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One of my favorite photos from the girl’s first trip to Disney. Actually all three of the children were there. This was two years before Chris joined the Marine Corps. Pete and RePete were six and two, respectively. That year we stayed at the Contemporary Resort for a week at the beginning of October. As a matter of fact we ended up adding an extra day at the end of the trip. It was a blast and the beginning of what has turned out to be several trips back.

We skipped a couple of years and in 2008 we stayed at the Polynesian Resort for a week at the beginning of June. It was an extremely tiring week (very fucking hot!) and on the last day we got up and decided to just make the damned drive home. That’s been part of the problem. I am fairly limited to my vacation time. I get two seven day and one ten day vacations each year. Normally my ten day is in the summer when the girls are out of school. It’s somewhere between 8-10 hours to drive from here to Orlando so by the time we make it we are usually too exhausted. Two days wasted.

Last year we went during spring break. Holder and the girls really wanted to go so I booked us for three days and four nights at the Fort Wilderness Campgrounds. I was in the middle of paying the IRS a crapload of money so didn’t have a ton to spend so we went the cheapo route. We had a good time but it was rainy and again, the drive didn’t help at all.

Anyone who’s been around my blog(s) for a while, and it would have to be quite a while since up until recently I haven’t posted dick except for crime stories at Sick Crimes, knows my aversion to flying. The older I get the less I enjoy it. I think part of that is the fact that I just don’t fly a lot. It may also be a control issue. I have the same problem riding shotgun in a car. Perhaps if I took flying lessons that would help me out. Not that I’m about to buy a plane any time soon but it would be cool…

Anyway, we’re heading back down to Orlando again. This time we are flying down at the end of October (October and February seem to be the most comfortable down there). We’re only going to be there for four days but Holder can only get three personal days off of work and the girls will also be missing three days of school as well. Fuck it, some things are worth it. Not only that but we will be there Halloween weekend, which is coincidentally my favorite holiday of the year as well. I am The girls are really looking forward to trick-or-treating at the Magic Kingdom 🙂

We are also going to be staying at the Grand Floridian this time, which is one resort we haven’t stayed at yet. Repete is now seven and Pete turns 13 two days before the trip. Amazing how time flies when you’re having fun.

So here I am. W00t! Three posts in the same month 🙂

Told you I would be back. I really need to post something on the crime blog but I am procrastinating. Actually there are about six stories waiting on me to get it done but I just figured I would stop in here and ramble for a while.

I think I am going to start posting at Shadowscope again. Mostly the weekly memes and photographs that I used to post all the time. Maybe some of the payperpost stuff as well. We’ll see. I’m not too interested in writing reviews on shit I haven’t used but stuff I like? Yeah, I might do that…or not.

Today seems as if it has been dragging on forever. Got up around 4:45 this morning and chugged down a cup of coffee or three while I was writing a post at Sick Crimes. By the time I was finished I had to get my ass ready for work, which was pretty uneventful.

I spent the day in my ‘good’ store today. I always like ending my week there. When I say ‘good’ I mean that I personally had a hand in hiring or training most of the associates or have worked with them for the last decade so they know how to act, they are a team and most of them never call in or come in late. It damn sure makes my day go much smoother.

Perhaps it’s not procrastination that’s kept me from the other site today. I’ve been sitting here for the last twenty minutes just staring at the screen, attempting to finish this post. Guess that means I’m done. Perhaps I’ll get online later tonight.

If you haven’t figured it out by the lack of posting here over the last six months I have moved my main crime blog over to Sick Crimes. While I may not be posting here at the current time the site will remain. It’s been online for ten years and it would be a shame to get rid of it. Not only that but I may use it for something else eventually. At the very least I will most likely start having it resolve to the other domain at some point.

Comments on everything here are closed but all of the crime stories were moved to the new site anyway so if you have a comment to make, do so there.

Thanks!

So about a year ago I quit shaving my head on a regular basis due to popular request here at the house of skullfuckin and I started going to a local salon to let the ladies cut my hair. They usually do a pretty decent job at it too.
I stopped by Scissorhands the week of Christmas to get my normal trim. The hair has been getting a bit shaggy lately and even with the extending forehead my hair still grows at a tremendous rate.
Just not all over.
Anyway, the girl that was there either didn’t understand what I wanted or was just tired and I wasn’t paying attention. I keep it very short on the sides and back and a bit longer on the top. When I got home we noticed that it was longer on the back than the sides. Sort of like a retarded mullet or mohawk. Not only that but the back wasn’t even either. The left side was slightly longer than the right.
I dealt with it for a couple of days and it was Monday before I had any time to spare. By the time I made it over there they had already closed, dangit.
I chose the next best solution and asked the wife to just buzz the shit, which she gladly did (with a bit of glee in her eyes as a matter of fact). All went well except for the part about shaving OBAMA into my pubic regions. That’s where I draw the fucking line. Oh, yeah. I forgot about that part didn’t I?
I hate getting all of that hair on me and always hop right into the shower after I shave my head. It’s worse when all that crap gets all over my clothes and stuff, so when we went in I stripped and got a nekked haircut. Seemed like a good idea at the time.
My kids have some sort of radar for where we are. Neither the wife or myself can leave the room for more than 3.5 minutes without a child looking for us. For what you ask? It doesn’t fucking matter. They just want to know where we are. The Marine is no different. Almost 21, been in the Corps for two and a half years but damn if you leave the room, he’s sure to follow shortly after.
You see where this is going now?
About halfway through the haircut in walks the Marine, who says “Oh Wow” and beats a hasty retreat due to the magnificence. Either that or the pasty white of my ass cheeks scared the bejeesus out of him.
It was quite a while before the wife and I could stop laughing and continue the haircut but damn it sure was worth it. One more year of counseling for the children…

Eric dropped a line on the last entry yesterday, told me I needed to post something to move the last entry down the page. I guess it is a bit upsetting to look at first thing in the morning…
Anyway, here’s to hoping you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I’ll spend the greater part of the day working unfortunately but should get a bit of family time later this afternoon.

Just wanted to stop in and wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. While I am not posting here regularly any more I decided to restore the stories mainly for research purposes. There will be no more updates here but the information stands as it is.

Update – The Marine Team won the competition this afternoon. Right now we are sitting at $37,199! They are still taking donations though so don’t stop now. It’s a great cause and it’s tax deductible as well.

Original post – It’s that time of year again. From October 26th through November 11th (Veteran’s Day for those that aren’t conscious) Project Valour IT raises money to provide voice-activated laptops and other helpful equipment to severely wounded troops. This has been going on for several years and I haven’t had the chance to (or was just too darned lazy) to get involved but this year I caught it early enough to get in. So what is Valour IT and how did it get started?

(more…)

The last ten years at Shadowscope have had their ups and downs. I’ll be back sooner or later. Thanks!

This Week’s Post Was Written By Greta

Col. Henry J. Cook

 

Past National Commander, Military Order of the Purple Heart, after serving over fifteen years with MOPH, gaining invaluable experience while in the positions of National Aide-de-Camp, Chapter Commander, Region Commander, National Junior Vice Commander and National Senior Vice Commander.

He was a career Special Forces (Green Beret) officer for thirty-three of the total forty-two years that he was on combined active and reserve duty. His combat tours began in 1967-68 when he operated behind enemy lines in for extended periods of time conducting operations with native guerrilla troops as the Executive Officer of the 4th Mobile Guerrilla. He saw additional combat in 1969-70 when he led a U.S. Special Forces Mobile Strike Force Battalion (MIKE FORCE), consisting of Green Beret officers and sergeants leading Cambodian mercenaries, again working behind enemy lines as well as reacting to attacks on friendly bases, often requiring that his unit be parachuted into hostile drop zones.

Later, he participated in Desert Shield (Saudi Arabia), Desert Storm (Kuwait) and Iraq, and Operation Provide Comfort (Support to Kurdish refugees in Northern Iraq.

For his valor and military skills, Colonel Cook was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with “V” device for Valor and two Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Commendation Medal with “V” Device and one Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart with One Oak Leaf Cluster, Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Gold and Silver Stars, Joint Services Commendation Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, Special Forces Combat Diver Badge, Special Forces Tab, and numerous other U.S. and foreign decorations.

Henry Cook is now twice retired, as a soldier and as a lawyer and resides in Diamondhead, Mississippi. He is a member of the Pro Bono Consortium representing veterans who appeal denial of claims and is a member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans’ Claims. He’s been a member of the Mississippi Bar Association since 1978 and also serves as a Municipal Judge Pro Tem in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Other significant contributions to veterans by Henry Cook include: a major role in the creation of the Mississippi Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial in Ocean Springs and helping raise over $500,000 to help MOPH members in Louisiana and Mississippi who lost everything during Hurricane Katrina. In addition to MOPH, he also belongs to Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Special Forces Association (SFA), Special Operations Association (SOA), Military Order of the World Wars (MOWW).

You can read more about Col. Henry in this PDF file on pages 31 & 32.

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

As you can see I am going to be peppering these in amongst my posts for the next few days. Since I’ve apparently had some sort of block over the weekend and posted about a tenth of what I normally do, consider them filler 🙂

The same deal applies that I put in my last post though, but I am going to drop the $$$ amount. Let me know of your donation (ANY AMOUNT) to Valour IT through the Marine team from this point forward and I’ll put your website link (if you have one) in a post that will sit on top of may main page for 30 days after the end of the fundraiser (November 11th). Consider it free advertising for your site. I don’t have a huge amount of traffic, somewhere in the vicinity of 1k a day but it ain’t too bad.

If you haven’t yet done so, please consider a small donation to the Valour IT Marine team. We’ve managed to assemble a team of over 65 bloggers but it’s tough for us to compete with the larger services.

Until yesterday we had a $2000 lead over the Army and a $7-8000 lead over Air Force and Navy. But our position is being overrun. We need reinforcements!

The devices that Valour-IT funds have a profound and visible effect on users/recipients and ALL money donated for Valour-IT goes to purchase and shipping of laptops, Wiis, and GPS devices (that means ZERO OVERHEAD). Valour IT provides powerful tools that help severely wounded vets (not just those with hand problems) speed up recovery and treatment, maintain a support system, and regain a sense of independence.

Valour IT facts:

• in 4+ years Valour IT has provided 4,100 laptops, over 30 Wii systems to VA hospitals, and nearly 100 handheld GPS devices
• Total online funds collected to date: nearly 3/4 of a million dollars
• Every dollar raised goes directly to wounded vets military medical centers and VA facilities nationwide, such as:

o Balboa Naval Hospital
o Brooke Army Medical Center
o Madigan Regional Medical Center
o National Naval Medical Center (Bethesda)
o Naval Hospital, Camp Pendleton
o Robert E. Bush Naval Hospital (29 Palms)
o Walter Reed Army Medical Center

Here’s what your donation can provide:

Voice activated laptops:
1. Help wounded vets connect with still-deployed fellow service members (relieve anxiety about how their friends are doing, allow them to maintain a support system)
2. Allow vets to stay in touch with loved ones who can’t be at their bedside
3. Run therapeutic computer programs that help restore brain/vision function,
4. Can be used to research treatments, keep track of treatment regimen.
5. Retrain for post-military employment
6. Voice control makes using a computer one of the first things they can do on their own

Wii uses:

1. Physical therapists in VA hospitals and major medical centers are using Wii fit systems with their patients
2. Motivation: Wii Sports games key into natural competitive nature
3. Track progress in a fun way

GPS uses:

1. For those with very severe PTSD or TBI (memory problems, high anxiety, etc), having a GPS increases independence and restores a sense of competence. Short-term memory problems can make it hard to navigate of new locations. A GPS can mean the difference between success and failure.

Please help. These men and women have already given so much. The price of a nice six pack of beer or an inexpensive dinner seems the least we can to in return for their sacrifices.