Get Out There

 

Get out there, but to do what, shoot guns, fish, sight-see and all of that? No, to visit the sick, in this case a man in the final stages of ALS, which is an awful disease. I administered Last Rites or Extreme Unction and he told me, afterwards, in a whisper, that he was "ready to go." What a good man and I pray for a miracle; you might pray for him too, his name's Jimmy and he's a vet who was awarded the Purple Heart in Vietnam.

Visit over, I headed back to HWY 6, Meridian and home via all kinds of rocky paths. I tell you, my friend lives in an interesting place, with cactus hills, mesquite and hilltop mansions, and you can picture the Commanche lookouts on the hilltops. Fortunately there were no savage Commanche, but I did drive through a small herd of Black Buck Gazelle as I rode to the gate. Exotic, and I'm sure you get the picture.

typical Black Buck Gazelle

 

In utterly unrelated news, some 80,000 Moslem savages have crossed into Spain's North African city, Cueta, facing Gibraltar. The border simply collapsed and the Communists in Madrid have done effectively nothing to stop the flood, what a surprise; something similar's happening in Melilla. Reports indicate Spain's police and army have stood down in the face of the invasion. Again, what a total, never would have guessed it surprise.

savages

Unwelcome surprise aside, pity the poor people in Cueta and Melilla, betrayed by their beloved nihilist Socialist Rulers. Perhaps, somewhere in Spain, there's someone ready to rise up and save their nation. Let's see, it's happened before. In the meanwhile pray for Jimmy, he's a good man.

Best,

LSP

Epiphany

 

What a beautiful Epiphany morning, crisp and clear with the sun rising over the common behind the Compound. I say "common" but I don't think any of us have grazing rights on this bit of vacant land owned by the Civic Power. Regardless, I wasn't there to recce out a site for a new parade square or even admire the scenery, no, I was there to work.

Don't laugh, I was, and spent the morning hanging drywall for a new Habitat For Humanity house.  What a good cause and led, in this instance, by a neat guy who got me into the swing of things. He's retired now and spends his time putting up these houses for the good of the community, but had been a soldier for 20 years.

A Mexican immigrant, he joined up in 1969 and fought in Vietnam where he was wounded, "What's that, 49 inches? Sometimes my memory's not so good, I stepped on a mine." Mines aside, D stayed in and retired in 1989 as, I think, a  Command Sergeant Major with III Corps. "Phantom Warriors," I offered, resisting the urge to ask how an armored corps could somehow classify as "phantom." He grinned, impact wrench in hand, "That's right, III Corps."

What a good guy and he liked the fact that my eldest, the erstwhile and maybe future cadet, was stationed at Fort Hood, "It'll always be Fort Hood, man. Have you been down Tank Destroyer Boulevard?" I replied that I had. "There's a lot of power there," he said in a quiet tone and I agreed that there was.

Ahem, Civic Power, Roads

Then we were finished for the day and I tell you, I really enjoyed the work, the company and the chance to put faith into practice. All you biblical scholars out there will recall Christ was rather insistent on people helping out those less fortunate than ourselves. That in mind, I'll be back on the project, big fun to boot.

An Epiphany? Yes indeed, on several levels. Not least, tear yourself away from the appalling news cycle and do something good and constructive. Exercise your faith, put "tract into act" and all of that, and who knows who you'll meet along the way. But I won't preach.

Cheers,

LSP