The More Things Change.

OK, so it's been a while. Sorry. But a lot has been going on since I got back. It is only recently that I realized that it has been more than four months since I have written...wow.

So, I get back from Iraq, and begin to bask in the glow of my joyful reunion with my family...despite Life's unrelenting attempts to prevent that at all cost.

One of the first things we did was to take a family vacation to Colorado. This trip was fun...because normally if we go somewhere, we have a reason to be there. Weddings seem to be the main reason these days. BUT, not this time.

We actually took a family vacation and did what you are supposed to do on a vacation...everything!!! We did all the touristy things that we never did when we actually lived in Colorado. We saw the Aquarium, the Zoo...and Old Chicago Pizza.

(OK...TECHNICALLY, Old Chicago Pizza is a restaurant chain...not a tourist attraction. But if you have ever had one of their Double Deckeroni Pizzas...you will agree that is should be an attraction.)

We took the kids to the Garden of the Gods. Every time I go there it takes my breath away. If you've never been...GO! It is amazing. There are all these giant red rocks that are just...there!!! They are gorgeous. Looking at them it takes my imagination on an adventure. I can almost hear what went through the minds of the frontiersmen who first happened upon such an amazing sight.

It was probably very similar to my kid's reactions..."Whoooah. Cool."

Then it was time to head to the real wild west. To place where the men were real men, and the women didn't know about shaving their legs. We travelled through time to a place just outside of Canon City to a place known as Buckskin Joe's Frontier Town.

Yeah...you heard it right. An 'authentic' frontier town where you can watch 'real' cowboys walk the dusty street. (Yes...there is only one street.) Where lawmen gun down bandits in front of the saloon. Where you can see what life was like in the wild west by checking out the displays in the fifteen to eighteen museum buildings...you can tour the Movie Building, and see pictures of actors that have starred in movies that were made right there in Buckskin Joe's...you can satisfy you cowboy sized hunger with a Buffalo burger in the saloon...and then go back outside to watch the bandits that the sheriff killed, get up and shoot him down in the street.

Ah...good times.

It was actually fun...the kids had a great time. (Though my son was rather concerned that no one did anything about all shooting.) But, the most amazing part of that portion of our vacation was right before the amazing Buckskin Joe's. Joe's was for the kids...only after they tolerated what we wanted to see first. SCENERY!!!

The Royal Gorge can only be described as what it must look like when God reaches down from heaven, and actually touches the Earth. A short little train ride to a viewing platform was well Worth the trip once we could see the amazing sight of sheer rock touching the sky, and a sparkling river snaking its way past where we stood.

Then from there...it was time to see some family. I hadn't seen my Grandfather since he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. A visit was long overdue...whether I thought I was ready or not.

I took my wife and kids to my Grandmother's house. My daughter made a new friend in the form of Grandma's dog...Bubbles. Once we put the kids to bed, we stayed up with Grandma for several more hours...talking about Grandpa Babe.

It is amazing to me how many lives he touched. There were stories that I had never heard about how he taught something to everyone he met. How he made an impact on every life he came across.

I think of all the comments that night, the one that sticks with me the most is one that Grandma said one of Babe's young assistants had said. Babe used to work the rodeo, breaking and training horses and riders. He had a couple of young kids that he taught how to ride. Grandma was telling me about a conversation that one of these guys was having, where another man was talking about 'cowboys.'

The kid looked at the guy and said, "You haven't seen a cowboy...until you've seen Babe Wilson in the saddle." That made me smile...because he's right.

The next day, we went to go see him. It was hard. To see the man that I remember as larger than life itself sitting in a wheelchair was almost more than I could handle. But...when I looked into his eyes, he was still there. He couldn't say much...or didn't. But I could tell that something was there, even if he couldn't verbalise it.

It was amazing to see his face light up at the sight of my kids. He smiled, and Grandma and I cried.

We talked for a little while. I would ask him if he remembered such and such...and he would say, "No, I don't reckon I do," or simply..."Yeah." Then it was time to go. I told him to take care of himself. I told him that I missed him. I told him that I loved him, and then I kissed him on his forehead. As I walked toward the door, I'll never forget what I heard next.

Grandpa Babe...my hero...looked up into Grandma's eyes and said, "Who the heck is he, anyway?"

I laughed, in spite of the situation...and then heard Grandma tell him, "You know who that is...it's Luke...Ronny's Son." Grandpa remembered me...I know. Because it was after that when he said..."Oh. You come back now." He always used to say that when we would leave.

It was a good visit. I needed it...and I think he did too.

Then it was time to come home. We needed a break from our vacation. It was out at dinner one night, when the unthinkable happened, though. We were at one of our kid's favorite pizza places. Then, my wife's cell phone rang. She answered it and then looked very confused. "It's for you," she said...handing me the phone. (Which is weird...because I have my own phone...that people can call me on.)

The voice on the other end was one I was not expecting. It was my First Sergeant. He's my boss. For him to call on my wife's phone...(I soon realized that I had left mine at home...) meant that it was IMPORTANT.

"There's no good way to tell you this," he said. My mind raced. Was it my parents? My brother? What had happened? Had my Grandfather taken a turn for the worse?

"What is it?" I asked...nervous.

"You have been called back to recruiting duty," he said. "Your leave has been cancelled. You start on Friday."

It was Tuesday...night.

Yup...I felt like I was kicked right in the cash and prizes. Recruiting was the worst duty I have done in my military career. And now...against my will, and all my plans...I was being sent back. But I had only been home for a month...how could they do this?

Because I am in the Army...that's how.

Don't get me wrong...I love the Army...I just don't like the way it acts sometimes. It's kind of like how one loves their children. You will always love your kids...even when you want to strangle them, or sell them to the highest bidder.

Short story Long...that is over and I am now at my new job. I have been assigned to the Pentagon for over a year and a half...and have actually been working there for about a week now.

The best part is that I get to do something every day, that I used to only do on special occasions. I get to take PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION!!!

Yes...life with the Mole People is interesting. It is common, when taking the subway (Metro-rail) to work, or anywhere for that matter...that you DO NOT speak to anyone. Hell...you try not to even look at anyone else. That's just the way it is.

SO...it should make sense that so far...every day that I have taken the train in to work, some poor, lonely degenerate freak of society wants to talk to ME!!!!!!!! The first day, it was a guy who told me not to "let the Army send me to war...to have them send 'their kids' instead." I said thanks. Then there was the guy who was chewing on his fingers and arguing with himself. He wasn't too intrusive, until we reached the first stop in the District of Columbia. That's when he decided to tell me, in a voice loud enough that people outside of the train could hear, "This where all the Black population is. You wait...you'll see. A bunch of Black guys will get on and off from here on out."

Since then, there has been the man wearing the purple cocktail dress and diamond earrings, the guy who thought everyone was staring at him and then missed his stop, and the guy who periodically checked to make sure his hands were still attached...and breathed a big sigh of relief when he saw that they, in fact, were.

I can't help but think after this crazy summer, that it seems the more things change...the stranger they get.

SFC NEWMAN
OUT