The Boy is Back in Town

 

It was Tuesday when I got the call, "Hey, dad, I've missed my flight." I paused, "Excuse me?" It was true, the Specialist had specially missed his flight from Osan airbase to Seattle and thence to Dallas. And he was freaked out at the prospect of, well, all kinds of trouble.

In a spirit of "no man left behind," I called up Camp Humphreys, explained the situation, and before you could say "Imjin Hill meets Glorious Glosters" spoke to a perfectly polite Korean woman who perfectly rescheduled the flight.

Typical Goucesters

Another call, this time to a soldier in a taxi returning to base, "Your flight's rescheduled to Thursday, it leaves at Noon." A shocked silence, "You got through? Wow, thanks." And the next thing you know, the kid was standing at the carousel at Terminal C. "Welcome home!"

Seriously, it's the first leave of any length he's had in one and a half years. Thanks, scamdemic. I took him out to an Irish pub around the corner for Guinness, fries and orange duck, of all things. "Look at this, orange duck, just like being in Ireland, eh?" Tasty, though.

Justine Trudeau The Face of Canada

He's off to Canada on Saturday, if they'll let him through the border, and then back to Texas in August before deploying to Fort Hood. And that, readers, is the story of that. I tell you, good to see my eldest son again.

Cheers,

LSP

New British Army Ads, Some Kind Of Joke?

Some say that Gloucestershire is God's Own County, others say it's Yorkshire or somewhere else. Whatever the case, the Gloucestershire Regiment's no more; it was amalgamated with the Hampshires, becoming the "Hampsters" and then disappeared.

I think that's a shame, not least because of the history of the thing. Back to back at Alexandria, fight till the bullets run out at Imjin Hill and all the rest, which made the Glosters the Glorious Glosters or "Mess Tin Heads," depending on your preference. You can take pride in that but no more, it's gone.

Of course the British Army's about a different kind of pride these days. (thanks for the heads up, LL) You never know, when the enemy attacks our rainbow warriors they might die laughing.

Great Britain is apparently preparing for a new kind of war, a war in which gay Muslims defend the realm against... against what? Judy Garland?

All the way to the Emerald City,

LSP

Opening Day of Dove Season, Evening Shoot

This morning's shoot was so enjoyable we decided to do it all over again this evening. First off, I moved along an avenue of trees with my philisophical friend GWB, hoping to flush out some birds and sure enough, one or two were flying. Great excitement and I tried to make up for my morning's slow start with some fairly aggressive shooting. It paid off well enough, a couple of dove down.

Decoys But No Dove

Walkabout over, we set up in the corner of a 100 acre field and waited for dove. A couple flew over, were missed, and then nothing. Perhaps the evening's shoot was going to be a bust, despite a promising beginning; typical Opening Day.

Stand To

I needn't have worried. After reverting to the morning's treeline spot and waiting for about half an hour, the birds starting coming in in waves. Like at Imjin Hill but from the air, and birds instead of fanatical Chicoms. Needless to say, the shooting was fast and furious and before long there was a respectable body of dove on the tailgate.

Kind Old LSP

Great result and some of the most enjoyable shooting I've had in a while. Looking forward to the jalapeno, bacon and dove poppers.

I love dove hunting.

LSP