Going...Going...Gone

Interesting
Spent an interesting day at Carlisle Barracks today. My youngest daughter and I went on Post and took pictures of where we lived and pictures of friends’ houses and things. We went by the house where one of the permanent party people murdered his wife a couple of years ago. He strangled her, put her in a closet, and later that evening threw her in Letort Run. He reported her missing. She was found floating in the run. No one has lived in the house since. Of course, he sits in a military prison now.

Later on, Seminar 13 from the War College met at Rillo's for supper. These people are funny and fun to be around. Too bad they all live so far apart because I could hang with a lot of them. There's the Chaplain and his wife. The Chaplain was born in Ethiopia. His wife is born and bred Texan and a very nice couple.

Then there's a couple from Massachusetts. Both are police people and the wife's grandfather was a former governor of Massachusetts. I love to hear them talk with their accents. They don't just say "idea", they say "ideer" and instead of "Linda", it's "Linder." The husband who used to be a fireman and wound up a police sergeant, told of carrying Hillary Clinton's rain coat and trying to help a humongously large, rather obese and tipsy Ted Kennedy out of a limo. It was a struggle because this guy only weighs around 170 while Kennedy weighed around 300 at the time.

There's a JAG from Portland, Maine (a woman) who is very animated and a male nurse who kept everyone laughing with his singing and stories. Peter is from Sweden and it's always interesting to hear about different cultures and countries. He's good-looking too!

All-in-all, a very nice day.

Weird, I Know
This is weird, I know, but it happens to me a lot. Here's the story. We went to Gettysburg today. It's getting close to the date, July 1-3 1863, when the huge battle took place during the Civil War. I've been there many times before and always feel, I don't know, kind of heavy or subdued when I walk the park where the heaviest fighting took place. I feel a sadness. The park is getting ready for the re-enactment of the battle on July 3, which they say was the turning point for the war. Re-enactors are beginning to come in and walk the town and even camp on the actual grounds dressed as either North or South and will reproduce the battle for several days.

A little history first; In July of 1863, General Robert E. Lee's Army Of Northern Virginia of 75,000 men and the 97,000 man Union Army Of The Potomac under General George G. Meade met. Before it was all over, a total (from both sides) of over 51,000 men died. Over 172,000 men and 634 cannon had been positioned in an area encompassing 25 square miles. Additionally, an estimated 569 tons of ammunition was expended and, when the battle ended, 5,000 dead horses and other wreckage of war were left for the small town of Gettysburg (2,400 then) to clean up.

Ok, so like I said, I've been there many times and always felt sad and heavy. Today, I wanted to cry and get out of there! I actually felt moved to tears, and burdened like a weight was on me. I also felt oppressed, and fear. None of these emotions were mine, I didn’t' feel them myself, but they would come over me in certain places. I began to realize that I felt this when I stood in a location of heavy loss of life and when I removed myself from these locations to somewhere where there was not a large loss of life, the feeling would lighten.

I don't know how to explain it nor do I want to. The only thing I can figure is that maybe it had something to do with the re-enactors being there so close to the actual battle time. I know, I'm different but I've always had these experiences since childhood. I always give it back to God and leave it in his hands where he can take care of it.

So...that's what happened to me today.

Ah...Pooh!
One of my favorite bloggers has called it quits. Madpony.com was a link to home and funny to boot. It was written by 2 sisters; Kristen & Lauren from Oklahoma. Kristen is a student at OU and was in a sorority and Lauren was her younger sister. Both girls wrote and they were both very funny. I'm sorry to see them go, but hey, Kristen is getting on with life with pre-law I think, and Lauren well...she's into horses and boys.
So it goes.

Things are going well. There's a lot to see, at least I think so. We went to Boiling Springs this week and ate with the Seminar (we're with 13). It was a good gathering. Many of the men and women who are attending the non-residence course at the War College are either National Guard or Reserve so they have jobs outside of the military. One of the guys is a policeman from Boston and has the wonderful accent of Boston mixed with a Maine accent having grown up in a family of fishermen in Gloucester (where the fishermen from the movie "The Perfect Storm" were from). One is from Denmark and others are scattered across the United States. It is interesting to meet people other than from your own backyard. You have a broader sense of America and the world because these people have traveled all in America as well as foreign countries.

Carlisle is small, but I enjoy it. The cost of clothing is great and you can pick up lots of clothes for a little of nothing. They have shirts for $4 that are $20 or more in Indiana and Oklahoma. They take 50% off the ticketed price which lowers it even more; foods a little higher, about 25 cents more for bread. Restaurants are plentiful and good. I had Mediterranean Sea Scallops the other night and a place called Rillo's serves Mediterranean Capallini(sp)that is to die for! Little John's has great baked crab cakes and I could go on and on. I really have to watch my weight here! We've been antique shopping which is also great. The week has passed quickly and soon we'll be into next week.

I guess that's it for now. I'll post pictures when I get home.

Here
We're in Carlisle. All 650 miles went well. It sure as heck beats the 1200 we used to have to drive! The weather is pretty cool right now, not horrible, but you need a light jacket when the sun goes down.

It's an hour later here than in Terre Haute. Even though Terre Haute is on Eastern time, they don't do day light savings so they're with central time now. I like not having to change time and it doesn't get dark until around 9pm or after anyway. So, back to Carlisle.

Carlisle is a very old town, for America that is. It's nearly 300 years old and George Washington was on the Barracks at one time. There's a tree on post that goes back to the time when Washington was there. It is a tradition that the kids that come each year to the War College with their families carve their name or initials in the tree. You can look up high into the branches and see names going forever. For a tree to be over 200 years, you can imagine how big around it is...huge!

More to come later.

I'm going to post now just in case I don't have time tomorrow. I'm not sure I'll be able to in Carlisle. We'll have the laptop, but if we have to use the Barracks server, I won't be able to stay on long so... this may or may not be the last post for 2 weeks. Hopefully, I'll get some pictures of Carlisle, Gettsyburg, and maybe Amish country and put them out when I get back.

I promise, my life didn't used to be as uneventful as it is now. This is the first time in 13 years I haven't worked full-time and staying at home doesn't give me much opportunity for chit-chat with other people. Hopefully, I'll find something I'm really interested in and get involved in that. I'm a photographer and writer, but there are no photography or writers clubs that I know of in Terre Haute. If anyone knows of one, let me know. When I taught elementary school I always had something going on because kids keep you on your toes. I'll have to tell some of those stories sometime.

If I don't blog for awhile, you'll know why.

Three days until we leave for Carlisle PA.and the Barracks. It'll be different this time because we're taking our dog and daughter with us to stay 2 wks. in a hotel. I don't know about being cramped up in a hotel room for 2 wks. with either the dog or daughter lol!

I've got the doors set on chime so I'll know when Son decides to go out during the night. The first time, it nearly scared him to death because he thought he set the alarm off! Yeah, he goes out many times during the night to smoke and wakes me up each time. He's an insomniac.

Keelan's not too happy with her Kirkland's job in Oklahoma. She has to drive about an hour there and back and says the store doesn't know what it's doing because they've just been opened since October. Keelan knows more than they do because she's worked for over a year at Kirklands here in Indiana. She has learned though, that bosses are bosses no matter where they are.

It keeps raining and raining and raining and flooding too. I'd rather deal with tornadoes personally. This flooding of roads and underpasses is new to me and I don't care for it. So, WeatherBug is flashing AGAIN and oh, guess what? IT'S ANOTHER FLOOD WATCH. BLAH!

Talked to Son's mother yesterday. She lives in lala land half the time. I like her, but she doesn't stay in reality on many things. I always feel tired after talking to her because of the many lies she tells and also I have to listen very carefully to what she is saying because of her accent. It's still very strong even after all these years in America.

Went to a wedding last night held at a small local lake. It was a nice little wedding with family, friends, and co-workers and very casual. Bride and groom were married in casual atire. I found the lake different than the lakes at home in the way it was shaped and the way the lake community functioned. In Oklahoma, people build along the lake and drive around the lake on 4-wheelers or motorcycles (cars too.) Of course, they camp too. Here, everyone was driving golf carts of various descriptions. Some were gas powered and some electrically powered. I'm not just talking a few, but one right after the other and let me tell you, the lights on those little carts are blinding.

On the home front, since Son graduated, he has been staying out all night, or coming in after 4:30 a.m. He's still only 17. Tell me, what would any of you do to stop him from doing this? I know it's not good for him. There's only trouble at that hour. My problem, I'm the step-mom and dad doesn't really seem to have a problem with it. He says, "Let us know where you are", but he does nothing to abort the situation.
Later

Everything
Been writing on my book lately. I've got a children's story done and am having a friend illustrate it. She's really good and I think her style will go right along with the story. I got the idea for the book from my nephew.

I've got a half-written novel that I need to finish and a nearly finished book to my 5 kids. Of course, tons of poetry is written and some music. The hard part is hooking up with an agent and also making sure your work "fits the format."

Our yard has all these little hills and humps in it and I found out it's because the squirrels keep digging up acorns! I learned this because I see them doing it. I wondered why when you walked across the yard you felt all these little bumps. So...now I know. These squirrels also keep planting oak trees everywhere. I go around each day pulling up new oak trees growing everywhere. It's becoming a chore! Terre Haute has these huge, sturdy, strong, very tall and very old oak trees. It's rare in Oklahoma to see an old tree of any kind. We do have trees, just not all that old. Off the subject a little bit, but I think I'll send some oaks to Oklahoma. We need some real trees.

I guess that's if for now.

Poem of the Day

HOME

Home is but a memory in time
ripped without consent
from my grasp
displacing me in another realm of reality
security
disavowed.
And I am left
seeking
always
seeking
congruity amidst strife.

Wondering
Do you ever wonder where you'd be or what you might be doing if you had zigged instead of zagged? In other words, taken another path instead of the one you took; or in my case, was pushed onto? Have you ever though about how the course of your life can be changed when someone else is in control?

My mother made that decision for my brother and me when I was 15 and I can honestly say it created an eternity of walking down the wrong path until I pulled myself off. I knew what I wanted to do then, before being pushed where I didn't want to go. I wanted to go to college. I wanted adventure. All my friends would be going and then boom...Mom decides we're moving from town into rural hell. I found out later the move was due to an affair my dad was having. Mom didn't want to be in the same town as the mistress so off we go, shoved onto the wrong life path; and by of all people, our mother! She couldn't know that what she did all those years ago would still be having a ripple effect in our lives now.

I'm 47. My brother's 45. Due to Mom's intervention in our life at that critical age, my brother is an alcoholic among other things and has 2 divorces under his belt. He's not a bad guy, really. One of the excuses Mom used to move us into a rural school that would have appeared normal in a third world country, was she wanted to keep us away from drugs. Humph! That's where brother acquired all his knowledge about various drugs, alcohol, etc.

I never got into that, but married at 19 and didn't begin college until 28 and 3 kids later. Around 34 after 14 years of marriage, a divorce ensued and after that, a brief time spent on welfare. So, I got my degree in Education, not because that's what I really wanted to do, but because a single mom needs baby sitters and summers off not having to pay a sitter, sounded good.

Where did my real dreams lie? In the sky, the ocean, travel in exotic cultures; adventure. How about a trip through the ancient world of Egypt or a trek into the jungle when there still was a jungle, or maybe a tromp through Africa sleeping under the stars in a tent surrounded by wildlife that may soon cease to exist. Maybe I would have been the one to find the Titanic or a king’s tomb, or the first woman to fly an F-16.

Maybe.....

Ahhh...Who Knew?

Where do you fall on the liberal - conservative political spectrum? (United States)
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Three of my kids are in Oklahoma at the present and one of them who is here in Indiana is just about ready to find out what the world is all about if he can't behave more responsibly! Look, the kid is 2 months from being 18 and he still urinates on the toilet and the floor. He has shoulder-length hair and when he combs it, he leaves it in the sinks. He throws his towels on the floor. I have had to put signs in the bathroom to remind him not to do this and when he does turn 18, he will be escorted out if he can't abide by such a simple thing. Ah, I feel better now.

Hope the movie was great Bran & Kee!

Stuff
So...We took Keelan as far as Lebanon Missouri last night and Rantz met us at this crappy hotel and then Keelan followed him the rest of the way home the next day (which is today). It's approximately 650 miles from Terre Haute to Shawnee and we met half-way. Anyway, we left around 6pm yesterday. I hate driving at night and so does Keelan. Part of the way through Missouri is on this dark, winding road and you can't see for jack either side of the road. Hubby kept getting really far ahead of me (I took over driving because Keelan got tired) and you can't tell one tail-light from the next in the dark anyway. It's a good thing I knew what exit to take! It took us around 6 hours because it was dark and it's hard to follow someone else anyway. So we get there and this motel is STU...PID and ugly and skanky to boot. Our dog Indy went with us and he whined all night. Most of the cars there were pitted-out pieces of junk except for the occasional ones like us and I think he knew he was among the criminal element of man-kind and he kept me awake ALL NIGHT whining because he was either scared or wanted to keep them away from his family.

So at this skanky motel, we had reserved 2 rooms the night before we left and when Rantz got there the guy who made the reservations hadn't left them for the next shift and we had no reservations. They had 2 rooms left and Rantz took one and called me and I had him pay for ours because I figured those people wouldn't keep it held for us. We wound up paying $20 more for a room with 3 beds so Rylee had a bed, Keelan had a bed and we had one. It looked stupid to have 3 beds all in a row. Grrrr!!!

We left around 9:30 this morning from there and got home in around 5 hours because we could book without someone tailing us. Hubby always takes care of the kids so he gave Kee $60 and paid for Rantz's room too and a tank of gas. Rantz tells all of us that his and Keelan's dad was going to help him buy furniture for his new house, but what he didn't know was that his dad had just told Keelan day's before that he couldn't help her with her tuition. It made Kee feel bad because he helps Rantz, but not her. Oh well.

Step-dad (she's lived with him longer than her own dad) got her in to see an F-16 because that's her goal, to fly one of those planes. She said it was the highlight of her life so far. She's going to join the Air Guard next summer and maybe join ROTC to become an officer. She'll succeed.

I'm out of here! After not sleeping last night, I'm tired. Please excuse any misspelled words cause I'm typing really fast and too tired to check.

Mind Change
So... Keelan won't be moving back to Oklahoma until next summer. She is going to stay the summer in Oklahoma however, and come back when Brandy and Rantz come up here in July. It was a hard decision for her, but in the end she decided it was not financially feasible for her at this point. She would be giving up a whole year of free college and she also hopes to someday pilot F-16's and there is a unit here where this type of plane is housed. Air Force ROTC is also offered at ISU as well, so there could be a chance she might be able to get a foot in the door in that unit in the near future. That was a prayer answered because we all thought (parent's step-parent's, brother and sister's) that it wouldn't go well for her if she went this year.

So Son's sister got him surround sound for his graduation present and he's causing us all to go deaf because of how loud he turns it up. Right now I can hear the bump, bump of the bass through 2 closed doors and 2 TV's! I think all those little speakers will soon start to disappear one by one until he understands what, "Turn it down" means.

Not Much
Not much going on at this point except adjusting to kids out of school. Later in June some of us will be going to the War College. I enjoy that and love to go to Gettsyburg. It's awesome. I might be able to fit in a trip to New York while there. We'll see.