Whatever Happened To...

Herbie Hancock? Apparently now we know. This is weird enough to be... well, I was going to say good, but I don't know as I'd go that far. Kind of post-Impressionistic, I guess. But what does this have to do witt the price of tea in New Jersey? Not much, actually. Still writing from Connecticut, where I'll soon enough be departing back to the fair (and even colder than here) state of Oklahoma, feeling very spiritually revived, and full of the good cooking of my lady friend and my parents. Seems the problem with leave is that there's never enough time to do all the unimportant stuff you want.

Turns out Max, my son, needs glasses! Well, that runs in the family, I guess. Personally, I'm leaning towards laser surgery, just for the sake of convenience. I told him (truthfully) that many girls dig guys with glasses, and especially smart guys like him. (Actually, I used to have a major crush on a college professor of mine who had a PhD- that wasn't the only reason I liked her, but brains certainly didn't hurt). At any rate, one could say that Darwin comes into play here- the strongest, most intelligent are the most likely to pass on their genetic material, and all that. Rather, I find that intelligent people have a more positive outlook in life, though intelligence is a very difficult thing to measure. There are things I can't do that other people can, and things I can do that very few other people are able to do. Where does this put us in terms of intelligence?As far as the Army is concerned, pretty high- I scored outstanding on the ASVAB service exam, meaning a lot of jobs were open to me. This was right before the economy really started to tank, and the military was still eager to get new soldiers. Now, things have changed. Standards for enlistment are going up, as are reenlistment standards, and the Army is approaching its quota for the maximum amount of troops it will require. They say coming out of the military means a huge advantage in the job market, but that strikes me a little bit as being the richest man in the cemetery- great, but what good does that do?

So if you're planning on joining the Army, now's a good time to do it. The benefits are still there, which is the main factor as to why a lot of people join. I know that was my initial reasoning, but now found I like it. I'm hoping I don't need any special command referrals to reenlist, and that I can leave Fort Sill and head back up north. My family is here, perhaps because it's easier than relocating. The kids are with the ex, most of the time. This made sense, as there was a possibility of me deploying, so this would save a few trips to JAG to review and revamp custody and all that good stuff. However, now is the time for action, and so I'm going to do what I've been saying for a long time- close this chapter on my life. I got to spend a good deal of time with the kids yesterday, and am amazed at them all over again. I worry about them, like any father. They're in good hands, though. And they're growing up to be great people, I don't doubt that for a second. I was struck by the fact that they both have my eyes, and Max is very much his father's son. Emma is much like her mother,and though she's still little, she's going to break a lot of hearts when she grows up. I'll start cleaning the shotgun now...

Actually, I'm more proud of the both of them than I have words for, and they're both wonderful, smart kids who no doubt will go on to great things. Max drew a picture of one of my heroes, Alice Cooper. I'll post it here as soon as I get the email through, (saved a picture to my phone), and will pass it along to the man himself. Well, that's about all the news that's fit to print from here, and as my own dad always says, write if you get work and hang by your thumbs.