Homesick Blues
View all posts filed under the Homesick Blues category.
Death Be Not Sooner
Very recently, as I walked through crunchy fallen leaves strewn over hard-packed ground on a crisp autumn day, I mused on how much I enjoy this time of year, despite the fact that it is actually the last vestiges of summer wasting away before winter, much like the cold, uninviting embrace of death. Kind of ruined the mood, but hey, it’s what I do.
Miles from Nowhere
One of the perks of being a globe-trotting government-contracting communications boss is the accumulation of airline miles – you know, those bonus points that the airlines toss about like so many Marlboro Miles or S&H Green Stamps. Never heard of S&H Green Stamps? Ask your parents…no, better make that your grandparents. They were a pretty big thing back in the days before automatic transmissions.
Hitting the Deck, Occasionally
Power tools and I have what might be called a love/hate relationship. I hate using them, they love tormenting me. I have a similar problem with bowling balls, but I can’t say anything about that until the court settlement is final. Just suffice it to say that bowling, buttered popcorn, and a Shady Elms Acres Senior Living Center field trip will result in gore of proportions never imagined by any of the participants or their attorneys.
Going to Health in a Hand Basket
When I returned home to Appomattox after my latest stint in the Asian Pacific, my thoughts immediately turned to my upcoming new job as linguist liaison in Iraq. Note that the title is indeed linguist liaison, not linguist/liaison, linguist-liaison, or simply linguist. The latter three would imply that I actually have some linguistic skills, which I clearly don’t. I do not sprecken der Araby, or, as they say in Mexico, c’est l’vie.
Bud the Bad Good Example
Whenever I am on “vacation” here at the farm, it is usually only a matter of a day or two before I settle into a routine. Wake up at 7-ish, check my e-mail, feed the horses and then spend the rest of the day trying to avoid work and usually failing. Especially if my wife is around.
The Working Vacation vs. Vacation at Work
After nearly four relaxing months at my job, it was time for me to come home for my vacation and do some work. For some reason, that doesn’t sound as backward as it may seem. It is probably the common complaint of workers everywhere, just thinking how much they could get done around the house if they didn’t have to go to a job so they could afford a house around which to get things done.
Hanna and The Hand
Dateline: Pacific Ocean. Philippine Sea, to be exact. Somewhere between Guam and Saipan. I will say closer to Guam, as I can still get a smattering of a signal from KUAM-TV Channel 8 from there…long story short, we are at sea and I’m not supposed to be here. As I write this, Pamela, my beloved [...]
Learning the Lingo
In a few months, give or take, I will begin my new job as site manager/linguist liaison in Iraq. Where in Iraq? I’m not quite sure of that yet, but if one of the first items they issue me is a Kevlar umbrella, I am assuming I will be in an area that could best [...]
An Inconvenienced Truth
Eight years ago, I was residing in the urban sprawl – and I do mean sprawl – of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Each day I would awake in my condo, go through my morning constitutional (for want of more accurate or gruesomely descriptive terms), and then hop into my little S-10 pickup and drive up Cheyenne [...]
An Unlikely Sailor Reflects
As this is my last go-round as a civilian shipboard communications boss, I’d like to take the time to look back and reflect on my seven years on the high seas. My adventures have been many and I have accomplished much, though my proudest achievement is no doubt the fact that I haven’t thrown up nearly as much as I had expected.
The Global Neighborhood
In another section of this site, you will be reading about the adventures being had in California by my wife, Appomattox News editor and Chief Dragon in Residence, Pamela Matlack Klein. She is the person responsible for convincing our illustrious publisher, Linda Goin, to allow me to regale you each week with stories of my life halfway around the world. The gun helped.
Best Laid Plans
It seems that I recall hearing something recently about how, due to escalating fuel costs, the US may begin experiencing “rolling brownouts,” that is, random regional power outages. I’m not sure if I heard this, or saw it on TV, or read it on the internet. Whichever way I got it, I am pretty sure there was a light on at the time.
One of Those Weeks
It’s been one of “Those Weeks,” folks. No further description is necessary. I know that every week is a week, but not every week is one of “Those Weeks.” “Those Weeks” should have their own designation, like Black History Month, Earth Day, National Honest Government Millisecond, that sort of thing.
