a wonderful time visiting Key West and Nassau, Bahamas, as well as taking advantage of the many activities on board the boat.

As many of you already know, the food aboard these ships promotes gluttony, and I wish I could say we all restrained ourselves from over eating, but alas, it was not meant to be. We ate, we ate well, and we ate often. The boys enjoyed the "fancy" dining opportunities, but they also took advantage of the ever-available pizza cafe and the 24-hour room service.

We did stay active, however. We took advantage of the fitness center on board, working out several times during the week. We also stayed active during the shore excursions. We did a parasailing trip in Key West and a catamaran/ snorkel adventure in Nassau.

The crew was great, the shows entertaining, and the music enjoyable. Everything was very good and we had a great time together. The one downside...five people in one stateroom. It was cramped, but we managed.

This was our last big hoo-hah together before I deploy this fall. It was a good time to be together and share the love that we have as a family.