"Memorial Day..."

I did something this Memorial Day afternoon... that I started doing a few years ago...


It really isn't much... but I go buy  a bunch of these small American Flags...

... then I go to several of our local cemeteries... and seek out the grave sites of American servicemen and women... and place these small flags at their headstones...


It's not much, but it is something that I like to do... a very small way of saying 'thank you' to these real American heroes...

There are two that really stand out to me...

1st Lt. Linwood P. Ingram

died May 28, 1944

... his headstone says he was shot down over the Pacific...

Pfc Sherwood Dudley Henry

Killed at Ramagen Bridgehead

Germany

March 17, 1945

I have never seen any activity at the grave sites of these two men... given the dates of their deaths, it's probable that their families have died out... or moved away...

I felt that on at least one day a year, someone needed to acknowledge 

the lives and deaths of these two men...

_______________

Memorial Day was established to honor the memory and lives of those men and women killed during the war... but as we all know, even the ones that return have left parts of their lives behind...

I came along late in my Mom's and Dad's lives... many  who didn't know us thought Mom and Dad were my grandparents...  I have three siblings old enough to be my parents...  

Having said that...

My Dad had a friend... an old long time friend... John Otis Crosby... he and his brother, Glen Crosby, were among the first Americans to go to Europe in 1917 to fight in World War I...

Glen gathered the dubious distinction of being one of the first American soldiers to die in Europe during WWI.  "Uncle Otis"... as we all affectionately knew him... would tell us about his times in Europe... one story that I will never forget him telling is of this one night... he was responsible for firing a Browning Water Cooled Machine Gun across 'No Man's Land'... He told me... "if we didn't do this, those 'sons-a-bitches' would crawl across there, slit our throats... and leave us all dead... He told me of this one night.. when the water pump on his machine gun malfunctioned...

He told me that they didn't dare stop... to take the time to change out the water pump... because they could be killed that quickly and easily...  He said that as he continued to fire, the tip of the barrel turned red...  and then orange... then blue... and then white... and Uncle Otis told me that white hot was as hot as metal could get...  and that bits of the barrel started sticking to the bullets being fired across the field... you could look at his eyes as he told this... and tell that he was back in Europe many many years ago...

Uncle Otis came home... but he left a great part of himself there...

____________

My oldest sister's husband, Paul W. Clements... graduated from Corinth, MS high school... and was promptly drafted into the army... WWII was raging at the time... and plans were being laid for the invasion of France... the attempt to drive the German army out of France... and Belgium... and back into Germany...

"Uncle Paul"... as we called him... the age difference was too much, we felt, to simply call him by his first name...  went away to training... and was sent to England... and on the evening of June 5th, 1944, boarded one of the vessel that would take him along with many many others to Normandy... For all of the training and all that "Uncle Paul" experienced, his first day of combat was on Omaha Beach...

Being kids, we didn't totally understand all that he had done... all he had accomplished... and we would get him to tell us about his exploits on the beach... and in France...

He would tell us of when the front of his  landing craft would open... and of all the smoke and machine gun fire coming from the cliffs... and of all the bodies on the beach... and in the water... I will never forget him telling me about how red the water was... from the soldiers who had been shot and had bled into the water...

I will always remember that he told me that he and several of his buddies from Corinth High School were in the same division... and of how he was the only one that got off the beach alive... that didn't have the impact on me then... that it has on me now...

He told me of having been shot after they moved inland from the beach... that he and several others were left in a farm house... and told that rear support was on its way... medical help would be there soon... and his outfit moved on... Uncle Paul was the only one fit enough to handle a rifle... I remember him telling me of hearing voices... and when they became understandable... the voices were German... and that he could hear steps approaching the door to the farm house... that the door knob turned and the door opened... and of how he held his M-1 Garand at the door...

... and that a voice spoke out from the road... and whoever was about to enter... walked away... leaving the door ajar... "Uncle Paul" told me too many times... "I should have died that day... we all should have..."

He later wound up in Belgium... and was surrounded at 'The Battle of the Bulge"... this farm boy from Mississippi...

As he got older, he wasn't able to talk about it any more... and it got to the point where my sister said she would have to turn off the television when they started talking about the anniversary dates of D-Day...

"Uncle Paul" died eight years ago... but he left a big part of his life there in Europe...

I remember being a little boy... and being with an older brother of mine... and he was talking to a friend of his who was home on leave from Viet Nam... he had finished a tour of duty... he got to come home for 30 days... and he had volunteered to return to Viet Nam...

I saw him and my brother looking at photos... you know those photo holders that mens wallets used to carry... they kind of folded... and you could put a host of photos in them... I figured they were looking at photos of girl friends... I wanted to see... so I moved closer...

The photos were of Viet Cong he had shot and killed...

Very Graphic... very explicit...  I shouldn't have seen them...

____________

So... we honor these men and women... for their service... for their sacrifices... but I don't think we will ever understand the extent to which they gave their innocence... things they had to do to survive...  things that were done so we can continue to live in the kind of country and society that we have...

Doughboy Statue

Overton Park

Memphis, TN

~Shoes~

"Yet Another Shallow Post..."

Do you know what a 'merkin' is?

I'm not sure how I came to know of them... I think the fact that I know what one is... is scary...

In looking for a working definition, I am pleased to learn that they aren't JUST what I thought them to be...

A merkin, I had read somewhere, is a pubic hair piece... and I thought... why would someone want a wig for his/her genitalia?  I mean.. WTF?!?!?!?!?!

Hmmm... A Richard Simmons Merkin?

I wondered if women... who either shaved... or got Brazilians, ever became self conscious and would go out and buy fake hair...???

I thought this to be one hairy beaver, 

but it turned out to be an Angora Rabbit...

Kate Winslet was asked during an interview about her role in 'The Reader'... where she was required to wear a merkin... It seems that  the movie was to have occurred in the '50s... evidently before women started wearing landing strips, like she said she did...

I looked for photos of Ms Winslet wearing the merkin (ok... it didn't matter... she didn't have to be wearing one... but a nude photo would have been nice just the same... )...

Just google 'Kate Winslet' and 'merkin' and you can find stories...

These definitely do NOT look like any female pubic hair I've come across...

No Pun Intended... maybe...

Only in New Orleans...

I'm proud to be a Merkin...

At Least I know I'm free.....

Hmmm... I had Britney pegged as more of 

a Minnie Mouse kind of girl...

I wonder what other neat words are out there??
_______________


PS:  Can you all tell that the semester is over and I'm bored?

~shoes~

'WTF Wednesday...'

I go through various phases of 'WTF'... sometimes I let my hair grow long... and then will go and get it cut extremely short... only to let it grow long again...


I noticed this as I entered the building coming back from lunch a few moments ago... there is a board at the entrance... some asshole one here in the College of Business at Alluvial Flood Plain State University thought it would be cool to post our photos there...


It reminds me of the 'Seinfeld' episode where Kramer etal decide it would be cool to post everyone's photo... so they can get to know each other...  blah... my thought is that it identifies me as a target....


Anyhoo... I saw my photo... and it was the  short-haired Shoes... and I'm more in the long-haired Shoes phase now...


I remembered one semester when I was in a long-haired phase... a student was looking at me... and she suddenly started laughing... I asked her what she thought was so funny in my usual snarky manner...

and she replied...

"you look just like that guy  in 'Dumb And Dumber' "

Jeff Daniels

You know what?

I sure as Hell DID!!!

Another Jeff Daniels

Thank God for her, I have a sense of humor!!

I remember being somewhere with GirlShoes... and she saw a photo of some actor... and she called for me...  'Daddy... come here! This looks JUST like you!!!'

I looked and thought... 'No.. he's handsome... ' 

Rutger Hauer

So my daughter runs around calling me 'Rutger' from time to time... little smart ass... I wonder where she got it from...

I posted a photo the other day of Doug Sahm... and realized that my son-in-law looks just like him in that pic...

_______________

Several weeks ago, Spring Flower posted a very titillating post here HERE about meeting someone you really don't know... someone you've never met... for sex...

And...

... that got me to thinking...

You know, for a long-haired, leaping gnome of a business professor, I am amazed at some of the opportunities that have come my way...

I am not a suave, debonair kind of guy... I am very naive... really... and my experiences surrounding my divorce have made me very gun shy as far as approaching women goes...

I remember one afternoon having just returned from class, I checked my university email... and as I scrolled through the mail, I found one that caught my attention... 

It said something along the lines of... " I saw you today... you are cute!!"  

Me? Cute??  I don't think so, Scooter...

But she asked me to email her... so I did... and I started this chain of communications with someone that I just wasn't sure who I was talking with... well aware this could be someone just fucking with me, I played everything close to my chest... 

So I asked about where she saw me... what was I doing... and she wouldn't answer any of those questions... she knew thatI was trying to pin-point where this 'observation' could have occurred... which could have tipped me off as to who I may be dealing with...

This email exchange went one for several weeks... it was the end of the Fall Semester... things were quickly coming to an end...  in one email she referenced a friend I had with me... so I got to thinking about places I went... who was with me... a colleague and I had gone to lunch... so was it the restaurant?  Oh... we stopped at the bank... was it there?

The bank made sense... I paid cash at the restaurant... but I made a deposit at the bank... so my name and all would be on there... the check included in the deposit would identify where I worked...

But it still did no good as far as trying to know who was teasing me... 

Then the phone calls started... they weren't harrassing calls... they were from a cell phone... so I didn't really have a way of ID'ing who was calling...

At some point, she became playful (sexual) during her phone calls... I remained reserved... still not knowing who I was dealing with...  and so this went on until the week before Christmas...

Early this one Thursday morning, my phone rang... I stumbled verbally through the 'good morning' part of it... and the voice said...

"I'm on my way over to your place..."

A very short time later, there was a knock at the door... it was December... it was very very very cold outside... I opened the door... and there stood this young woman from the bank... I knew of her, but I didn't know her name... she was wearing this long heavy coat and had what appeared to be a shopping bag with her...

She smiled... she came in... and took her coat off...

And I like to have died right there... she was only wearing a bra and panties under this long winter coat...  She said... "I don't have long... I have to be at work in an hour..."

I tell you what... we wore each other out in that hour!!!!!

The shopping bag? She brought her work clothes with her...

Then she had to go to work... I have to tell you, going to the bank was never the same again... I would notice that several of the other women at the bank would smile knowingly when they would see me... I would always wonder about who knew what...

So... inspired by Spring Flower's post, this was my sex with an unknown person...

Man... this reads like something out of Penthouse Forum...

There are several 'twists' to this... I might share them if you ask nicely...

~shoes~

"My Songs..."

Senorita has a thought-invoking thread over HERE today...she lists a set of songs and then talks about them... the constant in her writing, though, is about others... people we know now or have known in the past...  I encourage you to go read this and think about you, your family... and your friends...


She writes of her brother... and how they did NOT get along, but then comes back with...'cherish your siblings because in the end, all you will have is each other.'


This is SO true...


She also writes... 'I think about the friends I have now and I wonder if we will continue to be in each others' lives, or if they will too just become a memory.'


Here is a song that came to mind while reading her blog...

"In My Life"

There are places I'll remember...

All my life, though some have changed...

Some forever not for better...

Some have gone... some remain...

All these places have their moments...

With lovers and friends I still can recall...

Some are dead and some are living...

Im my life, I loved them all...

But of all these friends and lovers...

There is no one compares with you...

And these memories lose their meaning...

When I think of love as something new...

Though I know I'll never lose affection...

For people and things that went before...

I know I'll often stop and think about them...

In my Life I love you more...

Though I know I'll never lose affection...

For people and things that went before...

In my Life, I love you more...

_______________

My son called wanting to go to the memorial service yesterday for  Ms Molly...

The church was packed... literally packed when we got there... standing room only... I tend to think of this more in terms of athletic events... or concerts...

After the service, BoyShoes and I were standing outside... I was so touched when as the family members exited the church, several came over to us... hugged us... cried... our families have had a long history together... 

Molly's husband was one of my professors back when I was an art major... there is something for you to chew on... didn't know this business prof actually studied art, huh?!?

But we became friends... and I became friends with their kids...  One of their sons was in New Orleans a few weeks ago, and I got a text from GirlShoes telling me that one of Molly's sons was there visiting them... After the service, we all gathered at Molly's house...  and when it came time for them to do a family photo, they asked me to stand in with them... what an honor that  was for me!!  But we've had a long life-long relationship...

Molly and Floyd

This is Molly and Floyd... Floyd passed away about 5 years ago...  Floyd was an eclectic artist... Molly was a sweetheart...

So, yes... those friends that Senorita speaks of, some of them will be around for a life time... and some won't...  some family members will be around for a life time... and some won't...

But that's all part of the plan...

~shoes~

"And The Survey SAYS!!!!!!!......"

Hmmm.... Sounds kinda like 'Family Feud' doesn't it?

Senorita honored me by naming me in her 'Survey Post' that you can find HERE... If you haven't read her, you MUST!!  She is a delight!!

And now on to the Shenanigans...

(01)  What is your most embarrassing moment of all time?

This one is easy... It occurred while I was still working with my family at the scrap metal recycling plant. A piece of equipment had broken down, and I had spent most of the day repairing it.  Needless to say, I was coated from head-to-toe with dirt, grime, and grease...

When I got home for the evening, I didn't want to track all of that dirt, grime, and grease into the house, so I went around to the back door... undressed down to my underwear... and came into the house, where I promptly got into an argument with my then-wife... I don't recall what it was about... but I got mad... stormed off to the bathroom to take a bath and get clean... and slammed the hallway door on my way...


I got into the bathroom... shucked the underwear... and all of a sudden, I realized the coupe-de-grace... the line to end the argument and there was no way in Hell she was going to be able to OUT-smart me on THAT one... so I storm out... Buck-Naked... into the den room... waving my arms in the air... "... and I'll tell you another Gol-Darned thing!!!...'


FUCK...


There stood my sister-in-law...  And I was doing the Full Monty...


She made total eye contact with me... and she was NOT looking at my eyes...


FUCK...


(02) If I could eat only one food for the rest of my life, what would it be?


Hmmm... 'Keen Freeze' hamburgers... they were the BEST!!!!!


(03) How old were you when you had your first kiss?

Hmmm.... 18, I think... 

(04)  What is your browser's home page?


Hell... you know... I don't know? How stupid is THAT?!?!  Let me look...
OH... ok... 'Fender Guitar Forum...' I should have remembered that... It's about all things guitar... 

(05) What color do you never ever wear?

Hmmm.... I don't wear RED shirts or pants... but I do wear Red Shoes...  I tend to not wear brown...

(06) Are you a nature lover, or a city slicker?


I am going with Senorita's answer here... I'm a nature-lovin' city slicker...  it's fun to get out into Mother Nature.. but it sure is good to get back home...


(07)  If you were granted three wishes, what would they be? (None of that "more wishes" crap!)


I wish I had gone back to school and finished my PhD... I wish I had divorced my then-wife 5 years earlier... I think my emotional and mental state-of-mind wouldn't have suffered so much... and I wish I had a Rickebacker 12-string!!!!!!!

Damn those are beautiful!!!

(08) Do you have any scars? How did you get them??

I only have one prominent scar... I completely tore my left knee up playing racquet ball some years ago... Complete ACL tear.. ripped the meniscus from one side to the other... horrible...

(09) Have you ever seen a ghost?

No... but I do believe in them... BoyShoes saw my Mother once some years ago... she passed away before he was born...  I posted about it HERE...

(10)  What is your dream job?

I have to say... that having worked with my family (scrap metal recycling)... having worked as a stock broker... what I am doing now, University Prof... I couldn't ask for anything better... if I had finished my PhD, the money would be much better, but where I was mentally and emotionally after my divorce, I just wasn't able to do it... I just couldn't...

That's the scoop on Shoes...

And now to share the honors...

Linnn @ The Chronicle of Linnn

Stacy @ Coffee Table For Two

Charlene @ Writing. Mine. Join Me.

Martie @ Chaos Uncontained

Tuppence @ Tuppenny Tales

Joan @ Anything Fits A Naked Man
Bella @ Being Bella


Monday Night 05/24 10:33 PM -  I lost track of time and had to leave to make the memorial service I posted about earlier... I need to list three more names... I am adding one more to the list now...


Spring Flower @  A Girl's Gotta Have Options

______________

I have to leave early... I have a funeral I must attend...

Molly was one of the most wonderful women I have ever ever known... In spite of her illnesses and hardships that plagued her, she always had this wonderful, infectious smile...

God Bless you, Ms Molly... I shall always cherish the wonderful memories I have of you... I just wish I had got you to show me how to make that wonderful bread you used to make...

Sleep tight, dear...

~shoes~

"Lightning Strikes..."

Back in the 60's, there was a fellow by the name of Lou Christie who had a hit with this song, "Lightning Strikes"...

Did you know that there are around 100 lightning strikes per second hitting the Earth...???    Each bolt can contain, on average, 1,000,000,000,000 (that's trillion) volts of electricity...  During a storm, rain (or ice or snow) increases an imbalance between positive and negative charges... and when the imbalance becomes great enough, lightning is generated...


On average, 80 people in the United States die annually from lightning strikes.

A photo of lightning generated within a tornado...

A photo of lightning being generated within a volcanic eruption plume...

Lightning strike video...

Me!!!

In Spring, 2009, I was helping my brothers set up a computer system at the family-owned scrap metal business.  We had designated one computer to be a server and was using it to send/retrieve info from other computers set up around the yard.

This one Friday morning, I was trying to set up some connections on the computer in our non-ferrous metals warehouse... and when I tried to operate the system, something just wasn't 'clicking'...  So I told my brother that I was going to run over to the main office and set some settings on the server... and that I would be right back...

I guess it would help if I mentioned that there was a rather severe thunderstorm taking place at the time...

There was some thunder... some lightning... and although loud, it didn't seem THAT close...

I stepped outside... and all I can really remember was that EVERYTHING got an intense blue... and the next thing I knew, I was on the ground coming to...

I was dazed... I was confused... it took me a moment to realize where I was... I got up and walked back into the warehouse... and my brother, John came up to me and said... "Did you see THAT lightning strike!?!?!?! I don't know where it hit but it must have been close!!! Man, the entire warehouse turned blue!"

Needless to say, my version was a bit more scary than his version...

I'm confident it wasn't a direct strike, but it knocked me down... and out... for a short time... for several days, I had difficulty thinking things through... the most simple things, I would have to stop and think about...

This is definitely NOT me!!

I wouldn't have a mullet!!!

I definitely have greater respect for lightning than I ever used to!

~shoes~