Over the Moon in June

It’s the last day in June and time for a long overdue post. pp I flew to Carlisle, PA for the First Resident Course for the Army War College.  A long year of reading, writing, collaborating, and forums paid off in two weeks of lectures, seminars, “field trips”, and side trips.  While I am impressed with their prestige the two weeks at the War College did not produce the volumes of work that the distance portion did.

The best part was having Lisa, Grant, and Sam drive up from NC to PA to spend a very quick weekend with me.  We met in Sharpsburg, MD – also known as Antietam Battlefield – where the single bloodiest day of the Civil War was fought in September 1862.  Since I had finished the tour of the Corn Field, Dunker Church, Sunken Road and Bloody Lane, and Burnside Bridge only an hour before with my class when Lisa arrived we did the tour again. 

It’s hard to explain “hallowed ground” to a 6 year old.  But I showed Grant the famous Matthew Brady photo of Confederate dead by Dunker Church – the photo stand strategically placed for effect.  Grant stood in front of the photo stand with the church in the distance and quickly calculated that the men in the picture fell where he was standing.  I think Grant understood that the place was important without knowing why.

For the record, TJ was at Camp for the month and couldn't come. I missed him - and I know he would have loved the city too - but sometimes we can't do everything all the time.

The next day was a MWR trip to New York City.  The first stop, the 9/11 Memorial, another infamous September day and another discussion about hallowed ground. This time more real, more recent for those of us who lived that day and its aftermath.  The city was crowded and hot, especially the subway, but we eventually found our way to the Museum of Natural History.

The museum is vivid in my childhood memory.  Walking into the hall of African Mammals and the Oceanarium reminded me of field trips in grade school.  Watching the usually hard-to-impress Grant run in awe from one exhibit to another gave me a special tingle.  Our day finished off with a cocktail at the very foot of the Prometheus statue in Rockefeller Center.

Our Sunday was spent in Carlisle, a charming little town with historical relevance during both the Revolutionary and Civil War periods.  Lisa played with compositions with her camera while Grant did his best to remind us that he is a contentious child.  Sometimes that kid’s best moments are when he is sleeping. 

And just like that it was over. Lisa was on the road, Sam was picked up by her mom, and I finished classes and marked the half way point for my degree. 

This has been an interesting six months – two trips to the US, neither time to home – and both times my family came to me. 

Over the moon in June because July will bring me home. 

Binge Watching

I haven't been a big television person in years. When I was a kids we lived for the weekend TV shows. The two I remember plopping in front of the TV set for - the ones I really liked - were the Wonderful World of Disney and Emergency!  Most TV that I watched were either cartoons or reruns of The Brady Bunch.  In the '80s there were plenty of shows that I watched that I'd consider stupid now.  Miami Vice comes to mind.  I watched sitcoms and some dramas but I was never dedicated to a series (with the exception of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space 9, and Voyager because I am a geek). 

I can say that the only show I ever watched from start to finish was, Lost. However, I am now on my sixth (seventh?) season of The Walking Dead; but even that is getting a little repetitive. 

We cut our cable years ago and I cannot notice a difference thanks to Netflix, Hulu, and HBO Go.  I don't think I will ever set aside time for watching a show at a specific time and date ever again.  Television has changed forever.  However, the bigger issues is just sitting down without other distractions and actually getting through a show. At home I struggle to get through more than an hour of sitting in front of the screen unless it is movie night or Lisa and I are cuddled in bed - with an iPad. 

So imagine my surprise when I decided to re-watch Game of Thrones.  I borrowed the seasons from the movie library and watched 20 hours of TV in a little over two days.  I am now 7 hours into the next season for a grand total of 27 hours in four days. In all fairness to me, I had the time off, it is in the hundred-teens outside, and the wind is blowing at 21mph.  In other words I had a good reason to stay inside.

GOT is great show, probably one of the greatest ever made insofar as grand sweeping stories, characters to love and hate, and exotic locations. However, watching the shows back to back to back takes away some of the emotional build up that watching over several years can bring. It lacks the social aspect of "water cooler" talk about the last episode and trying to figure out what is going to happen next. As story arcs get picked up every other episode, and thus weeks in real time, these events are only one disc away when you binge watch.

Lisa likes to find a show and watch multiple seasons in a short time.  I just can't do that.  I will finish up all six seasons in the next week and a half and then wait with the rest of the world for the last thirteen episodes over two years.  Ugh - the waiting!

Words of Encouragement

I went on a five-mile run this morning. I discovered that I was running on the same course that was having a mini-triathlon. Bicyclists started to pass me – both ways (it must have been an out-and-back course) – and I found myself cheering them on. “Go!”  “You got this!”  It didn’t matter that I didn’t know any of them. What mattered was a half second human interaction that was meant to uplift someone who might need it.

I remember being amazed last April when I ran a half-marathon at Walt Disney World with the number of people out on the course cheering strangers on at a time in the morning when most human beings are sleeping; cowbells, clapping, cheering – it helped pass the miles. 

Words and tokens of encouragement matter.

As an Army officer, I have received notes of congratulations for promotions and command assignments from General Officers. I have sent those notes myself now that I am at a rank and position where informal praise matters. It is not just a formality or good leadership in action – it is the all-important human dimension of what we do. 

I think the world is better place when we take the time to uplift one another.  It is a part of this family that says more than, "I love you". I am so proud of Samantha for her second semester of a 4.0 GPA. I am amazed by my wife who carries so much on her shoulders while I am away. I remind TJ that watching him run is one of greatest joys in my life.  Then there is Grant who is a math wizard and gets great Report Cards, even in Kindergarten. And of course, Betty, a grandmother-extraordinaire. A well-placed kudo here and there is important.

Whether it is going off the zipline, earning your black swim band, learning how to use sharp tools, or admiring someone’s photography skills – everyone likes a little pep talk or good word. The Brown Family are not the only ones who do this. 

I see this in other people who I respect and care about;  Mel Graf, John DiDonna, and Brittany Haran never hesitate to post words of encouragement, support, thanks or congratulations. It's a sign of class and humanity that we could use more of these days.  

The best part is that encouragement is mutually rewarding. Seeing someone’s reaction when you notice their weight loss, respond to their new job, or life milestone makes the sender feel good too.

Pass it on. We (I) don't do it often enough.