Ho hummmmmmm.....well, I have been mournfully neglectful in keeping my on-line journal, but I have been very responsible about keeping my thoughts annotated in my hardback version. It has been a couple of weeks since I committed anything to my journal, and unfortunately I have some bad news....Renee's grandmother, "Mamoo", passed on the 4th of July. Boy oh boy. Though she is no longer suffering I am going to miss her a great deal. In the two years that Renee and I have been together I have grown quite fond of every member of her family, even Randall whom I have to spar with in some form or fashion every time we see one another. The family is holding together well, but there is a noticeable difference now that the "rock" is gone. Though Mamoo was suffering from dymensia, and her health was failing she still retained every part of the dignity that defined her. Out of everyone in the family I feel the most sympathy for Mr. Paul. He and Mamoo were married for over sixty-five years. Can you imagine that? He has retained his composure and has only allowed us to see him shed a few tears. But, I can see what lies behind that friendly smile and those ever analyzing gray eyes of his. Complete sadness.......I think about the life that he and Mamoo carved out and I wonder how things are going to be when Renee and I hit that point in our lives. Lord, I could not imagine having to watch as she breathed her last breath. I definitely would not want to be the one that remained. There are roughly 25 days until I get married...I installed a countdown clock on my webpage that will count down the days, hours, minutes, and seconds until Renee and I exchange our wedding vows. Boy oh boy how time has flown. As of yet, I have not felt the predicable twinges of nervousness or doubt. On the contrary, I am getting more and more excited by the moment at the prospect of beginning mh new life. Well, that is all for now, perhaps I will have time to include more information about my life later on in the day.....
Being an Officer...a Black one.....is sometimes hard. [Howard Rollins from "A Soldier's Story"] Sometimes being an Officer is difficult....not because of hard tasks, short timelines, or all of the worries involved in the care of your Soldier's, but the aura of professionalism and objectivity that you must display at all times. There have been many times that I have wanted to make a comment, yell, cuss at someone, or otherwise let my personal feelings be known about a subject, but unfortunately I could not because of my position. Let me tell you about two incidents that bothered me in particular. I was in Dallas Ft. Worth airport waiting to catch a flight on the last leg of my TDY trip to help a returning unit at Ft. Sill. As I went to my gate, I saw 4 Sailors in their black uniforms gathered at the gate...one was large and white, the other three were black. There was very little room, and many of them were standing intermingled with civilian airline passengers...
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