A True Fairy Tale?

Once upon a time in the far far away beautiful kingdom of Crakocia there lived a beautiful Princess. She was loved far and wide by all of the subjects in the kingdom. They adored her and cherished her. But the Princess wasn't truly happy. She knew that her true love was out there beyond the castle walls someplace waiting for her.

One day a brave and powerful knight rode up to the castle gates. The Princess fell immediately and totally in love with the charming knight. She had found her true love. Her one and only true love. The handsome knight courted the beautiful maiden both from near and from afar. They planned to wed and live happily ever after.

The Princess approached the King and the Queen with her wishes. The King gave his blessing somewhat reluctantly but gave it none the less.

The Queen said, "Princess, the royal clock makers love you dearly and would want to give you a gift of a beautiful clock for your new home. You can't wed until they finish your gift."

So the Princess went to the handsome knight and told him of the clock.

"I will wait." he said.

When the clock was finished the Queen again approached her daughter. "The royal carriage makers love you dearly and want to give you a beautiful carriage as a wedding gift. You can't wed until the carriage is finished."

So the Princess went to the handsome knight and told him of the carriage.

"I will wait." he said.

When the carriage was completed the Queen again addressed the Princess. "Daughter, the royal book binders love you dearly and want to give you a beautiful gilded book as a wedding gift. You can't be wed until the gilded book is finished."

So the Princess went to the handsome knight and told him of the gilded book.

"I will wait." he said.

This went one for quite some time. As one gift would be finished, another would be started. The years slowly passed. All the while the handsome knight waited. He waited and waited.

One cold rainy day vagabonds and villains attacked the knight on his way to the castle to check on the progress of the newest gift. The handsome knight was gravely wounded in the battle. He died before anyone could come to his aid.

The Princess was told of the knights death. She stood crying alone in the great castle jealously and selfishly loved and cherished by all those who surrounded her but not ever knowing true love in the arms of her handsome knight. She had waited too. Waited, trying to please everyone and all. The citizens of Crakocia rejoiced because they still had their beautiful Princess to love and cherish. But in spite of all the love that surrounded her there would never be rejoicing in the heart of the beautiful Princess. She lived un-happily ever after.

The End

Happiness Is Always Put On Hold

He and I had a talk about whether or not marriage would happen for them in the near future. She's told us that she wants to marry him and marry him soon. She doesn't want to wait. But he says he's heard it before. And everytime he's heard it there ends up being a reason that it isn't to happen.

It's always an objection from her parents (they are opposed to her marrying) - first it's we have vacation that month, then it's your brothers graduation or grandma can't be there that weekend. The "excuses" go on and on.

She has always tried to please her parents, do what they want her to do. Always doing what she could to make them happy, never considering her own happiness.

B'day Surprise!

Her birthday is the 20th of November. He would ask her what she wanted for her birthday. He said he'd get her just about anything she wanted. Each time he asked she would say that all she wanted for her birthday was for him to be there. And each time she asked he told her it wouldn't work out - that he couldn't get the time off. He was already getting the month of December off - they wouldn't let him have any more time.

He was lying. He already had a three day weekend set up for the weekend of the 20th. He called and asked for our help. He wanted someone to meet him at the airport with his car at 6AM Friday morning so that he could leave from there and go directly to Fargo/Moorhead. His Aunt and I volunteered to be at the airport at 6AM.

Since he had never been to the apartment, and we had been, I also drew him a detailed map of the complex where she lives so that he would know exactly where he could find her.

He arrived in Fargo at about 10 AM, pulled into the parking lot of the apartment and called her cell phone. He woke her up (no classes Friday) and chatted a little - they do that every day. Then he said, "Can you come down and unlock the door, I'm getting a little cold." She told him to stop teasing because it made her feel bad. He said, "I'm not."

She said that she was never so happy as when she looked out the window and saw him in the parking lot standing next to his car. To her no one could have looked better. Black leather jacket, cool red Mustang convertible and a smile as wide as the sky on his face. Her birthday wish had come true. He had crossed half a continent to celebrate her birthday with her.

Is that cool or what?....

Desert Rose

Poem written in Oct 2004 by a Medic from Stryker Brigade for his wife. It was written during the rise in violence just before the Strykers came home.

Desert Rose
I stood today and faced my doom;
looked death straight in the eye.
And as I stood and held my own
the fear would not subside.
Though I was scared I shook not once,
despite the circumstance.
Cause miles away a woman waits
for another lover's dance.
With this in mind how could I fall
and not return back home?
And not go back to that perfect world
that we now call our own.
As shots rang out my mind was filled
with thoughts of only her.
Her hair, her smell, her perfect lips
turned war into a blur.
Soon it stopped and peace returned,
I looked to God above.
And thanked my Lord for one more day
for me to be in love.
As we turned and started back
ruins were all I saw,
except in one small piece of earth where a single rose grew tall.
I stared in wonder of how such beauty
could thrive in all this waste.
And as I stared a single tear
ran down my war scarred face.
It finally occurred to me
no matter how hard the fight
There is always one bright ray of light
even in the darkest night.
That's what you are to me my dear
you are my ray of light.
You're love, you're hope, you're happiness,
you're everything I know.
You're the only thing I want and need,
You are my desert rose.
- By docmauney

Fort Lewis - Day Five, There's going to be a Wedding

It's Saturday. We go home today. Our visit has been much too short. But our departure won't be like the last time we parted ways. The last time the three of us stayed behind and sent him away - to a place we didn't want him to be. This time we all know that we will see each other again and very soon.

What would you do on that last day? Well, based on how this day turned out, you'd shop. I suppose it was the right thing to do. A way to be together, (plus a chance to be apart) and also a way to be entertained.

The highlight of the day? I guess I would have to say it was the jewelry store. We separated from them at one point and after a long walk through the mall and more than a little shopping I called him.

"Where are you?"
"In a store."
"What store."
"Don't know, I'm inside and can't see the sign."
"What are you looking at?"
"Girl stuff."

I'd had enough of "twenty questions" at that point. So I said, "Talk to you in a bit." and hung up.

My wife asks, "Where are they?"
"He didn't want to say."
"I just bet they're in a jewelry store."

I remembered seeing four jewelry stores located at the exact center of the mall where the "spokes" crossed. We went searching for our missing partners. They're not in any of the four. So I called again.

"Where are you?"
"Coming down the hall. We can see you."

We hooked up a few seconds later and decided to leave the mall. Outside in the car we were introduced to a new diamond ring which looked surprisingly like the old diamond ring. And it was easy to make the comparison since she now had a diamond ring on each hand. (Long story short - the new diamond ring is meant to reaffirm his love that he gave to her with the first ring over a year before. Are they engaged? I think so.) We went to Starbucks to have a cup of coffee, talk about diamonds and relax a little.

Well, looking at that new diamond ring set my wife off. We sat at Starbucks talking about the new ring for about a half hour. With our "untrained eyes" my wife and I could see no real difference between the new and the old. I don't remember the exact conversation but at the end it went like this, "This just isn't right. We need to go back to the mall. We need to take care of something."

We parked at the mall, marched back in and made our way to the jewelry store which was hidden down one of the "spokes". The young lady who waited on Jake and Nicole introduced herself. Again, I don't remember the exact words but they went something like this, "My son is back to buy a bigger diamond."

So to summarize, the jewelry store took in two diamonds as a trade-in, my son was a few thousand dollars poorer, his fiance ended up a few thousand times happier, my wife was the heroine and the end result had me in a daze. Must be new math because I still can't follow the entire transaction without getting a headache. And the sales girl was ecstatic - she sold a ring and an upgrade all in the space of an afternoon.

I pulled him aside and asked if he was OK with spending "considerably" more money.

"Yeah, we actually looked at the diamond we just bought when we were here before. She didn't want it - said it was too much to spend. Guess mom changed her mind, huh?"

Looking over at his fiance we could both see that mom had done exactly that.

I wish them all the best and as much happiness as my wife and I have. And after having survived the past year I think their relationship can handle anything the world can throw at them.

Fort Lewis - Day Four

Luck? I don't know. Some might say so. I don't gamble, probably because I don't really believe all that much in "luck".

But read this and then you tell me.

Is it luck when an AK-47 round embeds itself in the fiberglass lip of a Stryker hatch - only an inch from the edge - just where the back of your neck is usually exposed in the open hatch?

Is it luck when a piece of shrapnel flies through an open hatch, grazing your ear, but causing no other injury?

Is it luck when a mortar round impacts close to your position and you hear the buzzing of the metal and the pings the pieces make as they bounce off your surroundings?

Is it luck when an IED explodes along side your Stryker, almost tipping it over, nearly destroying it and you drive away unharmed? And then to have it happen not just once but three more times?

Four near misses from IED attacks. Six major fire fights. Countless mortar and rocket attacks - averaging one a night and sometimes two or three a night, and they come raining down during the day too. And small arms fire - which happens all the time - day and night.

Luck? No, it can't be. There has to be somebody watching out for you.

The stories are "incredible" and I heard some of them just after seeing the new Pixar movie, "The Incredibles", with three of the people I love most in this world.

I also learned something about the amazing resilience of the human spirit today. All of these things happened to an un-imposing young man who can now sit in a movie theater smiling and laughing - enjoying himself - holding hands with his girl. I really don't know if I could behave the same way and to be honest I'm afraid to even try.

Fort Lewis - Day Three, Quotes

"Can you see the mountain from the Fort?" - Then with a smile, "No, I'm on the wrong side of the barracks."

"Really, it was only a scratch. Really, just a scratch..."

"Look there's the mountain! - (then in chorus) "Oh Pretty!!"

"On ramps still make me nervous."

"Toyota pickups make me nervous too."

"When we got back I pulled an AK round out of the lip of the hatch."

"I've never felt more lucky."

"Don't stay in one place more than 20 minutes - you will draw fire."

Mount Rainer - Fort Lewis View

Fort Lewis - Mount Rainer

Fort Lewis - Day Two

As the day begins the dense fog of early morning in the Pacific Northwest turns to sunshine.

The fog slowly lifts from the landscape and floats inland. Silently the white cloak lifts from the hillsides. Little wisps of white curl around the tops of the trees like mare's tails. And then vanish.
The day dawns bright, clouds behind the solitary mountain off in the distance look like mountains in the sky themselves. Mount Rainer draped in a shawl of pure white snow blends almost ghost like into a late autumn sky. The air is crisp and clean with just a faint scent of pine.

He had tapped my shoulder in the darkness of the hotel room just ten minutes before and said, "Let's go." And so we went. It was time to take him back to Lewis.

I had already decided to wait. To wait and not ask any questions. If he wanted to talk about his experiences I'd let him do so at his own pace - or not at all if that was the case.

And we talked a little during the ride to the Fort. Not long stories really - just a father and son chatting as they drove. Hearing what he had to say I realized again how very lucky we were that he was there in the car talking to me. So thankful that things hadn't turned out differently.

The conversation is almost matter-of-fact. Like it's no big deal. But there had been so many close calls. So many times we were just millimeters away from a different chain of events.

One story sticks in my mind. An early morning mortar attack on the FOB (Forward Operating Base) in Mosul. The first mortar round strikes nearby as they wait for the days orders. None of the men milling about the Strykers wearing Kevlar. The first impact and explosion, very nearby, sends men scrambling for their vehicles, their Strykers. He slides into the drivers seat and rises up to grab the handle to close the hatch. Just then a second mortar round impacts directly in front of his Stryker - directly in front of him. "Whump" it explodes in dust, dirt and jagged flying metal. No bright red flames, no blinding flash like the movies - just dirt and dust.

With a buzz metal hurtles through the air in all directions. One piece of shrapnel speeds directly towards the raised hatch - faster than the blink of an eye. And before he can slam the hatch shut the hot metal strikes him in the right ear. It hits only the edge of his ear but begins to bleed profusely.

"No big deal" - he says.

"Really just a scratch" - he says.

He even finds the piece of metal on the floor of the Stryker later in the day and throws it away. Only a scratch.

He hadn't actually said it, but I knew we were both thinking it. Just an inch to the left could have been fatal. Or at the very least, could have proved life transforming. An inch, maybe less, could have meant the difference between sitting with him in the car just then and not sitting with him ever again. Thinking about that possibility causes my heart to constrict in my chest even now.

He laughs - sort of a chuckle. Smiling that smile I know so well, that sparkle in his eye. Purple Heart? Yeah, right. He didn't even mention it to his superiors. He says that injuries like this disgrace the medal, they take away from the respect a recipient of the medal deserves. But an inch could have meant the medal would have been awarded to him posthumously and that's something neither of us would have wanted.

Then out of the corner of my eye I see him reach up and lightly touch the small scar on his ear. We drive on towards the Fort - both lost in our own thoughts.

Fort Lewis - Day One

We're here! We are in Washington state.

When we flew in the sky was overcast and it was raining. He called shortly after our plane landed. There are a lot of things that need to fall into place before we can see him. Baggage, shuttle bus, rental car, hotel room (the girls want to freshen up) and a Fort Lewis vehicle pass. I check things off the list one by one and in the proper order. We get our bags, catch the shuttle, pick up the car and check into the hotel. (Nice place. Two rooms, two Queen beds plus a sofa sleeper, which is actually more comfortable than an Army bed.) Every thing goes down without a hitch. Until...

We arrive at the Fort Lewis Visitor Center. Entering the parking lot we see row after row of parked cars. I had heard stories about the dreaded Visitor Center and they were all about to come true.

Entering the building we see a mass of people crammed into the tiny space. I ask the guy closest to the door how long the wait has been. He tells me he's been there an hour and a half already. Passes are processed in order of importance. Military in uniform get preference, followed by other government employees and out of uniform military personnel (with the proper ID). Being a civilian I can expect to wait at least two hours if not more. Security requires two forms of photo ID before they will issue a vehicle pass. (I brought my Passport for just that reason.) They only allow access to two of the Fort gates, so pick the right ones.

I "take a number" and the waiting starts. Guys in uniform come through the door, take a number and wait only a few minutes. We wait. A few others with proper credentials come in and are processed quickly. Still we wait. Military not in uniform are getting increasingly frustrated because they too have a long wait in front of them and they complain to security. And still we wait. Occasionally, families with smiles on their faces hear there number called and move up to the security window. We wait on.

Our sons girlfriend goes to work with her cell phone - trying to get in touch with him. Across the room we see a guy who looks a little bit like him but our hopes are dashed when we realize it's not him. Then she makes contact. "We have to wait at least a couple hours for a pass," she says. "I'll find a way to get there - just hang on," he tells her. Soldier to the rescue - that is his job, right?

We wait. It's nearly three miles from the front gate to his barracks. Feeling confined inside the Visitor Center she goes outside to wait for our son. My wife and I continue to wait inside. Luckily, he finds a ride. My wife keeps an eye on the parking lot and a few minutes later sees the two of them coming up the sidewalk. He's dressed in civvies but does have a military ID so maybe our wait will be shortened. He can take a number and sponsor us which will increase our chances of being called.

We go outside. Hugs all around, a few wipes at eyes brimming with tears and then we re-enter the center. Looking at the crowd he says, "Let's leave. We can come back later. Hopefully it won't be as busy." (I'm all for that.) He wants to put some distance between himself and the base and he wants to do it as quickly as possible. So we leave.

Everyone's hungry so we find an Olive Garden and eat a late lunch, early dinner. Waste a little time at the Puyallup Mall and go back to the hotel. Late in the evening - and I mean late - we head back to the Visitor Center and make another attempt at securing a pass. There are still people waiting - though not very many. Our wait is fifteen minutes. We get a four day vehicle pass and enter the Fort.

He was expecting to be dropped off at that point and we'd see him the next day.
I said, "Not a chance, pack some things. You're coming with us."
"I have to be back here by 5:30 tomorrow morning."
"Fine, I'll drive you back. No problem."

With that settled, we return to the hotel.