Memorial to LeRoi Moore

I know I haven't written in a long time. I've been wanting to write, post pictures, and all of the stuff normally associated with blogging. It was going to be happy and funny and all of the good stuff that happens to us in this place we call Hell's Back Pasture.

But I'd like to take a moment to write about someone most of you probably haven't ever heard of. He's not a fellow soldier or friend, but someone who has been a part of many people's lives and they didn't know his name. LeRoi Moore played saxophone for the Dave Matthews Band. More than that he arranged the compositions and gave his heart and soul to every performance that I've ever seen. His sound was woven into the soundtrack that plays inside of my head most of my waking hours. He died today. He had an ATV accident in the spring and was scheduled to do his physical rehab when he suddenly died from complications with his injuries. DMB has been doing their summer tour with a fill in sax player, but I have to think that it has to be emotionally numbing to look to the spot where your brother has been for nearly 20 years and see someone who hasn't payed the same dues with you there, knowing that he will never be there again.

I've never met him. Will never meet him. But I will miss him.

Independence Day...Taji Style

Today we celebrate our nations emergences as the premiere rogue entity of the world. Not many people at that time would poke their finger into the eye of Mother England. But, low and behold, our fore-fathers stood up to the injustices levied upon them. Against odds and allies unimaginable (France was the big stick we were able to swing), they prevailed and the beginnings of a great land of freedom and tolerance was born. Though we went through some pretty horrific growing pains (civil rights, enviromental destruction, the Omish), the genius of the constitution is that it somehow knew that the people and direction of our nation would change and it could grow and develop with it.

With all of the bad press that America gets these days I still believe the citizens of the USA have every good intention to help all peoples. To paraphrase former British Primeminister Tony Blair, "The true measure of a country is view the amount of people trying to get in, and the amount trying to get out." We have our problems and we argue amongst ourselves on how to fix them but at the end of the day we are proud of where we come from and we are happy to stay.

If there is one thing I hope the people of Iraq can develop is that same unity. The ablility to argue amonst your brothers but able to unite and stand side by side saying "This we'll defend."

As we enjoy our impromptu BBQ in the wee hours of the morning over here we will be thinking of you back home. Please have a beer on us.

A Short One

I know that I haven't written in about...oh...forever, but I'm back and hope to be able to do this on a regular basis once again. Let me just let everyone know that we all made it here safe and sound and are in the process of annoying the hell out of one another with our idiosyncracies. I think the hardest part of this "Thing" for any of us is what it does to the one's we love. With that in mind we all realize each one of us in some form or fashion volunteered to do what we do and hope by doing this our children and loved ones will never HAVE to do this. To the Sisterhood I say this, find the strength in each other that you normally find in us just as we learn to lean on each other over here. None of us can do this alone.


p


P.S. Pictures to follow later....Jenn N., I'm up to about $50 in candids (haha)

Serendipity

"The discovery of something fortunate. The accidental discovery of something pleasant, valuable, or useful." This is how Webster's defines serendipity. I have my own thought on serendipity: Being in the right place, at the right time, with the will, want, and wherefore to take advantage of the cards life deals you.

This weekend Janet, Gabe, and I were participants in our friends', Kit and Tiffany, wedding. (Refer to the previous blog for more info). The trip to Caldwell was as uneventful as expected. Caldwell is a beautiful little town, but the Mecca of Excitement it ain't. The happy couple's families got along swimmingly and the rehearsal / rehearsal supper went off without a hitch. The true part of this serendipitous weekend started when we arrived in College Station. As an LSU fan all I've ever heard about Aggieland is how it was a cow town in the Middle-of-Nowhere Texas. The drive into town on University Ave. was an enlightenment.

Have you ever had a big town amenities / small town atmosphere experience? That is what College Station appears to be. The typically unique bar / restaurant area next to campus was adjacent to an up and coming restaurant / lodging area. The true surprise was the wonderful downtown area located in Bryan. I was expecting a safe haven of ultra conservatism but what I found was a place supportive of the arts without the need to be offensive. We ventured into a store filled with crystal jewelry, ren-fest clothing, and religious icons and asked a few of the local gentry to suggest a local place to eat that would make our Bryan experience memorable. The vote was unanimous for Papa Perez's for lunch from everyone polled. I had something that I didn't think was even possible: A fried avacado stuffed with meat, cheese, and spices. It was incredible! The best part about the place is that it was just one of those store front places that you would never give a blink to unless someone had recommended it to you or your car broke down right in front. In the realm of food, the places that are often overlooked provide the most memorable encounters.

Of course I would be remiss if I didn't speak of the most serendipitous event.

I had lagged behind that morning and showered last. Janet and Gabe decided to hop down to the lobby to grab some juice at the complimentary breakfast and that's when things got interesting. My son's shy button has malfunctioned since birth. This plus the fact that The US Army Parachute Demonstration Team ,"The Golden Knights", were loading up for their events for the day turned the rest of our day into an once in a life time occasion. Gabe saw the guys in uniform and immediately let them know that his daddy was in the Army too. By this time I was done getting ready and wanted to find out if there were any special places around to grab a lite breakfast. ( To shorten this story to a more tolerable length, I'll cut to the chase. ) The commander of the group let it slip that they were jumping for the re-dedication of the George Bush Library at Texas A&M and that former President Bush would be jumping with them. How often do you get to see an 83 year old man jump from and airplane much less with the Golden Knights and that old man is the former leader of the Free World. Apparently it was such a secret that the event volunteers and many of the other folks working didn't know about the special jumper.

Once again fate provided us with an occasion that we were prepared to open ourselves to and let happen. When Gabe looks back on his childhood, it is my most sincere wish that he realizes we were always willing to follow the adventure and explore life. Whether it was the small lake community that we wandered into in Kentucky that became a must see for any of our visitors at Ft. Campbell, the wonderful zoos, museums and parks, and of course the people who have enriched all of those experiences, I hope that he knows that sometimes you just have to get off the map, stop looking at the watch, and let life show you something totally unexpected.

The Art of Decision Making

Janet, Gabe, and I are going to Caldwell, TX this weekend for our friends' wedding. The couple, Kit and Tiffany, asked each one of us to participate in some form or fashion during the ceremony and we are honored to be able to be a part of something that will be one of their most cherished memories. Plus, I look damn good in a tux.

In keeping with modern tradition, the guys and I from B/2-4 AVN decided to provide Kit with a night of debauchery commonly known as "The Bachelor Party". We all met at HOOTERS and then hit some local establishments and a good time was had by all. In keeping with another tradition, no details will ever be divulged by anyone involved under penalty of death. Just kidding. It was a very fun yet low key night that concluded without incident. Everyone that has seen the pre-Academy Award winning Tom Hanks film "Bachelor Party" would have been disappointed. No drugs, hookers, male sex organ sandwiches, or donkeys were involved. But, when all was said and done, I believe that everyone that participated had a great time and was happy to be a part of Kit's grand send off.

I think one of the most important thing to mention is that at no point in the night was anyone in our party in danger of getting into a physical altercation or receiving a DUI. We had a plan, designated drivers, and friends that care enough about one another to make sure that fun and not trouble was the focus of the evening. In my younger days I pushed the boundaries of safety and good sense by doing things I now consider overwhelmingly idiotic. There are mornings that I woke up wondering how I got home only to look out my window and see that I had driven not only myself but many of my drunk friends home as well. I'm not saying this to brag but to make a point. There are some life lessons we are lucky to survive learning. Too many of the young (and sometimes older) men and women that are coming home from Iraq drop their good sense off with there leave packets and weekend passes and drink and drive. I was fortunate enough to never get caught, kill myself, or God forbid kill anyone else during my college years. But I was also fortunate enough to know that if I got caught I wasn't going to ruin my current career. The young men and women that I work with who take these risks not only will be prosecuted by civil authorities but also recieve non-UCMJ punishment, can be removed from their current jobs, and lose money and rank. STUPID!!!!! All of these things are so easily avoided by just having a plan....even if that plan is to call some one at the end of the night to pick you up or hiding $20 in your car to pay a taxi to take you home.

I guess the reason I am thinking about the DUI thing is that today is the anniversary of my return home from Iraq and in the preceding 365 days I have known several people lose rank, money, and even lives for simple stupid decisions made at the end of a good night of partying. I am not in any way advocating for the abstinence crowd. I believe that it is a persons right to abuse themselves in any way that they see fit as long as it does not hurt or adversely affect others. So the point I am trying to make is that there are enough pitfalls and dangers in our lives and jobs as soldiers and aviators, don't make yourself an easy target when life sends a round your way.

P.S. Here's one of the groom. Good luck Kit and Tiff!

How about a Quickie?!

Today's post is to keep up the habit. I realize that it has been a couple of weeks since I've posted and I want to stay in practice of keeping myself in the ink. I arrived home today to the news that my wife had started a blog and I figured I had to at least get on and link her into this blog so that you, the reader, can have the complete Lopez experience. Here is her link: http://lopezfour.blogspot.com. I will caution you to only believe the good things she says about me. I doubt that I will EVER give her any negative thing to say about me. (HAHA).

This past week I began a new equipment transition at work and feel that I may gotten in over my head. I don't say that to mean that I can't handle the information that the instructors are providing or that I can't correlate this to practical use. I say that to mean that after over 15 years of flying one way with limited yet regular upgrades in technology to help doing so, I am having to completely relearn how to manage a cockpit. It is truly putting the "old dog / new tricks" theory into practice. Hopefully with enough studying on my part and a lack of studying by my classmates I won't look to much like an analog man lost in the Nintendo world. On the left, are 2 photos. The top one is the new cockpit I will be flying (I got that one off the internet for those of you saying something about security clearances), and the bottom one is the E6-B computer that every cub aviator in the world still learns on. I still use the E6-B today. Or I should say that until today, I used the E6-B. The advances in aviation automation technology is rendering items like the E6-B, plotters, and possibly even maps things you will only see in a museum. Personally, I'm waiting for the software drop that makes the pilot irrelevant for everything except inputting the flight information. Eventually it will be 2 pilots, 3 laptops, and 1 monkey with a big stick.

Change is the Engine in the Train of Life

"The only constant in Life is Change". I don't know what brainiac said this, but truer words were never spoken. I've been posting on MSN Spaces for the past couple of years (http://hooker-parking.spaces.live.com), and haven't done anything on it in the past 9 months. I've been so inactive my friend Beth (bethjacquot.blogspot.com) dropped me from her links. I'm hoping that this change will be the catalyst that I've been looking for to get back to writing.

Let me introduce myself. My name is Phillip. I'm in the military and am doing the job that I've waited my whole life to do. I'm a pilot. I'm married to a wonderful woman named Janet who has given me a beautiful son named Gabe and we have a baby girl on the way. We are both from South Louisiana (for anyone asking what the difference is between S. LA and N. LA...just trust me) but live in Central Texas for now. I'm not what you would call a tall person. Cooking is my passion and try to use that as my creative outlet. I would like to go to a culinary academy when I retire from the military and see what new adventures that would bring. I would classify myself neither as an optimist nor pessimist, but realist definitely fits. I see the glass neither as half empty nor full, I'm just glad there is water in it. My writing is more of an outlet to let me rant on what's on my mind.

Excitement is not my middle name, so if these postings seem boring....oh well. I try to entertain myself with this stuff and enjoy it when others read and comment, but in the end I do it for me. The rules I try to follow when writing are these: 1) Stay true to the spirit of the experiment, 2) Don't write anything that I'll feel the need to apologize for, and 3) Keep it PG-13 (my mom reads every once in a while).

Speaking of change....

This past year has come with changes-o'-plenty. Janet has taken an extended leave of absence from work due to our impending family addition. Gabe has started school. I have been staying busy keeping up with the changes at work. I'll be upgrading aircraft shortly to the CH-47F and am anticipating that it will be quite a challenge. I've changed cars recently, selling my Honda to take over Janet's Ford. (12 years with a Honda Civic DX hatchback was enough). But the biggest change that I've had was getting used to the idea of having a baby girl on the way.

That's right, I said baby girl. The moment we found out I felt agony and ecstasy in the same instant. I suddenly felt the need to look up the fathers of all the girls I dated and beg their forgiveness. Soon I will have a tiny creature with the ability to wrap me around her little finger, turn me into complete babbling idiot, and melt/break my heart with the bat of an eyelash. What am I supposed to do? I look at the influences that little girls are surrounded by these days and wonder how I'll have a fighting chance. The Brittany's, Jessica's, Paris's, and High School Musical Chick-of-the-Week make it acceptable to be a bat shit crazy slut and the paparazzi parasites that feed on them don't care who gets hurt in pursuit of "The Truth". The worst that I remember growing up was Madonna rolling around on stage at the MTV awards and publishing a book showing her hoo-hoo. Not that I think that art should be censored in any means, but common sense should be used when marketing millionaire heiresses and multi-pierced pop stars to 8 year old girls as role models.
I realize that I'm the same guy that was only mildly annoyed a few years ago by the amount of attention given to little girls whose only accomplishments in life were looking good in tight clothing and badly lip-syncing to corporate approved pop songs or going to parties and bars while underage and getting their picture taken, but now I'm going to be the father of a daughter and I'm truly horrified. A few of the statements that I've been practicing are: "You don't think you can actually come out of your bedroom looking like that, do you?", "(Insert teen celeb name here)'s parents aren't raising you!","OH MY GOD!!!!!", "Underwear is NOT an optional garment!", "I don't care if I'm embarrassing you, you'll thank me later.", "No you may not get your (insert anything other that ears here) pierced.", "What happened to my baby girl?!".

These things are only partially said in jest. Parents must be the main influence on their children's lives no matter if it's boys or girls. I just believe that with girls there will be special challenges. I look forward to meeting and probably failing miserably at each one. Just remember...to all future suitors that I'll be cleaning my guns in front of dressed in full battle gear and camoflage paint, LA swamps are great places to hide a body.