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Looks like we made it over today's drill hurdle. Hopefully the nearness of conflict today will ultimately lead to a realization that things just can't go on this way.......but I won't hold my breath.

Thank you for all the well-wishes. It's good to have a place to air some of my anxiety, as I can't really do it with family -- gotta keep the chin stiff!
Last edited by Krakatoa
Krak,

I have really enjoyed reading your posts and the dialogue you share with several on this website-- most notabaly "Got Wood.." Not only are you witty, but a patriot and family man. I keep myself informed of the situation in Korea through the media, but your posts have personalized it for me. Whereas I have known soldiers stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan, I have not personally known of anyone in S Korea. You have my utmost respect for the job you do, and I will keep you, your family and team in my prayers, as well as all of our world's leaders, foreign and domestic, in our strive toward peace.

Thank you.
smalltownmom, thank you for your kind words. It is indeed the soldiers around the world who deserve all the respect. I am merely a civilian teaching and coaching their kids while their families are stationed over here. Their job is much more difficult than mine. Those guys up in the 2ID/DMZ with their motto "Fight Tonight"....that's a tough gig. South Korea's soldiers also do a heckuva job. They are some big, tough, serious sons of guns whom I would never want to tangle with.

I have been up to the DMZ numerous times. You can stand inside a building that straddles the line of demarcation between the two countries - a 3" high 6" wide 'line' of raised cement. A few times, North Korean guards have come down and peered into the windows while we were in there. One time I had a class up there (weird field trip) and two NK guards came down. They were smiling at my kids outside the windows, nodded politely to them, clearly enjoyed seeing them. My kids had been instructed by our guys not to smile, point, or otherwise interact in any way. But I can still picture a few of my girls giggling and covering their mouths when the NK guards waved politely at them.

Up north, it is all about Kim Jong Il. I have seen the normal human side of the regular people -- and these guards were supposed to be some of their roughest and readiest -- and yet they were polite and clearly enjoyed being around children. My god, had we had a basketball or soc-cer ball, a game might have broken out! From what I have seen, you take that nut job leader out of the picture and you'll have a country of people ready to work hard to build a functional country, raise good families, and join in with the international community.

Sidenote: our realtor is an early-30's guy and was a tank driver when he did his service. He also has one of the largest collections of high-end baseball cards I've ever seen. He never played the game, but for whatever reason he loves it and he spends a lot of his Korean Won somehow buying these cards from the States. His English is good enough that we have been able to have some really good baseball conversations. He knows names, stats, deals....he's totally into it.
Last edited by Krakatoa
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    "...gotta keep the chin stiff!"


I may have just the thing for you Krak. I was motivated by smalltownmom's remark about the back 'n forth that you and I throw around on occasion.

I stepped into my spacious and expertly equipped machine shop (the folding table next to the downstair's washtub) and while watching a re-run of "Alias Smith & Jones" I devised this for you...



Nice, huh?

If I told you I did all of the bending by merely using my mind I honestly would be lying to you. It was done mostly using my mind with some assistance from a pair of Channel Locks© held by my remaining teeth. No amount of effort, both mental or physical, was left untapped. At one point I had to douse my scalp with shaving cream (poor man's fire extinguisher) when a mental flash actually combusted my thin gray locks. Aside from that horrible stench from the burnt hair the whole process was rather uplifting...the finished product surely shows that!

If you would like I can affix a flying buttress of sorts on each side to prop up the corners of your mouth giving you a slight smile and a relaxed, not-a-worry-in-the-world, appearance. If you keep yourself in the right lighting, not quite total darkness, I'm sure your family and friends will not even notice your apparatus.

IF YOU ACT NOW! I can still get it to you before Christmas. The pigeon's name is Charlie. Just throw him back in the direction of the States. He knows the way. Just make sure he doesn't head back towards all of those live firing exercises. He'll get nervous and make a mess of things.

Seriously Krak...stay safe and keep your chin stiff.

Merry Christmas to you and your family!




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Last edited by gotwood4sale
You, your family and all our service members will be in my thoughts and prayers. I have a friend who is the son of one of my good friends who is soon to be headed your way from Okinawa. He's a United States Marine, and I know that while he will do whatever he's called upon to do, more than anyone he and our other service members wish for peace to stay in place. Obviously, we all support them in peacetime, as well as times of conflict.

Keep you head down, buddy!
Last edited by 06catcherdad
More fun and games tomorrow:

"Thursday's air force and army drills will involve 800 troops, F-15K and KF-16 jet fighters, K-1 tanks, AH-1S attack helicopters and K-9 self-propelled guns. They will take place in Pocheon, about 30 miles (45 kilometers) north of Seoul and about 21 miles (33 kilometers) south of the North Korean border."

What a very, very strange thing this is for a foreigner having grown up in a country that never really had to worry about such mischief.
Krakatoa-
I just wanted to let you know that my family has been praying each and everyday for not only the situation involving N.Korea and S. Korea, but also for the people living in those areas, both private citizens and military.
You see our granddaughter is in the Navy and has been stationed in Japan on the aircraft carrier the USS George Washington. As you probably know it has been deployed more than once to the Yellow Sea.
I have become quite fond of reading your posts in here and just wanted you to know "there are" people back home thinking about you and praying for safety and well being. God Bless.
By the way, would you pass on my families best wishes and prayers to you team, and their families. They are also in our prayers. Thank you.
History has shown there have always been annoying, aggressive, non-sensical persons in the world who just won't stop, and Porky Pig-Il is one of them.


legend, yes, we have been very proud and reassured by the presence of the USS GW in this situation. AFN news had interviews with some on board recently, and it's so great how professional, poised, and solid those men and women serving really are. I picture Kim Jong Il peering through 50-year old binoculars at this massive carrier churning up the Yellow Sea straight towards him and, well, to quote someone on Yahoo.....

"The only missile that's going to be launched by NK will be the brown missile in Kim Jong's pants."

I don't know what they're showing or saying on CNN, but in Seoul it's very much life-as-usual. Of course it's on everyone's mind, but we went out shopping downtown last night and everyone's out walking, buying, eating, drinking, and being merry. The South Koreans are generally very pleased with how the president and the new no-nonsense defense minister are comporting themselves and the military's activities. They are tired of 'doing nothing', and like the new hard-line. Of course, in terms of potential conflict, therein lies the rub.
Not to be indelicate, but a 'neighborhood' is called a '****' (pron 'dawng').

Furthermore, a collection of neighborhoods is a '-gu', a city is a '-shi', and a province is a '-do'.

You could almost make a song out of these terms......and I fully expect you to work very hard on doing just that, Mr. Ely. Wink Maybe to the tune of that goofy song Potsy Weber did on Happy Days way back when.
Last edited by Krakatoa
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Happy Days? No, no, no. Let's go back to those not-so-happy days in Austria when the war, the big one, was brewing. Sorry Potsie, but those Von Trapp kids could really belt 'em out.



    암컷 토끼 - a deer, a female deer.

    빛줄기- a drop of golden sun.

    메인- a name I call myself.

    떨어져- a long, long way to run.

    바느질하다- a needle pulling thread.

    법학- a note to follow so.

    차나무의 말린 잎- a drink with jam and bread.

    That will bring us back to 암컷 토끼, 빚이 있다, 빚이 있다, 빚이 있다, 빚이 있다 !





.
Last edited by gotwood4sale
Those serving in Korea might be interested to know that during the state dinner for China the Chinese born pianist played My Motherland- a china propaganda piece about china defeating America during Korean war. A major propaganda victory being played up in China.
No matter your politics I think we can all agree this administration are amateurs. This is a disgrace and no doubt those who were suppose to vet this stuff were too busy picking out there dresses to bother.
Last edited by igball
THIS MATTER IS A DISGRACE. Could someone who supports this crowd please google this matter and explain why they would allow this to be played? Be sure to note how important saving face is in the far east.

Seriously if Obama flew the Chinese flag over the White House 90% of the black voters would still vote for him as would the union crowd by why would any normal voter consider him knowing this?
Last edited by igball
quote:
Originally posted by igball:
THIS MATTER IS A DISGRACE. Could someone who supports this crowd please google this matter and explain why they would allow this to be played? Be sure to note how important saving face is in the far east.

Seriously if Obama flew the Chinese flag over the White House 90% of the black voters would still vote for him as would the union crowd by why would any normal voter consider him knowing this?



"My Motherland" was called as "A Big River" (Chinese: 一条大河) by the author initially; it represented the hundreds of rivers that flowed by the homes of the Chinese people. The title was changed when it was published with movie.

Although the song was written for the movie about Korean War in 1950s, there is no mention of the war at all. It describes a soldier (or anyone who is away from home) thinking about his home and his family. Thus, this song is extremely popular even when the movie itself is almost forgotten.

The music for solo part has folk song styles similar to those in northern China.



Ok, I googled it. Unfortunately, it seems your bigotry and ignorance lacks support of facts, and has no place here.
Last edited by all322
quote:
Originally posted by igball:
Seriously if Obama flew the Chinese flag over the White House 90% of the black voters would still vote for him as would the union crowd by why would any normal voter consider him knowing this?


Wow, this is an impressive triple play. In one sentence, igball is able to denigrate black people, union voters, and anyone who supports President Obama.
I did a search for American non political websites. Emusic.com lists the song as anti-American and one of the top all time Chinese nationalist songs. Chinatwentyone.com, a pro Chinese nationalist website stated the song is anti-American and questions if the piano player was dissing the Unites States.
Last edited by RJM

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