[Shrek] Semper Fi

Both Fiona and I have been busy as of late, so as I work on a "real" posting, I thought I'd share this story from the Marine Corps News, via military.com...

Marine Makes Insurgents Pay the Price

November 18, 2008
Marine Corps News|by Cpl. James M. Mercure

FARAH PROVINCE, Afghanistan — In the city of Shewan, approximately 250 insurgents ambushed 30 Marines and paid a heavy price for it.

Shewan has historically been a safe haven for insurgents, who used to plan and stage attacks against Coalition Forces in the Bala Baluk district. The city is home to several major insurgent leaders. Reports indicate that more than 250 full time fighters reside in the city and in the surrounding villages.

Shewan had been a thorn in the side of Task Force 2d Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force Afghanistan throughout the Marines’ deployment here in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, because it controls an important supply route into the Bala Baluk district. Opening the route was key to continuing combat operations in the area.

“The day started out with a 10-kilometer patrol with elements mounted and dismounted, so by the time we got to Shewan, we were pretty beat,” said a designated marksman who requested to remain unidentified. “Our vehicles came under a barrage of enemy RPGs (rocket propelled grenades) and machine gun fire. One of our ‘humvees’ was disabled from RPG fire, and the Marines inside dismounted and laid down suppression fire so they could evacuate a Marine who was knocked unconscious from the blast.”

The vicious attack that left the humvee destroyed and several of the Marines pinned down in the kill zone sparked an intense eight-hour battle as the platoon desperately fought to recover their comrades. After recovering the Marines trapped in the kill zone, another platoon sergeant personally led numerous attacks on enemy fortified positions while the platoon fought house to house and trench to trench in order to clear through the enemy ambush site.

“The biggest thing to take from that day is what Marines can accomplish when they’re given the opportunity to fight,” the sniper said. “A small group of Marines met a numerically superior force and embarrassed them in their own backyard. The insurgents told the townspeople that they were stronger than the Americans, and that day we showed them they were wrong.”

During the battle, the designated marksman single handedly thwarted a company-sized enemy RPG and machinegun ambush by reportedly killing 20 enemy fighters with his devastatingly accurate precision fire. He selflessly exposed himself time and again to intense enemy fire during a critical point in the eight-hour battle for Shewan in order to kill any enemy combatants who attempted to engage or maneuver on the Marines in the kill zone.

What made his actions even more impressive was the fact that he didn’t miss any shots, despite the enemies’ rounds impacting within a foot of his fighting position.

“I was in my own little world,” the young corporal said. “I wasn’t even aware of a lot of the rounds impacting near my position, because I was concentrating so hard on making sure my rounds were on target.”

After calling for close-air support, the small group of Marines pushed forward and broke the enemies’ spirit as many of them dropped their weapons and fled the battlefield. At the end of the battle, the Marines had reduced an enemy stronghold, killed more than 50 insurgents and wounded several more.

“I didn’t realize how many bad guys there were until we had broken through the enemies’ lines and forced them to retreat. It was roughly 250 insurgents against 30 of us,” the corporal said. “It was a good day for the Marine Corps. We killed a lot of bad guys, and none of our guys were seriously injured.”

I am reminded of a quote by Gen. William Thornson, US Army..."There are only two kinds of people that understand Marines: the Marines and the enemy. Everyone else has a secondhand opinion."

My best guess is that "young corporal" is 20 years old. Think about what you were doing at age 20, and then think about what the young men and women serving overseas are doing as you read this.

So as we approach Thanksgiving, a day where most of us gorge ourselves on turkey and all the fixings, how about we spend just a few minutes thinking of those that aren't home this holiday season, and how they volunteered to be away from their homes so we could be safe in ours.

[Shrek] Some Words

Anti-American
Big Government Loving
Communists
Clueless
Elitist
Godless
Immoral
Lefties
Liberals
Marxists
Progressives
Radicals
Socialists
Tax Raisers
Tree Huggers
Unpatriotic

Winners

[Shrek] A mostly non-political Sarah Palin post?

Unless you've been hiding under a rock these last few weeks, you know who Sarah Palin is. Depending on your political leanings, she's either the best thing since sliced bread or she, well, isn't.

I'm starting to think she's the best thing since sliced bread. Nope, it has nothing to do with her being a "hottie". Nor does it have to do with her $125,000 wardrobe and make-up purchases. And it certainly isn't for her political beliefs.

It's because she's a "Hockey Mom".

Yep, after all these years we finally have a candidate that's really into the coolest sport on Earth--ice hockey. Because of that, she's been invited to several NHL games to make the ceremonial puck drop.

Her first puck drop was in Philadelphia where one of my most hated teams plays, the Flyers. After her puck drop, the Flyers, who were predicted to be one of the top teams in their division, are in next to last place with just five points in seven games and are 10 points out of first place.

WAY TO GO SARAH!!!!!

Her second puck drop was last night in St Louis at the Blues game. St Louis once owned the minor league hockey team here in Worcester, only to steal it away five years ago and then lie through their teeth about trying to find local ownership and many other issues.

It would be hard to make the Blues, who already are in the bottom tier of NHL teams, any worse...but my girl Sarah looks to have done it. Never mind the Blues lost the LA Kings (one of the few teams worse than the Blues) 4-0, but while skating out to his net Blues goaltender Manny Legace tripped over the carpet that Sarah and her kids were going to walk onto the ice on and hurt his hip. He had to leave the game after one period and will miss at least their next game.

YOU GO GIRL!!!!!

And my love for Sarah is starting to spread, even to Lagace himself!!!! "I’m starting to like her more and more. No grudge." Lagace told the Associated Press after the game.

So in just two puck drops, Sarah Palin has managed to do harm to two teams I root against. Let's be honest, how much more could I have hoped for?

I have taken it upon myself to e-mail the McCain/Palin campaign to suggest a few other teams she could drop pucks for, starting with the New York Rangers. Yes, I know New York is a solid "blue state", but I think her dropping the puck at a Rangers home game would be great for me...errr...the country.

And since she won't be too far from New jersey, she could always swing down to the Meadowlands and drop the puck at a Devils' game while she's in the Northeast. And by dropping it at two buildings so close to each other she'll use less fossil fuels, making the tree-huggers happy. Win-Win, if you ask me.

She could also get some foreign policy experience by heading to Canada and dropping a puck at a Montreal Canadiens game. Perhaps she could even do it for a couple of games there.

Now the best part...in a recent article in the Washington Post Sarah said if she and husband Todd had had a sixth child, they had already picked a name for a boy joining siblings Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper and Trig.

"I always wanted a son named Zamboni," she said.

So folks, some candidates talk a good game, but Sarah Palin really delivers for this hockey fan.

Vote Sarah--vote for hockey.

[Fiona] ARGH !!!

A fog has rolled in and I am having difficulty cutting through the haze to find the sun. How's that for waxing poetic? I am in a funk. I am battling the sadness demon. I feel useless in my job and I feel overwhelmed taking care of my dad. I am not sure which way to turn. I have always been multi-talented. I sing, draw, paint, write. In other words I can do lots of things well but not any one thing well enough to earn a living at it. It frustrates the bejeezus out of me.

As a little girl I wanted to be a ballerina. No, that didn't pan out, way too much work and not enough food. The same can be said about the art career I wanted and the writing. So I settled on not really setting the bar for anything. I was complaining to Shrek just this morning that I was pissed because life didn't turn out the way I planned. Funny thing is I never really made any plans so... didn't it turn out just the way I planned it? Odd but true. Life happens around you even if you don't participate in it.

I get frustrated because I want to work in a job that I care about. A job where I can make a difference and I am respected for my input. Is this really too much to ask for? I suffer from being more intelligent than my job. I suffer from(I have)too much brains(stop laughing) and not enough education in any one thing so I can make a career. Ok... maybe I am a dumb ass. Do you see the recurring theme here? Is it too late at age 44 to change lanes?

I have a lot of life left to live; well, I hope so anyway. How do I find meaningful employment that will pay the bills and help me build a nest egg? There is something to be said for the person who is fearless, not afraid to go after what they deserve. I wish I had that kind of confidence in my abilities.

[Shrek] I Know Who Won The Debates

Now that all of the presidential debates are over, I'm finally ready to declare who won all the debates.

My guy.

Yeah, the way he just kept pounding what he believed in, and kept showing that the other guy--who is completely clueless I might add--simply has no idea what he's talking about, was great. I mean, just the way he kept showing how that other guy was just making stuff up about what my guy believes, and he kept showing all the misrepresentations of my guy's positions the other guy was making was ingenious.

Now I know that with the war going on, and with this huge financial crisis crippling our economy, my guy has do a few things that might be unpopular. But that other guy's ideas really go too far, and in some cases don't go far enough. My guy understands all the issues and will do what's best for America. That other guy just has no clue.

And have you seen who is supporting that other guy? Why the heck would anyone want to vote for someone that has support from them? I mean, they're just as clueless as the guy they're supporting.

I can't wait for this election to be over so my guy can begin all that change he's talking about, and that other guy will hopefully slip into obscurity.

[Fiona] Odd But True

Odd but true...Webkinz are flippin' cool. I was never one as a child to play dollies and/or house. No way. I wanted to climb trees and build forts. My two sisters and I grew up in a neighborhood of boys. Suffice to say that the boys always had more fun, got dirtier and taught me to spit. How can a girl resist that kind of raw manliness?

Odd but true...I am afraid of dolls that have too much of a life like look to them. Clowns are also not high on my list and in the presence of a person dressed as a clown I get nervous. Shrek has to run interference so I don't break down and cry. So like I said not a big one for playing house when I was young. My best galpal has four wee ones at home. 2 boys, 2 girls and way 2 many Webkinz to keep track of.

Her kids got wind of them at school I am sure. On more than a few occassions when I am at their house visiting all "the babies" get brought out and paraded before me. Not really much interest on my part as Shrek and I have no children and no such plans for any. Having said that I fell in love with the whole Webkinz idea. I am now the proud "parent" to a chipmunk and a pink dragon. I couldn't be happier.

Odd but true...I can play "flash" games of solitaire, matching, cards. I earn kinzcash which can be used to buy groceries, clothes, furniture, doctor visits. A cool concept; teach responsibility and have fun. I am having a great time.

[Shrek] First Dances Are So Romantic

Nothing like raising the bar a little...

[Shrek] Random Thoughts

I've been very busy as of late and have neglected this blog a little...so as I have a few minutes I'll just toss out some random thoughts.

* If Sarah Palin believes her home state of Alaska's proximity to Russia equates to foreign policy experience, then I must be a very pius person as I can see a church from my front room window. The failing of that would be that I must also be an alcoholic because I can see a barroom and a liquor store too.

* Despite what many pundits seem to think, not voting for Obama doesn't make you a racist. I know lots of folks that aren't planning on voting for him, and for the vast majority "racist" isn't a word I would use to describe them.

* Any list of the top five American film makers needs to have Ken Burns on it.

* "Sisyphean" is a great word that no one uses. It's a shame, because it describes most of what is going on in the political world today. "Nescient" is another great word, and it's why no one uses sisyphean.

* Dianne Williamson finally wrote a column where she didn't attack anyone or try to be funny. (Link: Old soldier commands our respect). She should try that more often. Despite not agreeing with her very often I read every column she writes. In the end, that's probably all she cares about.

* When did employees stop being employees and became "associates"? Who are they supposed to be associated with? Better yet, when did I stop being a "customer" and became a "guest"?

* If you're not in favor of replacing police officers with flagmen at state construction sites, travel down Rt 12 in Auburn as they widen the road. Count the number of officers and compare it to the number actually directing traffic. I have all the respect in the world for the police, but they should at least pretend to be paying attention to traffic.

* What's the easiest way to screw up a traffic pattern? Put a police cruiser in plain site. Suddenly everyone forgets how to drive.

* Both Run-DMC and Chic have a chance to be elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year. Despite being eligible, Stevie Ray Vaughn was not a finalist. Nescients.

[Fiona] Paying It Forward

Random Acts of Kindness, Paying It Forward, Doing the Right Thing...call it whatever you want. It is something that more people should partake of not because you might reap some reward from it but because it makes you and the other participants feel happy; like the world is a good place to be in. Sometimes being happy to part of something bigger than yourself is all the reward necessary.

My parents never had much but they always gave 100% of what they could. The fastest way to get a smile give one away first. I guess you could say that was my mother's philosophy. My parents never thought twice about what action they should take about matters. If something needed to be fixed or someone needed that 's all it took for their involvement. I like to think that some of their goodness survived in my genes.

I found a brand new seriously shiny fully working totally tricked out cellphone...and I returned it to its rightful owner. Not because I had to but because I wanted to. I know from past experience just how heart sick a person can make themselves when things go awry. I found it open in a driveway I was exiting. It was a super sunny day. The reflection of the sun off the case caught my eye. I have to admit at first glance I thought that someone had run over the unfortunate cell because it looked flat. After closer inspection, I realized it was the new Envy by LG. This was no throw away occurence. Someone had dropped this phone.

I drove home showed hubby and told him of my plan to look through the phone's contact list and try to find a HOME number. I told you this phone was up and running. I could have easily misused it for any one of a hundred misdeeds but I am not that kind of a person. I found a listing for HOME. I dialed it from my own landline so as not to use this persons minutes and left a brief yet detailed message for the person to contact me so I could return the phone.

Long story short...phone lost...phone found...phone returned to rightful owner...Fiona feeling like life has deeper meaning. Owner calls next day to say thank you so much...I just hope that someday she does something good for someone else just because she can not because she has to.

[Shrek] Insanity, Cheating, and Redemption

Fiona and I, along with friends Rich and Josie, bowled in the couple's league this summer at Colonial here in Worcester. For the most part, even though we bowled like crap for most of the season we had a good time.

For the most part.

Unfortunately, the league included an absolutely batshit crazy woman. And when I say "batshit crazy", I mean legitimately "eleven eggs short of a dozen" type of crazy. Add to her insanity the social skills of a seven year old and a more annoying voice than Fran Drescher, and you have all the makings for a huge explosion.

And that explosion came two weeks ago.

Our team--in next to last place and bowling the last place team--was bowling in the lanes right in front of the desk. So when I wasn't bowling I spent most of the night leaning against the desk shooting the shit with Bobby. While I was bowling the first five boxes of the third string something happened at the desk, that had I known about I would not have returned there when I was done.

When your match is over you fill out a yellow score sheet and turn it in at the desk. It seems that the crazy woman made a change to that sheet after it was turned in. Was she cheating as some were saying? Was she fixing an error that she says her daughter made? I don't know, and even to this minute, I don't care. What I do care about is what happened next.

As I came back to the desk from bowling, she accused me of cheating. "You cheat all the time and everyone catches you" were her exact words. My only reply to her was "excuse me?". She repeated her allegation. Twice.

I know exactly what she was doing. Because I have had it out with this crazy woman before she was hoping I would verbally defend myself so she could turn herself into the victim, shining the spotlight on me instead of her. There is no way she expected me to do what I did.

I walked away, laughing.

I went to tell my teammates what was happening so that they would know what was going on. Of course the team we were bowling heard me talking with my team, and they also began laughing. From that point on every single time someone got a good break the other team would laughingly accuse them of cheating. Seeing as gossip travels faster than the speed of light, it took absolutely no time for the whole league to know what she did and what she was saying.

For the record, I never told anyone about her changing the scores, only that she accused me and my team of cheating.

Fast forward to last Tuesday, and she was still making her accusation to anyone that would listen--or maybe more correctly--anyone she could corner and whine to. She was told by several people to keep her mouth shut, but as she has the mental power of a small child she just couldn't keep trying to deflect that spotlight off of her.

The team we bowled that week, who had been bowling next to us the week before, jumped right about the "cheating bandwagon" and began not only to accuse us of cheating when we got a good break, but also accused themselves of it. The two teams to our left were also doing it, so we had a great time that night laughing at each other--which if you think about it is the whole idea of the summer league.

Now the best part--I suspected we were going to bowl her team in the last week of the league (yesterday), so I asked Paul to check the schedule to see if I was right. And I was. So I made sure to let a couple folks know she had to bowl us yesterday.

As you may suspect, she was less than pleased to find out she had to bowl against us.

So after a few e-mails going back and forth between the four of us I decided I was going to take the high road--a path I don't normally take by the way--and just ignore the woman. Rich, on the other hand, decided that he'd had enough of her over the last couple years. He placed a bottle of white out and a couple of erasers on the scoring table.

He was also wearing a t-shirt that he made that had this picture on the front...



...along with the words "Super Cheater". On the back he had "HGH? Steroids? Eraser?"

When she saw it, she went nuts. She threatened to have Rich thrown out--which of course she didn't do because there was no chance of it happening. When Paul came down to ask Rich if there was going to be an issue, he calmly said that as long as she kept her mouth shut there wouldn't be any problems.

But, of course, being batshit crazy she couldn't, and after another outburst stormed off.

Our team went on to pound her team into the ground (they get to take her average at 100%, which is probably better than she would have gotten anyway), with me throwing the high triple of the season and was one bad box away from a 400 series. During the night several people came over and apologized to me because I had to put up with her craziness the last couple of weeks, and hoped it wouldn't keep us away next season. It won't, trust me on that.

What I am most proud of is my team, not for standing up for me, but for not letting the drama destroy what was a pretty fun year. I'm also proud of them because we didn't let it get to us, and over the last three weeks went from fighting to stay out of last place to ending up in fourth place and over .500 on the year after bowling so badly over a third of the season.