Memorial

I suppose everybody has a friend or family member who has served in the Armed Forces. If we trace our genealogy we probably have ancestors who fought in the Revolution, the Civil War or any of the other conflicts we have had around the world. I want to tell you about my uncle.

He was a Green Beret in Vietnam. He played football in high school and was given a scholarship to play football at Utah State, mainly he says, because he was playing against Phil Olsen and blocked him all night. Phil was the younger brother of the legendary Merlin Olsen. My uncle loved football but he wasn't any good at studies he said, so with the writing on the wall he enlisted in the Army rather than be drafted.

While in Basic Training one of the officers thought my uncle might be a good candidate for Officer Candidate School. He applied, was accepted and came out a 2nd Lieutenant. Knowing he was heading to 'Nam, he wanted all the training he could get so he applied and went through Airborne Ranger training. He still thinks the best thing in the world is walking out of the back end of a C 130 at 30,000 feet.

Next he wanted to try Special Forces and came out of that with a Green Beret and as a Captain. He was trained in underwater demolition among other things. At age 22 he was in Vietnam, on the DMZ with 6 US Non-coms and 600 South Vietnamese to command. It was indeed a long way from Brigham City. My uncle received a Bronze Start along with other decorations for his service. He hasn't told me much, but I know the experience of Vietnam is still with him to this day.

One Christmas season while he was there he was due to have leave. He was told his leave was canceled. Then it was decided he could go. He flew all day and all night through the Philippines to get to Okinawa. There was his new wife, Aunt Peggy. He walked in the door at about midnight surprising her, because she understood his leave was canceled. What a surprise! They had Christmas together. It doesn't seem like much of a story, but as he was relating it to me, tears were flowing down his cheeks and he was fighting his emotions to stop sobbing as he recalled the moment.

As a young man, I was in 8th or 9th grade, I recall meeting Peggy for the first time. We received a phone call at our home. My uncle was on the phone and he was at the airport and wondered if we could pick him up. We went to get him. He came walking out to the car with this woman. She seemed nice. He said, "Oh, by the way, I'd like you to meet my wife." Mom and Dad were surprised. We drove them to Brigham to see his Mom and Dad, my grandma and grandpa. They were surprised to hear for the first time their youngest son got married.

I currently have 2 nephews who have served or are serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. Here's to Tony and Dave. I know Dave sneaks around in the rocks and bushes trying to get intel and such. He received a Bronze Star in Afghanistan. No, he won't tell many stories. Tony flies Blackhawks. He doesn't say much either, but I know he flew VP Cheney, Sen. McCain and Jessica Simpson while he was on his last tour.

So on this particular Memorial Day weekend I want to give tribute to my Uncle Jon, and though him all the Veterans and serving members of the Armed Forces. A Green Beret. A Vietnam Veteran. A Husband and Father who has experienced war; bitter war, but has enjoyed for all of these years a great wife and an American love story.

Baseball Card of the Week

This week I finished the book Willie Mays, The Life, The Legend by James S. Hirsch. Hence, this card of the week being the Say Hey Kid, Willie Mays. This is a great read about one of the truly great legends of baseball. And the Say, Hey stuff, well the book explains it and it is something that was attached to Mays for no really apparent reason except he was part of a song way back when. I'll leave the details for you to discover. Was he the greatest to play the game? Well, these guys think so and they saw a lot of ball players through the years.

His manner, the way he carried himself on the field and his incredible array of talent on offense, on defense, running the bases. He could do it all.

The book covers his life, from Birmingham, Alabama to the present day. The racial discrimination, the Jim Crow laws, the way he endured the painfully slow integration of society, even in the major leagues is an informative and heartfelt narrative of who I say, hey, he is probably the greatest all round player to play the game.

Arizona Immigration Law

I just read the Arizona Immigration Law, something the U. S. Attorney General Holder has not done yet. He's busier than I am. You can read it here. It is not too difficult to understand, a person doesn't even have to be a lawyer. One can see however that judges could invent new definitions of words in this statute like they do in any other law. All in all it seems pretty reasonable to me. It is much more forgiving and kind than immigration laws in Latin American countries. You should see what the Mexicans to do immigrants from Central America, like Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the like. Those immigration officials south of the Rio Grande are not very nice. Beatings, rapes, tortures, you name, they do it. Read the law, then decide.

Ruth's Chris

We were invited to attend the pre-grand opening dress rehearsal of the Ruth's Chris Restaurant in downtown Salt Lake City, including a tour of the place, visiting with the owners, planners, managers etc. Jerry Sloan, coach of the Utah Jazz was there. I gave him a thumbs up and he gave me a big Sloan smile. There were other Salt Lake icons in and out. The atmosphere was great with a Dixieland band. The remodel of the location which was previously a bank is really tasteful. Being friends with one of the co-owners he described it as a miracle come true considering where they were 6 months ago.

The food was great. You can see that great effort is expended in preparing, presenting and delivering the food. I had some gumbo which was fantastic, the side orders, the appetizers and the entree were great. For dessert a wicked Chocolate Duo finished off the entire experience. I know I can't go every week to this fine restaurant but it is always going to be at the top of my list for special occasions. It is located on the corner of West Temple and 300 South in Salt Lake City. I give it a hearty thumbs up!

Opinion

Much has been said about "The New Law In Arizona" regarding immigration and illegal immigrants. I personally find it rather interesting that the main components of the law are nothing more than reiterations of existing Federal Statutes. I personally find the point of view of the Latin community racist. They think because their situation is unique and they have willy nilly penetrated the borders for years that their race gives them a superior position and more viability than say Canadian, European or Asian immigrants.

I lived in Mexico for 2 years, I have traveled and served all over Latin America, I have a love and fondness for the Latin people. Every Latin person I talk to senses that immediately. That does not mean however that I approve of their being here illegally. Sure, they want to improve their lives, and they often can do that here. But we need to seal the frontier, stop border crossings and begin to do this in an orderly and legal way. There is nothing racist, bigoted or unjust about that in any way shape or form. It is rational and it is right.

The people in Arizona who live on the border have a right, a Constitutional right, to have a semblance of peace and order in their towns and cities. The ranchers and farmers who live in the rural areas along the border do not have to cede their land to interlopers, drug dealers, and wayward people. They have a right, I would argue a Greater Right, to peacefully and safely and comfortably exist on their land, living their lives, providing for themselves.

The President is more than disingenuous when he suggests this law invades the civil rights of a group of people. All of us who are stopped by law enforcement have to produce identification and basic information about ourselves and the vehicle we are in. Canadians who are here legally, other foreign nationals who are here legally, but not yet citizens, are required to provide proof of their legal status basically on demand. This is not unreasonable.

I find it humorous to read of the City of Los Angeles boycotting Arizona. Maybe they should boycott the Colorado River too, because some of that water is in Arizona. Most cogent people realize that if Los Angeles or the State of California are for something, the reasonable and correct position is usually the exact opposite. Victor Davis Hanson amplifies it here.

My Wife's Mother's Day Gifts

Mother's Day is always a pretty cool day. It is especially nice when we have everybody home for a little while. The empty nester thing is nice but it is great to have our family around like we did today.

Now, sometimes it is hard to know what to get Mom for Mother's Day. My choice is the 12 volt drill. This one is light and easy for her to use. There are lots of occasions when my wife needs to drill a hole in the wall, or remove some screws what have you. Now she's set.

Of course, it brought a big laugh around the dinner table and she really did get a kick out of it. I will make amends in a few weeks. She wants an iPhone and we are going to get her one of the new ones.

The present she really loved was the creation by my daughter. It is a concrete slab, with broken colored glass in it with our oldest grandson Weston's footprint, and our youngest grandson Elijah's handprint. We will put it in our little garden near our front door. Happy Mother's Day to all of you Moms, Daughters, Grandmothers, Wives. You deserve it.

Baseball Card of the Week

They say old ball players never really die, they just go to the Great Ball Park in the sky. Robin Roberts has died at the age of 83. His career was just about over when I was a youngster following the major leagues everyday in the newspaper. I know he pitched for the Phillies and the Orioles. You can see the SABR biography here. There is also a nice little piece from Powerline here.

Roberts was a workhorse pitching many complete games. He was elected to the Hall of Fame 10 years after his retirement. He was hesitant to throw at batters which was in vogue then and he despised the intentional walk. His stubborn style led to him leading the league several times in home runs allowed.

We Are Back

Well, 9 fun filled days of drilling and filling are over. We had 101 people in our group down in Nicaragua. We drilled, filled, cleaned, extracted, examined and x-rayed over 500 people.

I examed this young man and did a few fillings on him. As you can see he has a large, black nevus on his lip. I asked him how long he had it and he said since he was born. He is a fairly handsome lad, but this thing is a destroyer of a social life, of self confidence, really of a lot of things. The oral surgeons with us looked at it and they felt it could be excised safely. So, they did it.

You can see the excision site and the suturing. This is going to be a life changing event for this young man that will bless his life measurably in the years to come. Another young man was diagnosed with a large cystic lesion in his mandible. There is talk of getting him here to the US to have the surgery necessary to treat the lesion and hopefully save his life.

The young Nicaraguans we treated were great. They are physically much smaller than us but they have big hearts.