Army Sailor -- War in the Sandbox...
The Adventures of a Sailor in Afghanistan...

I almost forgot... The journey to the flower show would not have been complete without seeing the Irish dancing girls. They had a troop of girls there dancing a jig on stage, and it was very nice indeed. The girls did a fantastic job, I don't know how they did it, they must have done the whole routine 15 times that day, no doubt they were pretty tired by the end of the day.

All the girls in a row...

One by one, they came out to solo...

It was quite an impressive display of skill, that went entirely without a hitch. All the more impressive when you consider the very young age of the girls.

OK, I am really playing catch-up here, but I promised pictures from the Philadelphia Flower Show, and I am going to deliver. I think some of them are really good. I am just very happy that I was able to take my mom to the show this year. She loves the flower show, and this year it had an Irish theme, all the better! The only complaint she had was that it was too expensive, and I'll have to agree with her on that one, with parking and snacks, admission and a wheel-chair rental, the total was almost $200. But it was worth it to give my mom the opportunity to get out, and have some fun. She was happy.

Anyway, on with the photos...

There was an Irish Harp Display that was Stunning.

Beautiful Fountains

Indoor Ponds, remember all the plants are live!

A gorgeous Irish Wedding set-up.

My mom was proudly sporting one of her U.S. Navy sweatshirts. We went after work, so I was still in uniform, which was nice because people kept greeting me and thanking me. I got many words of praise from older veterans. It was a good feeling. I have to admit though that I was a little discouraged when they told me that they had no military discount for the admission fee. When I pointed out that they had a student discount, they said that I'd need a college ID to qualify for that. Most places I've been will give the military the Student or Senior Citizen discount, if they don't have a specific military discount. Oh well, it doesn't really matter, it was a good show.

There was a Japanese Display at the show which was nice, despite the fact that it was a little out of the theme...

The Bonsai trees were stunningly beautiful. My mother really enjoyed them.

Today I went and picked up my ma. We had a special Saint Patrick's day dinner. Now I know that Saint Patrick's day was yesterday, but I couldn't bloody well have me ma make me dinner when I was drinking my dinner, now could I?

So we had dinner tonight. We had a traditional Irish meal of corned beef, cabbage & potatoes. My mom made it all, and it was delicious. As I listened to her talk all day (virtually non-stop), I realized how overjoyed she still is that I am home. That's a good feeling. I love my mom more than anything, and it's good to see her happy. In fact, I wanted to share a photo... It's not a very good photo, but it was taken the first day I got home to Philly, when my mom first saw me. She was so happy, she kept crying like a child. I was afraid she was going to have a heart-attack. I kept telling her to "calm-down" and that I was home now, and "I'm OK"... But we all know how moms are.

One thing I know for sure... It's good to be home.

Well, I'm lucky enough to be home for the greatest of all holidays... Saint Patrick's Day!

I consider myself very lucky, after-all some of my friends did not make it to this Saint Patrick's day. Today I will eat, drink, be merry and rejoice in the good fortune I had to be able to carry the luck of the Irish with me for an entire year in Afghanistan!

I'll spend this day also being grateful for the good friends I made while I was there, and all the experiences that made me better appreciate all the things I have hear at home. Indeed, the Guinness tastes a little more stout this year...

Some time ago I wrote a blog entry titled "An Absolute Outrage" about a fellow named Michael Crook who claimed the military is over-paid, and accused those of us who serve of being greedy. Needless to say I found his remarks to be both obtuse and offensive.

I sincerely feel that it was grossly disrespectful of this man, who himself admitted could not complete boot-camp, to spread such ill informed opinions about the U.S. Armed Forces. But it turns out that the U.S. Military was not the only group of people he attacked... It turns out that this guy had a few embarrassing run-ins on Fox News, and when others made mention of these appearances and posted images, he sent them cease & desist orders and threatened legal action, claiming protection under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

As luck would have it, those he threatened did not lack the intestinal fortitude that Mr. Crook himself lacks, and pushed back. They pushed back and proved that the DMCA does NOT provide such protections as Mr. Crook thought claimed it did. As a part of a settlement he was forced to record this public apology (CLICK HERE).

Although the apology does not cover any of the hateful things this guy said about our hard-working, hard-fighting men & women in uniform, it is nice to see him brought to justice for something...

Although it seems his recent experiences have not slowed his stupidity at all... He's still posting hate-filled comments about the U.S. Military, and those who support Free Speech.