WANDERING AGAIN

I had a wonderful Christmas with my family. All my grandchildren were not able to be with us but all my children were. It gets harder every year and every event to get everyone together but I want to make the effort as often as possible.

There are many of my friends who are my age and live alone and who have no family and I feel sorry for them at this time . If I did not have my family I would not feel the way I do. We have gone our separate ways again and I will be traveling around to see them individually over the next year. There were no fights during our visit, at least not in my presence.

Now I am off again on my winter vacation. In the morning I am off to Jamaica again and then to the British Virgins. That will take me up to Feb. 2 and I may extend my travels after that.

When I get home in the spring I will have to give a lot of thought to my long term plans for the future. I really don't want to work too hard, but I would like to make some more money.

This will be my last post of 2007. I am not taking my computer with me on this voyage. I do not want to waste beach and boat time sitting at a computer in the hotel business center. I want to wish anyone who reads this a Happy and prosperous New Year. The past two years have been especially difficult for me and my family. We do continue to look ahead and hope for the best.

My love to all through the year!

CHRISTMAS SPIRIT

Answer Girl wrote about the Grinch who stole Christmas in a recent post, and the first Christmas that her mother was very sick. That was a bittersweet time and I guess brought home the real meaning of the Holiday season. The birth of the redeemer is the symbol of renewal and the other holidays are the adaptation of the Roman and Greek festival of time. There is a reason the cartoon portrayal of the old year looks like the Greek portrayals of Cronus, the God who devours all his children and then produces them again. So we gather again and then look forward to a new year. The only real end is when you stop looking ahead and dwelling on past problems that nothing can be done about.

So I went to the closet and found my Grinch sweat shirt and I will be wearing it for the next week. I am not going to decorate my apartment for Christmas and after working in the store for five days several weeks in a row, I will be fed up with Christmas Music for a year. But I will have my family and the chance for a new year.

TWO DAYS IN A ROW

I simply had to get that business off my chest. The real therapy was in the three paragraphs I deleted. Some day I may tell you what I really think of the personnel policies of the current Naval Leadership, Naval Academy Administration and certain Flag and General Officers. Probably not on the Blog, though, because I might end up in real trouble.

To close out the subject, big time college coaching is really more about personal relations than money or other factors. The Academy Leadership failed to treat a good man with the respect and consideration he deserved. In the long run he would have left because the US NA program will never rise again to the level that fits his talent, but he would have left on better terms.

As for the senior leadership, I will give you my recollection of a recent statement by a senior Naval Officer. DUH! When they are the majority and are fully "accommodated", guess who becomes the oppressed minority?

So enough, my solution for my current anger is to enjoy Christmas with my family and take off to the Islands after that. I am finding it hard to get into the holiday spirit with the weather warm and sunny and I'd rather be on the beach than in the book store. Right after Christmas, I am off to the Islands again. I intend to leave my computer behind and put my phone in the brief case on off. Coverage of US sport is spotty and therefore I don't have a lot of interest in the rest of the football season either college or pro. My plans for return are open, but I will be back for Spring Training. In the spring I may go to Florida and visit one of the camps. I always wanted to do that.

I guess it is time to walk the dog before we have an accident.

TOO BUSY FOR A RETIRED GUY

My slightly euphoric mood from last week was erased when Navy lost it's head football coach. That was not unexpected after the way he was treated by Vadm Rodney RearEchelonMF, the Harpy Mafia and the current Supt., who is out to "deemphasize athletics", whatever that means. At least the current leadership had the sense to retain his assistant as the new head coach, but it remains to be seen how long he will stay as the Harpy Mafia continues it efforts to feminize the US Armed Forces.

I simply had to vent that. I know I am about a century or more behind the current political thinking, but there is a difference between women's rights and softening up the mission of the military, which when it comes down to it is to break things and kill people until the survivors do what we want. If that means some ones sensibilities are offended or their career options are limited by the need for special skills, so be it.

I feel that I have already said enough to get myself in trouble so I'll let it go at that.

I will continue to get on with my preparations for my next vacation. I am too busy for a guy who is supposed to be retired but it is mostly things I have fun at.

Only three months until Spring Training!

BACK AGAIN

Now that my computer has survived a major crash, which wiped out ALL my files, I am getting things back to the way they were. I will resume my rather erratic posting schedule.

Since the great wipe out, I have sold my house and gotten rid of a lot more STUFF on my way to a more mobile life style. The hardest thing to part with was my 1965 Mustang Coupe. With no house, no garage and no place to store it, it would not have fit into my new lifestyle. I did manage to find a good home for it in nearby North Carolina with a horse farmer and riding stable owner who already owns four classic Mustangs, much to the annoyance of his long suffering wife. I may go to visit my old horse every once in a while.

For a guy who is supposed to be retired, I am very busy. I just got back from Baltimore and the latest Army-Navy football game. Navy won for the sixth year in a row. I almost feel sorry for the Cadets because I remember how I felt when Navy was loosing every year. But every time that I start to feel any sympathy for the Army guys, I ruthlessly suppress it! Sympathy can get you killed in a real life and death struggle.

Now that I have started again, I hope that it will be a lot easier to keep posting on a fairly regular basis.