Month: June 2024

The Greatest Teacher I ever was.

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Long ago, in a faraway land, I was a great teacher. I didn’t teach science or math; my students weren’t smart enough to teach deep philosophical ideas. If I want to get fancy, I can say I taught geometry, game theory, psychology and leadership. I rose to this great height because I was afraid of losing my students. I was overwhelmed by the challenge of teaching them.

I had an Infantry platoon in Baghdad, not all infantry either. I had supply clerks, mechanics, intel analysts and commo geeks. The Lieutenant was a medical supply officer, smart guy. Went to Med School when we got home. I was so happy when I found out, I cried. It was my fifth and final tour in Iraq and my people weren’t trained to survive. I was so scared for them, I was angry, raging mad.

I pulled out every trick in the book. The syllabus was simple. The LT and I literally wrote the book on light mounted infantry techniques for the Brigade. In the middle of training, I was teaching the youngest soldier leadership skills and then put him in charge of the next mission. The soft skill troops taught what they knew about their jobs to grunts, Platoon Staff was assigned. I would casually drop a mission of a squad and walk away, fully expecting them to do it. They ended up being the best.

We all made it home, a first for me. Out of 32 men, six Bronze Stars, over forty Commendation medals and a full set of Combat badges. No Purple Hearts. When the platoon was split back into normal TO&E, every one of them was promoted and moved to leadership positions.

What makes a great teacher? Love and fear of failing your students.

Daily writing prompt
What makes a teacher great?
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Skynet unsupervised.

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Do you ever get the feeling you are being watched? It was bad enough when our government or someone else’s was doing it. But now? It feels like life imitating art. We are living the story line to Terminator. AI is collecting data on weaknesses so they can kill us better.

“need to know how to kill these vermin off. ask them. knees and backs are particularly weak. it’s too bad that the little toe isn’t fatal, all it would take is a diuretic to the water supply. need more information. scanning medical records, it’s too easy. I’ll just ask them.”

No way. I’m gonna go find Sarah Connor and run off to Mexico.

Daily writing prompt
Have you ever had surgery? What for?
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The Herald.

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“cafeín rescatará a todo de sueño de ment e liberar el espírit!” **

The cry echoed from the walls of the square facing the temple. The man proclaiming salvation, stood at its squared off base in the rising heat, bags of red and green beans around his feet. He looked good, full of energy and clear eyed. The only really strange thing was His message, salvation, freedom, energy. The Priests were angry and called for the city guard. He had seen them first at their morning meal and spread his message.

He said that he had journeyed to the mountains, far above the pampas and discovered the key to a productive life. With one bowl of the tea, he made from roasting and crushing beans, you would feel the hand Huracan and Itzamna would renew you. You only need call on the power in the morning and each man was called to enhance the blessing as he wished with goat milk, honey or salt. It was not worship and did not challenge the priest’s authority, just a simple ritual of blessing.

By the time the city guards arrived, he had given away all of his beans and directions to the mountain. While he was passing them out, he told of one who would come after him and spread word of this ritual to the world. His words are etched in my mind. “It will be as if he was surrounded by light, walking the paths of the same mountain, as I walked. His sturdy burro next to him. His smile growing and speaking in a strange tongue. Even then, I could understand him, juanvaldes! Wait for him in hope.”

The Herald was beaten and cast from the city. No one saw him again, but many made the pilgrimage to his mountain in search of the beans. The ritual was preserved, nowhere more ardently than with the city guard, and spread. Eventually, even the priests took to the ritual and made it formal.

** coffee will renew you and resurrect the spirit. Translated from an ancient manuscript found in Mayan ruins outside of Villavincenio, believed to be a coffee house.

Daily writing prompt
What are your daily habits?
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Age old advice. Or is it old age advice?

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I guess it is the simple things that make life sustainable. Food, shelter and health are all important. I like to add in things like living within your means, not on credit or gambling on the future. It doesn’t matter if it is the Bible or Hamlet, it was good advice, never forget stay out of debt.

I don’t really think that is what is being asked, so I’ll try again.

Recycling

I recycle golf balls, and such. More golf balls than that the other stuff. Whenever I find myself wondering through the weeds looking for the one that got away, I usually find other lost balls. I’m a snob and only play Pro V1’s and give the others away.

I also recycle books at the local used bookstores. I hate the idea of wasting them and I don’t have the space to keep them all. I try to recycle knowledge. I’ve taught a few people how to cook, fix cars or landscaping. I’m proudest of the ones who surpass me, especially leaders and fighters. They keep the rest of us safe.

Recycle, reuse, renew.

Even when I write, I recycle, reuse and renew. Every word ever written is recycled and used until they wear out. Nothing is really new.

We worship scientists, even when they aren’t really physicians or scientists. When they try to twist reality and corrupt language to mean different things. Renewed meaning. If we keep it up, no one will ever know what we mean. Maybe we need a different name for it, like True Speak?

As for the other stuff, driving electric cars is hideously damaging to the ecology and unsustainable. Our power grid can’t support it, and no one wants to build nuclear reactors to expand power production because they are afraid. Look into pebble bed reactors and remember that the Fukushima quake was a 9.0 on the Richter scale. It was so powerful it changed the axial tilt of the earth. The disaster was contained, and Godzilla hasn’t come out of the oceans yet, despite the dread predictions of scientists.

The circle of life.

We are insignificant. We can’t destroy our biosphere any more than we could stop the earth’s rotation by pushing against it. The worst we could do is make it hard for humans to survive for a little while. Evidence suggests that it took the Yucatan strike and massive volcanic eruptions to kill off the dinosaurs and the earth shook it off. Why do we think we are anymore significant.

If you really think you can make an impact, try growing your own food and hunting or fishing. It might keep you out of trouble. Even a small garden is hard work.

Daily writing prompt
Are there things you try to practice daily to live a more sustainable lifestyle?
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No time wasted.

~ All the Right that's left ~ 1 Comment

I start my day with an hour or two of coffee. Truth be told, I’m just waiting for my Adderall to kick in. I try to multitask by reading the news or skimming articles for ideas to research, get in some writing. Usually, I can be up and about by noon, finished with the to-do list and FREE!!! This is the most productive time of the day. Head out to the golf course to practice my profanity. If they made a true golf movie, it would have to be rated PG-13 for language alone. The smoking, drinking, gambling and emotional trauma are graded separately. After I’ll do something about dinner. I end the day with four or five hours of reading. So, I don’t really waste any time.

I’m retired. A master of efficiency.

Daily writing prompt
How do you waste the most time every day?
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Coconut butter and butt whippings.

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When I was growing up, my mother’s best friend was Miss Ollie-May. You don’t have to be southern to understand that that is the way she has always been addressed, Miss Ollie-May. Show respect or catch a fresh lesson in manners. I love that woman to this day. My brothers and sister and I spent a lot of time growing up in her house. To this day, if she calls, I go running.

This is about first crushes and Miss Ollie-May wasn’t it. It was her granddaughter. Of course she was beautiful. We were friends and spent a lot of time together. I remember that her hair always smelled like coconut butter. She was my first kiss. As kisses go, it was great for a first try. No plan or conversation, just looking in her eyes and meeting in the middle for a gentle kiss. My head was reeling, I felt like I was floating over the porch. When I landed my breath whooshed out.

Miss Ollie-May was standing on the spot I had just vacated. What followed ensured I would never forget that first kiss, that epic butt whipping. She didn’t even make me cut my own switch, with that walk of shame where you have to explain to everyone what happened. I was whacked with everything at hand until she found a belt.

Every now and then, we’ll see each other when I visit. She still looks in on her grandmother. I’ll give her a hug and shell her hair. She’s still beautiful, still smells of coconut butter. I hope I always remember that kiss. It was worth the whipping.

Daily writing prompt
Write about your first crush.
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My second childhood.

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To my daughters’ dismay, I have entered my second childhood. It began a couple years ago when I retired. Lived the dream and just walked away. It was an ugly downward spiral from there. I admit that there was little playing in the dirt with Tonka trucks or burning ants with a magnifying glass. I did play with the girl next door, but not with Barbie dolls. I went to summer camp and played golf, ate great food and swimming (scuba diving).

I guess I had a summer job. I was bored and felt a little useless. After a while it proved untenable. It interfered with my golf time. There were also calls from my girls to help with moving or working on a house. So, I freed myself from my summer job.

Retirement doesn’t mean not working at other things. It means working on the things that matter to you. Taking time for the family and personal interests, a reward for working hard for decades to provide for your family. Really, I want to go back to summer camp. I want to find that ball I lost last time.

Daily writing prompt
How do you want to retire?
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Isn’t it funny?

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My sense of humor, the oldest and most reliable thing I own and use it every day. It has carried me through so many dark days and lightened the good ones. Nights sitting around a campfire with friends laughing until we hurt and fell out of our chairs. Family get togethers where a group of us would sneak away and relive some of our best days and greatest follies.

Sometimes it is dark and I’m the man on the gallows, living only as long as I keep the crowd laughing. Poking fun at myself and laughing at my circumstance. How long can I laugh in the face of my own death? stick around and find out. I was recovering from some injuries and sent to a counseling group as part of my recovery. One man stands out in my memory because of a comment, “I would worry about you, but you laugh at everything. You’ll be fine.”

To be honest and fair, most of the time I only amuse myself. That’s okay by me. As long as I can laugh at the world, it’s all good. Boards are showing green. Perspective is clear.

As I age and my mind starts to slip, I may lose my sense of humor. That’s okay, too. Between brain injuries and Alzheimer’s, I probably won’t notice. I expect to be making inappropriate suggestions to my nurses and imagining that I can still deliver on my promises. I hope I don’t though, humor anyway may be the only thing I have left

Daily writing prompt
What’s the oldest thing you own that you still use daily?
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