Written on November 19, 2004 at 5:03 PM by Ron.
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Things that have irritated me today:
- D.C. Traffic.
It usually takes me about an hour to get home. Today, even though they let us our early, It took over an hour and a half.
- Comcast.
The internet had been on intermittently today. Although that is irritating, that is not the major source of my irritation. The fact that my wife called about it, and they simply said that they did not know and it must be on her end. However, when I called, I explained what had happened, and that I cleared things on my end, and the technician set up a support ticket in about five minutes. Do people just respond differently to me?
Written on November 18, 2004 at 4:22 PM by Ron.
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In memoriam of National Smoke-Out Day
I know I should quit. But I really just do not have the motivation to do it right now. That is not to say that I will never do it. Nor is it to say that I do not have the will power. I just do not want to. I like smoking.
I hear all the whiners about my health, and my family’s health. To them I say, “Bugger off!†I do not smoke in my house. I do not smoke in the car. I smoke outside, and that is the only place I smoke. I even go so far as to wash my hands before I handle food, or more importantly, my children.
I think Michele at A Small Victory put it best:
You know what’s really interesting?
When a 400 lb. stranger chastises you for smoking on National Smoke-Out day and proceeds to lecture you about your health and well being. And then he waddles across the street and into McDonald’s.
Written on November 16, 2004 at 8:34 AM by Beth.
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I got a very interesting forward from my friend in Norfolk about the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and wanted to share. Did you know that the guard walks 21 steps across the tomb of the Unknowns? The number of steps alludes to the twenty-one gun salute, which is one of the highest honors given to any military or foreign dignitary. The guard hesitates after his about face to begin his return walk 21 seconds. The guard also wears wet gloves to prevent his losing his grip on the rifle. He carries the rifle on the shoulder away from the tomb. After his march across the path, he executes an about face and moves the rifle to the outside shoulder.
For a person to apply for guard duty at the tomb, he must be between 5′ 10″ and 6′ 2″ tall and his waist size cannot exceed 30.” Other requirements of the Guard: They must commit 2 years of life to guard the tomb, live in a barracks under the tomb, and cannot drink any alcohol on or off duty for the rest of their lives. They cannot swear in public for the rest of their lives and cannot disgrace the uniform {fighting} or the tomb in any way. After two years, the guard is given a wreath pin that is worn on their lapel signifying they served as guard of the tomb. There are only 400 presently worn. The guard must obey these rules for the rest of their lives or give up the wreath pin.
The shoes are specially made with very thick soles to keep the heat and cold from their feet. There are metal heel plates that extend to the top of the shoe in order to make the loud click as they come to a halt. There are no wrinkles, folds or lint on the uniform. Guards dress for duty in front of a full-length mirror. Every guard spends five hours a day getting his uniforms ready for guard duty.
The first six months of duty a guard cannot talk to anyone, nor watch TV. All off duty time is spent studying the 175 notable people laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery. A guard must memorize who they are and where they are interred. Among the notables are: President Taft, Joe E. Lewis {the boxer} and Medal of Honor winner Audie Murphy, {the most decorated soldier of WWII} of Hollywood fame.
In 2003 as Hurricane Isabelle was approaching Washington, DC, our US Senate/House took 2 days off with anticipation of the storm. On the ABC evening news, it was reported that because of the dangers from the hurricane, the military members assigned the duty of guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier were given permission to suspend the assignment. They respectfully declined the offer, “No way, Sir!” Soaked to the skin, marching in the pelting rain of a tropical storm, they said that guarding the Tomb was not just an assignment; it was the highest honor that can be afforded to a serviceperson. The tomb has been patrolled continuously, 24/7, since 1930.
We can be very proud of our young men and women in the service no matter where they serve. God bless them all.
As the birth of “Tony†approaches, we are constantly amazed at how different this pregnancy has been compared to Beth’s pregnancy with RJ. Once of the things that amazed us most has to be the difference in the size of the belly. So, to continue a new tradition that we started about three months ago, here is another comparison photo of the two pregnancies.
We decided to compare these two photos, because we have decided that the belly, at eight months, has finally reached the size of the RJ belly at five months. Here is the original comparison photo.
Click on the thumbnail to enlarge.
