Sports Babes

Jenny Dell, ESPN. . .

Wow. . .

Not as wow as Camille, . . . but, . . . uhhhh, . . . wow.

Mom

Someone tell Mom to write something. . .

Trust

A word about trust. I once shared my concept of trust with one of the kids. If you imagine a chasm with each of us standing one each side looking at each other. And we need to build a bridge, but all of the bridge building components were made of glass. Each side starts out with the goal of building a sound enduring structure. So, little by little, pieces are added and you get closer to bridging the gap. Eventually, you meet in the center, and a piece is laid that connects the two sides. And then another is added, and another, and so on. It gets stronger and stronger. The trouble is that it ONLY takes one rock throw by one side or the other to shatter the bridge. Then each side has to look at the other and decide if you want to rebuild the bridge, and what you have to do to make it stronger and more resistant to rocks (other than throwing another, which may happen). Trust is a glass bridge, fragile, vulnerable, but capable of getting stronger all the time. Bottom Line: Be careful of throwing rocks. . .

Saturday Morning Cartoons. . .

I loved Saturday mornings when I was little. A bowl of cereal or Pop Tarts (Blueberry, of course), and then seemingly endless hours of mindless violence and comedy. I really miss Bugs Bunny and the Looney Tunes. They're nowhere to be found now. Classic cartoons. Classic comedy. Also a big fan of Foghorn Leghorn, and of course, the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote. Ahhhh. . . good times, good times. . .

If there's one thing I love. . .

IT'S WHEN THE YANKEES LOSE!!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Egomaniacal millionaires, I love it when you lose!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

A Cry for Simplicity

This coming election is a wakeup call for our nation and our children's future. All of the issues point to an overwhelming complexity in our lives that screams out for simplicity. Google only paying 2.5% of their earnings in federal taxes; who donates to whom and how much in campaign contributions; the federal tax code; our complex relationships overseas; I can go own. The point here is that we as taxpaying, registered voting Americans must tell the people (notice I didn't use the word "leaders" here) we elect to REPRESENT us and our interests MUST try to simplify things. Let's start internally.

Start off with simplifying the tax code. How about a simple flat tax? This levels the playing field for all, reinforces the American Dream, and allows us to actually do what the Constitution says we have the right to do, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

We then need to reevaluate our government. Are all of these Departments, Bureaus, Offices, and agencies absolutely necessary for the Branches of our government to perform the duties as laid out in the Constitution? There are efficiencies to be gained. The rest of the Government, under the direction of Congress, should follow the lead of Secretary Gates in DoD.

These are my initial thoughts, but we have to change the way we do business. Becoming a European-modeled Nanny state should never be our desired endstate. This is America. It was founded on risk, sacrifice, and heart. It's strength of character was built on facing our fears, challenges, and foes head on and winning. It's time to do that again. Change is painful, and unwelcomed, and scary, but we have to do this in order for our nation to again thrive.

A down day

Not feeling all that great. I think I caught something from Brian who probably got it at the petri dish called VMI. Not terrible, just off.

I miss having Kelly and Woody around.

One of the things Brian and I love to when staying in Lexington is to throw a little, spongy football at each other. I always hit him, and he always says that I miss. He jumps all over the bed, sofas, and hides everywhere. Camille tolerates it with her usual quiet dignity. Of course, she always has the ball in her bag, and it's usually "jumps" right out of her bag as soon as we get in. Always fun.

I'm going to miss Brian when he's gone. He's a lot of fun. I'm quite proud of how seriously he's taking school now. He appears to be doing well, so far. We're always reminding him to keep his eye on the prize, VMI in 2012.

About Camille. . .

A good friend of mine once described me as a "self made man". Well, it was a kind sentiment, but it was not accurate. Camille is the reason I am who I am. She has always been there for me, trusted in me, believed in me, and is always there even when I'm a royal pain in the ass. She tolerates me and all of my stupid hobbies, flights of fancy, and the sometimes truly stupid things that cause us to spend quality time together in the Emergency Room. So, to my favorite wife, you are truly the best.

One last one for . . .

Her highness. Camille with Woody at his OCS graduation. . . How I possibly ever bred a Marine I'll never know. . .

Ooops. . . One more correction. . .

And this is Spenser Spenser, the girl with two last names. Woody's awesome, fun, ridiculously cute girlfriend.

A Grievous Error. . .

According to Kelly, I was remiss in not adding my beloved Son-in-Law to the Crew. So, to correct this error, here is my favorite picture of Brandon.

Yeah, it was freshly sharpened. . .

Continually surprised by Brian

Brian just told us that he is not going to wrestle this year. He's concerned about his grades, and is afraid that wrestling will affect them. A mature, considered decision. He continues to impress and surprise me.

The Crew. . .

My awesome daughter Kelly. This is one of my favorite pictures of her.

If I had a decent picture of Woody on this computer, he'd be here, but instead here's Heidi.

Brian wrestling in his Sophmore year at Potomac Falls

And, of course, the beloved Mrs. Hall. . .

The coming elections. . .

A few thoughts on this. . .

Some recent announcements by the administration state that this election is about local issues, and not about the President. It makes me wonder what local issues they are talking about? Foreclosures at an unprecedented rate? Perhaps the nearly consistent 10 percent unemployment rate? How about taxes, both existing and proposals for new ones? What about leadership, or maybe the lack thereof, in the House of Representatives?

There is an extremely fine and short line between local and national politics. So, I find the Administration's position unsupported. This election is about the leadership, direction, focus, and future of this President, and quite possibly the Democratic party. So why this position? Are the leaders of this party so completely out of touch with their constituents and the mood of America? VPOTUS Biden has publicly stated that the Democrats will retain power on November 3. Fascinating. Has he looked at the Rasmussen reports, arguably the most respected pollster in the country. Or is it a matter of arrogance? Is this President so arrogant of his position and power that he, too, is out of touch? Maybe. You can come to your own conclusions on that.

I believe that November 3 will be potentially a historic election. The House is gone. The best case for the Democrats is a 50/50 split in the Senate, and perhaps the most important, is the loss of a large number of governorships. Why is this important? Because of the Census and the consequential redistricting. This will be a critically important factor in the '12 election, when I think the rest of the landslide will come crashing down around the Democrats.

In my humble opinion. . .

A couple pictures from yesterday. . .

Woody is the Delta Company Guidon.

Another shot

Another VMI Weekend

We just got back from tailgating and football at VMI. They played Liberty and lost 41 to 7. Excellent BBQ provided by the Simmons. Weather was great, but the parade deck was packed! As usual, VMI came up with rules for getting on post, and then immediately ignored them.

No Spenser this weekend. She decided to gorge herself on dead fish. I guess we all make choices. . .

We'll post pictures tomorrow.

And we are off . . .

14 Oct 2010

My beloved daughter told my beloved wife that she should start blogging. Coincidentially, my beloved wife said that she wanted to do more things with me. So, here we are. I, the beloved father and husband, will be using this font and color. Beloved wife,will be using this font and color when she posts.

Tomorrow, we are once again off to VMI for parents weekend. Tailgating, football, excellent quality time with my beloved wife and the lads.

I just got back from a quick trip to the Circle Ranch with our friends the Gills. It boasts a world-class rifle range. Here are a couple pictures:

My rifle. . . sweet isn't it?

The range goes out 1500 meters. . .

Real practical shooting under field conditions

This is the view through the scope. The target is at 500 yards . . .

About a 10 inch group at 1000 yards. Elevation looks good, but the winds are tough there.

Ok, so this is a start. Love to my beloved wife and offspring