Homesick Blues
View all posts filed under the Homesick Blues category.
By Bill Klein on 29 October 2008
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.
Posted in Columns, Homesick Blues | Tagged death, Halloween, Oklahoma, resurrection
By Bill Klein on 22 October 2008
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.
Posted in Columns, Homesick Blues | Tagged airline miles, Marlboro Miles, S&H Green Stamps
By Bill Klein on 8 October 2008
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.
Posted in Columns, Homesick Blues | Tagged Gypsy Rose Lee, Michael Phelps, Olympic sports, Power tool
By Bill Klein on 1 October 2008
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.
Posted in Columns, Homesick Blues | Tagged Cardiovascular Disorders, Cholesterol, Heart disease, Myocardial infarction, Rosetta Stone
By Bill Klein on 24 September 2008
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.
Posted in Columns, Homesick Blues | Tagged Bruno Hauptmann, Lassie, Organic food
By Bill Klein on 17 September 2008
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.
Posted in Columns, Homesick Blues | Tagged Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Home Depot
By Bill Klein on 10 September 2008
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 wife [...]
Posted in Columns, Homesick Blues | Tagged Beatle, Guam, Hillary Rodham Clinton, KUAM-TV, Pacific Ocean, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Saipan
By Bill Klein on 3 September 2008
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 [...]
Posted in Columns, Homesick Blues | Tagged Air Force, German, Improvised Explosive Device, Iraq, Posttraumatic stress disorder, Rosetta Stone, World War I, World War II
By Bill Klein on 27 August 2008
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 [...]
Posted in Columns, Homesick Blues | Tagged Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, Colorado Springs, Guam, NORAD
By Bill Klein on 20 August 2008
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.
Posted in Columns, Homesick Blues | Tagged Colorado, US Merchant Marines, Wisconsin
By Bill Klein on 13 August 2008
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.
Posted in Columns, Homesick Blues | Tagged Internet, Northern Marianas Islands, Where Our Nation Reunited
By Bill Klein on 6 August 2008
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.
Posted in Columns, Homesick Blues | Tagged brownouts, Northern Marianas Islands, Saipan
By Bill Klein on 23 July 2008
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.
Posted in Columns, Homesick Blues | Tagged Black History Month, Earth Day, Those Weeks
