Prudentia Sit

My Buddy, SSG Carter King, whom many of you know from his appearances here and occasional correspondence with some of you, received a double-whammy yesterday and the day before.  While he has been waiting for the Army bureaucracy to make a decision about the final disposition of his career due to injuries from when he got blown up and how he will be retired after 3 trips to Iraq combat zones over 2 different wars, training friendly foreign nationals, being stationed in Cold War Germany and his many years of tolerating knucleheads, besides being blown up and having stinkier feet than Daveman.  Even though he knows he could still adequately serve in some capacity he doesn't think they are anxious to keep him.

Anyway, earlier this week he found out that a friend of his was in a helicopter that was taken out by an airborne IED.  They had been stationed together at fort Loser and his wife knew the family too and was pretty upset.

Then a couple of days ago his sister passed away at only 48 years old.  The MRSA bacteria took her even though she didn't smoke or drink and was a regular health-food nazi, too.  This was a complete shock to the entire family.  It shocked me, too, even though I hadn't seen her in well over 20+ years.  Her tribute in the Washington Post.

*Edit/Add 12/14/07 - Ali's mom has updated the Miracle Ali website.

*Edit/Add 12/14/07 - Finally posted some pics of Savannah's 3rd Birthday. 

Still haven't gotten the pics posted, but it is not the software's fault.  I love the Gallery software, and it has so many features and options, it's great, except I know I am not using it to its full potential.

I have really been trying to work on this "Joseph" story, and actually have part 1 finished, but think it should be 3 - 5 parts and would really like to finish the whole thing before I post any of it.

My dad is doing well.  He hasn't been sounding so depressed when I talk to him, but he seems to have firmly decided not to have any more surgeries.  This is his decision, now, based on his experience with his gall bladder surgery, and not anyone else's.  Okay.

I am going to have to rearrange my morning routine.  I have to concentrate more on my writing and wanting to be a published writer (I already consider myself somewhat a professional writer) and blog-hopping, as interesting as it is, just isn't getting it done.  I will probably stop by; but not comment on every article everyone writes.  I will still have the ones that I will catch up on if I miss, but this will be instead of staying "caught up" on 30 or 40 and will be whatever fits in with my schedule.  So the (hopefully) upside is that since I consider blogging a valid, viable, writing exercise, people that come to read what I have to say will get more of what they want, but I will be a little less social than I have been.

Oh and please remember to throw something into every

that you pass.

Remember, The Good Book says, "He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again."

P. (M?) S.

Okay, so we went to pick my teenage daughter up from high school and she gets in and says, "My friend got in trouble for having a bloody nose." 

"What?  How does a person get in trouble for a bloody nose?"

"She got this bloody nose and had to think of something really quick so she stuck a tampon in her nose and the teacher walked over and wrote her up for it.  She had to do something."  I am laughing so hard I can barely stand it, picturing this girl, sitting in school, a high school girl, mind you, with a tampon sticking out of her nose.

"It's not funny!  She had to go to the front office and got a one day In-School-Suspension for it."

"Darlin'," I add in between snorts, "The teacher probably thought she was being a smart-aleck like boys who put pencils in their nose or something." 

Mom is adding an anecdote from a Girl Scout meeting on First-Aid where they held up a pad and said, "What are these for?"

"Soaking up blood."

I am driving and it is hard to see, I just have this picture in my mind, "But dad, she had to do something.  It was an emergency.  Do you know how much blood one of those things can hold?"

 

The IED from hell

 

Thu, Apr 13, 2006 at 6:47 AM

Carter

To: Herb

 

massive f****** IED the other day,4 dead,one guy 30 per cent burns,but stable.All the XOs went to inspect it today after it got hauled back-OMG........2 130mm arty shells just blew it to f***

 

Thu, Apr 13, 2006 at 1:38 PM

Herb

To: Carter

 

Wow.  You were an acting XO?

 

Fri, Apr 14, 2006 at 1:09 AM

Carter

To: Herb Thiel

 

yeah,told you that-been the XO for awhile now

Fri, Apr 14, 2006 at 3:53 AM

Herb Thiel

To: Carter

 

You didn't say what got blown up.  Hummer?

 

Fri, Apr 14, 2006 at 5:11 AM

Carter

To: Herb Thiel

 

a bradley-it blew a huge hole in the floor of the crew compartment and killed the 2 JAFOs back there-the gunner was trapped,but the TC and driver made it out,although both were severely burned.We were looking at it,and  under the engine/tranny was a sheet of quarter inch steel,which held up-but it did'nt extend as far back as the JAFO seats-a couple hundred bucks in steel could have saved these guys-maybe.We're looking at local modifications our wrench elements can do to increase survivability.

 

Sun, Apr 16, 2006 at 1:21 PM 

Carter

To: Herb Thiel

 

we had the memorial service tonight for our dead.it got a bit intense.

 

Tue, Apr 18, 2006 at 4:39 AM

Herb Thiel

To: Carter

 

I'm sorry.

 

Wed, Apr 19, 2006 at 12:46 AM

Carter

To: Herb Thiel

 

another guy KIA yesterday.  it was the commander of Alpo Troop-they got him with an EFP-explosive fired projectile-a new twist on IEDs-sort of an improvised disposable cannon,firing a length of steeel rod that will penetrate the armor on the guntrucks.It breached the armor and went through his helmet.I went out yesterday,down to the town of Saba al boor,which was where our guys were killed in the other IED last week.It was uneventful,other than getting stuck in a traffic jam on the Baghdad freeway....

 

Fri, Apr 21, 2006 at 4:02 AM

Herb

To: carter

 

That's sick.

 

Fri, Apr 21, 2006 at 1:20 PM

Carter

To: Herb

 

the EFP or the traffic jam?

 

Sat, Apr 22, 2006 at 4:33 AM

Herb

To: carter

 

I was thinking about the EFP, but the traffic sounds bad, too.

 

Sat, Apr 22, 2006 at 6:38 AM

Carter

To: Herb

 

alpo troop got hit by mortar fire today-5 WIAs,but no dead-and they caught 2 bad guys-the trunk of their car was chock full of IED components

 

Sun, Apr 23, 2006 at 5:51 AM

Herb

To: carter

 

HWere do the get that stuff?

 

Tue, Apr 25, 2006 at 11:37 AM

Carter

To: Herb

 

common household items-oh,had some first hand expewrience with an IED today....

 

Wed, Apr 26, 2006 at 3:23 AM

Herb

To: carter

 

You better be careful.  What happened.

 

Wed, Apr 26, 2006 at 8:24 AM

Carter

To: Herb Thiel

 

I was om a missionwith the S-3,and was riding shotgun in the 3rd vehicle-went down a road,heard a big boom,and decided to test the flying abilities of an M1114 HUMVEE...blew us off the road,hit a culvert and were bouncing across a field before the truck stopped-I got everyone out of the truck and out on security(even though I was  like the 3rd ranking guy on the truck,with an american captain and Estonian major being aboard)-we looked for the triggerman to kill him,but did'nt see anyone.we waited for recovery assets and EOD to show up and waited forever....they finally showed up,along with a platoon of pissed off Estonian infantry to sweep the village looking for suspects.All five of us on the truck walked away with nothing more than bruises(well,I slopped dew all over myself when it went off,and ripped my pants).EOD said it was 2 artillery shells-one 130mm and one 152mm.they burrowed underneath the shoulder of the road and buried it,but buried it too deep,as we were just about on top of it when it went off,and the road and the dirt took most of the blast.

 

Thu, Apr 27, 2006 at 3:16 AM

Herb

To: carter

 

Well, thank God they didn't know how far to bury it.  I guess everybody's prayers for you are working, except that your still ugly.  Mind if I post that one, and the pics?  I only do if you say it's okay.  I don't want to mess up any security issues.

 

Thu, Apr 27, 2006 at 5:45 AM

Carter

To: Herb Thiel

 

yeah,go ahead and post it-nothing in the pic that the insurgents don't know already.Just glad I walked away from it-CPT ***** has added leaving the wire to list of things like making coffee that I'm not supposed to do-and they're starting to refer to my coffee as "aggravated assault"

 

Wed, Apr 26, 2006 at 8:53 AM

Carter

To: Herb Thiel

 

a couple pics after the IED yesterday-does'nt show the crater as well as I'd like,but you can still see it was a sizable blast

 

 

Thu, Apr 27, 2006 at 3:09 AM

Herb

To: carter

          

Wow!  How close were you?

 

Thu, Apr 27, 2006 at 6:01 AM

Carter

To: Herb Thiel

 

right on top of it

 

Fri, Apr 28, 2006 at 3:45 AM

Herb

To: carter

 

Yeah, read the story later.  God's looking out for you!

 

Fri, Apr 28, 2006 at 8:34 AM

Carter

To: Herb Thiel

 

I'm a member of the IED survivor club-and the weird thing is,I knew we would get hit that day,but was'nt afraid in the least-well,our PFC driver DID piss himself...but as the truck was flying through the air,I really was'nt too worried

 

Sat, Apr 29, 2006 at 3:35 AM

Herb

To: carter

 

Well, maybe God didn't want ya to die with that fin ya owe me still on yer conscience.

 

Sat, Apr 29, 2006 at 11:12 AM

Carter

To: Herb Thiel

 

uh,hello....YOU owe ME that fin-plus 30 altairian dollars and a cup of mus and a greaseburger and...............

 

Sat, Apr 29, 2006 at 2:48 PM

Herb Thiel

To: carter

 

No, you are confused.  You owe me the fin, 30 Altairian dollars and a beer milkshake.  Since I quit drinkin' you kin have that.

 

And that was how my buddy Carter almost got himself blown up.  Some people will do anything to get out of payin' ya back, won't they?