Pew Pew Pew

We drove up to the mountains over the weekend at the invitation of our friends Keith and Renee.  We drove out to Boone, NC and went up, up, up into the mountains, the home of Appalachian State University.  It was just turning fall and the leaves were just starting to show the first hints of autumn colors but the daytime was still warm.

Rich loves being in areas that have an elevation greater than a few feet.  I suppose it is the break in the horizon, or seeing near and distant vistas. I can tell you that the area reminded me a lot of the Catskills, in New York.

The first night Keith and Renee entertained the boys. That is, we all played Apples To Apples without condescending to the kids.  Everyone played and everyone tried to win.  We all laughed and had a good time as a group.  

Saturday, we drove to and then hiked Linville Fall and went down into Linville Caverns.  The hikes up and down the falls were rugged but, to their credit, the boys climbed through the whole adventure without complaint.  The falls themselves were awesome and full – a roar above the peace of nature’s lack of manmade noise.  

Mornings of pancakes and eggs and bacon and evenings of chips, burgers and beers and the chance to sit be a nice open fire. That makes for a nice weekend.

The highlight was back at the cabin where the boys were allowed to shoot a bolt action .22 and a .22 pistol that had been modified for a scope, bipod, and suppressor (silencer).  We brought out old action figures and plastic toys – in addition to some empty (and a couple full) beer cans. We went through all of the safety procedures, and with two competent adults watching – let the boys shoot. 

TJ hit the full beer can on his second shot and exploded to the glee of, well, everyone watching.  He continued to put rounds into his old toys and targets.

Grant liked the bolt action rifle but really seemed to work with the pistol better.  He blasted a t-rex and GI Joes left and right. 

I liked it compared to a pistol. The silencer muffled the noise so that all you really heard was the sound of the rounds moving through the underbrush down range.  It was really neat because you didn’t have the loud crack of a rifle shot.

It was a lot of fun and made us consider getting a small rifle for the boys to learn gun safety on.  We are not a pro-gun person to the point where we must have them in the home for protection.  We are, however, a people who believes that everyone should know how to handle guns; rifles, pistols, shotguns to the point where they are safe around and with them.

I even played with my camera - which I named "Squint"!  I got up at oh-my-God early and trekked with Renee up a mountain to catch the sun rise over the valley.  We took some pretty cool pictures.  

The best picture I took, however, was back when we were shooting.  I counted down as TJ squeezed the trigger.  The result was an awesome frame of the bullet piercing that full can of beer and capturing the spray of nasty old beer. 

It was a great shot by both eagle eyes!

Toy Story - Extended Ending

I remember the part of Toy Story 3 where Andy is getting ready to go off to college and has to decide which toys to put out to the road and which to put into storage - all the while, Woody, Buzz and the gang are hoping for one more chance to come out of the toy chest to be played with.  

Our boys have a lot of toys, period.  Action figures, Bey Blades, fidget spinners, Hot Wheels, little green army men, Legos, etc.  My biggest complaint is that most of these toys only get played with once or twice.

The boys have some really cool toys.  Among our favorite is this interactive castle set with an ogre, knights, cannons, catapults, and a huge dragon.  Its a well constructed set and we have diligently kept all of the pieces over the last four years.  However, in the age of video games, iPads, Nerf guns and bicycles, a toy set like this is often ignored as TJ and Grant transition from toddlers to children to boys.  

And so we made the decision to box the set with the notion of saving it for our grandchildren.  A good sturdy box with a clever description on the outside to be set aside for 25 years like a  time capsule or a treasure chest (which the castle has, by the way).  

We began to move the pieces into the box when a curious thing happened.  The boys, maybe sensing this impending loss, went into the box and began to play with the set. Invented story lines and make believe took over scripted video game narratives.

As I sit here writing this I can hear them upstairs, collaborating, arguing, compromising, and playing as childhood holds on for a while longer.  

The CAR Attends My Change of Command

Big career event the other weekend as I took command of the 308th Civil Affairs Brigade in Chicago (Homewood), IL. Indeed, it is an honor and privilege to lead Soldiers and I said as much at the ceremony.

I am still a little overwhelmed by it all. Being in the US Army Reserve is a full-part-time (or part-full-time) career that has to be balanced against a real full time job, family, fun, and other commitments.  No one can really, truly, say that the Reserves are part time job.  Especially with 1000 troops in your command.

My unit had the pleasure of having the Chief of the Army Reserves attend the Change of Command.  He was passing through Chicago, picked our unit to spend some time with and so arrived at the ceremony about a minute before it was to start.  

He spoke to the Soldiers for about 20 minutes after the ceremony and then gave me a 30 minute office call - some one-on-one time to discuss issues.  We had a great conversation and I wish it could have lasted longer.  It is a professional highlight to talk big picture issues with someone who gets to see the big picture on a daily basis.

To sum it up as Lisa did, "that's cool!"

This new chapter of our lives opened on a good page.  Lisa, the boys, and Betty attended.  I said good bye to a mentor, BG Goddard, and was welcomed home to the 353 CACOM - full of faces I hadn't seen in years.  There was even a cake with my face on it.  

How cool is that?

The Great Tornado of 2017 (Part II)

Technology is amazing these days. Long before the storm that wrecked our home and car (and neighborhood) tore through Fuquay Varina, our phones were emitting warnings of bad storms and tornados.  We knew bad weather was coming.

Lisa and were both home as I glanced at the radar image on my app. There was a large cell of the storm heading right for us but there was time to go get the boys from school.  Lisa quickly departed for FVES. With the possibility of tornados I just wanted to have the family together for accountability and security.

Again, thanks to technology, I was able to track Lisa's iPhone to the school and start the trip back just as I heard a large thunk sound on the side of the house.  I saw the beginning of the hail storm.  Hail was coming down intermittently and was the size of golf balls.  Thinking ahead I raised the garage door and waited for the van to pull into the driveway.

In the minute or so it took Lisa to arrive the storm worsened.  The hail was violent, for lack of a better word. It was bigger than a golf ball and coming down with a fury.  It ricocheted off the ground into the garage and, quite frankly, scared me. When the van pulled in the kids and Lisa were trapped in the van until I grabbed an umbrella from Lisa and shielded them one by one into the garage. Even a glancing blow hurt.

Lisa did the smart thing and herded the kids into shelter of the first floor storage closet while I did the less-than-smart thing of filming the hail coming through the kitchen window. 

The storm was the wildest thing any of us have ever experienced.  The hail was like machine gun rounds, punching through glass, shingles, windshields, lawn furniture, and trees.  It only lasted a few minutes but in that time it left immense damage in its wake.

As a matter of perspective, this storm system is what was left of Hurricane Harvey, the worst storm to hit the US in history.  Houston, TX, is underwater and people have lost everything as a result.  We did not lose anything irreplaceable and no one was hurt.
Immediately afterwards people came out of their homes to check on the damage and check on one another, an outpouring of support and community that makes us love South Lakes and the people in it. Throughout the night people did quick clean ups and boarded windows. 

We lost two widows in the kitchen and office and all of the gutters are dented beyond repair.  The screens on the porch are blown out.  Lisa's van is very likely totaled.  The next day I discovered shafts of light coming into the attic.


The next day came the "Parade of the Contractors" - a steady stream of trucks and vans with roof repair logos on them - each promising free estimates and the ability to work with us and our insurance company. I can't fault these guys.  Ultimately, we are going to need a new roof, gutters, and two windows. The smart business thing to do it to get ahead of requests.

We spent the next two days in the backyard cleaning up and connecting with more people in the neighborhood. Lisa even raked a path for "Emily" our lone, lost duck that has been adopted by Barb, next door; Emily was a bit shell shocked the next day and came over to us quacking as if to say, "what the hell was that all about?!"  Insurance companies called and adjustors stopped by.  By Labor Day we were generally back to normal.  

Now Irma is a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic.  We all waiting to see where it will go.

The Great Tornado of 2017 (Part I)

The remnant of Hurricane Harvey rolled through South Lakes last night with a fury few of us have ever seen.  For a few (but long) scary minutes the whole world came crashing down. Literally.

Here is Part I in pictures and video.

Before...

Radar Image

During...

After...

Golf Ball to Baseball Sized Hail

Dented Downspouts Everywhere

Blasted Out Kitchen Window

Second Floor Office Room

Dented Beyond Repair...

and Un-drivable 

Stripped Trees