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[Laura]

I have met several.

[Jane]

I think one of my deepest desires has come true: chocolate is making me ill.

I'm sorry to say that doesn't stop me from eating it.

[Jane]

DR Jean we have never eaten at Talpa's.  I'll have to pay attention next time we pass it.

[bk]

No clews at this time, but soon all will be revealed.

[Cillaliz]

I talked to a nice policeman today, too.  He pulled me over as I rushed back after lunch to get to a hearing.  He walked up to my car and said "I know you!"  He used to be on the drug task force and was involved in a lot of my federal cases then (they rotate the task force positions) 

I told him I was late to court and he said "Ok, I was only going to write a warning, but I'll skip it if you're late to court. Just don't speed, there are a lot of officers out right now and  you may run into one who doesn't like you"   I appreciated the warning

[Cillaliz]

I've decided to be in the Susan G. Komen 5 K on Mother's day.  I decided to do it so that I'd have something to train for and to keep exercising.  It's a walk/run so if I can't run the whole way, it's ok. 

I didn't originally do it for the fundraising, but it's a great cause.  if anyone feels so inclined you can link to my sponsor page through my facebook or I can send a link.  If you don't want to, that's cool too, just offering a chance to donate to help fight breast cancer.

[Jennifer]

I think i will go watch DWTS now!

[Cillaliz]

Also on Mother's Day, Habitat for Humanity is doing a "women's build". Don't think I can do both, but Lowe's is doing a power tool training this Saturday for women who will be working on it. I'm going to see if I can go and do the training.  Maybe then I can finish framing out the basement and be ready to work on some builds this summer.   

[Jane]

Congratulations Bruce!

DR Cilla, you did meet a very nice policeman!

[Laura]

A very nice policeman, Cillaliz!

[S. Woody White]

Dinner is almost ready.

The lamb is roasted, and der B has told me that he's carving (something I'm not terribly good at).

The taters are also roasted (drenched in balsamic dressing).

And the carrots are almost finished.

Time to depart.

Hasta.

[Cillaliz]

A very nice policeman, Cillaliz!

Yeah, I've always gotten along with him.  I actually get along with most of the law enforcement officers on the other side of my cases.  I have no qualms about attacking them on the witness stand, but it's not outrageous or personal, it's strictly about how they did their job.  I've had a couple be mad at me for a few days, but in general,  I don't have a problem.  I even had one in Phoenix thank me for letting him know what not to do next time....he was a rookie.

[DakotaCelt]

someone else reposted the clip from BGT... What a voice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

[Jane]

A very nice policeman, Cillaliz!

Yeah, I've always gotten along with him.  I actually get along with most of the law enforcement officers on the other side of my cases.  I have no qualms about attacking them on the witness stand, but it's not outrageous or personal, it's strictly about how they did their job.  I've had a couple be mad at me for a few days, but in general,  I don't have a problem.  I even had one in Phoenix thank me for letting him know what not to do next time....he was a rookie.

The best kind of rookie, one that seemed to care about being the best policeman possible.

[Jane]

someone else reposted the clip from BGT... What a voice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

Third time I have watched this today, amazing.  I read she sings in her church choir and many of those people had no idea how talented she is.  I wonder if she will be singing a few solo's now.

[Druxy]

RE: the draft

At any rate, though quite a few guys claimed to be gay to get out of serving, I kept it to myself. I had been assured that should I be drafted, I would not be placed in an infantry unit. With a college degree and practice teaching experience and a teaching credential, I was assured I'd either be serving as a clerk in an office, or with some political wheel-greasing, I'd be teaching the children of army bigshots on some military post somewhere. Since my family were great friends of Senator Strom Thurmond who was quite pwoerful in national politics at the time, I knew I'd have the pull to get a teaching appointment if I got drafted.

So, even though they never reached my number, I was fully ready to go in if I got called.

During the Vietnam era, the enlisted ranks were filled with men and women with college degrees.  It was an embarrassment of riches for the military at that time.  Anyone with a low draft number but with a student deferment had a better than even chance of applying to become an officer before they graduated.  The Marine Corps recruited at college campuses recruiting juniors who, during the break before the senior year, would attend a basic training.  The officer trainee would return to finish his last year of college at his own expense and then would be given his commission and sent off to training for whatever occupational specialty for which he was best suited.  Other services probably did the same thing.  I talked to the Marine recruiter.  I was ready to sign up.  Unfortunately for him, I needed a parent's permission (parent being the one paying for the education, as it were).  My father drove up to the school and talked me out of it.  At least, it seems like that's what he did.  I knew I wouldn't win the argument, but I sure did like the uniform I "might" have been wearing.

My draft number was 91, and I knew I was going to serve somewhere, somehow. (ALL of my friends had numbers in the 300s).  There wasn't any question of lying my way out of it.  Call it what you will, I knew the military was going to be an obstacle between me and my dreams, and I had to handle the mlitary the best way I knew how.  Anything less than a medical reason for being classified 4-F (unsuitable for military service) would, at that time, follow you around and make it unlikely you'd ever get the jobs you really wanted.  At least, where I came from that was the case.

As Matt pointed out about a "gay" deferment, that was like wearing a pink star.  At that time, employers always checked your military status.  The "gay" flag was instant "We're sorry, but we can't use you."

The military isn't suited for everyone, of course.  One needs to be able to immerse onself into being a team player.  It's not about the one, it's about the many.  Several guys in my company were discharged during boot camp.  One was totally by design.  He began wetting his bed regularly after he realized he had made a mistake by passing the physical.  Another had a meltdown.  Sweet guy, though. 

In consonance with TOD, what is the scariest thing you've ever had to get out of (or thing you didn't want to do):

I hated my first two years in the Navy because I hated the occupational rating they forced upon me.  I was a "Radioman".  School was fun.  I was a quick learner in Morse Code (but it was no longer used except for emergency communications) and could tune the equipment readily enough.  At my first duty station, I spent my first month cleaning two bathrooms and waxing/polishing the hallway.  Happily, two weeks into that another guy joined me.  He had recently been graduated from Amherst.  We had a lot in common and became fast friends.  Sometime after that -- a week or so -- the division officer's secretary called us into her office.  She was baffled why two college grads were cleaning heads and passageways when, as she put it, "idiots were running the communications center." 

We were both integrated into the Comm Center within the day and two new arrivals took over the janitorial duties in the passageway and heads.  In the message center, I found that I was expected to make coffee, run off messages on a mimeograph machine and, once a week, swab and wax the floor. 

Over the next year, my friend and I were both promoted to Radioman Third Class (we became "petty officers").  That was still at the bottom of the pecking order, but it was a healthy pay raise.   In late 1972, my friend applied for a commission and got his approval in Spring 1972.  During that same spring, I applied for a change of rating to become a Journalist.  That, in itself, was a minor drama with my request form being torn up by my leading petty officer (this, in the era of Admiral Elmo Zumwalt who "modernized" Navy thinking), the first person who had a crack at it. 

I knew that if I was to finish my four-year obligation I'd need to improve my circumstances.  Journalism had been a closed rating for several years for the Navy.  It was a "plum" rating -- that's PLUM as in highly desirable.  In that Spring of 1972, a friend in our personnel office informed me the rating had opened back up and thought I might like to apply.

Request forms (aka "chits") could be approved or disapproved.  They had to run the course of the chain of command, however.  In this case, I had a leading petty officer, five chief petty officers (whose function, as far as I could tell, was to drink all the coffee I and another guy in my section could make in an 8-hour shift), the communications officer (the division officer to whom I referred earlier) and, ultimately, the Commanding Officer of Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, Florida.

Another petty officer in the division heard about what happened and told me to fill out another form.  When I had, he went to the leading petty officer with me and told him, point-blank, that he could approve it or disapprove it, but that he had to send it along.

The LPO smirked and disapproved it and handed it back to me to take to the chiefs.  The other petty officer said, "No!  You take it in.  Pulliam doesn't get it back until the final sign-off."

A day later I was called in by one of the chiefs.  They were all in one room, fingers firmly hooked into their coffee-cup handles.  I was told to sit and, one by one, I was regaled with stories about "other radiomen" they knew who had attempted to change ratings and failed.   The Navy, they said, "spent thousands of dollars on you" to make you into a Radioman.  They further reminded me that they had recently gotten me a top secret clearance and decryption training.  "This", they said, is what you are meant to do.  I thanked them kindly, told them I understood their points-of-view, and absolved them by telling them I understood they'd have to disapprove the request, but that I still wanted it to go forward.

A day later, the commander in charge of the division called me in.  He asked me what the chiefs had said to me.  I told him.  He then said, "If those chief petty officers have told you this is a waste of time and disapproved your request, do you think I'm going to do any differently?"  I professed innocence in having a clue what he might make of it but I still wanted to be a journalist and that I wanted my request to go forward.

Two days later, I got a call from the secretary of the base commanding officer requesting I come to his office after work that day (2 p.m.) for an interview on my request.   

This was a wholly different experience from anything that had gone before.  I was nervous, but not particularly scared.  I knew if I could impress upon him the sincerity of my request, I might have shot.

The CO's office was huge compared to any I'd been in since being on active duty.  His secretary was a lovely woman and her desk was near a set of "saloon doors" that led to his inner santcum.  I had only been seated a few seconds when one of those doors swung open and Captain Smith looked directly at me, smiled and said, "Petty Officer Pulliam, come on in!"

I moved quickly and waited to be told to sit.  He asked his secretary to bring us coffee.  He looked at me and said,"I'm told by one of your co-workers that you drink coffee."  Wow! He caught me off guard with that one!  This was the number-one dude on base, and I was one of a thousand next-to-nobodies  He made small talk, and I'm certain I joined in, while the coffee was put before us.  He took a sip, and then asked me:  "Why do you want to be a Journalist?"

I told him about my college years, my double major in theater and English, my interest in writing, and my interest in learning about public affairs.  I then told him how disappointed I'd been when, in boot camp, I'd been placed into the radioman rating.  I had, I explained, done a very good job on the Foreign Language Aptitude Test and that I'd hoped I might have been taken into one of the "naval intelligence" programs at the very least.

He laughed.  Yes, he admitted, I had a very high FLAT score.  (He had reviewed my records!!!)  He said he was amazed that they'd decided on the radioman rating for me, too.  Radioman, as a rating, was considered highly critical, though, and sometimes people are classified for the school based on other scores that are deemed desirable for the rating.

He asked me to write a couple of pages on why I wanted to be a Journalist and how I felt it would benefit the Navy more than my being a radioman.  I was to drop it off with his secretary (in the next couple of days).

I went back to the barracks and began writing.  I wrote and wrote.  I edited.  I wrote some more.  I re-copied everything.  Several times.

Next morning, on my way to work, I dropped off my final two-page declaration.

A week passed.  I had no concept of when I might get some news about the CO's decision.  What I didn't expect, in the middle of the second week,  was to arrive at work and find that the door's cypher lock codes had been changed.  I rang the bell.  One of my co-workers looked out the window and said, "Oh!  Wait a minute!."  I expected the door to open, but I waited.  And I waited.  And then, one of the chiefs came out.  He handed me a message and told me to read it.  It was my orders to report to the Defense Information School, Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana, in six weeks.  The other petty officer stuck his head out the door and told me the CO wanted me to drop by his office after getting that message.

I was so happy I could barely function.  My head was swimming as I made my way to the administration building.  Upon entering the CO's office, his secretary stood and stuck out her hand.  "Congratulations!" she said.  She then handed me my two-page declaration on why I wanted to be a Journalist.  Attached to it was my request chit.  She told me to make note of all the signatures and recommendations.   At the bottom was the CO's with a big check mark by "Approved".  Above that were the signatures of the communications officer, three of the five chiefs and the leading petty officer.  They were all checked "Approved", too....but the check marks in "Disapproved" had been whited out.

She laughed and said the CO had invited them all to his office the day after I'd submitted my writing.  He asked them if any of them knew "why" I had requested to change ratings to become a Journalist.  Not one of them knew because not one of them had asked.  He then handed each of them copies of my two pages and directed them to read.  He had then told them all to see his secretary who would help them, if they chose, make a better-informed decision before they left his office.

She also told me I was to spend the rest of my time at NAS Jacksonville working in the base public affairs office.

That was the beginning of a career.  I didn't know it at the time, of course.  I met many extraordinary people, had many extraordinary experiences, and have tons of extraordinary memories because of it.  And, of course, there's the lifetime pension. 

It was a good time, it was the best time...

Great story.

[George]

Cillaliz, I just read this article...have you come across anything like these stories?

Immigration legal system does not protect rights

[Jane]

Quote from Susan Boyle, the sensational singer:

"I was born with a disability and that made me a target for bullies. I was called names because of my fuzzy hair and because I struggled in class. I told the teachers, but because it was more verbal than physical I could never prove anything. But words often hurt more than cuts and bruises and the scars are still there. I still see the kids I went to school with because we all live in the same area. They're all grown up with children of their own. But look at me now - I've got the last laugh...Mum loved the show and used to tell me I should put my name down and that I'd win it if I did. But I never thought I was good enough. It was only after she died that I plucked up the courage to enter. It was a very dark time and I suffered depression and anxiety. But out of the darkness came light. I realised I wanted to make her proud of me and the only way to do that was to take the risk and enter the show."

[Laura]

I have a question about police officers.

Exactly when did it happen that they are all young enough to be our kids?


(Edited to include our daughters, as the officer who came to take fingerprints was a young woman.)

[Cillaliz]

Cillaliz, I just read this article...have you come across anything like these stories?

Immigration legal system does not protect rights

Yes, I've seen more than one U.S. Citizen in deportation proceedings. Some people don't know they are actually citizens through their parents or grandparents.  Others just don't understand what's happening in the court proceeding and they have no right to an attorney

[Cillaliz]

Quote from Susan Boyle, the sensational singer:

"I was born with a disability and that made me a target for bullies. I was called names because of my fuzzy hair and because I struggled in class. I told the teachers, but because it was more verbal than physical I could never prove anything. But words often hurt more than cuts and bruises and the scars are still there. I still see the kids I went to school with because we all live in the same area. They're all grown up with children of their own. But look at me now - I've got the last laugh...Mum loved the show and used to tell me I should put my name down and that I'd win it if I did. But I never thought I was good enough. It was only after she died that I plucked up the courage to enter. It was a very dark time and I suffered depression and anxiety. But out of the darkness came light. I realised I wanted to make her proud of me and the only way to do that was to take the risk and enter the show."

Well, that was an incredible video to watch

[George]

Cillaliz, I just read this article...have you come across anything like these stories?

Immigration legal system does not protect rights

Yes, I've seen more than one U.S. Citizen in deportation proceedings. Some people don't know they are actually citizens through their parents or grandparents.  Others just don't understand what's happening in the court proceeding and they have no right to an attorney

That's pretty darned scary.

[Laura]

I have a Canadian friend who had an immigration horror story. She was almost deported.

[George]

Well, I'm now leaving work.  At 8:00 pm., I'm auditioning for the Theater Artists Olympia (TAO) gender-open(!) production of "Romeo and Juliet."  The original idea was to have two men play Romeo and Juliet, but they've announced that all roles are no longer gender-specific.  Who knows?  They could have a man play Juliet and a woman play Romeo!

Until later!

[Ron Pulliam]

Great story.

Thank you, sir!

[Ron Pulliam]

If any of you haven't yet clicked on that link to the "Britain's Got Talent", I want you to reconsider and then do it NOW.

Remember the name SUSAN BOYLE from this day forward.

And make a note of the exact moment during the video that you dissolved into tears!

[Ron Pulliam]

I have a question about police officers.

Exactly when did it happen that they are all young enough to be our sons?

At about the same moment you were old enough to be their mom, I'm thinking. 

[Michael]

Quote from Susan Boyle, the sensational singer:

"I was born with a disability and that made me a target for bullies. I was called names because of my fuzzy hair and because I struggled in class. I told the teachers, but because it was more verbal than physical I could never prove anything. But words often hurt more than cuts and bruises and the scars are still there. I still see the kids I went to school with because we all live in the same area. They're all grown up with children of their own. But look at me now - I've got the last laugh...Mum loved the show and used to tell me I should put my name down and that I'd win it if I did. But I never thought I was good enough. It was only after she died that I plucked up the courage to enter. It was a very dark time and I suffered depression and anxiety. But out of the darkness came light. I realised I wanted to make her proud of me and the only way to do that was to take the risk and enter the show."

Well, that was an incredible video to watch

Yes I agree.

Anyone know how she is progressing?

[Ron Pulliam]

Michael, I believe this first audition was as far as it has gone.

[DakotaCelt]

Quote from Susan Boyle, the sensational singer:

"I was born with a disability and that made me a target for bullies. I was called names because of my fuzzy hair and because I struggled in class. I told the teachers, but because it was more verbal than physical I could never prove anything. But words often hurt more than cuts and bruises and the scars are still there. I still see the kids I went to school with because we all live in the same area. They're all grown up with children of their own. But look at me now - I've got the last laugh...Mum loved the show and used to tell me I should put my name down and that I'd win it if I did. But I never thought I was good enough. It was only after she died that I plucked up the courage to enter. It was a very dark time and I suffered depression and anxiety. But out of the darkness came light. I realised I wanted to make her proud of me and the only way to do that was to take the risk and enter the show."

Well, that was an incredible video to watch

I totally agree.

Those with disabilities often shine in other areas aside from their challenges. Some are amazing artiists and writers.