Sad… see pic here http://on.fb.me/gXlbvt
The Commandant of the Marine Corps reacts to the cancelation of the EFV http://bit.ly/CMCEFV
RT @USMC: #Marines expand operations in parts of #Afghanistan. http://cot.ag/f5kIav
Ok, so I got too caught up yesterday to redact or add to my post… We had a delicious dinner last night of sliced pork loin with sautéed peppers and artichoke hearts. Afterwards, Wendy and I uncorked a bottle of wine and the girls commenced to doing gifts. Allyson and Taylor were very happy to be sure…. Of course we had to play with things as they were unwrapped. Wendy has given me a beautiful Bulova watch for Christmas/Anniversary and I of course have built her the tiled buffet she asked for. Afterward we all played one of Allyson’s new board games and off to bed everyone went.
This morning Allyson Rose was slow to rise, so much so that Wendy and I were already downstairs before she made a peep. Since discovering the dollhouse that Santa brought to her overnight, she hasn’t moved to do anything but Christmas dinner. Playing with the dollhouse is all that she’s interested in. Wendy made a wonderful dinner with the ham that my parents had sent to us. We had sweet potato fluff, a veg-all, biscuits, mashed potatoes, and gravy.
Now we’ll sit around watching Allyson play while awaiting the coming blizzard. While we really wish Devon were here, I think that this has been a great Christmas and Anniversary. We must also not forget that there are many Marines fighting for their lives and the lives of others in the Helmand Provence of Afghanistan for the opportunity to return home to their loved ones. Merry Christmas to all!
I think what I’ll do is edit and update this throughout the day today and just republish is again tonight before we go to bed awaiting Santa.
As many know, tomorrow isn’t just Christmas Day, it’s also Wendy and I’s anniversary. We’ve long talked about how silly it was to get married that day because of gift blur and not being able to get away together…. I think though that this year I am very much reminded why we thought it was such a good idea in the first place.
If I am stateside, I will always have that day off; sure… But Christmas is important for family and the celebration of Christ’s birth. We had a family right from the start and as the years roll on things aren’t always a rose garden. I have loved Christmas all my life and have both very good and very bad memories surrounding it. I require no gift, for the blessings and love I enjoy in Wendy and our family is all I truly need. Sure there are things that I want, but I could never have a Christmas without her.
This year is and has been particularly hard on us medically, professionally, and as a family as many of you already know. I hope that good will come from all of these things in time, but am reminded today as I am already excited to tell Wendy at midnight “Happy Anniversary, I love you now even more than ever” that she and I are stronger as one. I am excited today though things are all messed up because it’s Christmas and I get to pause and celebrate that which is most important to me. I can’t wait to start our 15th year of marriage and work to be a better husband, father, Marine, and man.
Gotta go make fudge and work on finishing Wendy’s gift……
You know, after 18+ years in the Corps and 12+ years in this field, you can still learn a whole lot. I am considered to be a subject matter expert in my field, but I’m still learning this new aspect of the field in my now 18th month. Many equate an inspection to just another “haze exercise” and this week couldn’t have been any further from one. In my world, there aren’t too many people who know it better than I do, but I had the fortune this week to get some sage advice, understanding, and training from a ‘Jedi Master’ if you will. CWO4 Hank Cooke is a long time friend going back to when we were both enlisted and though he crossed over long before I did I have always respected his knowledge, leadership, and poise.
I was pretty obstinate during day one because almost everything anyone said we should be doing, we were already doing. I wasn’t until Hank broke a couple of things down to me in a way I probably couldn’t have taken from anyone else on the planet that it made sense and I dropped my guard a bit. It’s not always what you do that’s important….. Just because you ‘know it all’ doesn’t mean you can do things in any order you want to. Even if you know exactly what and why you are doing something, you must ensure that you demonstrate that you are only willing to focus on what’s important at that moment or you risk allowing less important and cloudy issues to obstruct the process. My Marines deserve a clear and consise message without all of the other long range thoughts clouding the moment. Let others do their part and don’t overwhelm the process.
I am extremely thankful to you Hank for coming and spending the time with my team and I; also too for the talk at the end. I know we’ve come a long way and I really think we can get this to the next level. Don’t forget where you came from and know I respect the hell outta you…
Semper Fidelis, Shannon
Traffic to and from Manhattan wasn’t too bad. There were costumed characters all over today taking tips for photo ops and Santa Claus was everywhere too. Macy’s was crazy and it was far easier to take escalators than to wait on an elevator, so we took them all the way back down from the 8th floor after Allyson Rose mailed her letter to Santa.
Afterwards we headed over to Rockefeller to see the Christmas Tree….. The crowds were crazy there too, but what do you expect on a Sunday afternoon. You would have thought we’d eat street food as we generally do, but Taylor insisted on having McDonalds. The only other item of interest was that Taylor got a waiter at Planet Hollywood to walk her in and up to the display of the costumes of Bella and Edward from the Twilight movie (big deal I guess, cause she won’t stop talking about it.) Wish I got to go to the city more, but it’s back to work again tomorrow.
So even though I have a huge inspection tomorrow at work, we’re trekking into the city today because my mother-in-law is leaving town and wants to see the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller before heading south on Monday. In fact as I work on this draft before we go, eveyone is bustling around the house getting dressed and Allyson Rose is super excited:
Step 1 – Write your letters to Santa
Step 2 – Charge your camera battery
Step 3 – Have a place to park in the city
Step 4 – Ensure you have a plan
We didn’t pick a warm day to go (33 f), but it’s not going to get any warmer here in NYC until April next year. If it were just the adults, we’d take the train in from Garden City, but have found things are far easier with the 3 year old when we drive; besides I have a parking spot on 42nd St 1/2 block off Times Square : ) Looking forward to a great day and will post pics tonight on FB
The article reads like parody, but the radio interview linked below it is comedy gold (well, except for the fact that this professor is drawing a public salary):
Read the article from Linda Thomas at MyNorthwest.com:
A Seattle woman, who fought allowing military recruiters in local high schools, is the lead author of a report that compares the behaviors of recruiters with the behaviors of sexual predators.Amy Hagopian, assistant professor with the University of Washington’s Department of Global Health concludes military recruiters are a “threat to the health of adolescents.”
Hagopian says, “A review of the medical literature suggests military service is associated with disproportionately poor health for young people. The youngest recruits have the greatest number of mental disorders in the U.S. military, including alcohol abuse, anxiety syndromes, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.”
This isn’t the first time that the esteemed Professor has been in the news concerning the issue. She made national headlines back in 2005 as a PTSA member leading an effort to boot recruiters out of local high schools, though failing to do so.
Anyway…
“Grooming behavior is defined as the process by which a child is befriended by a would-be abuser in an attempt to gain the child’s confidence and trust,” Hagopian says.”
The Army? Not so amused:
“The Army calls the professor’s claim that military recruiters act like child predators “outrageous and offensive.””To say that a military recruiter has the same way of approaching young people that a twisted sexual predator does, is highly offensive and blatantly wrong,” says Douglas Smith, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Recruiting Command in Fort Knox, Kentucky.”
Now here’s your reward for slogging through all that above, listen to the Professor explain things in her own words as she was a guest on the local Dori Monson radio show this past Thursday afternoon?
The 1791 Thinkshop 