"Drunk Post..."

My sleep pattern is very screwed up...

I don't know how...

I don't know why...

I started waking up for no good reason at all around 2 - 2:30 every morning...  I have trouble getting back to sleep...

I woke up at about 2.30 or so this morning... tossed and turned... finally fell back to sleep... somewhere around 9.00-ish, I awaken to the sound of a turkey gobblin' and a gun shot...

... then  I hear a story about four Mennonites...

... and falafels...

... on the front porch...

C'mon  folks...

I mean...

WTF?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

WHO has four Mennonites with Falafels sitting 

on their front porch on a Friday morning?!?!?!?!

Of course, that's half of my problem...

The other half is that I continue to think 

today is Saturday morning...

... and so it goes.

I spent some time yesterday.. and today with my two sisters...

I really love them to death...

but...

Have you ever noticed that after you do one thing,

you need something to offset it????

I needed something to offset my time I spent today 

and yesterday with  my two sisters..

I know just WHAT the doctor would order...

Margaritassssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(not Jose...)

(although, if Jose looked like this, I would probably go back even more...)

Jose... (not his real name...) apologized for the color of said margaritas...

so he added some extra Cointreau...

Good LORD those things were good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He promised the make the second one eactly the same way...

(... and he did, too!!!!)

(is he playing pocket pool???)

... and if that isn't bad enough...

dink = sounds received texts make...

Dink:   Some 'Little House on the Prairie' episodes are really sad...

Shoes:  That guy that played Lil Joe prolly died from depression while making that series...

Dink:  Lil Joe?  I dunno... who was that?

Shoes:  What was his name??

Shoes:  Oh... Michael Landon...

Dink: My mother loved Michael Landon and Andy Griffith...

Dink:  Oh... didn't he make a series about an angel later on?

Shoes:  Prolly...

Shoes: he had to continue that depressive streak....

Shoes:  Why didn't he make a movie about whores??

Dink:  Maybe the angel was a whore when the  camera wasn't rolling...

Shoes:  Maybe...

Shoes:  I like that thought...

Dink:  Oh... of course that was the one you liked...

God, I hate it when I drink too much!!!!!!!!!!!

~shoes~

"Vicksburg..."

The Gibraltar of the Confederacy

For additional thoughts on today please visit Max at Thoughts from a Mystic Satyr and Ryan at "... A Regular Guy Gone Bad." Max and Ryan will discussing The Battle at Gettysburg, which ended July 3,1863.

Two of the most important dates of the American Civil War would arguably be July 3 and July 4, 1863, the dates of two decisive victories for the Union Army against Confederate forces.  Confederate General, Robert E. Lee withdrew his forces from the Gettysburg area on July 3... and Confederate General, John Pemberton surrendered Vicksburg to Union General, U.S. Grant the very next day, July 4.

Honestly, the outcomes of both battles were probably decided weeks in advance by a series of events that made the possibility of victory for Confederate forces very unlikely.

General 'Stonewall' Jackson
"Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees."

Jackson's last words

From April 30 - MAY 6, 1863, The Army of North Virginia took on the Union Army of the Potomac around Chancellorsville. On May 2, 'Stonewall' Jackson was shot and mortally wounded by a Confederate picket, and died eight days later from complications.  Robert E. Lee would later compare the loss of Jackson as to 'having lost his right arm.'  Needless to say, Jackson's leadership and military prowess were sorely missed a month later at Gettysburg.

An equally important misstep was that committed by General Jeb Stuart, Confederate cavalry man.  His daring military usage of horseback troops gave Lee 'sets of eyes' to what was going on around his forces that other military leaders didn't have.  Either through ill-defined orders on the part of Lee, or through decisions made by Stuart, the Confederate cavalry was separated by time and distance from Lee's main body of troops, and unable to provide intelligence to Lee.  There were other issues that transpired that would work against Lee, but I would argue that these were the two most significant.

StoneWall Jackson's tactical excellence and Stuart's reconnaissance were sorely missed at Gettysburg.

On to Vicksburg...

U.S. Grant  and   John C. Pemberton

General Joseph E. Johnston

General Joseph E. Johnston was equally involved in tactical moves that were made... or more importantly, not made over that time.  To this day, there is still argument as to what all transpired between Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, and Generals Johnston and Pemberton.

The city and fortress of Vicksburg were protected by General John C. Pemberton and his Confederate forces.  If you have never been here, the city is situated high on the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River. There were several fortifications devised that made the running of the river by Union vessels all but impossible.

Admiral Porter's Fleet running the Vicksburg Batteries...

General U. S. Grant  and his Army of The Tennessee had marched down the Louisiana side of the river to points south of the city of Vicksburg.  His troops were then ferried across the Mississippi River by vessels of the Union fleet that had run the gauntlet at Vicksburg on April 1.

Once on the Mississippi  side of the river, Grant marched on to Jackson, MS... captured Jackson and then preceded to march on towards Vicksburg.  Johnston, who was in  charge of all Confederate forces in Mississippi, ordered Pemberton and his army of roughly 23,000 soldiers to attack the Union Army at Clinton, MS.  Pemberton felt these orders were going to be disastrous for him and his army, and he decided to attack Federal supply lines instead.

This attack failed for Pemberton, and this began a series of ill-fated battles that ended up with him retreating with his army into the defenses of Vicksburg.  One of these battles was The Battle of Champion Hill, which you can read about  HERE.  Some historians believe that this is an encounter that Confederate forces should have won... having held the high ground for part of the battle.  Some sources, however, state that Pemberton was so out-numbered by Federal forces that he had no choice but to retreat.  Other sources state that Pemberton had asked for assistance from Johnston, but he never responded.

Pemberton eventually retreated into the positions at Vicksburg and waited for Grant's Army of the Tennessee there.

Grant tried two direct assaults on Confederate positions at Vicksburg before realizing that he couldn't take it by force.  One of the attacks was on May 19, and followed by another on May 22.  The second attack involved soldiers assigned to General William T. Sherman... who advanced down Graveyard Road towards the Confederate position known as Stockade Redan.  The Union losses were heavy... and there is a marker on the battlefield site that credits the actions of this day as causing Sherman to remark that 'this is Hell'...

It is said that there were reports that the bodies of dead and wounded soldiers in some areas were so thick that one could walk 200 yards without ever touching earth.

LINK

After the failures of these two attacks, Grant decided on May 25 to lay siege to Vicksburg.  Supposedly, Johnston was very angry with Pemberton for retreating into Vicksburg and establishing a defensive position there.  Johnston supposedly was of the opinion that Grant be allowed to take the City... Pemberton take a retreat that would allow him and his forces to reunite with Johnston... and they would retake the city from Federal forces.

On July 3, 1863, Pemberton and Grant met between the lines and negotiated terms of surrender.  Grant initially wanted his usual 'unconditional surrender,' but thought better of it, as his army would have been busy trying to maintain roughly 30,000 prisoners.  Instead,  Grant issued paroles to the Confederate forces, actually thinking that they would have lost the will to fight.  Grant furthermore wanted the July 4 surrender because of national holiday implications and recognition.

The two met under an oak tree to formalize and finalize terms of surrender.

Missouri Memorial

Vicksburg NMP

One of the unique memorials at Vicksburg  is that of the state of Missouri.  Missouri provided 27 Union units, and 15 Confederate.  The memorial above is situated at the location where two Missouri units clashed against each other.

I spent a great deal of time reading Civil War blogs about the Vicksburg campaign... and there are many diverse positions on the actions of Pemberton, Johnston, and Davis... who was to blame... etc.

A very interesting side note to this story is that General Johnston became friends with General Sherman after the war... Johnston served as a pall bearer at the funeral of Sherman... came down with pneumonia due to the inclement weather conditions on the day of the funeral... and died.

For something that should have been a short post... this turned out longer than I anticipated... and it can not cover the topic  adequately.  There are so many questions... so many quirky twists and turns...

~shoes~

"No Panties???..."

WTF?!?!?!?!

Why isn't this on the calendar?

Is it on your calendar??

It's certainly not on mine...

HAR!!!!!

Evidently, she didn't get the message...

It's NO PANTY DAY!!!!!

Now put those down...

Right this minute!!!!!

They could possibly get better grades in class as well!!!!

Just sayin'...

Not that I am 'easy' or anything like that...

(actually isn't ~shoes~)
Just to show you what kind of guy I am...

I'm not wearing panties today either!!!!

Why, yes I do!!

Thank You!!!!!!

~shoes~

"Fathers' Day..."

My Dad...

My child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
And he was talkin' 'fore I knew it, and as he grew
He'd say "I'm gonna be like you dad
You know I'm gonna be like you"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home dad?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

My son turned ten just the other day
He said, "Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on let's play
Can you teach me to throw", I said "Not today
I got a lot to do", he said, "That's ok"
And he walked away but his smile never dimmed
And said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah
You know I'm gonna be like him"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

Well, he came home from college just the other day
So much like a man I just had to say
"Son, I'm proud of you, can you sit for a while?"
He shook his head and said with a smile
"What I'd really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys
See you later, can I have them please?"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

I've long since retired, my son's moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind"
He said, "I'd love to, Dad, if I can find the time
You see my new job's a hassle and kids have the flu
But it's sure nice talking to you, Dad
It's been sure nice talking to you"

And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me
He'd grown up just like me
My boy was just like me

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then 

I miss my Dad... I have regrets... tons of regrets about the way I treated him... what I did... why I did it... is all buried back in the '2010' part of my blog where this thing served as a personal journal as much as anything.

I wish I knew then what I know now... what has changed is that I do believe I  am wiser today...  I think I finally figured out that most of us do the best we know how to do in Life.  Life doesn't come with an operator's manual... we have to figure it out as we go.

Someone shared a thought with me the other day... about depression being the worry about what has happened in the past, and anxiety being the worry about what will happen in the future.  But, it's all the same, isn't it?

I fret about having been the son that I was... and how  I could have been a better son to my Mom and Dad.  I worry about whether or not any of my accomplishments would have made them proud of me.

I worry about whether or not I've been the best Dad for my daughter and son.  Could I have done some things better? Differently??  I 'grew' into be a Dad... I always tried to make time for them... but much like the song above, today they are busy.  They don't have time for Dad.

... and so it plays out... over and over and over.  

I was telling someone the other day that my Mom could control me with guilt... making me feel bad about things.  Maybe this worrisome attitude that I have about things like this is the end result.

I try to not make my kids feel bad when they let me down... I tell them that it's just the  Nature of Life.  

And so it goes, huh?

I love you, Dad...

I miss you...

~shoes~

"Sixty~Nine Years Ago This Morning..."

Repost...

In Honor and Memory of today's Historic Date, I want to re-run this post from a few years ago.  I was remiss in posting this last year as I was in Europe at the time... that's a sorry excuse, but it is what it is...

_______________________________

Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen of 

The Allied Expeditionary Force!

You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months.  The eyes of the World are upon you.  The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.  In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not be an easy one.  Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened. He will fight savagely.

But this is the year, 1944!  Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41.  The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats in open battle, man-to-man.  Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground.  Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men.  The tide has turned!  The free men of the world are marching together to Victory!

I have full confidence in your courage and devotion to duty and skill in battle.  We will accept nothing less than full victory!

Good luck!  And let us beseech  the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Supreme Allied Commander

____________

Sixty-nine years ago this morning, June 6th, 1944, the Allied Forces landed in Normandy, France... to begin the liberation of France from  Nazi Germany, and to try to facilitate the end of WWII in Europe.

Most models that the Allied planners ran on the invasion indicated mortality rates as high as 90%...  Eisenhower had already written his letter of resignation from his role as Supreme Allied Commander, because there was no assurance  that the invasion would succeed.

May God Bless...

~shoes~
(repost from 06/06/2010)

" Weird Shiznit..."

It was just a matter of time... 

before I reverted back to my old ways...

I don't know if it's something that is in the water or what.  Not that it really matters...

I found this 'Robot Chicken' take-off on a Cialis © advertisement that I thought was funny as Hell...

... and poor ol' Lassie was always game to try to help Lil Timmy out of any mess he ever got himself into...



After having found and watched this, I will never think of Skittles © quite the same way...

HAR!!!!!

That's not exactly what I would have called a 'pearl necklace' but what the heck...

This next one seems to be somewhat of what I would call and industrial version of Viagra ©, something they call 'Stifficade'...

LMBO!!!!!!

That guy almost looks like a cross between James Coburn and Richard Gere... exceptin' that I think James Coburn is dead now...

Well... this is what happens when one has spent way too long looking over an Economics lesson plan for the next day's class after having had taught for two hours earlier in the day.

As a good friend of mine once used to say...

'Keep a wrinkle in it...'

~shoes~

"It Was...

The Third of June..."

...Another Dusty Delta Day.

~shoes~