My goodness, what a change ...

Veteran's Day was earlier this week, and a lot of the Veterans I know had a photo or two posted on Facebook showing the Soldier in their younger days.  

This brought a couple of things to my attention -- most of us looked much better (you know, the lean, mean, fighting machine picture) back then, and most of the pictures were taken many, many moons ago (most of us had hair and it wasn't gray).

Well, I came across these two pictures of 1SG Dave and 2LT me.  The first one was taken shortly after I got my commission to 2LT and we were deployed to do the Cubans at Ft. Chaffee.  This would have been the second time we were assigned to that mission.  Notice how slim and trim both of us are.  Those were the days.

The second picture is many years later, and was taken at a Battalion Dining Out.  Not sure of the year, but it was somewhere between 1994-98 as those were the years I was the battalion commander (all four years as a major). One other thing worth noting -- look at all of those service stripes on the CSM's sleeve.  He used to say he was a senior bus driver with all of those things.  Dave was pretty close to the end of his career; I still served for at least 10 to 14 more years.  I sure owe a lot to Dave's guidance and leadership over all those years and assignments.  I think most of the lost hair in the second picture was the result of raising a fresh 2LT and mentoring him all those years ... no easy task.

So those are my Veteran's Day remembrances for this year.  Sure had lots more pictures to look at and LOTS more memories, but these two just happened to be first ones in the folder I was looking through at the time.  Maybe more some other post.

A true friend accepts who you are, but also helps you to become who you should be. (Anon.)

Hooah

Funny what you can see on a road trip ...

Well, it wasn't a real road trip.  I was just going up town, maybe to get gas or go to Wal-Mart for something.  

Anyway, one of the big house-building companies was clearing all the timber out of a few acres just a little ways from here.  They have been going absolutely crazy around here clearing land and throwing up housing areas.  Thing is, people are buying them as fast or faster than they can build them (which, by the way doesn't take very long). Once the concrete dries they have a house framed up in a day!! 

So, back to the road trip.  As I came around a turn, I saw a tree that had been left -- a single tree in the middle of huge farm field. At first it looked like a mistake of nature.  But as I went past it to the other side, I looked in the rear view mirror and it looked like something out of a Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings or some other science fiction movie.  Check it out:

Pretty cool, huh.  Maybe those land clearing guys actually had an eye for a far-out piece of modern art. Nice wings.  Nice beak. Deep-seated eyes. Looks like its walking across the field.

The more I look at it, the more I wonder what history that tree has lived through, how many times it might have been struck by lightning, what droughts or tornadoes or fires it might have survived. Who was it who said "that tree is outstanding in its field."  I know -- bad, huh!

Every crag and gnarled tree and lonely valley has its own strange and graceful legend attached to it. Share this Quote Douglas Hyde
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/strange-quotes

Every crag and gnarled tree and lonely valley has its own strange and graceful legend attached to it. Share this Quote Douglas Hyde
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/strange-quotes

Every crag and gnarled tree and lonely valley has its own strange and graceful legend attached to it. (Douglas Hyde)

Hooah

Beautiful music ... what a break ...

My friend Dave sent me this link. 

According to the description on the link, over 600 military musicians from 11 nations came together to perform this rendition of the song, Unchained Melody.  This performance took place at the Musicshow of the Nations in Bremen, Germany.

Unchained Melody was written in 1955 and served as the theme for a little-known prison film that year titled "Unchained." Todd Duncan sang the song for the movie, but most people know it as the song made famous by the Righteous Brothers. 

Click on this link from the Musicshow of the Nations and enjoy.  Unchained Melody 

This link takes you to the Righteous Brothers version of the song. Righteous Brothers version

Another version that was really popular was done in the film, Ghost. Ghost

All of these links are listed on the YouTube site and you can go there to see many other fine renditions of these and other great, memorable songs ... especially for those of you who grew up in the 50s, 60s and 70s. 

And speaking of the 50s and 60s, I came across the picture below as I was looking through some of my notes and quotes.   And I thought as long as we are looking back, most of you who were pre-teens in the 50s would remember what time they had to be in at night when they were growing up back then and would get a kick out of this.  Kinda goes with the mood of the song.

“The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes.” (Frank Lloyd Wright)

Hooah