Aristo! Aristo! A la lanterne!: Hell of a text message to get

Monday, June 27, 2011

Hell of a text message to get

.
"Sworn in today. I leave in October".

My son. He's joined the Marines.

Son of a bitch, but I am proud of that boy.

8 comments:

Rev. Paul said...: Fantastic!; June 27, 2011 at 7:55 PM
Borepatch said...: It sure is something to watch your boy grow into Honorable Manhood. The worry doesn't leave, it just changes.

But this is an entirely admirable act by your boy, grown into Honorable Manhood.; June 27, 2011 at 8:44 PM
Bryn, North Wales, UK. said...: Llongyfarchion!
My respects and congratulations to both you and your son.; June 27, 2011 at 8:54 PM
Scott McCray said...: As you should be...I still get a lump thinking of my nephew (Marines) and my son (now Army Reserves/Iraq twice) and their service. Thank him for me...; June 27, 2011 at 9:10 PM
Unknown said...: Good man! P.I. or Hollywood?

p.s. Earrings arrived today - I LOVE THEM!!!; June 27, 2011 at 9:10 PM
Bob said...: That's something to be proud of. May he stay safe in this war-weary world and come back to an even better man than he already is.; June 27, 2011 at 11:24 PM
Unknown said...: ...also, check out marineparents.com

It helped us get through boot camp. Two days before Thanksgiving, they posted a video of PFC's platoon posing on risers, wearing their warrior faces. It took us half an hour the identify him (using his EARS!!!) Missing Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's SUCKED, but they made it a little easier. Also, some of the DI's will post on their platoons' progress. Other parents' comments about what they've heard from their boys, gave us a broader perspective than PFC's letters. Above all, WRITE OFTEN!!!! They really need the moral support.

Now that he's settled into his permanent duty station, PFC absolutely loves it.; June 28, 2011 at 7:56 PM
TheWayfarer said...: Oooh-RAAH!
What an honor, Carteach0.; June 29, 2011 at 9:38 AM

Robert Heinlein

"Do not confuse "duty" with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect.

But there is no reward at all for doing what other people expect of you, and to do so is not merely difficult, but impossible. It is easier to deal with a footpad than it is with the leech who wants "just a few minutes of your time, please — this won't take long." Time is your total capital, and the minutes of your life are painfully few. If you allow yourself to fall into the vice of agreeing to such requests, they quickly snowball to the point where these parasites will use up 100 percent of your time — and squawk for more!
So learn to say No — and to be rude about it when necessary.
Otherwise you will not have time to carry out your duty, or to do your own work, and certainly no time for love and happiness. The termites will nibble away your life and leave none of it for you.

(This rule does not mean that you must not do a favor for a friend, or even a stranger. But let the choice be yours. Don't do it because it is "expected" of you.)"

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.