Taking a break, from just about everything in your normal life, and then coming back to reality kind of sucks. Not only did I take a few weeks to 'holiday' I came out of it being older....much older...as in, senior citizen! Yes, I turned the golden, pensionable age of 65. Do I feel any different? No, not particularly. But, I am richer, by about five hundred bucks a month. And I am thankful for all the good things in my life....also thankful I didn't get a cake like this:
Really....what was going through their mind?? A flaming dog!
Even though on 'holiday' my mind did not stop thinking - oh, that would be Blogworthy. So here are just a few things I mulled over while sipping chilled white wine and watching sailboats bob in the aqua blue ocean.
Did you ever wonder where the U.S. Miltary comes up with mission names? Apparently the use of nicknames to influence public perception started with the 1989 invasion of Panama...or Operation Just Cause. Before the Pentagon had decided the name had "publicity potential" it was calling it Operation Blue Spoon. Why? - haven't a clue!
You don't want to have anything boastful or disparaging and the military seems to come up with suitable names at lightening speed - When 3,000 troops headed to Liberia to 'fight' Ebola, the mission was dubbed Operation United Assistance. Boring as hell, but you get the idea...United we stand and all that.
Strangely the operations in Iraq and Syria have yet to be named. The military won't comment on WHY there is no name, just that they haven't come up with one yet. I suppose they don't want to come up with a really bad one that will go down in the annuls of history. A few rejects - Operation Afghan Freedom - or OAF, and Operation Iraqi Liberation - or OIL.
The war that is now the longest in American history (Afghanistan) was called Operation Enduring Freedom but has now been changed (to project the guilty) to Operation Resolute Support. Doesn't have much of a ring to it does it?
Anything to do with Iraq can be tricky. President Obama bestowed Operation New Dawn on the Iraq war and well.....it really wasn't was it?
The 1944 Normandy invasion was dubbed Operation Overlord - hands up anyone who knew that! But we all know Operation Desert Storm don't we?
Now, there is actually a computer program in the Pentagon, which keeps track of previous efforts and sets parameter for future ones. Really? But, rumor has it that what it comes up with is generally ignored anyway, especially with higher profile conflicts. Tax dollars well spent again.
So, back to Name That Mission - namely Iraq and Syria. Or "If you name it, you own it." The big push is apparently because of the medals awarded to those who have served in these conflicts. Many of the pilots flying these missions already have medals from Operation New Dawn and Operation Iraqi Freedom so if they get a medal now...it needs to be a new name. Hmmmm? There is one that I personally like that is being bandied about........ It takes note of how U.S. bombing raids are targeting U.S. made equipment that has been nabbed by Islamic State fighters...the suggestion..
"Operation Hey That's My Humvee."
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While away we tried to stay away from the news...at least..the bad news. But when an armed Michael Zehaf Bibeau barged into the Centre Block of the Canadian Parliament on Wednesday morning we heard about it from our neighbours down south and our relatives in Canada.
As bullets were flying outside the doors of the meeting room where he sat, Manitoba MP Steven Fletcher (who is wheelchair bound) told his aide that if it came to it, she should leave him behind.
"I told my caregiver if the opportunity comes to get out, she has to take it," Fletcher said. Fletcher was sitting right in front of the wooden doors of the Reading Room.
As his colleagues scurried past, diving for the safety of the stone walls, Fletcher could only move a little to the side of the doors. No mention of where his aide was hiding.
"I figured if the person was going to come in, it would be through those doors," said Fletcher. What - did he think he was part of a barricade? Strange indeed.
Outside the doors, bullets were flying.
"I had images of people hiding behind pillars and shooting," said Fletcher. "There were so many shots."
It must have been terrifying for him, to say the least. But how do some people react in these situations??? Personally, I would probably just have been rooted to the spot and peed my pants, but having never been in this situation your guess is as good as mine.
Apparently the police and military officers in the Conservative caucus sprang into action. They used chairs and tables to barricade doors that wouldn't lock. Good idea!!!
And then there was this bit of news:
"while others began fashioning makeshift spears from flagpoles."
Ya know that expression "never bring a knife to a gunfight."
OR, For all those fans of Galaxy Quest I quote the character Guy:
"Look around, can you form some sort of rudimentary lathe?"
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While away I saw a young man wearing a baseball hat with the tag "You can't fix stupid." and I thought.......is that a personal statement about himself? Hi, I'm stupid!
Things I've learned this week:
While in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, in 2005, Benedict Cumberbatch and two friends were abducted overnight and held at gunpoint by a group of locals. In the end, their abductors drove them into unsettled territory and set them free without explanation. Cumberbatch said of the incident:
"It taught me that you come into this world as you leave it, on your own. It's made me want to live a life less ordinary."
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Next week is National Bat week. I am assuming the kind that fly not the ones used in baseball. At least, I hope so.
