Category Archives: Loose thoughts and musings

March 24, 2014 · 22:48

A Stressful Day: Contractor Headaches, an Insurance Scare, Busted But Not Broken Brackets and the End of a Conspiracy Theory

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Today has been a stressful day.

We spent the weekend getting ready for the contractors that will be installing the floors after our water heater blew out back the day before the Super Bowl. Since then our home life has been rather unsettled.

We have moved everything from our kitchen, entry way and dining room to our living room. This includes things that since had been stored in our hutch and buffet that a lot of things are stored in are being repaired. Thus we have shit stacked from hell to breakfast in the living room. We also did a bunch of work in our upstairs library and guest room.

So this morning we got up early and waited for the contractors. This was easy for Judy because she couldn’t get to sleep. I slept but had a lot of really strange dreams. But they didn’t come. So after calling the subcontractors office and getting a less than satisfactory answer from the receptionist I drove to work and left a message with the primary contractor. As soon as I got to work I got a message from him that said that they were on their way, so I drove back home to meet them. They didn’t come so I went back to work and at about 1230 I got a text from the main contractor that they would be there between 1230 and 1PM. I let Judy know and about 1:15 I got a text from her saying that they didn’t know what they were there to do and had to call their boss.

I let the main contractor know this and about 2PM I was told that the subcontractor might be on the way to my house, so I headed back in time to see the workmen finished the work of taking up our old kitchen floor tile and the linoleum that the installers had laid it on top of. The subcontractor himself didn’t come and I asked the workers and the primary contractor to tell him to call me so I can plan tomorrow. Finally I got word that they will be back tomorrow to start laying tile between 08300 and 0900 tomorrow morning.

But as soon as we got back home after having dinner at a local Mexican place since we cannot use our kitchen I opened my mail. In it was a letter from my insurance company denying my claim. I was in a panic as I had not planned on spending about 10,000 more than the 2500 that I have already spent for the replacement water heater and my insurance deducible. I called the contact in a panic and got his voice mail. Thankfully he called me back and let me know that the denial was a form letter not for the damage but for the cost of the old water heater which I had not claimed.  That being said my anxiety level went up significantly and two hours later I went and got a couple of beers at Gordon Biersch.

So tomorrow the contracting adventure begins anew and I pray that things will go a bit more smoothly than today. At least I think I know how I can plan my day.

Apart from that things are going swimmingly.

My brackets in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament are broken but not completely busted. I had about 56% wins in the first two rounds and still have three teams that going into the Sweet Sixteen could go all the way. However my MH-370 conspiracy theory went into the tank when it was announced that the aircraft is believed to have crashed in the south Indian Ocean. That being said it is a great conspiracy theory and as one person said it would be a great suspense novel. I can live with that. Who knows maybe I can do it and become the next Tom Clancy.

Tomorrow will be hectic. I will go in early to work and then come home when Judy goes to an appointment and go back to work when she gets back so someone is in the house when the contractors are here. Wednesday will probably be similar and Lord only knows about the rest of the week.

Of course I do have things that I need to do at work despite being on a break between classes. But at least Bates Motelis on tonight.

So until tomorrow,

Peace

Padre Steve+

 

 

 

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March 22, 2014 · 22:44

The Triumph of Durability: Cal Ripken Jr., Lou Gehrig and the “Unbreakable” Record

Friends of Padre Steve’s World, Sorry but another rerun, this time since baseball is on the horizon one about Cal Ripken Jr and Lou Gehrig. It has been a busy day, we are getting our home ready for contractors who are coming in Monday to replace our floors. We have been waiting a while for this. Our old floors were damaged beyond repair when our water heater blew in early February and flooded the downstairs of our town home. Since then our lives have been somewhat out of kilter and the house in complete disorder. So today we were moving furniture and belongings to our living room from the dining room and kitchen. Tomorrow we will be redoing our library s things from our guest room can be moved there as that floor is replaced with laminate which we had originally bought for the kitchen. In the process we went through kitchen cabinets, drawers and the pantry in the process getting rid of a lot of crap. At least the floors will be done by the end of the week and the painting can begin the following week. By then end of the first week of April most if not all should be done and life can return to normal. Anyway, have a wonderful weekend and if you get a chance go see Muppets Most Wanted, it is worth it.
Peace,
Padre Steve+

padresteve's avatarThe Inglorius Padre Steve's World

“Whether your name is (Lou) Gehrig or (Cal) Ripken, (Joe) DiMaggio or (Jackie) Robinson, or that of some youngster who picks up his bat or puts on his glove, you are challenged by the game of baseball to do your very best day in and day out. That’s all I’ve ever tried to do.” Cal Ripken Jr. 

Before the Orioles and Yankees began their game tonight the Orioles honored Cal Ripken Jr. on the anniversary of the night in 1995 when he broke the record that most thought would never be broken. On September 6th 1995 Ripken played his 2131st consecutive game, eclipsing the record of the legendary Yankees First Baseman Lou Gehrig. Ripken’s consecutive game streak finally ended and 2632 games on September 20th 1998 when he took himself out before a game against the Yankees.

The record is likely to remain for many years as it…

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March 21, 2014 · 21:49

Iconic and Heroic: The Fletcher Class Destroyers

Friends of Padre Steve’s World, After a tiring week it is a rerun Friday night. This is an older article about a class of ship that in the darkest days of the Second World War and through the Cold War was a symbol of American might and ingenuity. The Fletcher class destroyers were iconic. When I think of the classic destroyer it is the Fletcher class that comes to mind. The were fast, beautiful and deadly. They helped win the war against Japan in the Pacific and fought in some of the most desperate sea engagements the world has seen. After the war ships of the class served in the US and allied navies for decades, the last , the former USS John C. Rodgers was decommissioned by Mexico in 2001. They were amazing ships manned by heroic sailors.
Have a great night and expect to see more new articles about the Gettysburg campaign in the coming week as I am getting ready for my new class at the Staff College.
Peace
Padre Steve+

padresteve's avatarThe Inglorius Padre Steve's World

The USS Fletcher DD-445

If ever a class of warships can define a ship type the destroyers of the Fletcher Class were that. The most numerous of all United States Navy destroyer classes the Navy commissioned 175 of these ships between June 1942 and February 1945.  There were two groupings of ships the 58 round or “high bridge” ships and the 117 square or “low bridged” ships. It was a sound design that would be modified for use in the later Allen M. Sumner and Gearing Class destroyers.  Eleven shipyards produced the ships fast, heavily armed and tough the ships would serve in every theater of the war at sea but would find their greatest fame in the Pacific where many became synonymous with the courage and devotion of their officers and crews.

USS Stevens one of the 6 Fletchers equipped with an aircraft catapult

The ships were a major improvement on previous classes of…

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March 12, 2014 · 21:23

Miscellaneous Musings on a Wednesday Night

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Well my friends it is another Wednesday night in the season of Lent and all is well at our little household. Since my return from Gettysburg Sunday night I have been in recovery mode. It is amazing how much work went into that trip and when I count in the fact that I had to spring forward over the weekend I have to admit that I was totally exhausted when I got home. I was in bed early last night and for once I got a relatively decent night of sleep in.

At work today I spent time with people, read, and did some reflecting on other Civil War and Gettysburg subjects. I also did some musing on Ethics and the state of it in our military, especially in the senior leadership over the past 15 to 20 years or so.

Both history and ethics matter a great deal to me. I think in our quest to become more efficient that we have forgotten both, and that many of the troubles that we face in this country are because we lack any real appreciation for history, philosophy or ethics. The fact is that they are not disciplines that lead to “job creation,” which is the mantra of so many Politicians, Pundits and Preachers, that Unholy Trinity, that it makes me want to vomit. Last year after he became Governor of North Carolina, the new governor and former “successful businessman” Pat McCrory promised to cut off financial aid for students taking courses not directly related to a “job.”

Of course to him this meant the humanities, history, philosophy, the social sciences and the arts. Not STEM or classes that teach people how to turn widgets, those  are immune because they produce a truly subservient class of people who do not ask questions.

Of course the study and teaching of the subject that McCrory and others want to cut are distinctly related to the preservation of our culture and society so I can see why a businessman like McCrory would so deftly attempt to sweep them aside. They are inconvenient if you are intent on creating a society to create a society of mindless drones who can do jobs but are incapable of any critical thought. So we wonder why at every level of government, private industry and even the church that people behave in ways which defy the norms of a civilized society.

Despite how loud many religious conservatives decry how far we have fallen, they are often complicit in the very things that they decry and condemn. The reason for this? Because they exalt in thought and action the very philosophies that they supposedly stand against. But then they have bought into the hateful philosophy of Ayn Rand and her violent Social Darwinism and are too poorly educated to realize it.

Wow, I think I just chased that rabbit and I have to admit that I digress… sorry.

So anyway, where was I?

Okay I remember, I was writing about what I was doing after the Gettysburg Staff Ride. It has been an interesting few days. I love the fact that there are baseball games on television again. It is a pleasant sensation to look up from a couch, bed or bar to see a baseball game. It will be even better when I am back at Harbor Park in section 102 watching the Norfolk Tides of the International League. Baseball you see is one of the few things that brings peace to my soul. No matter where or what level the sight of that diamond and smell of the freshly cut grass brings peace to my often troubled soul.

Tonight I am watching the Ken Burns Baseball series. I was struck by the comment that men who fail seven out of ten times are heroes. I think that is the case in real life. Most of us are lucky if we hit .250 in the game of life, much less .300. As for me I tend to operate by the grace of God at the Mendoza Line, or .200, just enough to stay in the game.

I have a number of writing projects planned, I am completing an application for a Ph.D. program in Organizational Leadership in which I will be able to combine my academic and professional interests into a multidisciplinary degree program. Unlike a lot of people pursuing a Ph.D. I already am pretty sure about the subject I will pursue for my dissertation. For those that haven’t guessed by what I have written the past few weeks it might have something to do with the Civil War.

So tomorrow at work I will start working on my Ethics class, the Gettysburg Staff Ride and preparations for teaching some other classes.

It is a good life. Have a great night and blessed tomorrow.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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March 7, 2014 · 23:53

At Gettysburg

mkholrt

“In great deeds, something abides. On great fields, something stays. Forms change and pass; bodies disappear; but spirits linger, to consecrate ground for the vision-place of souls… generations that know us not and that we know not of, heart-drawn to see where and by whom great things were suffered and done for them, shall come to this deathless field, to ponder and dream; and lo! the shadow of a mighty presence shall wrap them in its bosom, and the power of the vision pass into their souls.” Joshua Chamberlain

Tonight I am getting ready for bed but still anxiously preparing for tomorrow and Sunday as I lead about 25 of our officer students and some of their family members on what is called a “Staff Ride” of the Gettysburg Battlefield. In preparing for this I have taught three classes periods at our school and prepared a lot of my own research and writing.

We drove up today and in the van I was in we were able to talk about aspects of the campaign as well as the Civil War connected to this battle. We also discussed the timeless aspects of leadership and dealing with the complexities of people and organizations.

Since the trip up took longer than usual due to bad weather in Hampton Roads and bad traffic around Washington DC I am not going to write much tonight. That is why I led the article with the comments of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, the hero of Little Round Top. For me Gettysburg is as Abraham Lincoln so rightly put it “hallowed ground.” I feel that “mighty presence” that Chamberlain described every time I come here. I am drawn here by the actions of men who I never knew but through books and movies, but men who I feel a deep kinship, something spiritual, something deep, something that abides.

I am honored to teach, and in a sense to pass along a bit of what the men who fought here did to consecrate this ground and to give our nation a “new birth of freedom.”

Peace

Padre Steve+

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February 27, 2014 · 21:07

A Note of Thanks to My Readers

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I want to take a few minutes and thank all of you that follow Padre Steve’s World. I cannot tell you just how much it means to me that you take a measure of time to visit my little cyber world. If you are a regular reader or subscriber I thank you from the absolute bottom of the dark place that is my heart.

Some of you have been following me for a long time. This means that you must be pretty incredible people. After all it takes a lot of patience and forbearance to put up with me, just ask my wife.

In the past five years since the site launched I have have something like over four million visitors from I think close to 150 countries. That is pretty cool. So I ask you my friends and readers to keep the hits coming. After all I will need something to make sure that I can afford good beer after I retire from the Navy, whenever that might be.

Others of you may not have been following me for very long, In that case you may be either encouraged or disappointed. In a sense Padre Steve’s World is a lot like a variety show. I write about a lot of topics and I definitely am not a single subject or agenda kid of writer.

For those that have subscribed expecting an agenda of any kind, so what can I say? The website and what I write it is very much part of me, and part of who I am. Since some people like me, some people don’t and other people couldn’t give a shit what happens to me I figure that sentiments will be reflected in my readers and subscribers. At times I may appear to obsess on certain topics. Usually when that happens it reflects what is going on in my life.

Back in late January and early February many posts reflected thoughts on my return from Iraq six not very long years ago. Other times they may reflect issues about social justice, faith, history, baseball and even somewhat humorous and offbeat articles. Lately I have been writing a lot about the Gettysburg campaign.

Please know if you are not a Civil War history buff or student of military history and theory I do understand your plight. Such articles may bore you to tears, much like a lot of what I see online. So I respect and appreciate what you are going through. If you wonder why in the hell I am writing about Gettysburg right now, well it is because I am having to put a lot of study and work into it as part of my job teaching at a military staff college for senior officers. That being said, please know I will intersperse other topics in between these. Come about March 10th Gettysburg will fade away for a while. Until then the military history and Civil War types will love it, others I admit might be bored to shit.

Wow, that rhymed. Maybe I should take up poetry too, but I digress…

You can expect that I will continue to write on the subjects that I have created tabs for at the top of this page. As baseball season really heats up expect a lot more baseball posts, as well as commentary about my local AAA Minor League team the Norfolk Tides. Likewise you can expect a decent amount of social and political commentary from a center left progressive Christian perspective as well as writings on current events, movies, music, history, ethics, Star Trek, relationships, life, foreign policy, current world events and my dogs.

Of course I will continue to write about PTSD, TBI, Moral Injury and other issues that affect veterans. as well as my personal struggles with those issues as they intersect with faith and life.

I do hope that if you appreciate what I write that you will recommend the site to those you know. This might sound kind of pathetic but I would like to have at least 500 subscribers on the site and 1000 Twitter followers by 2015. Right now I am about halfway to both goals.

So anyway, have a great night. Please sent your friends and even your enemies my way. You can also follow me on Facebook, or if you want to be exposed to the titter-patter of musings that can be expressed in under 140 characters follow me on Twitter at @padresteve

Again have a great night. Thank you from the bottom of my sometimes cold and dark heart.

Peace

Padre Steve+

 

 

 

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February 25, 2014 · 21:42

Book Review: Identity and War, the Lessons of King Philip’s War

Another busy day at work as well as doing mire reading, research and writing about the Gettysburg campaign for true JFSC Staff Ride next week. So tonight I am rerunning a book review of historian Jill Lepore’s book “Identity and War The Lessons of King Philip’s War.” It really os a fascinating book and thesis. Peace, Padre Steve+

padresteve's avatarThe Inglorius Padre Steve's World

This is a book review of Jill Lepore’s book “The Name of War: The Name of War: King Philip’s War and the Origins of American Identity” Vintage Books, a division of Random House, New York NY. 1999

King Philip

The thesis of Jill Lepore’s book “In the Name of War: King Philip’s War and the Origins of American Identity” is that King Philip’s War helped lay the foundation of American identity. Lepore postulates that the history of the war and the war itself cannot be separated especially in regard to the identity of the participants.  This is of particular interest in how the participants record the history of the war and how it influences their perception of themselves and their enemies.

War and how it is recorded in history can define a people. Examples of this can be seen throughout history. For instance the history and identity of…

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February 19, 2014 · 23:26

Faith Journeys: Why I am Still a Christian

Friends of Padre Steve’s World. Tonight I have the privilege of posting an old article that it quite meaningful to me. I hope that it went through this time, evidently WordPress had difficulty uploading it. I wrote it and ended up being asked to leave my former church, which I had served for over 14 years. It was in a sense a coming out. I had gone through a terrible period of doubt, despair and unbelief, and when faith returned it was different. This article was a watershed for me. I re-publish it tonight for a couple of reasons. First, because it is appropriate since it plays such an important role in my life, and second because it helps explain to new readers a little bit of who I am and how I got to this point. A few edits have been are from the original to correct grammar and to ensure that what I wrote then actually reads like what I intended it to mean. Unfortunately first drafts are not always the best and when one reads what they wrote before it can be a rather interesting experience. So tonight I present to you “Faith Journeys: Why I am Still a Christian.” Peace, Padre Steve+

padresteve's avatarThe Inglorius Padre Steve's World

There are many times that I totally empathize with author Anne Rice in saying that she has left Christianity yet still has faith in Christ.  For Rice it was the lack of love shown by the institutional church for people that are marginalized and treated as if they were unredeemable by often well meaning Christians.

I know what it feels like to be marginalized. After I came back from Iraq many of my Christian friends seemed, at least in my view to be tied to the absolute hogwash that spews from talk radio hosts and allegedly “Christian” politicians.  I remember having some Christians question my patriotism and even my faith because I disagreed with them regarding certain aspects of the Iraq war. This despite the fact that I had been on the ground in harm’s way serving with our advisors and Iraqis in Al Anbar Province. After I returned no…

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February 19, 2014 · 21:09

Faith Journeys: Why I am Still a Christian

Friends of Padre Steve’s World. Tonight I have the privilege of posting an old article that it quite meaningful to me. I wrote it and ended up being asked to leave my former church, which I had served for over 14 years. It was in a sense a coming out. I had gone through a terrible period of doubt, despair and unbelief, and when faith returned it was different. This article was a watershed for me. I re-publish it tonight for a couple of reasons. First, because it is appropriate since it plays such an important role in my life, and second because it helps explain to new readers a little bit of who I am and how I got to this point. A few edits have been are from the original to correct grammar and to ensure that what I wrote then actually reads like what I intended it to mean. Unfortunately first drafts are not always the best and when one reads what they wrote before it can be a rather interesting experience. So tonight I present to you “Faith Journeys: Why I am Still a Christian.” Peace, Padre Steve+

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February 19, 2014 · 21:06

Faith Journeys: Why I am Still a Christian

Friends of Padre Steve’s World. Tonight I have the privilege of posting an old article that it quite meaningful to me. I wrote it and ended up being asked to leave my former church, which I had served for over 14 years. It was in a sense a coming out. I had gone through a terrible period of doubt, despair and unbelief, and when faith returned it was different. This article was a watershed for me. I re-publish it tonight for a couple of reasons. First, because it is appropriate since it plays such an important role in my life, and second because it helps explain to new readers a little bit of who I am and how I got to this point. A few edits have been are from the original to correct grammar and to ensure that what I wrote then actually reads like what I intended it to mean. Unfortunately first drafts are not always the best and when one reads what they wrote before it can be a rather interesting experience. So tonight I present to you “Faith Journeys: Why I am Still a Christian.” Peace, Padre Steve+

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