Wet Wednesday, Etc.

 

We can now have a fire in the wood stove. 

A while back we learned that, for safety reasons, the chimney-sweeping folks would not sign off on our lighting a fire in the stove until we had to have a new chimney.

So, yesterday turned out to be a perfect day weatherwise for the installers to remove the old chimney parts and replace them with new. 

While Kalen and his assistant Corey methodically went through their procedures both inside and out, Bill and I spent most of our day outside. 

Bill sawed stuff, while I buried bulbs in the ground and did some more leaf raking and pickup. 

What a lovely November day it was with the sun shining and relatively warm temps!  

Definitely a good opportunity to finish more outdoor projects. 

And, it was topped off by an amazing Northern Lights show and another impressive ZAGS victory, this time over Creighton University. 

I saw the following this morning and thought it was worth sharing. 

It's a summary of Warren Buffett's final thoughts to his shareholders as he retires as CEO of  Berkshire Hathaway.  

I did not push the down button in the elevator until after I'd taken this photo, which seemed like a nice way to celebrate a glowing health report from Paige, my medical provider. 

After what I consider a medical year from Hell, the news was almost all good, except for a couple of admonishments: check that blood pressure periodically at home, away from white coats and drink more fluids. 

I'm dehydrated but healthy.  All the blood tests say that, as do all the poking and proddings.  

PLUS, I knew the answer to the cognitive test, which this time did not involve an address in Portland.  

This time I had to memorize three words in the order given and, after drawing numbers on a clock and then sketching in a specific time, I had to repeat the three words again. 

The digital age of telling time threw me for a momentary loop, but I drew the hands in their proper position. 

I also reported to Paige while she was reporting to me that, except for my unruly gut, I feel better than ever.  

The weight loss has, no doubt, contributed to that, and Paige isn't too concerned about the weight loss cuz she figures I'm eating better and that when the diet doesn't involve sugars and fats, I'm not going to gain weight. 

So, Monday was a happy day and seeing that pretty fall scene through the elevator glass simply enhanced the positive feeling. 

I'm still dealing with colitis but it seems so much more manageable than it was a few months ago. 

Life is good, and I am grateful. 

More rain today, but it's supposed to taper off later this morning. 

Happy Wednesday. 

Hail to Our Veterans

 

 

We salute our sisters, brothers, friends, neighbors and all who have sacrificed and continue to sacrifice in our behalf throughout the history of this country. 

May we remain resolute, as contributing citizens, in seeing that their efforts have not, are not or will not be in vain.  

 

My brother, West Point graduate Mike Brown, with his book about his 1972 helicopter shootdown in Vietnam. 

Army Sgt. Brandon Adam at the San Antonio Therapy Center with President George W. Bush

Historical Perspective from a Local

Navy LT Greg Parker maneuvers his EA-6B Prowler assigned to Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 137 (VAQ-137) behind the starboard wing of a British Nimrod MK2 during preparations to receive an air-refueling probe. VAQ-137 is embarked on board the nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (CVN 73) enforcing UN sanctions against Iraq

2001 Veterans' Day Thoughts from Sandpoint's Greg Parker, an Afghanistan war veteran, submitted in November 2001.

          Today, November 11 2001, is Veterans’ Day.  Exactly two months ago, on September 11, I was onboard the U.S. Navy’s oldest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier – the USS Enterprise - as it steamed south from the Persian Gulf on its way toward a port visit in South Africa.  

We had just completed six weeks enforcing the no-fly zone over Southern Iraq.  Having endured 120-degree flight deck-temperatures, and at the end of a six-month deployment, we were all looking  forward to some time in port and to getting home to our families.  

At 3:45 p.m. local time, we watched the first of the attacks on the World Trade Center, and everything changed.

          The Persian Gulf and the North Arabian Sea are a long way from Idaho and a world away from the United States.  They are, however, common places for the men and women of the armed forces of this country.  Following the successful liberation of Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, the U.S. has maintained a strong presence in the area.  Aircraft carriers routinely operate there; Army and Air Force units are staged in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia.  

Unlike so many Americans who witnessed the violence in the Middle East only through TV news, we were intimately familiar with the geography, the politics, and the potential for conflict.  Like those same Americans, however, we too were shocked and horrified by the cowardly attacks on innocent civilians. And like the generations of American combatants who have preceded us, we tightened our belts and prepared to fight.

 

          Today’s military is both different from and similar to the military of the past in several ways.  We are smaller today:  whereas 12% of the population served in the armed forces during World War II, and 5% served during the Vietnam War, today we constitute only about ½ of 1%.  

In order to be effective as a smaller force, we have to be smarter:  most of our members have high school degrees, and many have been to college, including all of our officers.  We are well-versed in technology and place more emphasis on education than ever before.

  But we also retain a link to our predecessors.  

Like the soldiers who clashed at Gettysburg, like the sailors who endured Pearl Harbor; and like the pilots who were shot down over Vietnam, we know instinctively that some things are worth fighting for and even dying for.  We know that we man the front lines of America’s defense.  On September 11, we knew that our country had been attacked and that it was time to respond.

          My own contribution to the Air War over Afghanistan began almost immediately.  I fly EA-6B Prowlers – carrier-based radar-jamming jet aircraft – that are based in Whidbey Island, Washington, and deploy to aircraft carriers on both coasts.  My squadron of four aircraft is a small part of Carrier Air Wing Eight, a composite unit that includes squadrons of fighter-attack jets, helicopters, and radar and tanking aircraft onboard the Enterprise.  Together we can bring approximately 75 aircraft to the most remote corners of the Earth and, with the other ships in the battle group, we constitute an effective and lethal fighting force unmatched by any combat unit in the world.  

On September 11, as the entire U.S. Air Traffic Control system shut down, we turned the Enterprise around and quickly took station in the Arabian Sea, waiting for our tasking.  We were soon joined by other naval units:  the USS Carl Vinson carrier battle group from the West Coast; the USS Kitty Hawk from Japan; and the USS Theodore Roosevelt from the East Coast.  About 5000 officers, sailors, and marines live on each carrier.  With all these ships deployed, the U.S. presence quickly rose to tens of thousands of people.

          On October 7, we began our attack on Afghanistan.  We flew long distances both day and night to hit targets and drop humanitarian aid on the country.  I personally flew several missions and had to evade ground fire from Taliban forces hoping to down an American aircraft, but, like most carrier pilots, I found the most daunting part of the mission to be the approach to the carrier at the end:  a boat is a very unnatural place to land!  

We continued the attacks for the next two weeks until we were ordered back to the United States.  Having left Norfolk, Virginia on 25 April, the Enterprise had been at sea for more than 6 ½ months – the first such carrier to deploy for more than 180 days in the last ten years.  I flew home with my squadron’s airplanes on November 9, and the ship pulled in the following day. 

          This country is currently at war, and I don’t know when it will end.  I do, however, take great pride in the people that I have served with and that I am currently serving with.  For the most part, we are not the sons and daughters of the nation’s wealthy or the nation’s powerful.  

We join for many reasons:  when I left Sandpoint High School, I wanted to serve my country, but I also wanted to see the world.  I entered the Navy by going to the U.S. Naval Academy, where I graduated in 1990, and I was fortunate enough to complete graduate degrees at Johns Hopkins University and Cambridge University in England.  From there I went to flight school in Pensacola, Florida; Meridian, Mississippi; and Kingsville, Texas before joining my squadron in Washington.  

My story is not particularly unusual, however.  My peers and subordinates hail from every state and city of the country.  We are pilots, mechanics, weathermen, journalists, soldiers, sailors, and airmen.  We are black, white, Hispanic and Asian.  We are Catholics, Protestants, Jews, and Muslims.  

But most of all, we are Americans. 

          Today, on Veterans Day, I think of the cemeteries that overlook the beaches of Normandy.  I think of all the brave Americans who fought in this country’s battles, from Bunker Hill to Kabul, and I realize that I am part of an American fighting tradition that reaches back to the country’s very foundations.  

But when I think of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, I realize that the call to battle is still very urgent and necessary.  So I encourage you, on this Veteran’s Day, to take a moment to pay tribute to the men and women who once were or now are in uniform.  

If you are interested in military service, we would be glad to have you join us – in whatever capacity.  If not, then please don’t forget those who stand the watch around the world in defense of your freedom.  

And most of all, please don’t take your liberties for granted.   As we saw on 11 September, there are plenty of people who will kill to take them away.

Lieutenant Commander Greg Parker, U.S. Navy

Electronic Attack Squadron 141, NAS Whidbey Island, Washington

SHS Class of ‘85

✈✈✈✈✈✈

From the blog, Dec. 29, 2013

Another sad time in Sandpoint as the community has learned that one of its own has paid the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan.

Capt. David Lyon (Lissy), a 2008 graduate of the Air Force Academy and holder of several Academy athletic records,  died Dec. 27 in Kabul when an explosive device detonated near his convoy.  

Ten troops---including NATO and Afghan soldiers---died in the attack.

David's death touches scores of admirers both near and far.  

The news spread quickly yesterday afternoon to Facebook walls of his classmates from Sandpoint High School, including his friend former Army Sgt. Brandon Adam, now of Colorado Springs, who survived a similar attack in Iraq, losing both legs.

From high school classmate Ashley Tate:  I met David in 7th grade in Mr. Swerin's science class. The first week of school a bee stung my right thumb on the way in from lunch. David saw I was having trouble holding a pen and offered to take notes for me. Very kind, very courteous, and one of the nicest guys I've ever come across.

Many of us watched David grow up here in Sandpoint. We also watched his mother Jeannie grow up in this community.  

Jeannie's parents were well known as her mother Imogene taught business courses at Sandpoint High School.  

Before serving as the Bonner County livestock extension agent, her dad Raynold taught FFA and vocational agriculture at Sandpoint High School. 

These days, and for several years, Jeannie Lyon has served as a much beloved teacher at Sandpoint Middle School.  I can tell you from personal experience that his step-father is a kind and wonderful gentle man. 

There are no words that can adequately express the depth of this loss---just hearts filled with painful sadness for David and his family. 

I join the multitude who send condolences to the family and the friends whose hearts are aching at this time.   

And, I thank David for his service and sacrifice for our country.

******

Again, a heartfelt thanks to all veterans. 

Monday Miscellany

 

Foster and I took a walk around the farm yesterday.  

My outside work was done for the day, dinner was in the oven and the Seahawks were winning big. Plus, thanks to CBS Sports, I was able to watch the ZAGS women pull off a victory over a strong Toledo team. 

So, it was time for some outdoor enjoyment which involved no work and some time with our little dog. 

Foster appreciates his leash when we go for longer walks because he knows that it will guide him on where to go and not bump into things.

We walked across the hay field, where he stopped occasionally to check out a smell. 

When we reached the far pasture, a deer stood in the trees keeping track of our every move. Later, when we came her way, she watched for a while and then bounded off toward the woods with her tail in the air. 

She stopped several times to observe us, but every time we progressed a little closer, she would take off again.  

We eventually caught up with Bill and Bridie who were doing their respective jobs out in the woods.  

Bridie's involves a ball, while Bill was piling an impressive stack of wood which will probably be used next year. 

After visiting a while, Foster and I went on our way where we saw more deer followed by white tails flashing off further into the woods. 

It was a pleasant little jaunt through our beautiful park-like woods, and I know Foster enjoyed himself.  He's always ready to go, especially when his leash is involved. 

Hope, when the other work dies down, we can turn these walks into a habit where we can enjoy our beautiful piece of ground as often as possible before the snow flies.

I saw an article last week in the Spokesman announcing all the attention this novella is receiving now that it's been made into a movie. 

The story concentrated on all the attention the Spokane area is going to receive thanks to where the movie was filmed. 

I read the book shortly after its release nearly 15 years ago, so it surprised me when I didn't see much, if any, mention of the Bonners Ferry area. 

Here's what I wrote for a blog post in 2011 shortly after reading Train Dreams. 

~~I read a book yesterday in record time.  A friend from way back in my childhood days sent me a note via Facebook telling me about the book, which is set in Boundary County and parts of Western Montana.

It's a novella--116 pages, published this past August.   It's written by a winner of the National Book Award:  Denis Johnson. 

Suzan Cantrell Syrett told me she checked it out from her local library to see if any it dealt with any of her relatives who lived in the Bonners Ferry area. 

 

It's called Train Dreams.  It's surreal, and it's a great read.  

Since the book came home yesterday afternoon from Vanderford's, both Bill and I have read it and chuckled about some of the little stories within.

We found it especially intriguing because it's mostly set in the woods near Meadow Creek where my dad's mother (Iva Tibbs) taught in a one-room school, back in the 1920s.

  

I'd recommend this to anyone who loves a gifted writer who uses snippets of history from a local area to craft a great story. 

And, now, Denis Johnson's award-winning book has been turned into a movie, receiving widespread critical acclaim and even talk of an Academy Award nomination for Best Movie. 

Can't wait for Train Dreams to show up on Netflix, and I hope Meadow Creek, where we as a family have spent so much time throughout our lives, also gets some attention in the movie. 

Many leaves picked up this past week and hauled away or mulched but many yet to drop and those poplar leaves always seem never-ending. 

I was surprised yesterday to see baby lupine leaves in one of the flower beds.  Apparently, we're having a little touch of spring during this beautiful extended fall. 

I love walking through the woods because of its thick and soft carpet of pine needles. 

Another day with no pouring rain.  Loving it. 

Happy Monday. Have a great day.