Icewind's Ramblings

I had the pleasure of hearing this several times many years ago in Atlanta during concerts by John Denver.   It was relevant back then and continues today with the world on the brink of unthinkable horror to each other. As you approach the holiday season please be mindful of those who serve and those who are less fortunate than ourselves, enjoy the holiday season.   In this holiday season . . . I give you “The Box”   Once upon a time in the land of hushabye Around about the wondrous days of yore They came across a sort of Box Bound up with chains and locked with locks And labeled “Kindly do not touch, its War!” Decree was issued round about All with a flourish and a shout And a gaily colored mascot tripping lightly on before Don’t fiddle with this deadly box or break the chains or pick the locks And please, don’t ever play about with War Well, the children understood Children happen to be good They were just as good around the time of ...

I had posted this in 2007 and thought it appropriate to re-post again this year and with FaceBook now in the forefront it can go around once again. In our troubling times that we live today and the uncertainties that face many peoples and nations, I am reminded of an earlier time in a place called “No Man’s Land” during World War I.   During that time an act of humanity happened that went beyond rank and reason . . . and so . . . Christmas Truce . . . * The truce began on Christmas Eve , December 24 , 1914 , when German troops began decorating the area around their trenches in the region of Ypres , Belgium , for Christmas . They began by placing candles on trees, then continued the celebration by singing Christmas carols , most notably Stille Nacht ( Silent Night ). The British troops in the trenches across from them responded by singing English carols. The two sides continued by shouting Christmas greetings to each other. Soon thereafter, there were calls for visits ac...

I saw in today’s paper that there were over 50 vehicles in the ditches around Anchorage yesterday.   It doesn’t surprise me as it seems people making the drive out to the valley do crazy things while making that commute back and forth every day.   It snowed about 3 inches yesterday and again last night.   It lingered into the evening hours but late last night things were getting back to normal when temps started falling again and yes, it finally HAPPENED!!!!. I was shocked to see things had gone crazy here. While out running errands on my day off for Veterans Day this dick in a truck pulled out in front of me on the way home as it has been snowing all day and everything was slick and people were upside down in the ditches.   I was able to avoid and miss this nut but couldn't quite catch up to him to get a license plate number.   Luckily I do keep a camera with me for job pictures so I was able to get a quick picture to help me find him again.   If anyo...

I have been asked by some friends on Facebook to post “A Soldier’s Prayer” but before I do I wanted to give a little perspective into the Civil War and the turmoil going on in this country at the time.   There are still problems in this country and around the world but we continually strive to live in hopes of a better world.   Do your part to remember those from our past and those of our future whose sacrifice gives us the Freedoms we enjoy today. July 2, 1863 during the battle of Gettysburg in the area of Devil’s Den this prayer was written by a dying confederate soldier.   There are conflicting stories over the years whether it was found folded in his pocket or written in blood on the floor next to his body.   Either way it gives great perspective into life and living. Casualty figures for the second day of Gettysburg are difficult to assess because both armies reported by unit after the full battle, not by day.   One estimate is that the Confederates lo...

It is hard to believe that it has been 20 years since the start of Desert Storm in the Gulf War to rid Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, Iraq still owes its smaller neighbor billions in reparations and more than 1,000 people are still missing. Saddam is long gone . . . many of us only remember his statute falling at one of his palaces and the excellent “war” coverage by CNN. It was in August 1990 that Iraq invaded, declaring that Kuwait was its 19th province.  The United States led a counteroffensive starting January 16, 1991. War came to television in real time with the CNN broadcast by Peter Arnett, Bernard Shaw, and John Holliman who gave us continuous coverage from Baghdad for the first 16 intense hours from their room in the Al-Rashid Hotel.  January 17, 1991 the world’s new organizations and everyone on the planet was captivated by what was happening. Wolf Blitzer and Nic Robertson (the sound man during that broadcast) look back at the start of the war and it is i...

Remember the Fallen . . . The face in the picture drew me in.   So much warmth and vitality in his smiling face.   What would he have been like today?   A doctor?   A writer?   A businessman?   Hard working and good-humored I am sure of that much.   I think he would have been a great family man and, if a father, full of love and warmth for his children.   These were dreams unrealized because of a life far too short. As my eyes widened to that inward reflection, I wondered why things had turned out the way they did.   It could just as easily been me long since dead.   This is the burden of one who remains.   Survivor guilt. I can hear his voice so clearly and after so many years as we waded in the surf of the South China Sea. "Are you afraid of dying D?"   "I never really thought about it Jim.   No, I guess not." "I am." The humid air and blazing sun baked us. Jim's comments dampened the conversation and made me u...

I’ve said it before . . . one of the problems with elections is eventually after all the fliers, commercials, rally’s, and finger pointing . . . you have to elect someone. How did it come to a time when you are voting for the ‘lesser’ of evil in the candidates? Many a long hard fought battles have taken place in this country . . . and it is from Gettysburg that we were reminded: “. . . It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.   It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” November 19,...

Alaska and the nation lost a great fighter for the American way of life especially in “The Last Frontier” yesterday when a floatplane he was in crashed in the mountains of western Alaska near Dillingham.                                      (origin of photo unknown) Of the nine people on board the aircraft, four people survived the crash. “Uncle Ted” as most Alaskans called him fought hard to bring Alaska from a Territory to statehood.  His legacy will be the 49 th star on the American flag as well as his tireless work to bring a better way of life for rural Alaskans, mostly natives who continue the subsistence lifestyle of many generations. As word spread last night and into this morning of his being on the downed aircraft the wave of concern and remembrances flowed from all sections of the...

Several plane flights and a sled dog ride driven by schoolchildren helped kick off the 2010 Census in the United States .  Alaskans in rural communities not linked by roads have been the first people counted since the 1990 census. The village of Noorvik had the honor of kicking off the official count of our citizens and Clifton Jackson, a World War II veteran and the village’s oldest resident at 89 was the first person counted.  Noorvik is an Inupiat Eskimo community of six hundred fifty residents.  After gathering with village officials and elders U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Groves along with other census takers were greeted to a celebration and a day of festivities including a potlatch dinner.  There was a sampling of muktuk . . . strips of bowhead whale skin and blubber along with traditional dances, an Inupiat fashion show including a feast of caribou soup and baked bearded seal. It was a heat wave as the temperature hovered around zero compar...

November 11 has always had special meaning to me over the years for the un-selfless sacrifice given by our men and women in the military. This year is no exception but with added meaning this year as my daughter Kelly is serving in Iraq right now with her fellow troops and friends. This is Kelly in the cockpit of the C-130 that took her into Iraq.  She rode in a jump seat behind the pilots with one of her other troop.   She has always liked the beach and lives in Fort Walton Beach, Florida with her husband and young son when not on tour.  She has plenty of sand now but not exactly what she is used too. A group of friends I know had another reunion concert recently in North Carolina and from that came one of their songs that has always been one of my favorites. It is a variation on the American Trilogy that Elvis did so many years ago from which the guys with Cullowhee added to give it more impact especially to those of us from the South.  Mike ...