Life isn't fair. It's just fairer than death, that's all.

Been lazy. Soaking up a few weeks of "me time". Wife is still in Bangkok and it is just me and the ranch animals. They are, on one hand, very needy, but on the other hand, fairly easy to please. Thus an afternoon of us all laying around in the shade, watching the world go by and napping without apology fits the bill for all concerned. Plus we watch a lot of TV.

One lesson I recently learned is that when you take a 3 year old fishing and tell him that he might see aligators, he is only excited for as long as it takes him to really think about it, which is the far, far side of wherever you are. Then he whines more than I thought humanly possible. As an added treat, said whining 3 year old will also deduce that fish and turtles inhabit the pond as well and are assuredly lying in wait to munch upon him. Ratchet up the whimpering. At least I was smart enough not to point out the snake that swum by behind us.

Work is good. Machines are flying out of the factory. New airports are being built. Foreign sales are strong. I lucked into a good gig. Yes, I said lucked into. I mean, I wouldn't have gotten the job if I didn't have skills. And I would not have done well at it if I wasn't good at what I do. But as with many things in my life, the planets aligned just so, I was casting a shadow in an opportune place and space in time, and somebody said, "You ever?"...."Nope, never"...."You wanna?"...."Sure, why not". The things I have most desired in terms of jobs, qualifications, duty stations, or warships, have brought me nothing but annoyance and tribulations. But every time I have just shrugged and said "Why not?" I have begun a new adventure. Go figure.

My brother is now working for the Seminoles out at the Hard Rock Casino in Tampa. Good on him. He went a long time between jobs and now everybody can breathe easier. It's about time for my sister to road trip up here from South Florida, too. Which has not a lot to do with Indian tribes or gambling dens. It just popped into my head, I assume on a sibling thread.

My next exciting adventure is up to....wait for it.....Des Moines. Whoo hoo. White people and corn fields. Cream of wheat. Whatever. I am hearing all kinds of rumors about Egypt and Colombia, and I look forward to that. But I was scheduled for Moscow, Amsterdam, and Erbil, too and I have still never been to Russia, Holland, or Iraq. So I tend to wait til I get on the plane before I get overly excited anymore. What I do know is that Egypt has already contacted us about the training package they want, so it would seem that if anything is a sure bet, that trip is pretty close to it.

Nothing said so far, and nothing more to say.

We who are of mature age seldom suspect how unmercifully and yet with what insight the very young judge us, out
Ramblin' Ed