wedding planning for the elderly pt2

the up and coming wedding with myself and the brown eyed girl is pretty much set.  yes, indeed it’s only a matter of a few weeks away.  now, let’s catch you up a bit.

the matter of the custom ring made by a local jeweler didn’t pan out.  the guy is a flake and not a very nice one as well.  he was very rude in his dealings with the brown eyed girl and myself.  i wanted nothing more to do with him and his store.  if you’re a local and want to know who to avoid at all cost, mail me.

fortunately, the brown eyed girl found a stunning ring at another place.  those that know her say, it’s her.  the ring was purchased and we are now dealing with another local jeweler to make the wedding band.  things are going well in that regard and we are both very happy about the results and service so far. 

as for my wedding band, the brown eyed girl wanted a nice one for me.  after much discussion, she agreed to just buy me a simple silver band.  i don’t care much for rings, as i tend to play with them and then lose them.  yeah, well, i’ve lost a few over the years.  so, a very nice traditional navajo silver and turquoise wedding band was purchased for myself.  i wanted to honor the brown eyed girl’s spanish, mexican and navajo relatives.  plus, save some money in case i lose it down the road.   

we are definitely going to vegas for the wedding.  we have a nice southern minister reserved for the ceremony.  he will meet us at the site on the wedding day.  the ceremony site?  well, when it was offered, by a mutual friend, we couldn’t pass it up.  the ceremony will take place in liberace’s old mansion.  yeah, i know.  however, it’s a freebie.  and we both think it’s pretty cool.  where were you married?  liberace’s house in vegas.  hahahaha. 

our honeymoon will be a few days in vegas, on the strip, at a very nice hotel, in one of their suites.  we’ve already made a few dinner reservations at a couple of the best joints in vegas owned by world class chefs.  one of them a consistent james beard award winner.       

we have the reception place reserved for a couple of weeks after the wedding.  a very nice local italian place.  my brilliant brown eyed girl friend finally figured out how to set up and print the invites.  she also has the envelop printing figured out as well.  at least she did.  it’s been a few days since she’s worked on the stuff but it all worked out and the invites are in the mail to a few relatives and a few friends.

she’s also purchased 5 different tops for the wedding.  she can’t decide what to wear.  me?  new shorts, vaguely new flip flops and a very cool new charlie harper type shirt from hilo hattie’s.  any photos taken will be from the waist up only.  yeah, well.

things are going well and both of us are looking forward to tying the knot.  stay tuned.

jmh

pink boxers and war

while noodling around yesterday i came across the yahoo, and elsewhere, story of a young soldier over in the middle east who went to his firing position in his boxers and flip flops, during a fire fight.  seems like the secretary of defense, robert gates, is all a gog over the situation.  he’s happy about it.  well, it’s memorial day weekend or more to the point, dead soldier weekend, and i guess they needed to sound pro troopers and military.  plus, i’m sure folks everywhere are getting a kick out of the story. 

it makes me think back to my time in nam.  i’ve written any number of things about that experience here and other places.  if you are a regular, i have no intention of bothering you with details you may or may not remember.  if you aren’t a regular reader, you can always go through the archives or rummage through the vault.  or just wait for me to trot the old stuff out again.  but i digress. 

while attached to macv advisory team 48, in nam, we had this major on the compound.  he was either s-3 or s-1.  military jargon for stuff.  not really important to this story.  other than the fact, he got his pink boxers all tied up in a knot about us peons and other soldiers hitting our firing positions in levi’s and flip flops; bermuda shorts, flip flops and no shirt(my personal favorite) or other variations of civilian attire; or maybe just our regulation gi boxers and flip flops, during alerts. 

yeah, civilian attire.  it was macv and they didn’t care what you wore on the compound if you weren’t on duty or working.  well, most of them.  any the ways, this particular major was not happy about the way we fell out during those alerts.  he made it his mission to see that we all hit the firing positions and bunkers in full regulation military gear.  yes, sirree.  no more of this civilian attire or gi boxer nonsense.  there was a war going on after all, and said war, demanded we be properly dressed for the occasion because mr charlie might not like it.  boy, howdy.   

said major, even held a few ‘practice alerts’ and those ‘practice alerts’ weren’t over until he personally inspected each position to see if things were being done to his strict liking.  yes, indeed.  practice alerts for dress code violations in a war zone.  no showing up with your weapon and ammo in boxers.  nope, not for that major.  not good enough.  thank you jesus.  thank you, lord, for some damn fine smoke and drink to help us all through the night.

well, we suffered through a couple of his practice alerts held in the middle of the night.  a lot of pissed off troops and lifers as well.  yeah, he wanted every swinging dick on board for his madness. 

as it turned out, things were very quiet during the time of his practice alert stuff and everyone passed with flying colors.  like what else were we gonna do?  frag him?  it was bullshit but it wasn’t worth a capital crime and/or offense. 

one night, a few weeks after all the hoopla about the dress code and fighting charlie, i was working the night shift in the commo bunker.  at the time, macv was using our commo bunker for their toc(tactical operation center) while their toc was getting a face-lift.  charlie or the nva, lobbed a few rockets or mortars into our general vicinity. 

the alert was sounded and it was all hands on deck.  everyone was to go to their alert positions and deal with whatever in full military uniform.  thankfully, due to the practice alerts, it was decided, by my signal sargent, my alert position would be in the commo bunker.  lucky me, i was already up, working, in uniform, where i was supposed to be and with my m-16 and ammo.  woo hoo!!

the incoming rocked my little world but i just opened my secret area door and casually leaned on the door jam to watch the deal go down.  a total lapse of military protocol but whatever.  i was probably somewhat loaded and had been listening to, ’spooky tooth’, and reading porn at the time.  another breech of protocol i’m sure.

on a side bar drift, the secret area was a perfect place to have a nice non-legal smoke.  or take a nap.  we had it set up so even if you were dead an alarm of sorts would wake you.  though in hindsight it wasn’t necessary.  incoming was incoming and could wake a dead man.  count on it.

the drifts just keep on coming.  WD40.  the perfect weapon cleaner, for us lazy folks, was also a very good and efficient smoke cover-up.  better than incense.  yeah, ok.  i did take my m-16 down to the firing pin assembly at regular intervals and properly cleaned it.  so there.  i could be a good soldier if i felt like it.  my life depended upon it.      

at any rate, i was just waiting for orders and THE word to send something to somebody somewhere about something or another via my secure radio teletype.  real alerts were always something.  some worse than others.  but always angsty and an adrenaline rush regardless.  while i was standing in my doorway watching stuff, in came the major of dress code and practice alert fame. 

ah, yes, goddamn.  he was resplendent in his steel pot, m-16, ammo, un-tied jungle boots, gi issued undershirt and boxers.  yep.  that’s it.  nada mas.  no one, of course, said a word about his poorly dressed alert apparel.  lots of subtle snickering to be sure but not a word.  after that night, it went back to come as you are for alerts, and the only thing that mattered was the m-16 or some other weapon with plenty of ammo when you got to where you were supposed to be.

it’s interesting to see how things have or haven’t changed.  i wonder how melvin laird would have felt?  or perhaps dean rusk?  or macnamara?  at any rate, it’s dead soldier day weekend.  a time to say a prayer for those brothers in arms who never made it back.  a time to say just how much you appreciate the sacrifice of those who didn’t come back and those who are serving or have served and did come back.  whole or not.  seems like none of us ever come back whole.  a tragic veer if there ever was one. 

dead soldier weekend.  a proud american tradition since the civil war from whence it got it’s origins.  you may not like war, this current one in particular.  you may even be in the support the troops but not the war politically correct crowd.  tell you what.  god bless the child that wears his boxers to a fire fight.  at least he showed up and was ready for trouble.  god bless anyone who even shows up for the coming fire fights.     

make no mistake, it’s not what you wear to a fight.  it’s what you do when you get there.  happy memorial day weekend!!  light a candle for america. 

 

jmh

“Doc H and the Rio Laudanum Cowboys”, a CD Review

that’s the title of the current cd by my friend, john harrelson.  it’s been playing on the car cd player since last friday.  now, i’ve got it on my media player as i type.  the more i listen to it the more i like it.

Doc H and his usual band of suspects: brian chapman, bass and stand-up bass; steph kuhn, drums; jeff ross, guitar and steel(ed) guitar; and jwfh, himself, on vocals, guitar, accordion, mandolin, piano, harmonica, bottleneck guitar and 12 string guitar; kick out some fine country and western music.  oh, yeah, turn it up!

jwfh, told me this cd is about as country as he can get.  kids, that’s fine by me because it’s good stuff.  stellar stuff.  12 tunes and 9 of them are john harrelson country originals that were written over the past few years.  john’s usual take on love, life and playin’.  plus, a very interesting little snippet at the end of the stones countrified, ‘19th nervous breakdown’, that is if you let the cd just track on.  a nice short sorta country version of the old mothers of invention tune, ‘my guitar wants to kill your mama’.  a fine example of john’s humor.  yeah, frank’s too.

john harrelson stands alone as one of the only truly original singer song writer players of the 60’s that’s left standing.  yeah, he’s been at it for more than 40 years.  writing and playing jazz, blues, rock ‘n’ roll and country.  it would be hard to find anyone anywhere that could pull off all those genres.  and he pulls them off all very very well.  this cd in particular.

musically john’s playing style is all his own.  if you listen closely to his guitar licks you’ll hear some folks out of the past.  however, he’s no eric clapton disiple that’s for sure.  though jeff beck, keef and brian do come to mind.  there’s some fine pickin’ and grinnin’ on this cd from everyone involved.  no doubt about it.  like i said, this one is growing on me and it just might be john’s best effort so far.  but then i’m just an old country honk as well as a friend of john and his music.

at any rate, Doc H and the Rio boys, is now high up on my play list.  trouble is, the only place you can find it right now is at rhino records in claremont, ca.  or contact john personally.  you can find him on myspace.  trust me, it would be well worth your trouble to do so.  the cd should be available soon on http://cdbaby.com  you can search his name there.

find this cd.  buy it.  play it.  LOUD!!!! ‘Doc H and the Rio Laudanum Cowboys’.  country thangs don’t get much better.  count on it.  a nice bit of country fried meat and potatoes.  and after several listens you get the fact john is spooning on the country gravy.  bring it, my friend.

 

john harrelson

 

jmh

More Catching Up Stuff

Yes, I know I’ve been away for far to long but I’ve been busy.  I’m sorry for that plus I’ve been busy barfing.  My dad even calls me, Barfy, these days.  Sigh.  What can I say?  Not much I’m sure cause he’s usually the first one up in the morning and he finds my little presents then cleans them up. 

At any rate, other than my barf problems I’m very excited about my mom and dad becoming a legal eagle married couple.  Woo barfy hoo!!!  My mom’s first and only wedding and my dad’s last one.  Plus my first and only, as well.  Lucky me.  Us kitties find happy stuff where we can. 

Other than my above mentioned troubles I’ve been very happy cause of the impending wedding Las Vegas nuptials.  Only thing is I’m not invited.  Sigh.  That’s OK as I’d prolly just run and hide someplace anyways.  I’ll let dad tell you just where the special place will be.  I know where it is cause I listen to everything.  I hear mom and dad laugh about it but I haven’t a clue just what the deal is.  Plus, I can’t take that away from dad.  He’s my buddy.  He knows that cause it’s been a long time since I bit him.  Lucky him.

I’m laying here on the back of the couch and flipping my tail every now and again.  Dad isn’t here.  He’s at our other place today.  But I can hear very clearly that he’s listening to ” The Unreleased Recordings by Hank Williams “, at very high levels or else I couldn’t hear it.  For sure it’s an http://timelife.com ditty if there ever was one.  Dad says buy it and turn it up.  Loud.  Me too.  Old country and old cats.  Sweet.  Pure Americana.

Stay tuned, my friends.  I’ll be back. 

Kwayla Kitty

the late great state of chaos

i’m a native of california.  my mother is a california native as well.  she’ll be 95 in september.  we have roots that go way the hell back.  we’ve seen any number of things.  my dad too, though he’s only been out here since 1941.  the brown eyed girl is a socal native.  she’s seen some shit too.  more shit just might hit the fan soon here in the late great state of chaos, california.

we pay our state senators and state assembly folks a lot of money.  plus they get some damn nice perks.  i wouldn’t mind that if they did what the fuck we paid them to do.  though they can’t seem to be bothered with doing that, their job.  their well paid job. 

it’s been a number of years and may even go back to governor moonbeam, jerry brown, who is actually thinking about running for the job again. however, that’s a drift of major proportions and for another time.  the point being, the tools we’ve elected just can’t come up with a budget for the state.  well, they can but they end up raising taxes as a result and then the taxes never ever go away like they said they would.  then they just waste the damn money they raised.  our money.  a vicious cycle if there ever was one. 

the assholes are paid to do something they can’t do.  fine.  quit.  go back to albertson’s and bag groceries or your cushy loan sharking job.  just get out and let somebody else try who ain’t gonna spend all their damn time collecting skim and graft from any asshole out there.  plus running for the damn re-election 24-7 like our current president.  more drifting.

ok.  so like the tools couldn’t come up with a budget again this year.  nothing new.  though this year, with other stuff in the dumpster, it wasn’t a good idea not to come up with one.  not that it ever is a good idea.  sooooo…the governator has called for a special election may 19th.  we get to vote on 5 propositions.  bleeding government by referendum.  it’s been like this here for far to goddamn long. 

referendum this referendum that, instead of doing WHAT THE FUCK THEY GET PAID FOR!!!!!!!  run the state like some sort of thinking person and not like it’s your personnal candy store.  enough of this, people.  screw it and them.  i’ve already sent my ballot in.  no, on every damn one of em.  sane folks are doing the same thing.  local newspapers are calling for the same.  the madness here in the late great state of chaos must come to a stop. 

california is the harbinger of this once great nation.  count on it.  we have been for years.  illegals?  among other things.  you got em now and their money for nothing attitude.  wake up, people!!!!!  take your country and state back from the money grubbing running for re-election 24-7, elected official, as a job description assholes.  that includes all of em!!!!!  vote them and their plague out of office.  stop the madness now.

damn, now i feel better.  tell you what, you’d all better heed the call and get wise before it’s too late.

jmh

hank, country music and jesus

this was written last night,  after a day of listening to the cds and an evening sipping vino. there’s a few bumps in here but you’ll get the picture.

if you’ve been paying any attention to this place you’ve noticed i’ve been listening to, ‘the un-released recordings – hank williams’, an awesome 3 cd set.  simply amazing stuff to be sure.  i thank the brown eyed girl for giving me the collection as a birthday gift.  i will always treasure your thoughtfulness.  thanks, babe.  

kids, if you love your old country music by a man that’s been screwed by the grand ole opry and the humps that wish to make him a minor footnote in country western music then this cd collection is for you.  it is also most certainly not anywhere near today’s country music crap.

hank williams, country and jesus.  a simple homage to the main simple man of country music.  that’s what this cd collection is.  i haven’t heard anything anywhere near this stuff for many a year.  old.  simple.  pure.  country.  played and sung by a bunch of drunken jesus sorta lovin’ folk just tryin’ to make a livin’.  my goodness. 

if you’d mind your own bidness you wouldn’t have time to be foolin’ with mine.  lordy.  can you?  can you, the us of a government?  sorry, that’s a drift. 

un-released old 1940’s live radio recordings mastered into only what a cd can conjure up.  yeah, i know.  vinyl is on a comeback tour.  i been there and done that and i’ll stick with a cd, thank you.  no mp3 or ipod either.  there ain’t no high or lows to be found there.  highs and lows be what this and other old country rocker blues jazz boys need and love.  hank and the band nails it on this 3 cd set.

yeah, ok.  you may not be into jesus.  fine, that’s your bidness.  however, if you love the real country pickin’, singin’ and peddle steel deal then you best get over it and hunker down with the king of country, hank williams and his, ‘the unreleased recordings – hank williams’, 3 cd set.  oh, yeah.

‘pictures from life’s other side’.  ’searching for a soldier’s grave’.  ‘tennessee border’.  ‘on top of old smokey’.  and 50 others.  some of the best country i’ve heard in a very very long time.  trust me.  

thank you, jesus.  thank you, lord.  thank you, glimmer twins, for that country bon mot.  and more importantly, thank you hank and the band.

sweet, jesus.  TURN IT UP!!!

jmh

the long slide

i received this in an email this morning.  i’m re-posting it here with no one’s permission.  i doubt they’ll mind.  except for probably, mr. obama.  

jmh
You don’t have to be a military veteran to appreciate the sentiments expressed here.  But, if you are, and have served our Country, or have close family who DID serve or IS serving, this message may have even greater clarity.  Service personnel earn VERY LITTLE in comparison to what they sacrifice.  My apology to anyone who simply feels that this is ‘right-winged diatribe!”  Exam closely the spoken words.

Subject: Arrogant Americans

Arrogant Americans, Mr. President?
Peter Heck – Guest Columnist – 4/14/2009 7:50:00 AM

    As I was sitting in church waiting for the start of the service, my grandpa came walking towards me pointing his finger. No matter how old I get, and no matter how long he’s been out of the U.S. Navy, that’s still an intimidating sight. As he approached me, his voice quivered as he said, “We saved that continent twice…how dare my president apologize for this country’s arrogance.” My grandpa is right. Americans need not apologize to the world for their arrogance; rather, Americans should apologize to their forefathers for the arrogance of their president.

Barack Obama’s first foreign trip as President of the United States has confirmed the naiveté so many of us feared during the election cycle. But worse than that, it has also demonstrated that our president suffers from either a complete misunderstanding of our heritage and history, or an utter contempt for it. Neither is excusable.

    Garnering cheers from the French of all people, President Obama declared, “In America , there is a failure to appreciate Europe’s leading role in the world. Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.” Consider that Obama spoke THESE words just 500 miles from the beaches of Normandy , where the sand is still stained with 65-year-old blood of “arrogant Americans.”

    Indeed, columnist Mark Whittington observes, “One should remind Mr. Obama and the Europeans how America has ‘shown arrogance’ by saving Europe from itself innumerable times in the 20th Century. World War I, World War II, the Cold War, and the wars in the Balkans were largely resolved by American blood, treasure, and leadership.” But all that appears lost on the president’s seemingly insatiable quest to mend fences he imagines have been tarnished by the bullish George W. Bush.
 
If Obama wishes to continue trampling the presidential tradition of showing class to former office holders and publicly trash Bush for his own personal gain, so be it. But all Americans should make clear that no man – even if he is the president – will tarnish the legacy of those Americans who have gone before us. Ours is not a history of arrogance. It is a history of courage, self-sacrifice, and honor.

    When abusive monarchs repressed the masses, Americans resisted and overthrew them. When misguided policies led to the unjust oppression of fellow citizens, Americans rebelled and overturned them. When millions of impoverished and destitute wretches sought a new beginning, Americans threw open the door and welcomed them. When imperial dictators were on the march, Americans surrendered their lives to stop them. When communist thugs threatened world peace, Americans bled to defeat them. When an entire continent was overwhelmed with famine and hunger, Americans gave of themselves to sustain it. When terrorist madmen killed the innocent and subjugated millions, Americans led the fight to topple them.

This is the legacy that generations of Americans have left. If President Obama seeks stronger relations with the world community, perhaps he should begin by reminding them of these very truths, rather than condemning his own countrymen on foreign shores.

    This “obsessive need to put down his own country,” has caused blogger James Lewis to call President Obama a “stunningly ignorant man” who has evidently never spoken to a concentration camp survivor, a Cuban refugee, a boat person from Vietnam, a Soviet dissident, or a survivor of Mao’s purges.

    Unfortunately, I can no longer bring myself to give Mr. Obama that benefit of the doubt. Not after looking at the pain in my grandpa’s eyes…a man who still carries shrapnel in his body from his service to this country.

    As a student and teacher of history, I recognize that America has made mistakes…plenty of them, in fact. But one of the great things about our people has been their courage and humility in admitting and correcting those mistakes. God willing, they will prove that willingness again in four years and correct the mistake that is the presidency of Barack Obama.