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| Sorry that you have to hit the links to the movies and then go back to this page, but I just was too whupped to embed tonight. But you do have the movies, plus a few still pictures, such as below of Joanie and Chris, our older son: 
The first movie shows a tiny bit of the crowd around us in front of the Washington Monument while the VIP seats are starting to fill on the Capitol steps. You can also see below that Dad made it down to the Mall also: 
The second movie shows the crowd reaction when the Clintons are announced. Meanwhile Joanie and Chris ham it up in front of the Monument: 
The third movie shows the crowd reaction when President Bush and Vice President Cheney are introduced. I was shocked at these unruly young people! Hmm, but then again weren't we even worse back in the Sixties? Here are a few more shots of said crowd: 
In the fourth movie the crowd makes peace with the departing President by singing him a song. By the way, vantage points at this inauguration were at such a premium that many folks stationed themselves on top of the porta-potties! And the guys who really needed to see what was going on with the crowd had their own special viewing area: 
The fifth movie the new President takes the oath, and the crowd reacts. Many of the happiest folks around us were foreigners, such as this Muslim couple from Egypt: 
The sixth movie shows flags and some crowd while Obama gives his inaugural speech; he is also shown below as we saw him: 
The seventh movie shows the conclusion of the new President's speech, and the crowd reaction. Soon thereafter came the hard part - getting off the Mall and headed toward home, as shown in the following shots: 
On the way out, we passed by the White House, with the marching bands practicing out back on the Ellipse. And if you look closely enough, you can even see the moving vans! All in all it was a powerful day of good cheer and hope, as well as pride about the historic step that our nation has taken. It was a big, happy party - most amazing of all was the fact that there were between 1.5 and 2 million people, without one single arrest! 
Wish you had been there with us! | | |
| Here is another of these things: | You Are Comet |  A total daredevil, you're the reindeer with an edge!
Why You're Naughty: You almost gave Santa a heart attack when you took him sky diving
Why You're Nice: You always make sure the sleigh is going warp speed |
The reindeer test was fun! From the description, Comet would make a good Rakkasan. Thanks to Saadia and my Crazy Aunt for the tip. Things are pretty quiet here right now - just the Missus and myself. Got let off at Noon today from work which was quite cool. Here is a big secret: I still haven't done any shopping yet!! But I think our plan this year is that we will give each other pictures of the intended gifts and then go out over the weekend to get 'em all real cheap. At least that's my story! I have a big event coming up January 31 in Albuquerque, NM. Remember my friend Dennis who was killed in Vietnam? (He is the central character - other than me, of course - in the Vietnam book I have been working on forever.) And do you remember his brother, John, who I finally found after 36 years of looking? Anyway, John's youngest daughter is getting married that day - and the little sweetie invited old Uncle RakkaRay. Here is a picture of her with her folks - John on the right of the picture, and Katie on the left. This was the day of her college graduation - which she also invited me too. Dennis would have loved these wonderful nieces, believe me! 
Ooops! Gotta run to get a kid. This one's easy, at the Metro. The other one will likely need a trip on the dreaded Beltway. Cheery Christmas Eve to all! | | |
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As you would expect, Joanie's table was magnificent. On her left (stage right) is her cousin, Worth, our son Chris, and Worth's wife Connie. Stage left is son #2 Tony (hidden,) Joanie's niece Ann, and our friend Dee. Wow, look how full my plate is! Here is what's on it: 
Not shown are the gravy and hollandaise sauce, yet to be poured. But wait...WTF!! Did I forget to put the sweet potatoes topped with walnuts on my plate? They were gorgeous - and I missed a good additional 1,000+ calories I'm sure. 
On Friday, the morning sun achieved a nearly perfect reflection off a bevel in the glass vase. All in all it was a wonderful Thanksgiving, with just one sour note. Worth's niece Jessica, a terrific woman in her twenties and married just 3-4 years ago, was just diagnosed with cervical cancer. The docs termed it "very aggressive" but fortunately treatable. Please keep her in your prayers. * * * * * * * * * * * * Here is a short photoessay I have been meaning to post for a while. Joanie's Mom had been approving - but not enthusiastic - about the area where we now live. She may have been partly put off that not far from us to the east there is an "urban" feel, and perhaps also she finds our neighborhood "too suburban." Go figure. In any event she is also a dedicated gardener and I knew that once she had been introduced to the beautiful botanical gardens to our south, her viewpoint would change. Indeed, the garden along with the large, forested regional park where it resides as well as the horse stables and parkland to our west were among the key influences on our choosing to live here. These pictures are from only a month ago, but it is almost hard to imagine how dramatically the scenery has changed. As you can see from the pond pictured below we still had some fall colors then. 
And also from the scene below - Joanie and her Mother are emerging from rock garden memorial to the September 11th victims at the Pentagon. 
There is a picturesque Japanese tea house: 
Which of course has a Torii (the Rakkasan symbol, you may recall):
And some nice formal gardens: 
Which included some photogenic blooming roses: 
So it was no surprise that by the end of our walkaround, Joanie's Mom was clearly won over! 
Can you imagine what this place will look like in Spring? Stay tuned! | | |
|  Today was my first ever Veterans Day visit to the Vietnam Memorial or as we call it, "the Wall." I have been to the Wall about five times before but never on one of our commemorative holidays. The primary reason I came today was to deliver a print of a picture to Mike Hughes, a DC-area veteran who had been in Delta Company with me "back in the 'Nam." The picture was of Mike and his son during our laying of a wreath last March to honor the 15 men of Delta Company who died on March 18, 1968. 
What I didn't know until today was that the primary activity this year was to commemorate the statue of the Women Veterans, who had mostly been nurses. 
I have to admit that I had mixed feelings about this statue for several reasons. First, it seems to represent a historical inaccuracy. The statue appears to depict nurses in the field, administering aid to a wounded soldier while the nurse on the rights looks upward through the clearing at an incoming Medevac chopper. Now, you could argue that she is looking upward only to God in a plea for his blessing of the (perhaps mortally) wounded soldier. But in any event, nurses were not in the field; they were stationed in hospitals in the major bases and dealt with the wounded only after they had been unloaded from the chopper. Second, and perhaps more importantly to me, the heroic quality of statue didn't quite sit right with me. Nothing against the nurses, but there is nothing heroic about the Wall or the other statue of the three infantrymen. 
I did in fact get to know some Army nurses pretty well when I went to visit the wounded at the 24th Medevac Hospital in Long Binh right after March 18th. Our CO had asked me to take statements for the purposes of awards and decorations which I did there for the better part of two days. The nurses certainly did not have an easy job; choppers were coming in regularly with young guys who had suffered varying degrees of butchering. Almost all of them had not seen a woman in months and they yearned for the companionship. The nurses ranged from young and starry-eyed to hard-bitten and tough. But they all had the touch of compassion and could always manage a smile for a soldier who needed it. Today I saw these nurses and supporters, as well as the Red Cross women who took donuts out to the firebases, march by the statue to pay their respect and to affirm the value of their service. 
I asked the women with the 2d Surgical if the 24th Medevac (at Long Binh) was present today; they said not this year. However not long afterwards, a retired Brigadier General named Evelyn ("Pat") Foote (pictured below with some cowboy from the 1st Cav) spoke, and talked about sitting bedside with soldiers at the 24th Medevac as they died. There was one in particular that had touched her deeply. She was able to get his name after returning from the war, but has not ever been able to locate the family. I was able to share some memories with her; I also saw a soldier die in his bed at the 24th. 
I also heard Glenna Goodacre, the creator of the women's statue talk about what her influenced the work, emphasizing that it displayed women's emotions in the form that they were felt. One thing this day accomplished was completely changing my mind about the statue. The items left at the base of the statue today also had an effect on me. It does indeed belong there, and it looks just fine to me now. 
Mike and I did also get to do a bit of socializing. Here he is in the middle with two Currahees (they were in the 1st of the 506th Infantry, one of our brother Battalions in the 3rd Brigade of the 101st) who had deployed at the same time we did. 
I took the long way back to the Metro, walking down the Mall to take in the sights of a beautiful fall day. One pleasant surprise was an island in one of the ponds that had been made into a monument to the Declaration of Independence. 
The day was not done yet - I decided to get the Metro near my old office at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The route there took me right by the front of the White House. I couldn't believe all the construction activity - were they putting in new barriers to keep the public at bay? My war protestor buddy, Stan, told me no, that they were putting together the structure for the inauguration. 
Hmm, I always thought that the inauguration happens in front of the Capitol, but then this will be the first time I'm in town for this event. So anyway, the occasion deserved the following picture - RakkaRay in front of the purported Barack Obama inauguration stand under construction, with W in his house in the background. 
Remember, you saw it here FIRST! | | |
| I'm still thrashing around trying to wrap up the draft of my Vietnam book. I had envisioned a final chapter chock full of pithy comments about and stunning insights into both the war and its aftermath, as well as the boys and men in my life and what I have learned from knowing them. For the past few years as I wrote about death and despair in the war, then the booze and redemption afterward I always assumed this final chapter would come easily. I kept piling up chapter after chapter in more or less a linear fashion following the chronology of the war and my return. But after spitting out a few poignant tales of the return of the confused veteran I entered a series of cul-de-sacs. Each time, I would turn around, backtrack, and try to get my bearings to move forward again. But then just another frustration. Screw this linear business I finally decided, let me write the last chapter out of order to that I'll know where I'm going. Easier said that done, of course. Well, at any rate, here are a few of the boys and men I have known. Maybe just seeing their pictures will inspire me. First off, below I am with my father in November, 1967, just a week or two before going to Vietnam. 
Check out that lean and mean trooper! Especially note the tailored waist on that jacket. My father, by the way, was four years younger than I am now but at the time I thought of him as old. Though I always felt close to Dad, I never really talked to him very much. Next we have the only extant picture that I know of with Dennis and myself. 
By the way, notice the wretched water. This was the Song Be, the primary drainage of the War Zone D area which had by far the heaviest spraying of Agent Orange anywhere in Vietnam. The next picture has me with Dennis's younger brother John, who I met on the phone exactly 34 years to the day after Dennis was killed. 
I put together this picture of John with a picture of Dennis in PhotoShop and the resemblance just about blows you away. John has become a great friend and we have enabled some healing in one another. Below is another healing community: the men of Delta Company at our recent reunion at Fort Campbell, KY. Our old Company Commander, in the front row, holds the Medal of Honor that he was awarded. 
Last but not certainly not least are my two boys with me at a college reunion, I believe in 2001. That would make Chris 14 and Tony 11. 
Hopefully I have been able to communicate with them better than my father did with me, but some days I'm not sure. Good guys, though, and I look forward to their continued maturation process. Recently, when contemplating this final chapter, I realized part of what had been missing in my concept of the concluding chapters of the book. I had totally left out the impact of PTSD and what my family and I went through when it recurred in me in 2004. It has been a bigger deal than I had been willing to acknowledge, but there is no complete story without it. If I had pictures of the men in my therapy groups and the good doctors and counselors who helped me I would include them. And of course in addition to the boys and men pictured above, there were the others who now are just memories and names carved on a wall. 
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