In Memoriam…

RIP Mr. Henry… RIP…

                          He was getting old and paunchy
                And his hair was falling fast,

                And he sat around the Legion,


                Telling stories of the past.


               Of a war that he once fought in

                And the deeds that he had done,


                In his exploits with his buddies;


                They were heroes, every one.


                And ‘tho sometimes to his neighbors

                His tales became a joke,


                All his buddies listened quietly


                For they knew whereof he spoke.


                But we’ll hear his tales no longer,

                For old Bob has passed away,


                And the world’s a little poorer


                For a Soldier died today.


      
                He won’t be mourned by many,


                Just his children and his wife.


                For he lived an ordinary,


                Very quiet sort of life.


                He held a job and raised a family,

                Going quietly on his way;


                And the world won’t note his passing,


                ‘Tho a Soldier died today.


                When politicians leave this earth,

                Their bodies lie in state,


                While thousands note their passing,


                And proclaim that they were great.


                Papers tell of their life stories

                From the time that they were young


                But the passing of a Soldier


                Goes unnoticed, and unsung.


                Is the greatest contribution

                To the welfare of our land,


                Someone who breaks his promise


                And cons his fellow man?


                Or the ordinary fellow

                Who in times of war and strife,


                Goes off to serve his country


                And offers up his life?


                The politician’s stipend

                And the style in which he lives,


                Are often disproportionate,


                To the service that he gives.


                While the ordinary Soldier,

                Who offered up his all,


                Is paid off with a medal


                And perhaps a pension, small.


                It is not the politicians

                With their compromise and ploys,


                Who won for us the freedom


                That our country now enjoys.


                Should you find yourself in danger,

                With your enemies at hand,


                Would you really want some cop-out,


                With his ever waffling stand?


                Or would you want a Soldier–

                His home, his country, his kin,


                Just a common Soldier,


                Who would fight until the end?


                He was just a common Soldier,

                And his ranks are growing thin,


                But his presence should remind us


                We may need his like again.


                For when countries are in conflict,

                We find the Soldier’s part


                Is to clean up all the troubles


                That the politicians start.


                If we cannot do him honor

                While he’s here to hear the praise,


                Then at least let’s give him homage


                At the ending of his days.


                Perhaps just a simple headline

                In the paper that might say:


                “OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING, A SOLDIER DIED TODAY…
 
Mr. Henry was 94, a sailor not a soldier, a “Destroyerman” in WWII in the South Pacific.

Men’s Thoughts…

Well, Willie’s playing my song again… A little humor until I can touch down.

Ladies, if a man says he will fix it, he will.  There’s no need to remind him every 6 months about it…

My sex life is like a Ferrari… Except I don’t have a Ferrari.

My mother-in-law is coming… I had to clear out half my closet so she could have a place to hang upside down and sleep.

NASA’s robot Curiosity landed on Mars. Early pictures show no signs of ESPN, beer or porn. This makes it very clear that men are NOT from Mars.

I once won an argument with a woman…  In this dream I had.

I’m writing a book about reverse psychology… Please don’t buy it.

I want one of those jobs where people ask, do you actually get paid for doing this?

If your wife or girlfriend ever asks, “If I was to arrange a threesome for your birthday, which of my friends would you pick to join in?” Never give two names.

If there was a way to read a woman’s mind, I’m not sure I would want to.  I hate shoes, shopping, gossip, and I already know I am annoying.

Men have feelings too.  For example, we feel hungry.
Now go ‘enjoy’ the week…

Truly Sad News…

It’s always been in the back of our minds that the Veterans are aging out and dying of old age, but what we tend NOT to think about are those organizations they were members of…

The U.S. Submarine Veterans of World War II disbanded at the end of its convention Sept. 7 in Norfolk, Va. Local chapters now must decide whether to continue operating under another name or to dissolve as well.

Full article HERE.

A large group at one time, now the YOUNGEST member is 86, and the oldest is over 100, and they have less than 1000 members left…

Thankfully the USN is stepping up to take over the memorials at the sub bases. But the real question is what will happen to those artifacts, diaries, and memories of those men?

Hopefully they will be preserved in at least some of the museums and their memories/oral histories will become part of the Navy Memorial.

If you know a veteran, ask them to participate in the Veterans History Project being run by the Library of Congress.  Here is the LINK, we really need to capture ALL those memories, not just those of the Admirals and Generals. 

h/t- Les, TA, and other ‘boat’ people

 

American Foreign Policy…

What ever happened to the American foreign policy of walk softly and carry a big stick?

Roosevelt x2, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Reagan, Bush x2, even Bubba… 

This administration seems to believe bowing, dissembling, and buying ‘loyalty’ is the way to go…

Peace through strength…  It’s worked for 200 years…

And cut the foreign aid!  Don’t like American/Americans, then you should not ‘like’ our money either…

h/t JP

Follow-up to the Crowne Plaza fisasco…


Well, I lost the battle on this one, but I do have to give kudos to the IHG folks. They responded promptly, did get me in contact with the hotel management.

Email string reads from the bottom up. I ‘guess’ the rates quoted are not ‘really’ the rates according to the hotel manager.  I know I’m just a dumb ass ol’ country boy, but according to the manager the variance in rate on a daily basis is ‘normal’ for Australia…  Funny, you would think some minor ‘little’ thing like that would show up on the booking quote…

I’m done with em, and this little kefluffle will cost them at least 160 room nights from our group, and I ‘hope’ a lot more from the Aussies I work with…

Caveat Emptor with Holiday Inn/Crowne Plaza folks!

My final response:

Ms. G, thank you for the response, but as I said, the rate quoted was over $100 LESS than what I was charged.  I will not return to your hotel, nor will we book any future room nights there. As an employee, I am NOT allowed to exceed (X) rate for rooms, plain and simple.  Also your web booking practices are questionable if they quote one rate, and bill another rate, which is apparently what was done to me.
 r,

Me

Hotel manager wrote me back:
Dear Mr C
 
 As indicated by our Guest Relations team, your feedback via social media has been sent through to me today.  First and foremost, I would like to apologise for the lack in clarity you received when querying your rates during your stay.  The travel booker utilized did book a (X) rate with us for the duration of your stay and it is very unfortunate that they did not explain the variance in rate on a daily basis – this is how the (X) rate is set up in Australia and we most certainly did not alter this at our whim.  For future stays in Australia, I would recommend that you request a daily itinerary from your agent to ensure they have been transparent with the rates you will be paying.
 
Having said that, it would seem our team did not do well at dealing with your concerns and for this I apologise.  As I have been at the hotel only a few weeks, I have already identified a need for further training around problem resolution and whilst this has been scheduled, it is unfortunate that you have already had this experience in the interim.
 
Mr C, thank you again for taking the time to provide your feedback and should you have any further concerns, please feel free to contact me directly in the future.
 
Kind Regards
 
Ms G
General Manager
My email back to IHG Care:

Sir/Ma’am per  Reference # 2xxxxxx the following information is provided-
Sir/Ma’am per  Reference # 2xxxxxx the following information is provided-

 My Priority Club # is 3xxxxx and the reservation was under “ME” for world-wide (X) rate, which I ‘believe’ was quoted at A$266/night. I showed my ID at check-in as required.  Since the reservation is already used, I cannot access my account to pull up the confirmation number.

The clerk said that there was “nothing to be done, as the hotel reserved the right to change the rates” and apparently the manager was not available, or she chose not to call him.

I will tell you that I will NOT stay there again, nor will I allow any of the rest of my team to stay there, or any other Holiday Inn in Western Australia.  This behavior is unacceptable, and especially for people on government travel. I “may” be able to get reimbursed for the amount over per diem, but if I’m not I will have to pay that out of pocket.  I have also advised my points of contact with both the (organizations ) in Australia of the hotel’s conduct and recommended they utilize other hotels in WA. 
 

My contact information is:
 
From IHG

Dear Mr. C,
 
Thank you for your email regarding your experience with the Crowne Plaza Perth, Australia. We apologize for any inconvenience this situation may have caused you.
 
I have forwarded your comments to the General Manager and ownership of this hotel. We are committed to guest satisfaction and appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns.
 
As our hotels are in the best position to assist, I have requested they contact you directly to discuss the situation further. They will be contacting you directly via email within 48 hours. If you still require assistance after this time frame, please contact Guest Relations again. For your records, your comments are documented under reference number 2xxxxx.
 
Once again, we appreciate your taking the time to contact us. We value you as a Priority Club Rewards Gold member and appreciate your patience.

Sincerely,
V
eMedia Coordinator
IHGCare 

 

Blog Shoot Report…

We came, we saw, we shot (until everybody ran out of ammo), we cleaned up, we ate, and we raised something over a THOUSAND dollars for Wounded Warriors!  Many thanks to Murphy for setting this up!

Can’t ask for a much better day!

Old blog friends, new blog friends, commenters (including one gent that, when we chatted, we determined we ‘had’ crossed paths back in the day), lurkers, and general hangers on (either Andy or Murph has the attendee list)…

I don’t know if Stretch or Per Diem wins for the oldest gun shot there today, but there were some NICE ones!  I mean how many times do you see a FOUR digit serial number Winchester double barrel???

And there was the obligitory full auto funfest, with Murphy and The Sheckel with dueling Uzis.  Of course THAT kickstarted things on the rest of the range, and at least one full auto M-16 popped up, along with a G18 (yes I said 18) and the infamous 33 round mags…

Many dollars were turned into smoke and smiles!

And I couldn’t resist this one…


MSgt B, taking a picture of yet ANOTHER table full of guns, as his wife does the hurry up and wait (but she’s really a nice lady)…LOL

And there was this young lady, not part of our group, but was eyeing the M-24. I’d watched her go 2 for 3 with the little .243 in the right of the picture, so I let her have at it.  I dunno what it is, but DAYUM, women are accurate with that rifle!!!

And thanks too to Proud Hillbilly and Bubblehead Les for the contributions to KTKC.

And a question, can you get carpal thumb???  I bout wore mine out loading mags… sigh…

Wonder if I can qualify for a work related injury? 🙂

Oh yeah, one ‘last’ comment…

Hey, Apple, yeah, YOU APPLE… YOUR iMAPS SUCK!!!  Either fix the damn things or put Google back on!  At least Google WORKS, UNLIKE THAT POS APP YOU REPLACED IT WITH!

Sheesh…

Be back later…

Beer’s in the fridge, dog will need out in about 3-4 hours, pistol is in the drawer to the left of the chair.

Oh yeah, and the cat across the way is out for revenge… Just sayin…

Oh yeah, and we’ll be putting the stars back on the stars and bars, NOT somebodies damn logo!

Help those who help us…

GC sent me this in a message from the Second Amendment Foundation today:

In the last 15 days, supporters of the 2nd Amendment pledged nearly $15,000 for support of the important new film “Assaulted: Civil Rights Under Fire” that exposes California as the front line in the civil rights battle between public safety and the 2nd Amendment. The Second Amendment Foundation and the Calguns Foundation have each contributed $5,000.00 to get this project off the ground.
Please go to http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/assaulted/assaulted and make your pledge now.

The SAF and CALGUNS have been at the forefront of the gains we’ve seen in gun rights during the past few years. If you’ve got a few dollars that need a home, please consider giving them a hand.

I know I did a bleg for KTKC, but these are good folks too! I know some of the folks at Calguns, and they are working HARD to save California!!!