Remember....

Take 10 minutes today to remember those who gave everything for liberty...

 

Memorial Day - Black Panther Style

This Memorial Day I wanted something a little different. This video I found on You Tube it is the reenactment of the capture of a German prisoner in the Saint Nazaire area of France by the 66th Infantry Division. My Grandfather was a member of the 66th Infantry. The people of St. Nazaire made this video as a "Thank you" to the 66th for liberating their town of German occupation. If my Grandpa was alive today I believe he would say a simple "Your Welcome."

Thank You Grandpa for putting your life on the line for freedom. Thank You, to all the American soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines for keeping us free!

Turn out the Lights the Party's Over

I remember watching Monday Night Football and "Dandy" Don Meredith would sing this when the losing team had no chance to win. Fitting that Don passed away on the same day the Denver Broncos were eliminated from the playoffs. So this one's for "Dandy" Don and the Denver Broncos....

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! May God bless you and keep your families safe.

Here are some good Thanksgiving Day quotes

Thanksgiving is a season that is very much in accord with the themes and teachings of Jesus Christ.
John Clayton

To give thanks in solitude is enough. Thanksgiving has wings and goes where it must go. Your prayer knows much more about it than you do.
Victor Hugo

Christians were instructed to serve others, and the thanksgiving was for the grace of God and the fact that God offered a way for man to return to a positive relationship with Him.
John Clayton

My whole problem is that all of my favorite things at Thanksgiving are the starches, and everyone is trying to go low-carb this year, even a green vegetable has carbs in it.
Ted Allen

My cooking is so bad my kids thought Thanksgiving was to commemorate Pearl Harbor.
Phyllis Diller

If you think Independence Day is America's defining holiday, think again. Thanksgiving deserves that title, hands-down.
Tony Snow

Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence.
Erma Bombeck

Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.
Henry Van Dyke

A lot of Thanksgiving days have been ruined by not carving the turkey in the kitchen.
Kin Hubbard

Dear Lord; we beg but one boon more: Peace in the hearts of all men living, peace in the whole world this Thanksgiving.
Joseph Auslander

I celebrated Thanksgiving in an old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land.
Jon Stewart

It's like being at the kids' table at Thanksgiving - you can put your elbows on it, you don't have to talk politics... no matter how old I get, there's always a part of me that's sitting there.
John Hughes

My favorite meal is turkey and mashed potatoes. I love Thanksgiving, it's just my favorite. I can have Thanksgiving all year round.
Cindy Margolis

Thanksgiving, man. Not a good day to be my pants.
Kevin James

Thanksgiving is a time when the world gets to see just how blessed and how workable the Christian system is. The emphasis is not on giving or buying, but on being thankful and expressing that appreciation to God and to one another.
John Clayton

There is one day that is ours. Thanksgiving Day is the one day that is purely American.
O. Henry

Craftsman of Honor - Cody Alicea

There are many adults that don't understand what honor is, but this 13 year-old understands. At 13 he did all that he knew how to do, he flew a flag on his bike. He was told by the school that he could not carry a flag on his bike to school, and this end result places him amongst Plumb and Square's Craftsmen of Honor....

Veteran's Day 2010 - Take Two Minutes-Would You Mind?

Today is Veterans Day. I put a lot of videos up on the site because I like music (but can't play a CD in tune)and it makes it easier for me to remember stuff or just have a good laugh. This video has a message that is pretty good and it proposes something I think I will do today. At 11am stop for two minutes for a moment of silence for our Veterans. Reflect on what our veterans have done you. Thank You Veterans! We love you.

Epilogue - Colorado Governor's Race

The race is now over and we have all had a week or so to digest the results, now I'd like to put my thoughts down on this insane Governor's race in Colorado. First off, I will congratulate Governor-elect  Hickenlooper. We voted and you won. We can now prepare for higher taxes and more regulation. I do believe you will be a one term Governor, assuming the Colorado Republican Party can pull it's head out of it's ass. So Mayor Hickenlooper enjoy your stay at 400 E. 8th Avenue while you can because we will be back in 2014.

That brings me to the other players in the Governors race:

Dan Maes

I read Dan Maes Facebook notes on the election and the only thing I could think of while I was reading them was: "Stop your damn whining and get over it already, it's time to pull up your big boy pants and move on to another endeavor because your shot at politics is over."

Tom Tancredo

Did Tom do the right thing by jumping into the Governor's race? I think he did. He stood up what he believed was a bad choice for a Republican canidate.  About 617,000 other Coloradoans also believed an error was made in the primary.

Scott McInnis

I hope future candidates have learned a thing about ethics from Mr. McInnis. Scott made an ethical mistake and it cost him the Governor's seat.

Joshua Penry


Don't you wish you would have stayed in the race now?

Republican Party of Colorado


Maybe you should find a better method of vetting your candidates before they make it to the primary, so this crap doesn't happen again.

Coloradans

This was one of the few political races, this year, that wasn't a referendum on some policy or lack of policy. It wasn't even a race about an specific ideology. This was a race about values. The values of honesty, humility, sincerity and personal responsibility. You can debate weather the participating candidates have any those values or not but one thing is for certain, the voters in the State of Colorado do have those values and their voice was heard.

I don't believe that I will like the policies that a Governor Hickenlooper will bring to the office, but he won because he was the least questionable person in the race. In a way it was inspiring that Hickenlooper won because it means that the people of Colorado stood up for values even if it cost them an election. That is a reason to be proud.

Marines 235 Birthday!

On November 10, 1775, the Continental Congress created two battalions of Continental Marines. Captain Samuel Nicholas was their first Commandant. They have been protecting each one of us ever since...



Here's a standard cadence from the Marines that pretty much sums up Marine dedication...




All I can say is: Thank you so much for protecting me!

Rebels take Yorktown!!!

On this day in 1781 the rebel American Army accepted the surrender of Chuck Cornwallis at Yorktown, for that I felt a little Yankee Doodle was in order...

Happy Birthday U.S. Navy!

On October 13, 1775 the United States Navy was established. The U.S Congress established the U.S Navy, deciding to outfit two sailing ships with guns.

Sailors have served and died all over this globe for your freedom, if you know a sailor let them know today.  There were two members of my family that were members of the Navy. My brother which crossed the "Line of Death" near Libya and my father-in-law who was a Senior Chief and was in the Navy for 23 years. To them and all the sailors everywhere, Thank you and Happy Birthday!

(I apologize for missing the actual date by a day)

Craftsmen of Honor - Chi-Chi-Chi-le-le-le

This month's Craftsmen of Honor goes to the 33 Chilean miners and their rescuers. The miners were underground for 69 days and at least at first were living off meager rations, in cramped quarters. At first the miners had to be wondering if they would ever be found. Once they were found they had to ponder their fate even as they rose up in the rescue capsule. Those miners working as a team for those 69 days, not knowing your own fate, is truly honorable.

The rescuers also deserve this award. There were hundreds (thousands?) involved all over the world to free the miners. This was truly remarkable how many people with many different skills and cultures did everything they could to free these men.

A special honor of note: Manuel Gonzalez was the first rescuer to be lowered into the mine via the rescue capsule and he was the last man pulled from the mine. It takes incredible courage and honor to be lowered via an untested capsule, 1/2 mile down a newly drilled hole, not knowing if you you will survive or the rescue, all to save your fellow man.

Watching the men as they arrived at the surface was an awesome sight to see. One in particular choked me up a bit. The second man removed from the mine, Mario Sepúlveda got to the surface and went into a bag he brought up with him from the mine and started pulling out rocks and giving them to his rescuers and the Chilean President. All I thought was this man has given them all he could give, all he had was rocks and he gave them to the rescuers. A very touching site.

The last thing that I noticed as I watched the rescue efforts through out the day was the patriotism of the miners, their families and the rescuers. I don't think I could have seen any better examples of honoring God, family, then country. I know much will be written about this event (as should be) but let me start by saying...

Chi-Chi-Chi-le-le-le

Larry Hunt October 12, 1921 - September 28, 1981

Today I drift away from politics and into the personal for a post. If you have noticed there is a Black Panther on the right side of the blog page. That is the unit that my grandfather was a member during World War 2. If you click on that picture you can read a post I wrote about an event which happened to his unit during the war.

Everybody has a mentor and some sort of hero. Larry Hunt (Grandpa) was mine. I was very young when he passed away, but I still think WWGD (What Would Grandpa Do?) when I make decisions.

Grandpa was very quite and a very hard worker. He was wounded on June 20th just after the war with Europe was over. He was wounded by an accidental shooting in the barracks while a fellow Panther was cleaning his rifle.

Grandpa was an Ombudsman for Public Service (remember Public Service?) and when he wasn't working or "on call" with them he hauled oil to and from Brush, Colorado and Denver. In his "spare time" he was a volunteer fire fighter. He never stopped. Ever.

I was always in awe of the work he did. I've seen him shimmy up a power pole in seconds with spikes to install a light. He gave me a personalized trip to the yard where his truck was stored. I got the privileged to ride with him in his truck from the parking space to the fueling pumps. It wasn't a long trip but a good one.

On the weekends when he wasn't working, and I am sure exhausted, He would take "naps" in on the living room floor. He would rest his head in his arms, his knees on the floor and his grand kids would slide down his back.

I remember a move my family made from Montrose to Sterling (about 400 miles). It was the middle of winter. Grandpa drove that U-Haul truck over Monarch Pass in the snow to Sterling. We unloaded the truck and he drove it back to Montrose the same day. I was in awe.

So this is just a post to say Happy Birthday Grandpa, I miss you.

Update - 33 Chilean miners

The holes that are being drilled to free the 33 Chilean miners are expected punch through today or tomorrow. Then the engineers will examine (by camera) the whole shaft to decide if it needs to be cased or not. Right now they are deciding the order the miners will go up the hole. The entire update story on FOX can be found here. This is the link to my original blog post about the incident.

Continue praying for these miners they really need a bit of comfort from God at this time.

Craftsman of Honor - Salvatore Giunta

My selection for September's "Craftsman of Honor" is Salvatore Giunta. This was an easy choice for me in light of  SSgt. Giunta's honorable actions.  This month SSgt. Giunta  was awarded the Medal of Honor (a far greater accomplishment then the Plumb and Square Craftsman of Honor). He is the only living recipient to receive the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War.

The White House action account:

Then-Specialist Salvatore A. Giunta distinguished himself by acts of gallantry at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a rifle team leader with Company B, 2d Battalion (Airborne), 503d Infantry Regiment during combat operations against an armed enemy in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan on October 25, 2007. When an insurgent force ambush split Specialist Giunta's squad into two groups, he exposed himself to enemy fire to pull a comrade back to cover. Later, while engaging the enemy and attempting to link up with the rest of his squad, Specialist Giunta noticed two insurgents carrying away a fellow soldier. He immediately engaged the enemy, killing one and wounding the other, and provided medical aid to his wounded comrade while the rest of his squad caught up and provided security. His courage and leadership while under extreme enemy fire were integral to his platoon's ability to defeat an enemy ambush and recover a fellow American paratrooper from enemy hands.

I think that the only thing that I can say to SSgt. Giunta is ....Thank You.

Where Were You September 11?.....Where Are You Now?

I was in a a very large warehouse complex about 10 miles north of the small town of Sidney, NE. I was working, supervising a Receiving Department crew. We had no access to television, just radio. News came over the radio that a bomb had went off at the World Trade Center. Then very quickly after that news came that it was a plane and everybody was going to be OK. I could feel the relief...until the next news came.... a plane had hit both Twin Tower buildings. Then the Pentagon...

Fifty people in the area where I worked fell silent. Not a noise. It was an eerie silence. Like we all knew this was bad, very bad. The trucks in the lot fell silent. Motorized equipment stopped. Not a word was said. No work was being done. Then the fear set in...

Even though we were in a place that was remote in location, employees were genuinely afraid of being attacked. I don't know if it was the shock of event or the just memory of passing three nuclear missile silos on the the way to work just a couple of hours before. Whatever the reason fear gripped everybody. By the time we had heard of the Pennsylvania crash, are work near completion for the day and our Manager and I decided that it was best to let everyone go home. That was what I remember of 9-11-2001. The silence and the fear.

I lost no loved ones on that day, or even knew anybody who did, but it changed me. It changed how I thought... how I lived. I held no interest in news or world events before that day. For that matter I didn't even care about anybody else in general. Life was all about me. I was busy trying to make my career my life. Chasing the almighty buck. On that day I realized that no matter what you earn at a job or what title you have, it all means nothing when they place a rock with your name on it 6 feet above your head, on the ground.

Now, nine years later what we have learned as individuals and as a nation? I have heard of many different events and stories that occurred, because of 9/11, in peoples lives. Marriages, changes in occupation, lost relatives found, reaffirmation with God. Americans made decisions that made their lives better.

As a nation we started taking more security precautions, commenced two wars against terrorism and became more vigilant about locating possible "bad guys" that want to cause us harm.

Today we remember those 3,000 people lost. We ponder what could have been their possibilities in life. We think of how they were robbed of those possibilities. We weep of their loss. I believe that these heroes gave everything they could give, to help the rest of us to wake up to our own possibilities. Have you woke up to your possibilities? Do your actions tarnish or epitomize the memory of 9/11 heroes?

This year the memory of that September day is affecting me harder than most years in the past. I do not know why. What I do know is I will never forget the silence and fear I felt on that terrible day. I pray today that I can use the silence and fear I felt on September 11 to reconnect with God.

Working Man Happy Labor Day 2010

Here's a little video I did for the working man. Have a happy and safe holiday.

Craftsman of Honor - Gary Sinise

The last line of the Declaration of Independence states: "And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor."

I have decided that I need to be highlighting people that have pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. Every month I will be "awarding" a Craftsman of Honor Award (There is no plaque or anything just a nice piece written in this blog...it is a pretty low budget operation here at Plumb and Square).

This first Craftsman of Honor award goes to Gary Sinise. You might wonder why I would select a Hollywood personality as a person of honor. Hollywood is not a bastion of honorable people which makes being honorable that much more difficult. Just imagine all of your co-workers and potential employers not agreeing with very much or anything that you support. That is someone to hightlight.

These are some of the things that Gary Sinise has done to achieve the Craftsman of Honor for August 2010:

1) Co-founded Operation Iraqi Children (Now called Operation International Children) who's mission it is to bring school supplies to children all over the world that are supported by American troops.

2) Sinise currently serves as the National Spokesperson for the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial. He spends much of his time raising awareness for the Memorial and other veterans' service organizations.

3) Since 2006, Sinise has co-narrated the National Memorial Day Concert on the Mall in Washington, D.C.

4) Gary plays in the Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band, which plays for troops all over the world.

5) Gary supports the group Building Homes for Heroes which builds houses for disabled veterans.

This is a small list of the many things he has done, and he has done it under the scrutiny of Hollywierd. This a person that fits the Plumb and Square mold of Craftsman of Honor.

We Remember - No Mosque at Ground Zero

Here is the ad called We Remember by a group of 9-11 families and the mosque at Ground Zero, very powerful...

Run like Floyd...

I am of the age that I just barley got to start watching Floyd Little and he retired. I was trying to figure out how football was played and I remember someone (I think it was my Dad) saying "on a running play you give it to Floyd and get a first down". I thought Floyd was the name of the position. So when other teams would hand the ball off, I thought they were handing off to their "Floyd". Then over the years I have watched replays of his plays and I have seen what I have missed. Floyd Little was a great runner. A great Denver Bronco.

It is about time that they put Floyd Little in the Hall of Fame. It is a fitting place with all the other great "Floyds" out there!

65 Years Ago Today - We Won a War

Sixty-five years ago today, Paul Tibbits piloted his B-29 bomber over Hiroshima, Japan and dropped "Little Boy" to an unsuspecting city. Now today we are told that we are supposed to apologize for that action. Horse-pucky! That and the bombing of Nagasaki saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans and her allies that would have occurred during the invasion of Japan.

The Japanese nation attacked our ships in Pearl Harbor, killed our men in Midway, Guadalcanal, the Philippines, and many many other places. They were so determined in their cause that they placed their own young men into an airplane and had them fly into our ships, killing our men.

President Truman had no choice but to do as much damage as he possibly could, to SAVE OUR MEN. Our citizens were in danger and he protected them, we should never be sorry for those actions. President Truman made a difficult decision that any leader, that loves his country, would have made.

Now 65 years later we have a President that has so little regard for his own country that he will allow for an enemy mosque to be built within blocks of Ground Zero. This mosque is a way for radical Islamists to celebrate a battle won. This should not be allowed to happen.

The next thing you know King Obama will ask for us to place a monument at Pearl Harbor to celebrate the Japanese attack of December 7th. Should we start looking for statues of Hitler at the World War 2 Memorial in Washington D.C.?

We should always remember August 6th. Not as a day that killed 50,000 Japanese but as day that saved the lives of 500,000 Americans, and a great leader that made that difficult decision.