The Man On Your Right

BOLO: Military term used as a mishap(BOLO) during an initial action requiring an individual to retry or perform that action again to pass a required criteria.

"BOLO'S! Fall out and report to Staff Sergeant Zelinski for re-education! The rest of the company is dismissed!"

I looked at the sky and sighed. I couldn't believe I was a bolo. I was a squad leader, I ran faster than anyone (except my brother) and did more push ups and sit ups than most. I could take apart and reassemble my M-16 in less than 45 seconds. I passed all skills and tests. Land mines, hand grenades, tear gas, machine guns...no problem. But after 8 weeks of Army basic training, me and 8 other guys were called bolo's and threatened with repeating the 8 weeks until we got it right.

My problems were on the rifle range. You see, I could shoot fast and I could shoot straight...I just couldn't do both at the same time. I scored high enough on the circular targets where I could take my time to find the center and shoot. But I failed miserably on the range with the silhouettes that popped up for five seconds from 30 feet to 200 feet away. By the time I saw the target, moved my rifle, aimed, and pulled the trigger, the target would drop back down again. It was even more frustrating knowing that 231 other men (and 4 women) in Charlie Company were able to pass without a problem. I knew for a fact that many of those guys couldn't even hit the urinal half the time.

"CROCKER! I can't believe I'm looking at your sorry ass back on my firing range! What is your problem, boy! I thought you were supposed to be some sort of leader!"

Although screaming at me never helped my aim, I did know the psychology behind it. It was part of the bonding process. One way to mold us into a cohesive unit was to give us all a common enemy to hate. The Utah Mormons, Tennessee rednecks, Minnesota farmers, and New York Jews in the company all hated the drill sergeants. The African Americans, Puerto Ricans, Asians, Caucasians, Mexicans, and Native Americans all had that in common. It brought us together. When one of us screwed up we were all punished. One untied shoe meant we all did push ups. One un-made bed meant we all slept on the floor that night. One unfair enemy (in our minds)made us bond pretty quickly. We had each other covered. We corrected and tutored and trained the slower soldiers because they were a part of the whole that we all belonged to. One Unit.

As we bolo's waited for the truck to take us to our last chance on the firing range, Staff Sergeant Zelinski said, "Since you girls don't seem to appreciate my most excellent instructions on how to shoot an enemy, I've brought in some special education help for you all." He pointed to nine of our friends walking up to join us. Nine friends who were also the highest scoring marksmen in Charlie Company. "These gentlemen are giving up an afternoon of rest and relaxation to re-train you bolo's."

Responsibility for my "re-education" was assigned to Richard. I haven't seen him in 25 years but I recently heard that he was a Colonel serving in Iraq. Richard went through the steps with me for about 10 minutes and offered a couple of pointers. I thanked him but said I didn't see how this was going to make a difference.

"I've got a feeling you're going to pass this time, Jim."

The firing range consisted of a row of about 20 fox holes with firing "lanes" in front of them. We all test at once, firing at the targets in our own lanes. When it was time to test, Zelinski ordered our tutors to get into every other fox hole so that they could better observe what we were doing wrong. Richard climbed in to my right.

The test started and gunfire erupted. My silhouette popped up and I fired and the silhouette went down. Hit. Again...pop, fire, hit. pop, fire, hit. I was doing good. Half way through the test I clearly undershot a mid range target and saw the dirt kick up in front of it...but it went down anyway. Puzzled, I was way too slow with the next shot but watched my target go down before I even pulled the trigger. I continued to shoot and targets continued to fall. I'm not sure if I hit any of them.

When the test was over there were no bolo's left in Charlie Company. Richard smiled at me, "I had a feeling you'd pass." Richard had my back. Turns out even the "unfair" Zelinski had my back.

I remembered this story because I was watching an interview on the Today show this week. The reporter asked a soldier in Afghanistan what motivated him? What kept him going? He said, "I'm fighting for the man on my right and I'm fighting for the man on my left. I believe they are fighting for the same reasons."

In Iraq, I hope Richard has men just like that on both sides of him.

Jim Endorses Obama

I'm sure everyone has been waiting for my official endorsement before making up their own minds about the presidential election. So here it is. My conservative family in Minnesota and friends in Utah can tear up their McCain/Palin bumper stickers and follow my lead on November 4th!

I understand that everyone has their own (mostly) valid beliefs in who and what is best for the country. But I worry that too many people I know vote on the mistaken belief that God is a Republican. Church and religious interference in government really concerns me. I can't see that it's worked out so well in Iran or Afghanistan.

My reasons for supporting Barack Obama are plentiful but I can't say it any better than the huge majority of newspapers in this country that are endorsing him. Here are some quotes from the Chicago and Salt Lake Tribunes. Keep in mind that the Salt Lake Tribune comes from the most republican state in the nation and the Chicago Tribune has never endorsed a Democrat in it's 150 year history.

Chicago Tribune
Many Americans say they're uneasy about Obama. He's pretty new to them. We can provide some assurance.

We have tremendous confidence in his intellectual rigor, his moral compass and his ability to make sound, thoughtful, careful decisions. He is ready. We think Obama would govern as much more of a pragmatic centrist than many people expect. We know first-hand that Obama seeks out and listens carefully and respectfully to people who disagree with him. He builds consensus.

We might have counted on John McCain to correct his party's course. We like McCain. It is, though, hard to figure John McCain these days. He argued that President Bush's tax cuts were fiscally irresponsible, but he now supports them. He promises a balanced budget by the end of his first term, but his tax cut plan would add an estimated $4.2 trillion in debt over 10 years. He has responded to the economic crisis with an angry, populist message. McCain failed in his most important executive decision. Give him credit for choosing a female running mate--but he passed up any number of supremely qualified Republican women who could have served. Having called Obama not ready to lead, McCain chose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. His campaign has tried to stage-manage Palin's exposure to the public. But it's clear she is not prepared to step in at a moment's notice and serve as president. McCain put his campaign before his country.

Obama chose a more experienced and more thoughtful running mate--he put governing before politicking. Sen. Joe Biden doesn't bring many votes to Obama, but he would help him from day one to lead the country.

Obama is deeply grounded in the best aspirations of this country, and we need to return to those aspirations. He has had the character and the will to achieve great things despite the obstacles that he faced as an unprivileged black man in the U.S.

He has risen with his honor, grace and civility intact. He has the intelligence to understand the grave economic and national security risks that face us, to listen to good advice and make careful decisions.

When Obama said at the 2004 Democratic Convention that we weren't a nation of red states and blue states, he spoke of union the way Abraham Lincoln did.

The nation needs Barack Obama in the White House

Salt Lake Tribune
The next U.S. president will lead a nation that remains embroiled in two wars and is beset by an economic meltdown more severe than any since the Great Depression. By necessity, the country's next commander in chief must also be its mender in chief, capable of inspiring his angry and divided constituents to join together in a recovery project to restore the peace, prosperity, and self-confidence we once knew.

The Salt Lake Tribune believes that Barack Obama can deliver it.

Obama mounted an extraordinary grass-roots campaign, raised gobs of cash, and showed great fortitude and equanimity in the face of the Clinton juggernaut. He endured, and once the nomination was his, he set about uniting his divided party with an impressive display of magnanimity and diplomacy.

John McCain, meanwhile, crushed Mitt Romney to gain his party's nomination, but then blundered badly by not bringing the business-savvy Romney onto the ticket. Romney would have shored up McCain's poor grasp of economic policy.

Then, out of nowhere, and without proper vetting, the impetuous McCain picked Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. She quickly proved grievously underequipped to step into the presidency should McCain, at 72 and with a history of health problems, die in office. More than any single factor, McCain's bad judgment in choosing the inarticulate, insular and ethically challenged Palin disqualifies him for the presidency.

Still, we have compelling reasons for endorsing Obama on his merits alone. Under the most intense scrutiny and attacks from both parties, Obama has shown the temperament, judgment, intellect and political acumen that are essential in a president that would lead the United States out of the crises created by President Bush, a complicit Congress and our own apathy.

McCain's foreign policy objectives virtually replicate Bush's disastrous course. His disdain for diplomacy is troubling, and his faith in eventual U.S. "victory" in Iraq is ill-defined. We simply cannot afford perpetual war. Obama knows this. And his nuanced approach would help America recover it's global prestige.

Indeed, we see too many of Bush's failed policies in McCain's recipe for recovery. The country desperately needs a new and well-defined road map for the 21st century and leadership that can unite the country behind it.

We believe that Barack Obama can give us both.

If those reasons aren't enough go to http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/cc65ed650d/ron-howards-call-to-action-from-ron-howard-and-henry-winkler (cut and paste it into your address block) It's a fun video from a couple of old friends.

OBAMA/BIDEN 08

The Last Lecture

You've probably heard of Randy Pausch and The Last Lecture. If you haven't I've included the link here...

http://download.srv.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/

I watched his lecture on You Tube earlier this year and was moved by his story and his attitude. The link to that lecture is in the above web page. I just finished reading his book and I agree so much with his philosphy on life that I wanted to write down some of the bullet points.

Give yourself permission to dream.
Earnest is better than hip.
Life is short so sometimes surrendering is the right thing to do.
Stop complaining. Either do something about it or shut up.
Treat the disease, not the symptom.
Don't obsess over what other people think.
Look for the best in everybody.
Show gratitude.
Apologize
No job is beneath you.
Tell the truth.

I could expound on all of those topics but Randy Pausch does it much better.

Do yourself a favor. Watch the Lecture. Read the book.

The Exorcist

Not the movie...the hitchhiker.

I was driving from Breckenridge today and I pulled over for a hitchhiker in a coat and tie. I know..I know...picking up people on the side of the road could be dangerous, but I figure it's good karma for when one day I find myself without a car. Besides, I still have a lot of rides to pay back from my youth. But the main reason I'll pick someone up is because they will usually reward me with a story.

Peter gratefully slid into the van and introduced himself. He was about my age and said he was from Africa. He'd been in the states for about two years and wasn't going back because his family was dead and that the blacks had taken all of his family's land away from him. (Peter was white)

"So you've just been traveling for 2 years, Peter?"
"Yes. I go wherever the lord sends me."
"How do you make a living?"
"Well, I do some construction, but mostly I'm an exorcist."
"Sorry. What did you say?"
"Exorcist. I cast demons out of people."

Soooo cooool! I picked up an exorcist!! I was excited because he was my first exorcist and I knew he'd have a good story.

"Wow. How long have you been doing that? Did you have any formal training"
"No Jim. I just do what the lord tells me. I've been doing it about 20 years.I've always been a man of spirit."
"How exactly do you go about it?" Is there a ritual or something?"
"Every case and every demon is different. Mostly it's just fasting and a lot of prayer. People don't realize they can do it themselves if they are strong enough. You just have to fast for 48 hours...have nothing but water...and the demon literally starves and weakens and is more susceptible to your prayers. There's directions in the book of Matthew, you know."

He covered quite a bit in the 20 minute drive to the freeway. He told me more about demons (apparently they are pretty tricky) and about Africa and a 4,000 foot waterfall by his home, and the unfairness of losing his home and the good works he's been doing in America. After he finishes helping with the spiritual matters of some Mexican families in the area, he is heading to Galveston to help the Hurricane victims. He's also heading down to the gulf because there is another major hurricane headed there this year. (God told him)

When I arrived at his on-ramp he asked if he could pray for me. I accepted and bowed my head and heard a fairly standard prayer of gratitude and forgiveness, but then I heard him ask God to triple my "guard of angels". I was pleased for a couple of reasons. I'd heard that I might have a guardian angel but not a whole guard of them. (that sounds like several, right?) Well what ever the number was before, it is tripled now!

As his hand was on the door handle, he paused and asked if I could spare a few dollars. I gave him a five and he told me to expect a miracle in the next few days.

What a bargain. $5 for a miracle and triple the angels I had before. Thanks Peter!

Teeth Are Not Tools

Ever had an Otter Pop? They are the frozen kool-aid stuff in the plastic sleeves. The very difficult to open plastic sleeves. The ones you should use scissors on but usually just rip open with your teeth.

Noah and I were watching a dvd tonight and I grabbed us a couple of otter pops. I tried tearing it open with my fingers with no luck before sticking it in my mouth to rip open with my teeth. Dogs don't seem to have a problem with this method. But instead of ripping open some blue raspberry sweetness I ripped my front tooth out of my head.

It's Friday night and I probably can't get to a dentist until Monday. I look like a homeless boxer. The good news is that since my "sh", "th", and "s" all sound the same, Noah is having big laughs giving me tongue twisters and asking me to smile.

Teeth Are Not Tools.