Complete version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" showing spelling and punctuation from Francis Scott Key's manuscript in the Maryland Historical Society collection.

O say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight
O'er the ramparts we watch'd were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bomb bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there,
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream,
'Tis the star-spangled banner O long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore,
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a Country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash'd out their foul footstep's pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand
Between their lov'd home and the war's desolation!
Blest with vict'ry and peace may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the power that hath made and preserv'd us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto -
"In God is our trust," And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
​O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. 

Navy Blue and Gold - Synopsis - Reference Wikipedia  

After each is accepted for admission to Navy, three midshipmen, Dick Gates, Roger Ash and "Truck" Cross, become roommates. Dick is the scion of a wealthy family, Roger a former star football player for another university, and Truck a sailor appointed from the fleet. With a common love of football, all three go out for the plebe squad. Dick is tricked into committing a rules violation by a disreputable upperclassman with a penchant for hazing and is severely paddled. Even though hazing is forbidden by regulations, Roger decides to get even on his own terms. Despite his egotism, his classmates as well as the upperclassmen respect him when he challenges the abuser to a boxing match and wins it.

As upperclassmen, the roommates become varsity players. Dick is undersized but makes the team as a kicker, while Truck becomes a star center. Roger has come to Navy only for the publicity value of playing for the school and makes no effort during a game against a lesser opponent. When varsity coach Tommy Milton benches him for being a "slacker," he goes AWOL. Truck and Dick also go AWOL and find him drunk in a bar. Caught by Milton trying to get Roger back to barracks, the academy's former football coach, Captain "Skinny" Dawes, covers for them with an adroit adherence to the academy's honor system.

Truck faces dismissal from the academy for not using his true name upon enrollment, revealed when he defends the sullied reputation of his father, a disgraced navy ship's captain, during a class discussion. Previously dismissive of academy traditions, Roger "prays" at the statue of Tecumseh for Truck's exoneration, overheard by Captain Dawes. Truck is dismissed but reinstated when the superintendent grants him clemency based on Truck's dedication to the navy and his father, who has been restored to duty with his record cleared. Truck arrives at the stadium in time to help his roommates win the Army-Navy game.  At the traditional ceremony celebrating Navy's victory, Roger demonstrates his new-found devotion to the academy by giving up his place of honor to Captain Dawes.

There were no black midshipman at Annapolis in 1937.

Racial discrimination ends at the conclusion of the Color Parade in June of 1976.  Gender barriers fall as well as women are now entering the United States Naval Academy in the summer of 1976.  Additional changes would have to unfold to adapt the Academy traditions to the customs and requirements for women.  One of those rules for uniforms would require that each female would have to carry her Navy purse at all times.  Females were also called midshipman because unlike the other service academies "Midshipman " is a rank in the Navy. This video shows the same old guy over 50 years old who would run us into the ground!  Brings back old memories.

             How do we know when it is the right time to end their suffering?  

I have been travelling quite a bit during this summer and when I returned home this past Thursday my wife Joyce had some disturbing news to tell me.  My first response was that it was something about the kids and there drama or other financial support.  I was returning from San Diego and driving home leaving the University of San Diego at 4:00 PM on a Thursday right the first day of Comic Con.  My pet and walking companion Tommy pictured above had returned from his routine grooming last week and the dog groomer reported what looked like a tumor in his left ear.  Well I am not one to believe the groomer so Joyce took him to the vet at 4:00 PM Thursday and had the results.  

Well, we had this conversation about eight months ago when Tommy could not walk and had severe hip pain.  When we took him to the Vet they wanted $500 just to run the test.  My response was immediate just put him to sleep because I'm not going to pay that type of money for a dog.  The Vet instead gave him a cortisone shot and then I conducted research and started to give him Glucosamine tablets for pain and joint and within three days he was fine and has not had any issues since. 

But Tommy has always been itching and scratching his left ear.  He was treated once when we first got him.  The decision to get Tommy boy as I call him often was not my choice.  I had a doberman pincer named Tomas that I had to give away because he was not allowed where we had to move after the 2008 Real Estate crash.  I loved that dog and did not want another one. But Joyce wanted a dog to walk because everyone (55+) had a dog in the community and would walk around the lake with their pets.  Well over time I am the one who walks Tommie.  Every morning like clock work this dog would wake me up between 4:30-5:00 AM every single morning. He has an alarm clock built right inside.  He uses stealth techniques to get me up each day.  

First he will wake up and shake his head so that I could hear the clinging noise of his dog tags. Next, he will walk and sit by the bed side and just stare at me just waiting for me to open my eyes.  Next he will jump on the bed and crawl very slowing over to my pillow and take his claw and scratch my pillow.  If that doesn't work he will next climb onto the pillow and position his face about two inches from my face and just wait but not more than a minute.  If that doesn't work then he just licks me in the face.  That always works.  So for the past seven years Tommy and I have taken long walks together about 1.5 to 2 miles a day.  But time has worn on both of us and we still walk but only after I drive to the park first.  He doesn't eat very well when I am away and he is always excited when I come home.  

Well the doctor visit for him did not bring about good news and my initial instinct was to put him down but this time is different because it's not about the money.  I have been fortunate through hard work to be a pillar in the family because I am the bank.  I have spent thousands of dollars digging my kids out of crap.  At first I told my wife no way!  But when I got home and saw his brown eyes and how much affection this little four legged animal shows for me this 63 year old man broke down to cry.  So against my logical reasoning I am choosing to make an emotional decision to try and prolong his life. 

His condition:
The prognosis is that Tommy has a tumor or inflammation growth in his left ear that will be removed surgically to conduct a biopsy to see if it is cancer or not.  If it is only on the surface and not in the ear canal then he will be OK but restricted for about three weeks.  If it is cancer and it goes beyond the surface into the ear canal then this would require more surgery and the cost is just out of this world and at that point I would have to put him down.  In fact I don't want to go through this much further.  I will be instructing the doctor to not wake him up if it is beyond the surface. The cost will be $1,100 dollars for this procedure on Monday at 6:30 AM.  I will keep you posted.


                                                         Lesson Learned
If you really love your pet then take them for regular annual checkups like we do for ourselves.


Posted Feb 16, 2012

Three hundred years from now, every eighth-grade history book will contain some picture of Joe standing in front of a barrel of burning human excrement. Every enlisted Marine did it, and every veteran remembers the smells, the thoughts, and the odd feeling of stirring poop stew. During my tour in Desert Shield/Desert Storm, this photo was the norm. Somewhere, everywhere, the plume of burning poop let the world know “America means business.”

Try to explain the urinal system you used in the combat zone. We used ‘piss tubes’ as we referred to them. They were large fuel barrels buried in ground with screen wire across the barrel at ground level. You stood at the piss tube in front of God and everyone to take a piss. Diesel fuel was used to keep down smell. I never heard of any of them filling up to where they were to be pulled out of ground and emptied somewhere. Now that would have been a whole new detail. What an experience…I’ll never forget it either.

Read Annapolis Creed for a real poop story at Lonesome Dove..Not exactly what you might think.
~Annapolis Creed

During a recent trip to Washington, D.C. I had the opportunity to see a presentation by John Schaus from the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) otherwise known as a Think Tank (Collective group of the best minds in the world).   

​In an hour-long presentation given by John Schaus, a team of educators explore where these drivers currently stand, and engage the audience on how decisions today can change the course of the seven revolutions. Seven Revolutions is a framework for considering the future—and how you and your organization can be successful in it.  This information is important to those like myself preparing the students of today for the jobs of tomorrow.

Have you considered how a global population of 9 billion people by the middle of the century will impact your life? What are the challenges for the availability of food, water, and energy resources? How will society balance the benefits of technological innovation and advanced communication with the threat of cyber security? How will global economic integration and governance affect trade, markets, and commerce overall?

To answer questions like these, the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) embarked on an initiative in 1992 to address and analyze the key policy challenges that policymakers, business figures, and other leaders will face out to the year 2035 & beyond. It is an effort to promote strategic thinking about the long-term trends that too few take the time to consider. Though our research is constantly evolving, we created this guide as a snapshot for what we call the Seven Revolutions.
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The key points of this research have been captured in an exciting, fast-paced, multimedia presentation that has been given around the world—from governments to private corporations to academia to nongovernmental organizations. Seven Revolutions is constantly updated to reflect the latest data analysis and available technologies. It is an effective tool for pushing audiences to think outside of their areas of expertise and beyond their familiar planning parameters.
In exploring the world of 2035, the seven areas of change we have identified are: