‎63 Years of Memories....

‎63 Years of Memories....
that's what I have now. The photo below shows the chair on the point which for so many years was my father's favorite after-supper place to contemplate and cast for walleye. As much as I feel guilty about what's happened, I know he would understand and even say there's nothing to forgive. He lived life fully and moved on many times. I'm the one with the unique experience of being attached to a beautiful place for my whole life. And despite all my best efforts, yesterday the 'cabin' was sold. I signed the papers and, truth be told, a weight was lifted. A new life lies ahead without the obligations, but with all of the wonderful memories. My unrelentingly positive attitude says this is truly how it is, but my heart is still sad.

There are some things in life for which the balance between the obligation and the joy of ownership often cannot be sustained forever. It became clear that I was no longer up to the task of taking care of the place quite a while back. However, knowing what needs to be done and doing it are often far apart. Finally, no choice was left. It had to be sold.

Now it's gone. No more worrying about how long the grass or how deep the snow is up there. No more sublimely pleasurable early morning cups of coffee sitting on the dock when the color of the lake is like pale blue glass and the air is completely still. No more endless repairs, high taxes, and utility bills. No more late nights around the fire pit with friends and family - warm from both fire and friendship. No more frozen pipes or emergency calls to the furnace guys. No more saunas and midnight skinny dipping that make you feel like you'll live forever while your connection with nature is confirmed by the gazillion stars of the milky way and the loons calling out in the dark. No more concerns with low well water levels or water so hard and full of iron the clothes turn yellow and your newly washed hair feels like brillo. No more finding the way home by boat in the dark after a long day on the lake feeling like this is the only place you really, really belong. No more praying that the boathouse will make it another year without collapsing. And ultimately, no more making new memories with friends, family and loved ones. No new memories, that is, at Half Bay, Lake Vermilion, Tower, MN. New life... here we come!

How do you thank a place for memories?

Friday, March 31, 2006

And again


It is a few hours before sunrise and the apaches are circling over the base. I didn't hear any explosions this morning but tonight is a zero illumination night and with "safety day" and all the only reason they have to fly is chasing after someone. Jefferson woke me up saying to get dressed and ready because we are on standby. Standby for what I don't know. It is hard to not get complacent because that seems to be the prevailing attitude around here. I am feeling a little bit better since yesterday but I have a feeling that today is going to be a long day.
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1 comment:

Bert said...

Evendentally there was a coordinated attack on several of our guard posts. Nothing more than small arms fire and no one on either side of the wire got hurt. I don't really have a good idea of how that happens either but I think it has to do with the Romanian guards hiding in the bunkers instead of shooting from the towers. Just speculation, the towers are a better place to shoot from.

When the American forces are involved in responding to TIC(troops in contact)we usually direct everything that can possibly get there in time to converge on the objective and stike with every means available until the situation is resolved. The other night was a good example. The retalitory strike probably changed the topography enough to necessatate new maps, not to mention the dozens of earthquakes and tsunamis triggered by all of the munitions. Just kidding but you get the idea. The Romanians, they don't get the idea. Also the Canadians seem about as polite in warfare as they are in giving directions to lost tourists. The ANA tend to knock on doors before they kick them in, maybe as a courtesy thing I don't know why. We usually blow a hole in the wall and bypass the whole door thing alltogether.

Also some dumbass requested that our Apache goes out to scout the mortar site... uh how 'bout responding to the attack that is happening now not the one from yesterday. You heard right, the gunships were ordered to the wrong location. We knew it, they knew it, now you know it.

Its pretty frusterating knowing that garbage like that happens. That gunship is such a powerful weapon but it is guided by less than powerful intelect.

I have probably spilled more beans than the intel guys would like, espescially since this is a public blog, but what happened has already happened. In case you were wondering I am sometimes intentionally vague for reasons of OpSec(operational security). Whhoooooo. It isn't that I am a dunce or not paying attention.

Anyway, back to the daily grind.

8:46 PM

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