Unlike Clara

Just a quick note - a question actually. I saw a few minutes ago the CEO of GM was asked to resign by the White House. And what about all those Wall Street Exec's? I also saw the White House wanted to make veterans pay for their health care. The same folks who are now sending thousands more troops into Afghanistan. First Oprah and then David Letterman. Huh? WTF?? I am disgusted! Are you?

A Mixed Bag

First: Glad you are back Clara... I hope your well deserved time away was fantastic.

Second: I really really wish that the so called forth estate would actually do critical reporting, rather than regurgitate more idiotic, inflammatory rhetoric disguised as information.

Senator Chuck Grassley from Iowa has been in the Senate since 1980, and he wants people to commit suicide. Think about that for a second. He has been around since before this mess even got started. He was a relatively senior guy when our SEC truly got in bed with corporations and did nothing. During his oversight the fecal matter hit the oscillating blades, during his oversight Martha Stewart was thrown in jail for a $50,000 stock sale. He has the nerve to suggest suicide for people rather than actually calmly lay out the facts of the situation. Maybe it shouldn't have happened that AIG delivered bonuses. However, I bet they knew before they did it, that it would result in negative press, and I bet they care. So maybe it needed to be done. There are pretty good arguments for that case.

I am embarrassed for his constituents. I am disappointed in our fourth estate, and actually I think Jon Stewart may have said it best in his discussion with Jim Cramer. Please, Please do your flipping job.

A New Post

Geesh! Has it really been a month since either Keith or I posted anything? What kind of blog is this? Aren't we delinquent! Sorry folks but life sometimes calls and too many other things take precedence. I've also been on a wonderful vacation, wandered around new places, enjoyed warm weather, sunny beaches, and. . . . best of all . . .I relaxed! What a concept! WooHoo, I loved it!

I have many new experiences to write about. Several posts are floating around in my head, clamoring to be written, however, once again life calls and I find myself challenged to find time to put them into words. Some time soon I will have a new story up, but for the meantime, I simply wanted to say "hello" and let you know I was thinking of you!
Clara

WOW, Okay Portland, Listen Up At Arrivederci's

One of my old bosses used to say you want your customers to say WOW, when they receive your goods and services.

Let me say that Mike Horsfall, Tasha Miller and Dennis Caiazza delivered the WOW for those of us lucky enough to be in attendance at Arrivederci Wine Bar in Milwaukie tonight. This is a place where you can sit away from the band or right up next to them, and tonight I did both.

When the music is clear and pure you can almost see it or feel it move through you and listening and watching as the music is being played is just awesome.

Tasha Miller sings in a way that makes you wish you could listen forever, The three of them delivered fantastic songs, there were 5 that took over the room, one that Dennis Caiazza sang, and sang very well, and the other four sang by the Tasha Miller, they were The Beatle's Imagine, Cindy Lauper's, True Colors, and My Funny Valentine by Frank Sinatra, and Memories by Barbara Streisand. Now I am sure that the glass of wine, the room full of friendly people and just how intensely into the music these three people get makes a difference, unfortunately you just can't capture it on a CD, but that will be a memory that I will enjoy for a long long time.

If you find yourself some where that any of these three are playing, get yourself a cup or glass of your favorite beverage, and sit back and enjoy the moment.

If you don't know where to find them, start in Milwaukie and ask Katie or Steve or Derek, I am sure they will know when they will be back in the restaurant.

Cheers to you all.

Appreciate what you have, because life is uncertain, and it is short.

Keith

One Sad Comment

I was walking down the hallway at work when a young woman pushing a stroller came toward me. As we drew even and then passed I smiled at a little girl in the stroller who was probably no more than 2 or 3 years old. The little girl didn't notice me as she was too focused on pointing, turning around to look at her mother and asking "Daddy's wheelchair? Daddy's wheelchair?"

Does that comment hit you in the gut the same way it did me?

No Name

I don't know what to call this post, I have no clear idea about what to say. I just know I need to talk and I'm using the one outlet available to me tonight. Last week's work week was horrible. Thirty minutes after my first shift started my patient coded and died. That particular day we had 3 patients go into cardiac arrest and die. The rest of the week didn't get any easier and with the arrival of several new war causalities we were in for very busy shifts. When I finally finished up, it took the better part of 3 of my 4 days off to recover from three 12 hours shifts that were tragically sad.

Up until this evening this work week hadn't been too bad. This evening I learned a young soldier I cared for last week, flown in from Afghanistan, has cancer. The bad kind, not that all cancer isn't bad but this one is exceptionally bad, it's liver cancer, which is almost always fatal. He's 19 years old.

New National Holiday

I have been in the car on the freeway a lot more lately, and have grown very tired of listening to all the get out of credit debt free ads. However I have also noticed that it is almost not possible switch channels to something less obnoxious than what I was originally tuned into.

This has given rise to a new holiday that I believe anyone in America who has taken the path of financial irresponsibility will appreciate. I think it should be called National I Am Not Responsible For Past Transgressions Day, It is long I know, but it is descriptive, and besides I am open to another name if someone has a better one.

The key to this is that after you run up your credit cards bills on pizza, bowling, movies, cars parts and hotel bills, you can then call someone up who out of the goodness of their hearts will help you pay only half of the honest debt you incurred. It is like a get out of jail free card, except you don't get the cool cartoons.

Inaugural Oaths and Military Oaths

I am an officer in the United States Army National Guard, and one of the things that I have always found to resonate with people from different countries is our methodical, predictable, and most importantly peaceful transition of power every four years in our country.  This allows people to hold our leadership accountable for their actions, to reward those leaders who best represent our ideals with votes, and those votes determine who the new leader will be.

People in the military take the following oath, notice it has no bearing on the party of the President, but it supports his oath directly.

Officer Oath: I, ___., do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.


Most of my family voted for President Obama, Just FYI to the news media, I appreciate the historic perspective that goes along with electing a black man to the office of president.  I will point out that every single voter who voted for either candidate was an American Citizen.

When I look to my left or right in a formation or on a mission in a HMMWV, I do not see a German American, or a Hispanic American, or an African or Irish American.  I see an American who will save my ass if I get in trouble, regardless of what part of our nation he was born in.

Along with it being time to embrace our new President, I believe it is also time to embrace each other as Americans, and please hold the prefixes.

V/R

Keith

Under Siege

Damn! They're everywhere! Hapless, clueless, directionally challenged tourists have descended in mass quantities upon my hometown. Tour buses the likes of which I have never seen before crowd the streets, fighting for the right of way in my lane. A friend in the hotel business said in one day alone they had over 1000 people check in. Yikes!

Security, we're used to it here in the Nation's Capital. Make sure you have nothing other than your wallet and your winter woolies and get ready to stand in line. And wait. Photo ID is a must have, don't leave home without it. Metal detectors, magnetic wands, military and law enforcement by the thousands. Yep, we've seen it here. This is, after all, life in DC post September 11th.

Road closures, uh huh, used to that too. Phantom traffic jams that occur for no reason are a daily event. However the road closures expected over these next few days are exceptional. I'll be heading in to work on Tuesday 4 hours early just to make sure I get there.

Although to be honest, making it into work is the least of my anxieties. Once I do arrive at work I will wait with my coworkers. As we go about taking care of our patients we will be waiting and watching and praying for a quiet, calm day. On a this unprecedented day few will recognize or understand what those of us in law enforcement and health care know. There is a monster lurking in our country. A monster that seeks to destroy us for no other reason other than we were born in the United States of America.

I spoke with my family on the very real possibility "an event" could occur. I set in place the communication plan I would use if something were to happen. I didn't incite fear or attempt to be melodramatic. I'm simply realistic in this post September 11th world. Realistic in a way only one who has cared for terrorism victims and war wounded can be.

National Lampoons Family Christmas II

Well, today is my birthday, and I am finally in the mood to write about our vacation and cruise taken in December.

We decided that as our kids were graduating from college and from high school in 2008 we would take a little trip to celebrate. Then as summer was busy, and so was the fall, December looked like a promising month to accomplish this task.

We put together this cruise through Dateline International Travel in Milwaukie, Oregon, and they helped us book reservations for nine. Another family traveled with us, and that of course made things easier and harder all at the same time.

To begin with, our first day of travel was also a work day, so we took the red eye. This was great advice from Steve, our agent, as you can never be sure the airlines won't mess up your travel plans. Our first plane was canceled I believe because something unfortunate happened to someone on the inbound flight. I still don't know what it was, but they wouldn't use that plane. That caused missed connections in Atlanta, but given our time frame, we still made it to the boat on time. We taxied from Ft. Lauderdale, to the Miami pier, which cost us $160 dollars, and was still cheaper than landing in Miami.

We were cruising on the Jewel of Norwegian Cruise Lines. I don't think that we received the level of service that Norwegian would have advertised, but I will save that for a different article. We did arrive on the ship and it is a beautiful ship. It is also fast, which allowed us to see 5 different ports on our trip. We visited Samana, Dominican Republic, Tortola, British Virgin Islands, the home of Pussers Rum. From there we went to St Johns, Antigua; which is where I ended up waking up with some kind of bug. Little did I know the best thing I could have done was not ask any questions, I found out that several people came down with something at about the same time, so I let curiosity kill the cat, and asked how long I was supposed to be sick, and was then quarantined for 24 hours, even though by the time I was asking the question I was pretty much better. That meant that in addition to missing most of St. Johns, I also missed about half the day in Barbados. On the other hand, the thong bikini is alive and well in Barbados and we should celebrate that...

The final stop was St Lucia, which is a beautiful island, we rented a taxi for the day, which ended up costing us about $200, for 6 people, and saw a lot of the island, and had lunch at Ladera Restaurant, which looks over the Pitons, and was spectacular.

I think you have to be aware and very specific with the Taxi Drivers there, the driver we had was very good, although the driving is a little crazy, with switchbacks and what not the entire way. Our driver took us through a road which ended up being a toll road for the volcano, and really mislead us about that, The folks at the Toll wanted $5 per person, and we of course wouldn't have gone through that road had we known we were not going to be allowed to pass without paying more money. The driver wasn't particularly helpful, and we got through with 20 dollars, which again kind of tainted that part of the trip.

From St. Lucia we were at sea again for a couple of days, then into Miami, to the Airport, and flying to LAX. That was great, but meanwhile back at the ranch Portland was under 16 inches of snow, and we were not able to fly in until Christmas Day.

Enter Craig, Sue, Jake, Geena and Megan, we invaded their house, and shared there Christmas Eve party with them. Three nights of unplanned for guests... 9 of us. Wow. Good thing he is my cousin. In any case that was a fun part of our diversion, and we did make it home on Christmas day, although we did not celebrate Christmas until Saturday.

Christmas Eve

As I reflect on this past year many things come to mind. As I overlook the pain and sorrow of caring for the wounded and their families I realize that joy and peace overshadow grief. I have been richly blessed with many wonderful people who support and encourage me, who read my stories, actually like my musings and take time to write. You have helped me through a difficult year and I am grateful.

May we all have an amazing 2009, one filled with blessings, peace and happiness. My sincere wishes to all of you for a wonderful holiday and a healthy, happy New Year. Be well!
Merry Christmas!
Clara

Please Stop The Snow!!!!!!!

Ever hear that song "Stuck in Lodi again"? Well this isn't a CCR song, but I am stuck in LA until Christmas Day, beauty aye?

In any case this will not be the worst Christmas I have ever had, although some might think so. I will get to spend the Eve at least with my Cousin Craig and his family, and that is cause for celebration in itself.

Merry Christmas to all of you out there, and of course be safe and have a great New Year.

Keith

A Quick Note

Just a short post to say The Onion people have taken down the offensive video. While they never really came out and apologized I guess the removal of the tape is all we're gonna get. Where has the common sense and decency gone?

Pitchfork Brigade

Holy Hell People! If you are not as shocked, appalled and disgusted as I am after you finish reading this and watching this video there is something seriously wrong with you! Below is an email I received from another military bud, complete with links to a spoof that was done regarding our wounded warriors. I want you to know I lasted exactly 10 seconds before I was ready to rip someone's head off Every single person who has read anything I have written clearly knows how I feel about these wounded warriors. You also know from many of my posts exactly what these folks endure.

Clara, I am not sure if you have seen or heard of this issue that the milblog

world (we now call ourselves the Pitchfork Brigade) are having with The

Onion. I am putting up a post about this today too. Since you guys have

caring heart for our American men and women who are wounded, I thought

you may want to see this.

I apologize for being sooo IT challenged and can not figure out how to get the video on this blog. Actually I really don't want to lower myself as to even place that disgraceful crap on this site. SO, please wander over to my bud, Troy's blog and he has all the info. Then after you've watched the video please join us, the Pitchfork Brigade, in expressing our utter outrage at the travesty someone decided to make of our wounded.

www.bouhammer.com and then click on Afghan & Military Blog

An Introduction

I received the following letter today, and thought I would post this for people to check out.

Dear Keith,

As I travel through the internet trying to reach those who serve I found your blogspot.
We have two songs that I'm trying to get heard by those who serve, their friends, and their families. The songs are "I Believe in America" and "I'm Alive", a song about one soldier's journey to Afghanistan.
I would greatly appreciate if you would go to our website and have a look and listen and if you like what you see and hear please give us a post to help spread the support.
I deeply thank you for your time and consideration.

So without further introduction, here it is:



http://www.michaeldarwinstheory.com/MDT/Home/Home.html - Our homepage has our YouTube video of "I Believe in America" on it.

http://www.michaeldarwinstheory.com/MDT/Im_Alive.html - This page is dedicated to "I'm Alive" but can also be reached through our Music & Lyrics page.

Tuesday 9 Dec 2008

I found a couple of good links to other blogs and included them on the right side links for you. I hope that you find them interesting. Wounded Soldiers and the Oregon Military Dept blogs.

This year I keep coming back to one thing, over and over for various reasons. It is this: Do the right thing, if it is more difficult than the wrong thing, keep doing the right thing, and I have to believe that eventually it makes sense. Karma and all of that.

In any case, as I say to people I like, "Go forth and do good things well!" Enjoy your holidays to the fullest, and hug some one.

Cheers,

Keith

Emotional YoYo

How many times have I said "I'm tired"? Well, I'm tired of being tired! So with that in mind I'm trying very hard to be optimistic and concentrate on the good things.

Case in point, one of my patients left for rehab today. During his recovery I discovered one day I was the first person he smiled at after he was shot in the head. Being moved to rehab was a great step forward for him. He's now closer to his family and will be able to spend Christmas with them instead of with us and that's a dang good thing! I loved it as he got better and was moved to a less acute unit and I enjoyed being able to go see him and watch his progress. Most of all I loved standing in the doorway to his room, hearing his family say "look who's here to see you" and then watching him slowly turn his head towards the door and absolutely GRIN when he saw it was me. On several occasions his wife was ready to take me out, I am quite sure but she never did, only laughed along at his reaction.

I am happy we've not received any new aerovacs. I'm glad to say the influx of wounded seems to have tapered off.

I'm trying to be optimistic but I'm still sad for all those we have lost this year especially with it being the holiday season. I come home from work to my brightly decorated house, festooned with lights on the outside, Christmas tree twinkling in the front window and my thoughts inevitably turn to the families and I wonder how they all are. And instead of being happy my heart hurts.

Ok, the puppy is demanding my attention so I will end this morose tale.
Clara

P.S. Hey Keith, I ready to talk now.

I think this is worth the time to listen to

American Businessman Rescued in Afghanistan

In Oregon we have the Oregonian, and the Oregonian uses the talents of writer Mike Francis to inform Oregonians about ongoing issues and events regarding conflicts that our fighting men are involved in, with special emphasis on Oregonians at War. I think his site is fantastic. Please check it out “Oregon at War”. In his last article he highlights the story about the rescue of an American Businessman in Afghanistan, which I like and thought I would share with you as well, you will find it here written by Sean Naylor of the Army Times.

Regarding Clara’s latest post, Clara, I wish there was something to say or do that was adequate to the scope of your contribution. But I am left with a heartfelt Thank you for your continued service to our fighting men, who have come into harms way. They could not have a more compassionate caregiver and advocate.

Keith

Please Remember

We had two deaths in two days. Over the holiday weekend we lost two of our wounded. Two sets of families to comfort and console in two very long days. My heart is numb, I hadn't much to give. Please remember these men, women and their families especially now as the holidays draw near.
Clara