MHGDairy

Represent

I did some traveling for work this past week out to sunny California and back.  These trips always give me an opportunity to represent who I am and what I believe in.  People always are watching and take notice.  I've noticed this on the last few trips I've taken.

This trip was no exception.  It seems silly, but I pick out t-shirts to wear for my trips.  I am a troop supporter.  I always will be.  I love this country with all its flaws.  America is still the greatest nation on the face of the planet.  That is why I am "Unapologetically American".  That is why I am a "Soldiers' Angel".  That is why ‎"I will never forget that I am an American, fighting for freedom, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free." as stated on the back of the Warrior Legacy Foundation t-shirt.  That is also why, with the guidance of Bouhammer I will "Keep my eye on Afghanistan."

These shirts are a true and silent, yet powerful expression of my beliefs.  In so expressing these views I am causing others to evaluate there beliefs and principles.  I will say one thing, for all the traveling I have received nothing but positive feedback.  Leaving Milwaukee the Homeland Security Agent asked about the 1st Annual MSG Glenn Helwer Invitational Free Fall for Soldiers' Angels when the MSG caught his eye.  I was able to share with him about Soldiers' Angels.  Friday as always, I sported my Ranger Up "Unapologetically American" red t-shirt to Remember Everyone Deployed.  People read the shirt and get hung up on the Unapologetically.  That is a great time to explain why the R.E.D. shirt is on my back.  The Bouhammer shirt always catches peoples' eyes and reminds them of the war in Afghanistan.  That is always good for a conversation. 

The one that did it the most on this trip was the Warrior Legacy Foundation shirt.  The logo is a definite eye catcher, but the most powerful thing about the shirt is the back.  

"I will never forget that I am an American, fighting for freedom, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free."

That is a creed, a statement of ideals, a way of life. Ideals that are lived and breathed.  I was careful not to cover my back so people behind me could read it.  That is just what they did.  They read it, gave it thought, and at times commented.  When they complemented the shirt I let them know that Ranger Up was the place to go to get their very own.

T-shirts are useful tools of expression.  The great organizations they represent truly benefit when the walking billboards spread the word.  I intend on wearing the ones I own as often as possible.  I encourage everyone else to do the same.  

God bless all those who are serving this great nation and all the patriots that work hard everyday to keep her free.

Bouhammer Back in Afghanistan

This post isn't so much about what Troy is doing as about the revelation he had.  Go read his article posted September 6th entitled My Own Return.   For me it gives an insight into the brotherhood of warriors.  As a civilian I will never truly know what he means, but it helps me to better understand.

1st Annual MSG Glenn Helwer Invitational Free Fall - August 21, 2010

The 1^st Annual MSG Glenn Helwer Invitational Free Fall benefiting Soldiers’ Angels/Milwaukee VA Hospital had been scheduled to take place on August 21, 2010 with jump times starting at 9:00 am.  The whole tandem skydive event came about as happenstance.  I originally jumped on June 5, 2010 for Juvenile Diabetes at an event sponsored by Skydive Milwaukee.  I enjoyed the experience so much that I couldn’t wait to do it again.  Originally the plan was just to find a group of people to jump so the costs would be reduced.  That blossomed into planning a charity event.  The charity was a no brainer because I was already associated with Soldiers’ Angels.  The Wisconsin chapter does work locally, including at the Milwaukee VA Hospital.  It would be a great way to enjoy the day, raise money and keep the proceeds for local use.

 

August 21^st arrived and the big event was on. Well the event came off but not as originally planned.  All 15 participants registered for the 9:00 am jump at Skydive Milwaukee.  The weather looked like it was going to cooperate.  The sun was shining and the clouds looked like they were dispersing.  Unfortunately the ceiling filled with clouds and was way to low at the start time.  We were grounded before we even got going.

 

How long was this going to take?  10:00 am came and went, then 11:00 am followed by noon.  The group started to dwindle as prior commitments caused them to reschedule their jumps.  A core few hung out, grilled out and hopefully watched the skies.  A few of the people waiting had been in the military and understood the waiting game.  The various spouses, friends, and parents graciously waited.  For me as the organizer, the waiting did not come so easily.  It was disappointing to say the least.  Then it happened, the clouds started to open up.  Reservedly I began thinking this event might have a happy ending. 

 

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Then it happened!  The skies broke and there were calls to manifest.  The hearty souls that were able to stick it out got their chance.  After waiting 6 hours the plane fired up and the first load was on its way.  The second group was called to manifest and prepared for the planes return.  Being I was in the second group I did not see the first group floating from the heavens.  The plane taxied in and it was on.  The three tandem pairs loaded into the plane and made a rapid ascent to belch out its contents.  The door was open on the side of the plane on the ascent which gave us sweet relief.  It was a hot humid day.

 

Upon reaching altitude each jumper became intimately acquainted with their instructor as the instructor attached themselves to each student.  I don’t think you could be attached closer to another person if you tried.  I definitely knew I was attached to my instructor.  The plane leveled off and the yellow light was lit.  Once the green light lit it was a short shuffle to the door and we launched into the welcome wash of cold air.  The blast of air was refreshing and exhilarating. 

 

I can’t speak for anyone else but my instructor showed me the ways of accelerated free fall.  One small motion of your extremities can change the pattern of descent.  Spinning in a circle takes as little motion as moving your hand to cup the air.  I am sure it is a little more complicated than that but that is how it seemed to me.  I was not distracted by any photographer this time so I was really getting into the free fall.  As fast as it started it was over as the instructor popped the canopy.  All motion seemed to stop and it was pure silence.  I popped my eardrums back into place and enjoyed the ride.  The clouds were raising high next to us.  It was amazing being up next to the clouds outside of a plane.  I could feel the gentle mist as we drifted past them.  The glide down was spectacular.  The aerial view of the area around Skydive Milwaukee is beautiful.  After riding down under the canopy I can see why the birds take flight.  It is exhilarating.  Then we did have to land.  The landing was smooth and on target.  As chance would have it, the instructor that took me up on June 5^th was driving the golf cart that would take us back to the office.

 

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As I landed the last plane load of two tandem jumpers from our group was on its way.  I watched them float through the skies with my jump now a memory.  The atmosphere on the ground was now one of jubilation and not disappointment.  It was all worth the wait.  I will admit I would rather not have waited, but was totally relieved that we did not have to reschedule.

 

I don’t think any of the event’s jumpers were disappointed.  I am sure many will repeat in the future.   I thank all those involved for the great day, especially God for keeping everyone safe.  A great thank you goes out to MSG Glenn Helwer for allowing me to use his moniker for the event.  He has a grand history and the event proudly bared his name.  Thank you to all the spectators who stuck out the long hot day.  Thanks to all the jumpers and all those who donated money to the cause.  Thanks to Soldiers’ Angels and Ranger Up for all their assistance in getting shirts to us at short notice.  I really owe a great deal of thanks to Will Enterprises for getting the silk screening done within a half hour the day before the event.  Skydive Milwaukee, I can’t say enough.  You stuck with us all day and took us on a great ride.

 

Here’s to next years jump.  God bless and stay safe.

Great way to spend Saturday morning

Skydive

Milblog Conference 2010 Live Stream

Check out the Milblog Conference Live Stream at You Served.  Even if there isn't live feed at the moment, there is video from past conferences.  It is well worth your time.  I am sure if you are followers of the milblogging community you will enjoy hearing the voices of the people you read everyday.

God bless and stay safe.

Dead Sea Scrolls

I had the great pleasure of going to the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the Milwaukee Public Museum yesterday.  It is an amazing display of the culture and the times in which the dead see scrolls were written.  I think I am often times guilty of thinking of the culture as primitive at that time.  In reality the culture wasn't much different than now. 

The everyday items on display from pitchers, oil lamps, and even the bone boxes indicates people who are very talented.  Beauty in these items is quite evident.  It required craftsmen of talent.  Even the bone boxes were elegant.  One bone box really caught my eye as it had chip carving on one face.  I had always attributed chip carving as a Germanic style of carving.  This box had the patterns that are still used today in chip carving.  The carving was as crisp and clear as the day it was carved into its surface.

The ruins of Qumran were also clear evidence of a advanced civilized culture.  There was nothing crude or rudimentary about society in that day.  There was even a pay slip of a roman soldier on display.  The cloth on display showed a very fine and really perfect example of fine textile production.  The bronze work, pottery work, and construction methods on display really was amazing. 

The care in which the written words were transcribed is quite evident.  The lettering is small and exact.  A grid system is used to evenly space all the lettering.  I couldn't read a single word of it.  I am amazed at the people who can and at their patience in piecing it together and translating these ageless document.

If you are in the area or if the display passes through your town, take the time to visit it and go back in time.  As times change you will really see that they don't change as much as we tend to believe sometimes.  New technologies come along to replace or enhance older ones, but the people still operate under the same motivations.

The most amazing thing to me is how God has preserved His word down through time.  These ancient manuscripts when compared to more recent copies and translations show very little variation.  Doctrine is not impacted by the variances that are identified.  A full scroll of the book of Isaiah survived.  This book prophecies of the coming Savior and could be considered one of the greatest books of the old testament.

The display also included the Bible through time, the Gutenberg Bible all the way up to our modern translations.  We are blessed today to be able to have in our possession and read God's Holy Word.  That being said, take the time to listen to what God has to say.  Sit down and open up the Bible.  It is even easier now with the Bible being available digitally on the internet. God's word is as relevant today as it has ever been.  Go and see how He has taken care of our debt and why he needed to pay that debt.

God bless and stay safe. 

A post about Ammo Land

Ammo Land

Memories

This time of year brings back a lot of memories for me.  Memories of times past.  Times before computers, cell phones, cable, digital technology, and all the distractions.  In those times I lead a very simple but yet fulfilling life.

I come from country stock.  People who immigrated to this country and cut out lives for themselves in a new land.  They were simple people.  Their lives were centered around God, family and country, in that order.  Life was not rushed and simple pleasures were enjoyed and cherished.  Memories were made and not forgotten.

This is where my memories begin.  Some of my favorite memories happen to be winter memories.  I am not exactly sure why that is, but I am comforted by winter.  Maybe it is because the snow is like a blanket bundling all of God's glorious kingdom until spring arrives. 

My strongest memory is going out to the barn after supper.  In winter that means a trip to the barn in the darkness of night.  A small yard light illuminates the path.  The chill of the night air fills my lungs.  The cold starts to penetrate the layers of clothing.  The barn door is cracked open.  The warm moist air filled with all the smells of a barn, manure, corn silage, hay, and cows enter my nostrils.  None of the smells are unpleasant.  Combined the odors are sweet and soothing.

Along with the smells are the quiet sounds.  Sounds of cows jostling for position for the last scraps of feed in the manger.  I can hear the cows licking the manger clean and chewing contentedly, whether new feed or their cud.  The cats start to meow realizing food was about to be provided.  The calves are bellow greedily for their milk. 

The lights are turned on in the barn, the door is closed, and the warmth and sights of the barn envelope me.  I shed the outer layers and prepare to provide the herd with their second course.  Working in the evening feeding the herd is as big a part of my memory as the sights and sounds.  Each movement was automatic.  Each motion was rhythmic and efficient learned from repetition.  Ground feed was loaded in the wheel barrow.  Silage was forked down from the silo.  Hay was tossed down out of the mow.  Favorite cows were given a little extra ground feed, much like a begging dog gets another cookie.  Time slowed down.  Thoughts were pushed aside and I lived in the moment.  No worries, just overwhelming peace.

When the chores were over, it was time to button up the barn for the evening.  The exit was a reverse of the entrance.  The layers of clothes were put back on, lights turned off, exit into the night air, barn door was closed, and the quiet trip to the house in the dark night air of winter.  A light in the kitchen was my beacon.  Inside the house awaited other memories in the making.  Time together with family playing games at the table, discussing days events, solving the world's problems, praising God for all the blessings, and going to the Lord in prayer.

Are all memories good ones.  No, I suppose not.  Maybe they aren't even all that accurate, but the memories I have are mine.  They are comforting and pleasant.  They are of days gone by when things were simple and less complicated.  People new how to be patient and enjoyed each others company.  Technology is a great thing and I don't want to go back to not having it, but memories help me to remember that they are only tools. Memories remind me to slow down and enjoy the good with the bad.

Take time to make your own memories and relive the ones you already have.  Share them with your friends and family, especially during the Holidays.

God bless and stay safe. 

Friends, Life and Keeping Perspective

I have been having a rough few years at work. Everything in the daily grind seems to be negative and there is no light at the end of the tunnel.  I find myself to be spiraling out of control almost to the point of depression.  One thing has definitely snapped me out of my funk.  Last night I went out with old friends.  Some of them I still work with and the others I used to work with.  We remembered old times and I laughed until it was painful.

That is when I finally got some perspective back.  Life is good.  Life is fun.  Life is meant to be shared with good friends, family and kept in perspective.  A job is a job and will never be perfect.  I can always change jobs even though that change would be scary. 

Good friends in life are priceless and change should be avoided.  They keep me grounded and happy.  I forgot how to be happy until last nights get together over food, drinks, and great stories of times past, times present and times future.  How we have all changed but yet remained the same.  I look forward to the next visit. The beautiful thing with social networks, such as facebook, it is so easy to stay connected.

Here's to friendships, old and renewed, or just plain new ones.  Go out and enjoy life.  Don't forget how to be happy.  Change the situation if unhappiness is the rule.

God bless and stay safe.

Fallen British Comrades

Many of you are quite aware of Michael Yon and his dedication to all troops fighting the war on terror.  He brings us some tragic news about three very courageous British soldiers. 

http://www.michaelyon-online.com/the-kopp-etchells-effect.htm

Another reminder that war is not easy and has a high price.  It is not easy defeating the enemy, but it is a job that few have chosen.  I will never be able to repay them for their service.  I can only give them my undying respect.

God bless them one and all.  I pray that he comfort the survivors and continue to strengthen their and our resolve in the long war on terror.