Bringing Life to a Graveyard for Memorial Day

After mtn biking today, it was time to walk the line...what better place on Memorial Day than the tank graveyard?

Florida

So the parentals made it out to Florida, it was real good to see them. The weather was nice for their stay, minimal humidity and clear skies, not ho, not cold. We were able to go to a nice place on the docks for dinner and eat some fresh fish, mom even had a chicken freshly caught in the bay that day. Afterwards, we checked out the extravagant fishing boats on the little pier we were by.

The next morning after a quick tour of the base and being able to show them the planes I work, we went to the Marina on base and got a couple kayaks. We paddled out to a lil island in the sound, explored that, then headed back. Their kayaking skills were amazing! After, I took them to the tank graveyard. Dad seemed to really enjoy that as well as mom. I don't have tose pics so hopefully they will write a blog and share some. Then a lil walk around a lake in the area I Mtn bike, a nice peaceful place.

The next day we drove to Pensacola, went to a lil art sale in the park, checked out Pcola Beach, lunch on the water in Navarre, then they headed back to Georgia.

It was a good weekend, glad you guys could make it...if anyone else wants to visit, you know you're more than welcome.

Where does Freedom come from?

The ones with the least freedom, are the ones who give their lives to provide freedom for all. Freedom doesn't come from heroes, it comes from the desire to help others. No soldier who dies meets death in vein. A pararescueman from here recently died, saving the lives of other soldiers. I was at the gas station today and heard a man degrade this warrior. He said, "the airmen died for a f'd up cause" Not true, he died saving his brothers in arms. Thats what brought freedom to our country, the ones who are willing to die for others they don't even know.

Eternal Sun Shining on a Spotted Mind

I just had a great conversation with my friend. One of those conversations where you find the depth inside the other persons soul and your own. I felt like the old wise man telling my young protege secrets of life. The words I used seem to move Zack everytime we converse, he's open minded and has respected my opinions since we met at Sheppard. The conversation inevitably led to religion. Eventually I corrected him on misconceptions he has on the Mormon religion. I always attempt this whenever I'm asked about the church. I'm not active but I do know more than others. I'm always amazed with the crazy, off-the-wall notions others have, and I always try to correct them. During this interaction with Zack, I actually ended up giving him a copy of the Book of Mormon (yeah, I do have a few). It wasn't to convert him, thats not my intention, but instead to let him make his own opinion. The fact that he was willing to do this amazed me. HE asked for the copy, I didn't offer it. It's good to see that there are some people who are willing to seek truth for themselves and not believe what the world tells them.



On a different note, I went Mtn biking today. I learned the lesson to always have a bike tool with me. Though, I only learned this after going over the bars on a steep descent because my stem was allowing the bars to move. Altogether the ride was good. Single speed is once again the way to go here. There are short technical climbing sections and I have yet to wish I had a lower gear. I guess my style is to stand up and crank through so it works well.

The Florida wildlife is different and is taking some getting used to, strange colored spiders (no banana spiders yet), little snakes everywhere, and pesky centipede alienish things that seem to love jumping onto me. At the least I'm more aware of my surroundings.



After riding today, I returned to base and set my slackline up behind the softball field on a couple of trees. My improvement is quick, and I have made a new goal...slackline Lost Arrow Spire.

When I was walking the line I got a visit fromm the Security Forces. Mostly because they were bored and saw something out of the ordinary. Two of them came over to me with their hands on their guns (I'm not sure why). They said I was damaging the trees and needed to take the line down. I proceeded in using my tongue a bit and telling them how wrong they were and how the precautions I was using to protect the trees fully comlied with the Sierra Clubs standards on preserving nature...(yeah, a lot of BS). It worked though and they let me keep it up. They were intrigued on what I was doing. The older, and wiser, one was amazed on how I could walk up and down the line. The younger, cockier one wasn't. He said it looked easy and that anything a California hippy could do, wasn't that hard. I asked if he wanted to try. Of course he said no, but his older wiser partner called him a chicken .....

This did the trick and the guy tried one time to stand up on the line. (I put the line up higher than most, about to MY waist) As the cop tried to stand up, his foot slid over to the opposite side, relieving all the weight on the line. NOw when this happens the line shoots up to its original heighth with a sudden snap. His legs were on either side of the line and the line shot up into...well, you know. He didn't feel to well. It was a good laugh for all but him. The cops left afterwards with the older laughing at the cocky young guy. I tried not to laugh, afterall he could see me around and give me a ticket or something. I told him that the same thing happens to me all the time, but it doesn't. Anyways, it was definatley a good day after that. Love y'all

I had surgery this week. It was periodontal, basically a skin graft inside my mouth, they removed skin from inside the top of my mouth and moved it to cover up exposed roots on two of my teeth. It looks pretty nasty, I'd give a picture, but some of you are squeamish. Anyways, the cause is apparently from my braces. When I was told to brush really well, I brushed too well and succeeded in exposing the roots of my teeth in 6 places. This surgery only fixed two teeth. That means I get to do it again two maybe three more times. They just have to wait for the skin to grow back so they can take it again. Now you may ask...Did it hurt? ...does Logan lack a brain? YES, it hurts, but worth it, I got two days off work. Thats all, good bye.

When I say Bow, you say Wow, Bow...

Its been a good week. I finished the engine swap in my truck, I went Mtn biking, I got up on a slackline again, and....I SAW LIL BOW WOW IN CONCERT!!! Yeah, I know, why would I do that? It was actually a volunteer thing. I worked as an usher at the Pensacola Civic Center for CSC, you know, the dudes in the yellow shirts, I'm sure you remember them from the Hollywood Bowl, yup, I was one of them.


I guess I'll start with the Bow Wow show. First off I've never seen so many people in one place with gold and silver teeth (and kids with mouthguards that flashed lights), I've never smelled weed on so many elderly people, and had no idea how hard it is to hold off hundreds of adolescent girls trying to storm a table for an autograph. We literally had a human chain surrounding this guy because he wanted to be nice and sign autographs for fans. It got so out of control maintaing the crowd we had to cut it short as his bodyguard literally carried him out before he was overwhelmed by the love sick fans who had lost all control of sanity. To say the least, it was...interesting. That will be the last time I ever go to a rap show. The performance was boring too, every artist sounded the same, they all used other musicians music just with more bass, and all they did was run around stage grabbing their balls. I guess I'm just too white to understand all of that.


I also finished the truck, it runs great, a huge difference. Here are the pics of the old motor and the new one, yup, it was time for that old one to go. I learned alot during the process, especially how important ground wires are. If one isn't working, electricity goes where it not supposed to, like me. I found a spot with the electricty from the battery going straight to it. It was a "shock" to find. But instead of fixing it right away we decided to scare my friend. There was four of us working the truck. Our brilliant idea was to form a human chain, (thus reducing the amt of shock to each person and making it safe...ish.) We did this, called another friend into the garage, when he came in, we connected our chain to the power and grabbed the victim. Immediatley, all our bodies seized up. Lets just say it was a lot more than we expected. Finally, we were able to break free. We had a good laugh and for some reason felt quite energized after that.


Now I also got my bike, it is sweet, the difference is amazing with the taller tires, and not having to worry about shifting was awesome. A bit harder in places but totally worth it. It just felt more pure riding. It's been awhile since I've hit up a trail so I totally needed this. Afterwards, I set up a slackline on the banks of a lake in the woods and walked it until the sun went down. It was really a great way to spend a Friday evening.


This week was just what I needed, that bit of adrenaline I've been missing is at my finger tips again. I cant be happier.

Donkeys and Reindeer...Are they the same, or both just mystical creatures only seen in movies and fairytales?

I'm glad some of you are writing, its awesome...as for the stories, they'll be here soon. No time to write much now, but just think of what Kelsey wrote about males and TBI...? 18-25 yrs, right? NO common sense? I think you're right...3 car batteries and a charger hooked to a human chain...(more details to come)...I still have 15 months until I get my common sense. Until then, I'll try not to kill myself. Oh yeah, lesson learned...its not good to not be able to let go of someones hand...like when its connected by electricity, hurts a little bit...but stimulating. The fun will be shared when I get a chance, promise.