Sunday, May 31, 2020

Kansas City, MO

“Rights and Riots”

Today has brought us some cool weather here in Kansas City. The weather has been so on and off lately, you never know what to expect. Life here in the big city has become a tiring effort…an effort to keep one’s sanity. The COVID 19 pandemic has gripped our state and our nation in a fist of fear, unknowing, and mistrust. But I won’t prattle on about that today, I am sure you all are as tired of that whole story as I am.

Today I want to focus on the largest news story of today; the demonstrations and riots. This morning’s headlines made me remember the LA riots of 1992. I had returned from the Gulf War, regained custody of my daughter, and was restarting my life again. The riots began with a young African American man (Rodney King) that was severely beaten by four Los Angeles police officers. The officers were acquitted, and all hell broke loose. The riots became so intense and uncontrollable that the California National Guardsmen, the Army’s 7^th Infantry Division, and the First Marine Division were called in to quell the whole affair, but not before hundreds of buildings, neighborhoods, and Korea Town were literally destroyed. 63 people lost their lives, and the bill for damages exceeded one billion dollars.

The riots of the last 2-3 days are supposedly about a man named George Floyd, a person that was being arrested for allegedly trying to buy merchandise with a counterfeit twenty-dollar bill. Again, there are four non-blacks, and one black guy. Floyd was restrained by human bodies, but the arresting officer kept his knee on Floyd’s neck (against concrete) for a little under nine minutes. Floyd died soon after of still conflicting causes.

I mourn for George Floyd, his family, and anyone that suffers or dies from police brutality. But I have to ask, what does someone think rioting and pillaging in their own city will do to fix this? Floyd’s death, just like Eric Garner in 2014; was a tragedy. These cops need to be policed, because a small percentage of them are out of control. I’ve known many police officers in my life, and listened to their stories for years. I’ve never been a cop, but I know what someone would be like in uniform just by listening to their verbiage. I know this from years of supervising soldiers and going to war with them. The soldier that walks around saying “kill ’em all, let God sort ‘em out” is someone that you don’t want to go to war with. My friends (that were police officers) often told me the same about their partners or other cops in their precinct.  I would hear stories like “he won’t think that way after five of us corner him in an alley,” or “they are all animals; just pretend you’re hunting.” All of the garbage needs to be in Hollywood movies, not on the streets of our nation.

As I watched the looting and kids fighting with the police, I wondered how long this will go on, and how little children will describe it to their children 30 years from now.  The people that I saw on one video were taunting the police, and throwing trash at them. The protesters were trying to start a fight, not get justice for Floyd. The woman (that could hear the best) was instigating anything that she could to start fight with the police. She also kept saying “this is against the Constitution.” Fact check here: The First Amendment states specifically that our citizens “the right to peaceably assemble, or the right to petition the government for redress of grievances.”

Please note that their isn’t a damn thing written there that says “taunt the police, fuck the police, or ‘try me, big boy!” Peaceful assembly means that you can carry signs, chant slogans, sing Glory Hallelujah, or play your harmonicas while marching. Absolutely nothing in that amendment gives you the right to hurt people, destroy their property, or set things on fire.

The last thing that I want to establish here is this. Republicans have elected a President that has sounded the battle cry from his microphone many times. He’s said things that shouldn’t come out of anyone’s mouth, let alone the President of the United States and the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. You’ve all heard them, even the last one that said “remember, when the looting starts, the shooting starts.” He has set precedents at that point for any moron to claim that “this is his President’s order” in a court of law. In many ways we are a nation of very intelligent and peaceful people, but in other ways extremely ignorant and belligerent at times. It’s high time that we stop allowing this nation to digress into a state of utter chaos, and bring in a new way of thinking and doing things. Do I speak of constitutional reform? Why yes; yes I do.

-Jim

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May 11, 2020

“Memories”

By Jim Culp

Good Morning readers. This morning is a brisk one, it’s 51°F, which is cool for May in Kansas City. This spring is an example of nature letting us know that she needs better care, and that you and I are the stewards of the Earth.

Yesterday was Mother’s Day, and my mother is deceased. So, I spent the day working on my new book and doing odds and ends. Last night, I surfed the tube for something to watch, and ran across “Jarhead.” Over the years, I had seen pieces of it, but never watched the whole movie. I settled in with a couple of cold beers to see the whole enchilada form start to finish.

This movie had some familiar names like Jamie Fox and Jake Gyllenhaal. When I saw Lucas Black, I tried to remember the last movie I saw him act, and that was “Sling blade.” “Man, that was 24 years ago,” I thought to myself. I thought all the actors did well in the movie.

What made the evening special is that this movie took me back to the Gulf War. We’re talking way back in 1990. I was stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas. The division there at the time was the “Big Red One,” the First Infantry Division. I was a combat engineer with the First Engineer Battalion, and my company was the specialty unit of the outfit, because we were bridge engineers.

When rumors began of war starting in the region, we all felt that feeling that only a soldier can describe. You want to test yourself in war, but you know you might not come back. Such is the life of a person that joins the military.

The movie began with the Marines enduring Basic Training (or “Boot Camp”) as other services call it. There’s some other stuff after this, but I’ll skip that.

Eventually, the Marines in this movie are called up for Operation Desert Shield, the massive defense maneuver used by the Allies to protect Saudi Arabia, the larger and richer neighbor of Kuwait. The movie focuses on the dull drudgery of soldiering when not engaged in a mission. It’s a daily grind that I am all too familiar with.

This started my walk down memory lane, including the uniforms, the toilets made from plywood and 55-gallon drum halves, and hours of preparing positions. Then came the chemical drills. Oh, that was fun. Whenever you want to experience something miserable, do this. A) Wait for July or August (think Phoenix, Arizona) and do not shower for 14-15 days. B) Dress yourself in an argyle sweater, wool pants, and rain boots. Tie up or tape anything that is loose. C) Put a surgical mask on your face and cut a small hole in it for your mouth. Then, place a plastic trash bag over your head, and cut a slit near your mouth to breath. D) Tape the neck to your sweater, it can’t be loose. You are now in a training MOPP suit. MOPP means “Mission Oriented Protective Posture.” They should have named it the “TSADB suit.” That means “this sucks a donkey’s balls.”

Wear that for a day or so, then you’re allowed to remove the mask…nothing else. Stay in that get-up for a month. No showering. Hot? Shade only; no air conditioner. Do all the same work you normally do.

After a month or so has passed, take it all off and get yourself a shower. That’s a “shower” of 45° F water that your buddy pours over you using a 5-gallon water can. If you’re smart, you take care of your head and private parts first.

Lastly, the oil fires. I could never forget the sight of this catastrophe as long as I live. For as far as you could see, there were fires burning at least 200 feet into the sky, day and night. The air we were breathing was comparable to placing your face real close to your car’s exhaust pipe and eating your lunch. On guard duty, you literally had some idea of what the “hell” in the bible talks about.

Ah, memories. Aren’t they great?

This movie gets a C for me. It was good, not great. But the memories were awesome. They cover all the basics…fear, horror, pain, and death.

In the Gulf War (for me, that was December 25^th, 1990 to May 2, 1991) I held the same position (and rank) that the Jamie Foxx character was. I was 25 years old, and my soldiers were anywhere in age from 17 to 23.

My brother Jeff was a senior Marine in this same conflict. Mom was pretty relieved when we both came back.

If I wish my readers anything, it is that their children never experience war. It’s not glorifying, it’s not pretty. It’s something you never forget.

-Jim

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May 10, 2020

“Mother’s Day”

By Jim Culp

Here we are again, another Mother’s Day here in the USA. This holiday (one of the only American holidays that I observe) is a very important one, and it is celebrated in some form and on some date in many countries across our planet. These include such events as celebrating Cybele or Rhea, the Greek goddesses that were “mothers of all men.” There is also the Roman festival of Hilaria, a Roman Festival to honor the goddess and her gifts to mankind. In the modern world, you can see examples such as “Mothering Sunday” that is celebrated in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Like the USA, it is common for it to be celebrated in churches and other places of worship.

On the scientific side of things, a mother is one of the most critical components in the Animal Kingdom. She is the female in reproduction, the “other” sex in our asymmetrical place in the big show. She gives birth, provides milk, and keeps her offspring safe from harm. Human mothers share all these characteristics and are distanced from “lesser” animals by their possession of the ability of cognitive thinking.

On the “human side, the mother is a critical part of the family unit (just as much as the father is) and cares for her children until they can care for themselves. The father (historically) is the protector and provider. A mother loves her children, and is always there to care for their needs, most importantly love.

Mother’s Day was started (officially) by Anna Jarvis in 1908 for her he mother. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed the bill into law establishing Mother’s Day in the United States of America.

When I was a little scrub, I lived with my Mother, my Stepfather, and my brothers and sisters. Mother’s Day always coincides with a Sunday on our calendar, so we as (Christians (the non-Catholic flavor) went to church as usual. On these holidays, though, the pastor would deliver a sermon telling us about how important mothers are, and even how Mary carried for her son, the Christ. It was usually the same thing, but after all of that was over, we would go to a cafeteria for lunch. This was mainly so Mom did not have to cook; she could enjoy a relaxing day. I liked it for two reasons. 1) I got to choose what I wanted to eat, and 2) I did not have to do the &%^$%# dishes when we got home.

We always gave Mom some sort of gift on Mother’s Day, and a card or flowers. Being the crafty kid that I was, I would save money by stealing flowers from the neighbor’s yard and giving them to Mom. She always say “oh these are beautiful!! Where did you get them?”

Later in life, I was a young soldier stationed at Fort Riley in 1989. My wife was pregnant with our daughter for most of that year, so it was interesting to say the least. Then, on December 16^th, our daughter was born. My wife was suddenly a mother, and I was a Dad. That moment is a quickening for any person, and it must be excruciating and exiting for a mother all at the same time.

Many years later in life, my mother was elderly, and she and I talked about her early days of marriage and motherhood. She told me about the morning I was born, and how life was so different back then.

My mother passed to the other side three years ago, and I always hope that she passed knowing the I loved her and appreciated as my Mom.

To all my friends and relatives who are mothers across the world, please accept my finest wishes that you have a wonderful Mother’s Day.

-Jim 

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May 9, 2020

The Sign in the Window reads:

“We give Veterans Discounts”

“How nice! I’ll go in and select a few things to buy.” It’s not much, just some socks and a few other things for the fall season. I head to the register, and immediately am told that the veteran discount is 10%.

“Whoa there Cletus; don’t kill yourself with percentages like that,” I say to myself as I chuckle out loud.

“What’s funny, Sir?” the register attendant asks me.

“Oh, I was just chuckling at 10%. That’s only a dime for every dollar.”

She smirks and continues scanning my items. Then the inevitable comes.

“Oh, I am sorry Sir… the discount is for Active Duty Service members and their families only!”

I swallow hard and think about punching her in the throat. My professionalism takes over, and I don’t.

“Um, I got a question for you Ma’am. Why does it say ‘veterans” then?”

She balks, because of course she doesn’t have a clue what to say.

I seize the opportunity.

“Ma’am, do you know what a Veteran is?”

She picks up the phone and calls her manager.

“Just a minute Sir.”

“Do you know what a Veteran is?” I ask again.

“Sir, just one minute.”

She is soon saved by her manager, a man of at least 25 years of age.

“What can I do for you Sir?”

I look at him hard.

“Do YOU know what a Veteran is?”

“Of course Sir. It’s a person that served in the Armed Forces.”

“Sweet. So, tell me…why does your sign say, “We Give Veterans Discounts” when you are only giving discounts to Active Duty personnel?”

“Well, that is the policy Sir!”

“Do you have a senior manager here?”

“Oh yes Sir. I can go get him if you like, but I’ll be happy to override the register and give you our discount if you have a veteran’s ID.”

I hand him my VA card, and my retired identification.

My VA ID states that I am service connected, and my retired ID says, “US Army Reserve Retired.”

The young manager gazes at them for a minute.

“Um, Sir, you were not Active Duty.”

Again, I restrain the urge to drop kick him in the gut and toss him out of the window that is nearby.

“And how did you come to that determination Sir? I ask in a moderate tone.

‘Well, you’re card clearly indicates “Reserve” Sir.”

“Sure,” I say; “I retired out of the Reserve because I was a dual status technician. I also served six years in the National Guard, and 9 ½ years of Active Duty, including two deployments to Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom One.”

They both look at me with the same eyes that a raccoon does when you catch him in your trash at 11 PM.

It is about now when the Store Manager shows up and approves the discount.

This entire diatribe lasted about 22 minutes. It should have never happened. A person that served in the military, particularly one with an ID that says “Service Connected” deserves everything that is coming to him. Most people are cool with that. But there are always those ignorant few that never understand that military service meant sacrifice by the men and women that towed the line and kept you safe.

-Jim 

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