Devil Dogs,
We should get this going again. Or, at the very least stay more active with emails or facebook. How about posting your thoughts for staying in touch with one another?
Semper Fi
Otto

Looking forward to the next re-union. As far as the SAT, I have plenty of ideas. I'd like to talk directly to your son to get things started. here's my phone number. (516) 754 - 0571. I keep my phone off when I'm with students, which is quite often. Leave me a message with a good time to call, and I'll give him every bit of info that I can.

Just wanted to say Hey!

Wow! I didn't realize anyone was posting here any more. I hadn't
actually been here in so long. I see that Otto lives anyway. And Ron
of course is faithful to try and stay in touch. I hope everyone is doing
well. I still have a job along with Denise, even though she would love
to find a new one. The boys are both healthy with Trevor winding
down on his second year at The Citadel. He is now a Corporal.
And Austin needs to study so he can retake his SAT and try to
boost his scores from his first time out.
Any great recommendations Otto?

OMG!!!  We're going to release the prisoners from Gitmo?  Where are they going to go?  Maybe Obama should let them sleep in the Lincoln bedroom, for Christ's sake!  I recently got caught up in a discussion about this with some colleagues and friends.  I appeared to be the only one who thought this a bad idea.  I posed this question: "Your daughter has been kidnapped and will be killed within 24 hours.  The person who has the information that will set her free is in your custody.  What do you do?"  One of them looked at me and asked: "Water-boarding?"  I said that I would do anything to save my daughter.  Someone else chimed in, "Would you kill me if it meant saving your daughter?"  My response: "In a heart beat!"  The conversation ended there.  Oh well!  

Here's wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  Let us never forget our comrades in arms that continue in harms way.  May God Bless all of them, may God Bless all of you, and  may God Bless America!

Semper Fi Marines!

TEN HUT!!!  Top - o - the morning Dragons,

Here's wishing all of you and your loved ones a very Happy Thanksgiving!  

Have Fun!

Semper Fi!

Otto

As I head out today to tutor some more students in the fine art of test taking, I just had to stop for a moment and wish my Brothers a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!   As several of our Brothers and Sisters are in harms way, we should all pause and thank God that we live in the Greatest Nation ever created !  God Bless America, God Bless The United States Marines, and may GOD BLESS ALL OF YOU!

If nothing else, this should give everyone reason to pause and think...: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTp_atr2G9E

As Walter said in comments below you can find similarities where ever you want. It is going to be one big wait and see thing. I do hope for the best, but face it, any politician would find these times difficult. I do see the ignorant populace celebrating, but hey, that happens on both sides everytime.
As for my situation, I am heartend by the fact that after ten years they've come up with a diagnosis, but I hold no illusions about the VA's ability to improve my situation. Most of the people in the detox program here are detoxifying from meds overproscribed by the VA. I'm sticking to NSAID s for now. We'll see.

It is scary to think where this country might be in few years if more people don't get involved and understand what's at stake.   But more importantly George, how are you doing?  Are the doctors doing anything good for you?

It's Going To Get Interesting

Glad to see this forum getting some use.
Otto, I spoke to my Tante Helga yesterday, and she gave the opinion that Obama and his rise to power are very similar to Hitlers. Poor economic times, international aggression, rising prices, etc. Next comes restricting freedom in the name of national security, wait we're doing that already.

So I'm thinking I should quit my job and let all the Socialists pay my bills.  What do you think?

I voted this morning, and couldn't help but wonder how many people actually bothered to really check out their choice.  Anyone who has studied the life of Adolf Hitler cannot possibly miss the striking similarity between him and Barack Obama.

We vote tomorrow!  Let us all hope and pray that the majority vote the right way.  I recently picked up a book by Ted Nugent titled: Ted, White and BLue.  Really quite interesting.  I seem to agree with him on a lot of his points.  One being that we should rely on ourselves more, and government less.  In other words, the kind of country envisioned by Obama and Hillary, will do nothing more than make us all slaves to the state.  As far as I'm concerned that is simply not acceptable.  The kind of help that I want from the government is to get out of my pay check and give me 100% unlimited free health care which I earned.  Anyway, I am looking forward to the next reunion and seeing all of you Leathernecks again!

Semper Fi!

Good Day Dragons,

The business of standardized testing is still going strong.  It is very much a recession proof business, because no matter what happens to the economy, parents always want to do right by their kids.  Some people also see a bad economy as a reason to go back to school.  

George, as you know I have been fighting a very rare form of arthritis for a long time now.  I had to decide a long time ago that I was not going to let it keep me down.  I wake up every day in excruciating pain, which does not go away.  When I finally pass out at the end of the day, is the only time that I have any kind of relief.  So I can certainly empathize with what you are going through.  One benefit of my current job is that it keeps my mind on the students and the tests, and off the pain.  I seem to be able to mentally compartmentalize a lot of things now, so I try to ignore it as long as possible every day. 

Nelson, I enjoyed the pictures on Face-book of your children.  They must have one drop dead gorgeous Mom, because I think we all know they didn't get those good looks from you !!!  Hey JK!  Glad to hear you came through the surgery and things are looking up.

Andy, I'm proud and happy for you that you got your children off to college.  Way to go!!!   I hope for their sake that they don't get stuck with some wacko professor who thinks he or she needs to infect them with some radical way of thinking about life or this country.   But I'm sure that between you and Connie you've prepared them well for that kind of nonsense. 

Everyone else, I'll have to single you out on a subsequent post, need to get back to my student and his test.  Until next time,

Semper FI!

Otto

P.S.  Don't forget to vote!!!  Once again, our country is depending on us to do the right thing!

something I saw today

A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life wrote a blank check Made payable to 'The United States of America ' for an amount of 'up to and including my life.' That is Honor, and there are way too many people in This country who no longer understand it.'

Let's Try This Some More

Greetings Dragons and 81's,

It is with mixed emotions that I realise that it took the death of a Dragon to get most of us off our ass and resume communicating. A few of you have indicated a desire to Blog at this site, I'll be sending out invitations again. The e-mail you recieve will be from Blogger not me. It doesn't ask for any "real " information....thats one of the reasons I picked this service way back when,
when you had to pay for it.

Reunion News:

There will be one this coming summer. Mik is doing the Organising.There will be NO voting because it doesn't produce a result. there will be announcement from Mik within a couple of weeks with the timeline. What you all can do is help with a contact list, I'm sending this as an e-mail as well as a Blog post, check the addresses I sent it to, against what you have. and e-mail me back at nomorks@yahoo.com with any updates or omissions.
Semper Fi,
Ron

Merry Christmas and Great 2008

Merry Christmas to all my Dragon brothers and those 81s too. I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday and a healthy and prosperous year in 2008. George, your Patriots are amazing. Remember, and pray for our brothers overseas.
Mik

Happy Birthday

Yeah, I know I'm a day early but I got tired of seeing the "beer" post at the top if the Blog.
How is the reunion going? Most people need a date soon so as they can make plans. Otto how is the contact info going?
The cold weather is setting in here 20's at night 40's during the day, work is getting spotty with all the holidays coming up. Health is pretty good, kids are all doing good in school, so life goes on

Hey Hunter. You might not have gotten any beer but others did. And how the hell could I have had a truckload of beer when my truck was filled with everything that you saw at the reunion? Two cases does not a truckload make.

Whaz up guys. It's kinda crazy how I go and forget
to look at the blog for a few days and then come back
to see the conversation that is going on. It's good to
see.

Did you get that spreadsheet Otto? I think it is likely
that most of that contact info is still pretty useful. To
tell the truth I can't even remember if I changed my
own personal info before I sent it. I still have a group
distribution list in Outlook for all the emails I sent out
last time. I will forward that to you along with sending
out an email to that list of contacts to give everyone a
heads up that is on the list and maybe doesn't know
what is happening here.

North Carolina has my vote.

My Two Cents

I agree with Tim in general. From past experience, the biggest priorities are 1 setting a date, toss out two, allow two weeks for a vote and then that settles it. 2 try to get in touch with everyone, and send the info to Otto.

Reunion

I'm not sure if I will be able to attend this reunion, but I have a spare two cents even if I don't. I'm sorry to hear that the West Coast "thing" fell through. I like the San Diego idea. Lake Tahoe sounds good, too. There is always later.

Convenience for those who are flying and only have the weekend is the most important thing for me in selecting a location. After talking with Bill Weidow, I understand that air travel into Jacksonville, N.C. is fairly easy.

The important thing for now is reaching out to EVERYONE you know of to determine prospective attendees. Knowing how many people may be there gives you a perspective scale for making arrangements for lodging and meals. Most people should still be "reachable" on the data from five years ago. It would be nice if those who won't be able to attend could send some pictures and a note regarding their lives since they got out of the Marines.

Speaking personally, I am not that much on formality. I would be happier reserving tables at an all-you-can-eat buffet or a pizza joint than reserving a banquet room at a hotel. A barbecue or picnic in a park is OK with me, as well.

I'm not a bar kind of guy, either. Depending on how many people confirm attending, I would be interested in possibly reserving a gathering room in a hotel, full-time, or, at least for the evenings. I would feel more comfortable drinking the beer I like in a room that is for us, and only us, rather than being at the mercy of a hotel bar. Last reunion, Mike Gerth showed up with a truck load of beer. Sadly, Mike Gerth drove home with the same truck load of beer. If I do attend this reunion, I look forward to the possibility of drinking more Yuengling, if possible. Yuengling is great beer. Do they have Yuengling in North Carolina?

It would be nice to set up communications for anyone who may be able to arrive earlier for the reunion. I had no idea anyone else would show up early for the last one. Knowing who to look for, where, and when would be helpful for those who have more time to dedicate to the reunion.

A few thoughts.....
Talking with Tim Hunter last night, we agreed on a few things, I'll share some of those things and then some other ideas.
We need to decide fairly soon where to have the reunion. Some folks will need more time than others to get vacation approval, make all sorts of arrangements, etc. I cast my vote for Andy and Big Dow's current locale. I'm confident that Andy can arrange a visit to PLT. Sgt. School or SOI/MCT, and possibly get us some trigger time on the new weapons that are currently in the inventory. Having said that, I humbly submit my idea for a name for this undertaking:
"OPERATION NEW SHOOTS FOR OLD COOTS"!
Anyway, once we have a concensus on location, we also need to narrow down the dates. On this issue I would suggest a time that the weather is generally comfortable. Andy and Big Dow can fill us in on that.
Lastly, if everyone would like to email me their most up to date address, marital status, childrens names, etc., I'll combine it all on a single spreadsheet then forward it to everyone. If you have contact information for some of our LOST DRAGONS, by all means send that as well.
SEMPER FI MY BROTHERS!
Otto

Howdy

Well, u go away for a couple days and all sorts of news hits.
Otto, you are on the prayer list as of now. Andy, I think Lejune
sounds like a great place for the next reunion. Thanks for
the suggestion Mr. Crout. How's that sound to your sooon
to be civilian ears. Or is your leave already over and you r
officially retired?
Lejeune is only 8 hours away from my place so I am big
on this location. I can even detour and see Trevor as we
drive past Charleston. Actually, we are heading up there
the second weekend of October for Parents Weekend. They
have all kinds of activities set up for the weekend. A Friday
football game, Trevor and the other Knobs become official
Cadets instead Cadet Recruits. We are excited about getting
to see him again.

How about Reunion 2008, Operation Repeat.

UPDATE:

you can recieve an e-mail whenever some one posts or comments by going from the posting page. Click the settings tab, then click e-mail. Put your e-mail address in the box, then save or whatever it is at the bottom. Should be helpful for those who are running this Reunion.
This Operation needs a Name and statement if you plan on being up to par with the first one.
Try coming up with a date or at least a month, for those who need to know and plan with their employers.

Otto - Sorry to hear about your health situation. I'm sure there is a way to beat your problems, and whatever that is, you will find it. Just like you found that pen when the PLT Sgt asked for a PFC to volunteer to be the house mouse, and you raised your hand faster then I ever seen you move. Serious though, I wish and pray for the very best for you and your family.

If enough of you all want to come to Camp Lejeune, Im sure we could find enough to do on base. Possibly tour the new aircraft, such as the Osprey, and visit with some Marines just getting back from the war. We could also do a dinner in a very unique bar in town that has one of the best collections of historical USMC gear that you will ever find. Hotels are very resonable in town.

Andy

from the dashboard

settings then e-mail put your email in the box, see if that works

George,
Is there a way for this blog to have some type of "RSS" feed, so that when someone posts a message, we would get an alert in our email. I'm not sure if I'm using the correct terminology, if not, please correct my error. I belong to another type of blog through Princeton Review, and whenever someone posts a message, I receive an email that tells me there is a new msg.
SEMPER FI!
Otto

I was just wondering how everyone did on the worlds easiest quiz that I sent out? I didn't get any feedback, but I don't want to read too much into that. Anyway, I have class in the morning so I'll keep it short this time.
SEMPER FI!
Otto

Hi Andy, Or should I say "SHOWER SHOE"!!!
I've got your boot, and then some! The job at Home Depot went the way many corporate jobs go. I had had an accident a few years back, in which a woman totalled my car while I was driving it. As a result I suffered a broken neck and some brain damage. (Go ahead, I've heard them all by now). Anyway I was not aware of the seriousness of the injuries at the time. As a result, the condition got worse as time went on. Ultimately I saw several Neoro surgeons and other types of head and neck doctors. Basically they all said the same thing. The job at Depot was literally killng me. My job at Depot required that I spend on average 4 to 6 hours a day driving from store to store. For those of you that have never been to NYC, that translates to about 50 to 60 miles all total. Anyway, the constant jarring, the pot holes, having to look every which way in traffic was exacerbating the situation with my neck. The injury in my brain consists of several pieces of scar tissue that are getting bigger and bigger. That in and of itself isn't really a problem. The problem is that some of them have grown around one of the veins and are steadilly restricting it more and more. As a result, some of the other veins are enlarging to make up the difference in blood flow. When I inquired about having surgery, the consensus is that the surgery would probaly leave me dead or at least brain dead. I asked one of the doctors who is a very "Down to Earth" type of person what is the best that I could hope for. He told me that the best thing would be for an airplane engine to fall on me while I'm out and about. How is that the best thing I asked. Well he says, you'll be dead and permanently out of pain, your family inherits all the insurance money and then can sue the airlines for millions of dollars so they'll be set for life. So, I asked Home Depot to let me change jobs, so that I could work in one store, thus very little driving, and I would have a more normal schedule and a life. The job of District Safety Manager was taking on average 80 to 90 hours a week. They offered to let me work in the phone room, but I would have to agree to revert back to my hourly pay from when I started in '97. I gave them a brisk salute with appropriate salutation, did my best About Face and left. As it turns out, it was for the better anyway. I'm back to teaching, which is something that I love to do. The pay is very good, and I get to write my own schedule. I work at Princeton Review teaching HS students how to beat the PSAT, the SAT, and the ACT. On the college grad level I teach the GRE and the LSAT. So now you are as up to date as I can get you.
Having the re-union at Camp Lejune sounds like a good idea. I'm glad you are willing to take the lead, unlike the Andy I knew in 1/9 who was costantly straggling and following behind the rest of us. Way To Go!!!
Otto

Sounds Like A Plan

Sounds good to me. If you want to run with the ball, go ahead. I can only think of upsides to having it in you and Bill's backyard. No doubt Connie and Lin will be invaluable as well.

Ron Fowler
54 Lyon Hill Road
Chester Massachusetts
01011
nomorks at yahoo dot com
219 7029
area code is 413.
Tynan is 285 6616
in the 774 area.

Here is a thought for my fellow dragons to ponder.....What about holding a reuninon on Camp Lejeune? I'm sure I can find us a good location in town for us to stay, and set up some on base activities. I think it would be great for some of you to see what the new Corps looks like, up close and personal.