Andrew's Eagle Scout Project

For Andrew's Eagle Scout project, he has been building and installing benches along two trails down at the Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge at Lake Lowell in Nampa, Idaho. To the right here is a panoramic view of part of the refuge, with part of one of the trails in view, plus two of the four benches, and even my favorite mother-in-law walking the trail (you'll have to click on the pic to enlarge it to see the detail). :-)

These benches did claim a victim. I had just returned from a business trip to San Francisco and was helping Andrew with the benches in our garage last Friday evening. Now... these things are made of very high quality (and heavy) Trex board and cast iron steel - in total I estimate each bench approaches 200 pounds. One of them fell, and like an idiot I tried to catch it. I would like to claim that my actions saved Andrew from a broken toe or foot, but I think he got out of the way in time, anyway. Emergency Room x-rays later that night revealed no broken bones, thankfully; however, the tendons are severely strained, and it's just a bad sprain. The E.R. doc was talking about surgery it's so bad, but I'm just chalking that up to crazy talk!

Andrew "sold" the benches to sponsors at the refuge's 100th anniversary celebration back in June (pic at left). We've been building the benches at our house, where they had take over our garage. This past Saturday, though, was the big day when we installed the benches down there. With a small crew we installed all four benches in about three-and-a-half hours. I went back there yesterday to remove the "caution" tape now that the cement has set, and to cover the cement bases back up with dirt and rock.

Other than Ma & Pa and Gran'Ma, the two adult scout leaders to come and help install were Delynn Searle and Scott Ableman [pictured at left eating pizza, supplied by Gran'Ma (also pictured) - thank you!]. They're both a crackup and made things really fun, so thank you! Thank you also to Lloyd Lumber of Nampa and Kuna Machine Shop (of Kuna - go figure) for all their advice and at-cost supplies to help make it all possible.

Enjoy the photos in this blog entry, and check out even more that I've posted online. To see them on Flickr, please click here; to see them on Facebook, please click here. And more below.

Working on the Trex boards.

More work on the Trex boards.

Check out the sparks fly as Scott angle-grinds off the protruding bolts.

Delynn pouring in the Quick-Crete for mixing.

Work that post hole digger, Scott!

Steven on one of the installed benches yesterday.

Mark Spitz Watch Out!!!

OK... so perhaps the next Mark Spitz he is not, but he does swim, he does spit, and his name is Mark. :-)

This year, Mark joined the YMCA swim team, and yesterday was his first swim meet, an invitational out in Nampa. He did the 50 freestyle and the 100 backstroke, and he did very well. I've posted a picture of his fine form here, and we look forward to catching Mark at some great swim meets this year!

Christopher and I went to watch the swim meet, while the rest of the family was at Andrew's soccer game in Meridian. Christopher had fun being back in that environment, since he was on his high school swim team.

Go Mark!!!

Family BBQ

Since PFC Christopher J Goodale is home for a four-day weekend, we got the entire family together for a BBQ. It was FAR TOO COLD out to do a swim party/BBQ, but with temps in the mid-40s, I stood outside and BBQ'd, and our nearly-adopted-son Andrew Clark was my "runner" taking food inside to all the warm eaters. :-)

We have had SO MUCH FUN living here in Boise, near where so many of Michelle's cousins (the Dillons) live. Of Steven and Ruth's nine kids, five of them live in this area, and we always have a GREAT time!!! And since the Dillons do this GREAT Haunted House every Halloween, we used the opportunity tonight to plan for the big event. The panoramic photo here is stitched together from five shots taken in our family room during the planning. We planned, and we laughed until we cried. :-) Very good times.

Michelle's cousin Mike took a good half of the photos tonight, as I was pretty busy BBQ'ing for some 30 people. Thanks, Mike! To take a look at all the pics, please click on the Facebook photo album here.

Willing Winter Here

Saturday through Monday the high/lo temps here in Boise were about 49F/34F or so and we got lots of rain. Which meant that we got snow in the mountains around us. Though it's been sunny and warm for the last two days, there's still a little bit of snow visible up on Bogus Basin, our local ski resort. On Monday, snow was all the way down on the foothills immediately around us, at about the 3,500 foot level (our house is at about 2,800 feet). But as you can see, all of that has melted away. :-(

I am willing winter to get here. I love winter!!! And seeing as how we have our Bogus Basin season passes already, let's hope for a Thanksgiving weekend season opening!

Meanwhile, this weekend is supposed to be sunny and low-to-mid-60s. Pool party!!! :-)

Trains / Being Polite

When I boarded the Yamagoto Shinkansen (bullet train going north from Tokyo) this morning, there was this old lady getting on board just in front of me. Oh and pardon my A.D.D. moment, trains are just COOL - check out the brand-new train model that will start running between downtown Tokyo and Narita airport starting October 1st: I'll be on it that day! But I digress... Anyway, this old lady was trying to lift her suitcase on to the overhead bin above the seats, and I knew this would end in disaster. So I asked her if I could lift it up for her, and after she nearly fell over because this big white dewd was speaking in Japanese to her, she nearly fell over with thanks and praise for helping her. Well it turned out that she was assigned the seat next to me, and so we chatted for the nearly-hour-long ride from Tokyo to Utsunomiya, where I had to change trains.

She was a sweet old lady, but she was brutally honest as most Japanese are. She said, while patting my tummy, "Ya' know... I have a son who is in international business, too, and he's fat, too." She went on to lament how that if you spend your life bouncing all over the place, you get fat, and there's just no going back. She went on to say that before we boarded the train, she noticed me on the platform (CREEPERS!!!), and that I reminded me of her son. She said that she thought it would be a wonderful thing if her son was as nice and polite as I was, and while I'm saying "Oh I'm sure he is...," on the inside I'm thinking, "He's probably as rude as you, ya' ol' windbag!" No no no... it's not actually rude to comment on somebody's rotundness in Japan - in many ways it's still a compliment. But speaking of being rude on trains, the JR East Company has ads all over it's trains and in the stations promoting being polite on trains (as seen on the left in this paragraph). Some of these ads are pretty funny. I should send in a suggestion: a picture of an old lady patting a fat dewd's tummy with a word bubble coming out of her mouth saying "futori."

And finally on trains, I saw something I hadn't seen before today. The newer trains (certainly none in Nikko!) have TV screens where they run ads/commercials. The pink TV screen you see pictured at the right is a horoscope of sorts. And it was running "fortunes" based on your blood type. Displayed here is the fortune for O-type blood carriers. Fretty punny, eh?

Have a great day.

Nikko

I have always believed that I will work better internationally as I better understand the local culture, so as part of that belief, I make it a point to travel to places overseas that are steeped in culture. OK... I wasn't buying that as I typed it, either, so let's just suffice to say that I like to travel. And today I traveled to Nikko, which is most famous for the Shinkyo Bridge spanning the Daiya River (pictured at left). Legend has it that a Buddhist priest by the name of Shodo Shonin crossed the Daiya River at this exact spot more than 1,200 years ago, on the backs of two huge serpents. Alrighty then... I see that sake was big here in Japan even 1,200 years ago... :-)

Today was kind of an historic moment for me, of sorts. In all of my traveling in Japan, I've been to Hokkaido (the northernmost island) and I've seen nearly all of Honshu (the main island) south/southwest of Tokyo, and I've even been down in to Kyushu, but I had NEVER been north of Tokyo on Honshu. Nikko is about 100 miles north of Tokyo, so at least now I can say I've been to that area of Japan (and a pic on the right to prove it - sorry for the hat hair). One of these days I'd like to make it way up to Aomori and Sendai and that part of Honshu, but I was limited today to just a day-trip.

There are dozens of shrines in the Nikko National Park, and they're all pretty cool looking. Many of them are adorned with carvings of monkeys (see left). They even have the "Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil" statues around there - I wonder if it's Japan where that whole thing originated. But in fact, as in most Asian shrines (not just in Japan), I really love all of the ornate carvings/paintings that are part of these temples. You'll see some of those in all of the pictures I took.

To the right here is a panoramic view of sort of a courtyard that was surrounded by all of these old structures (most of these shrines date from the 1630s). Sure all of this stuff was cool, but what I thought was most cool about Nikko is that ALL of it is old. Tokyo is all modern concrete and glass, and though shiny and neat, it's all modern. Even traditional ol' Kyoto has quite a bit of concrete and glass, as well. But in Nikko? Nope... it all seemed pretty old. Even the train I rode on creaked and squeeled along the rusty old tracks as it swayed back and forth. It honestly reminded me of the first time I rode on an old Kintetsu train from Nagoya to Chiryu way back in August of 1986. Man... that's OLD!!! :-)

Anyway, I had a great time up there, and am happy to have visited a part of Japan that I've never seen before. You can see all the photos I took, by clicking here for Facebook, or here for Flickr.

Basic Training Graduation

On Friday, Fort Benning had its graduation ceremony (pic of PFC Goodale and Dad here at the left) for Company D's 2-47th Infantry Division Basic Training graduates, and it was really cool!!! It was held on the parade grounds (a huge grass field) in front of a large grand stand there that was full to overflowing with visiting family members. The parade grounds are part of National Infantry Museum that was just opened this year (it's a really cool museum that is extremely well-done; the website is cool, too).

One of Fort Benning's bands played there, too, marching on the field. We even got some video of them for Justin's benefit.

One of the coolest parts of the ceremony was a battle simulation that they did on the parade grounds. Complete with lots of smoke, really loud explosions, and gunfire, it was really cool!!! Christopher was part of that demo squad (which is why he is dressed in full combat gear as you see here in his photo with Michelle on the right). Christopher was the automatic gunner in the demo squad, carrying his 17-pound M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW). In the video you see embedded (or linked) below, as the soldiers run forward they stop in front of the grand stands. Christopher is in the group directly in front of our side of the grand stands, the third one in from the left. I like the announcer's comments, too, talking about America's greatest secret weapon in warfare: the foot soldier. Check it out below.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqDhrnpHq2M

After graduation, we got to spend the rest of the day with Christopher. We spent a lot of time checking out the museum and doing lunch there. Then we went and to our hotel to hang out. We watched a movie and ate junk food (woo hoo!!!), and Christopher also got to video Skype call Brianna, Andrew, and Mark at home. Check out a photo of that on the left. They had fun videoconferencing, and we can tell that Skype is going to be fun while Christopher is away at AIT (Advanced Individual Training) at Fort Eustis, Virginia. He is already there (arrived there last last night), and after a couple of weeks, he should have pretty regular internet access.

Michelle and I had a REALLY great time with Christopher. We had him from 10am and 11am on Wednesday and Thursday, and he didn't have to be back to barracks until 20:45 each night. We also got to spend some time with him on Friday. That was unexpected, so it was a nice surprise. He was dropped off at the airport in Atlanta around 10am on Friday, but his flight to Richmond, Virginia wasn't until more than eight hours later! Our return flight to Boise (via SLC) wasn't until late afternoon, and as Christopher didn't have any specific orders during his free time, Michelle and I picked him up and took him to lunch.

I have uploaded 23 photos and 7 videos from our time with Christopher at Fort Benning on to our Flickr site. To view all of them, please click here.

Family Day at Fort Benning

Today was "Family Day" at Fort Benning, and after a brief orientation session this morning, Michelle and I got to spend a truly awesome day with Christopher. To the right here is a picture of mom and PFC Goodale this morning.

We had a lot of fun mostly sitting around talking (and eating), and getting to hear all of the fun stories that he didn't put in his letters home. Tomorrow morning he graduates and then we get to spend another day with him before Michelle and I fly back home, and Christopher heads to Virginia, on Friday.

Christopher's such an awesome young man and we're so proud of him! He's in terrific shape and he's very much a soldier, but he's still the fun-loving, happy Christopher that we all love. :-)

I have posted a couple of videos below, as well. The first one is of all of the soldiers making their entrance in to the orientation session, and the second one is of the whole group singing the Army song. It's apparent that all of their intensive training these past several weeks did NOT include much singing practice!!! :-) But they sounded awesome to these proud Army parents!

Kyoto

I spent the day touring Kyoto, Japan today with three work associates (our group pictured at right, at "Kinkakuji," or the Golden Pavilion"). I absolutely LOVE Kyoto; it's my favorite city in Japan. Kyoto is much more laid back than Tokyo, and it has one of the most awesome train stations in the world. There is SO much of historical significance here, too - it's just way fun. One gets a much better understanding of historical Japan by touring Kyoto.

We first started at Nijo Castle, a shogun castle originally built in the 1600s. It's the "miracle of Japanese joinery" - you can ask me about that later if you want. :-) I like Nijo-jo because it really gives you a sense of what life was like in that era.

Then we went to Kinkakuji - it was probably close to my 20th trip there, but it's still cool every time! Nearby is Ryoanji where the famous rock gardens pictured in many Japan books, plus a gorgeous zen garden. However, it was undergoing renovation and though still open, we didn't feel we'd get the true sense of the place. So we skipped it and then...

...we went on to Kiyomizu-dera, or the purified water temple. Not only is this cool for all of the temple buildings, but it also sits up on a hill overlooking Kyoto, which is really kind of cool.

One of our taxi drivers today was SUPER talkative!!! He even had pictures of lots of things here in Kyoto, and he was flipping through these picture books while he was driving us, showing all of these places. That was kind of scary!!! He said there are over 1,600 (was that the number? anyway it's a lot!!!) temples/shrines/sites in the Kyoto area, but we saw what I think are the three coolest.

Posted herein and below are some of the pictures from the day. To see all 35 pics that I've posted on Flickr, please click here.

Overlooking part of Nijo Castle.

This dude had DARTS on his backpack (plus a cute little furry duck). Waddup???

The back side of Kinkakuji. This side isn't photographed as often, but it's still pretty!

Kiyomizu-dera, with Kyoto in the background.

Kiyomizu-dera.

Observations from Japan

Greetings from Japan, everyone. I am in Tokyo for the annual CEDEC game developers conference, and got in here Thursday night. Today while heading out to Nvidia to pick up the demo machines they are loaning to us for the show, I happened to notice this girl's shoes (pic at left). Sorry I chopped heads off in this shot, but it's hard to take good pictures with a cell phone while walking in a crosswalk with hundreds of other people. Love the shoes, though. Did gold moon boots come back in style??? The shoes on the girl in the upper left look interesting, too.

At any rate, it's exciting to be here right now. Japan is holding a parliamentary election here tomorrow, and they say that after 54 years of LDP control, the opposition party, the DPJ, is going to win control of the lower house of parliament (the DPJ already controls the upper house). The Liberal Democratic Party has held control since 1955, and it appears that the Democratic Party of Japan will assume control tomorrow. Though "LDP" has the "L" word in it, believe it or not it's the politically conservative party here. Ironically, the DPJ is actually the politically liberal party. It'll be fun to watch the local news coverage to see how crazy they are about following this stuff in Japan.

Meanwhile, this pic on the right I snapped today at Nvidia's office building in Akasaka. Though this is to prevent the spread of the N1H1 virus, having hand sanitizers in public buildings probably isn't a bad idea generally, anyway. Today was a Saturday, though, so the building was largely empty - I had no way of gauging how much this thing is used.

Finally... below are daytime and nighttime panorama shots (stitched together from multiple photos) from my hotel room window. This is taken from the 26th floor of the Hotel Pacific Tokyo, overlooking the Shinagawa train station.

Western Idaho Fair

The Western Idaho Fair is running in Boise for 10 days, and as many times as most of our kids have been to the fair over the past three summers that we've been here, neither Michelle nor myself had ever gone. In fact, even more pathetic is that as long as I've lived in Boise (three years) with all of the events held nearly every weekend at the fairgrounds, I had never been there. So we fixed all that today.

Justin and Christopher have actually worked at the fair each of the past couple of years. Pronto Pups, a popular corn dog franchise here in Boise, always operates food/drink stands at the fair. Though Justin and Christopher are gone, Brianna worked the lemonade booth at the fair. Of course, you know our Brianna. Always so shy and afraid to speak to people. Yeah... right!!! They've had her at the cash register (fear not: though polynomials frighten her as they do me, counting bills and change comes second nature to this teenage girl!!!), and she has loved interacting with customers. To the left here is a picture of her working at the lemonade booth this afternoon. She has worked 12-13 hours each day she has worked so far, and that will likely continue throughout most of the 10 days the fair is in town (she'll take tomorrow, Sunday, off, as well as next Wednesday to take some online summer school class finals that I know she is DYING to take on!!!).

So, Michelle, Andrew, Mark, Steven and I spent 3-4 hours at the fair today. To the right here is a picture of A, M and S near the entrance. We rode several rides, drank some lemonade (of course!), took in a couple of shows, and saw quite a few farm animals... typical fair stuff. All in all it was "fun" just hanging out with family outdoors in 95-degree heat, but the fair wasn't "all that and a bag of chips." Hmmm... maybe we should have purchased a bag of chips with our lemonade.......

For all 14 pics I have posted, please click here for the Facebook album, or here for the Flickr album.

Brianna's Persuasive Speech

This summer Brianna is taking an online speech class. She has regular classwork for this class, but obviously needs to do speeches as well. Her speeches need to be done in front of an audience, and we record and post these speeches for her teacher to review and grade.

Well... this afternoon we all gathered to film Brianna's "persuasive speech" but we all got the giggles. I've put together a bloopers reel from her "speech" this morning, which you see below. In her persuasive speech, Brianna is trying to persuade people that it's a good idea to give your children music lessons.

Check out the speech below, and let me know if you're persuaded. :-)

Freedom Team

PFC Christopher J. Goodale, a Soldier in the United States Army, has submitted you for a Freedom Team Salute Commendation for your support and sacrifice as an Army Parent.

So starts the letter (to the right) that we received today, along with a certificate (below), and Army Parent lapel pins for Michelle and I. We will wear them proudly; in fact, I even look forward to wearing mine on my sports coat when I'm in Japan in a couple of weeks. We'll see what sort of conversation starter that ends up being. :-)

A week ago today, Christopher's platoon entered "White Phase" of training, which we thought allowed him more freedoms and more time. However, we haven't received any letters from him this week, other than very brief notes along with things he has sent home. So we cannot wait to hear from him again soon!!!

I still have quite a few letters to post on his Letters from a Warrior blog; please forgive me for not getting to that.

Courageously Step Forward

Last week we received a letter from the Church, about PFC Goodale's attendance at the church on base at Ft. Benning, Georgia. To the right is a scan of the letter, with the text OCR'd below. I like how Brother Oaks writes, "In these troubled times, it is heartwarming to see sons and daughters courageously step forward to help preserve our freedom and way of life."

Indeed, it is true!!! And Christopher has stepped forward; we are proud of him. At basic training, he gets time to write letters, and we received three letters from him this past week. They don't OCR well, so Michelle is re-typing Chrisophter's handwriting (end editing out platoon member/leadership names, etc., which they advise us to do). We'll get those up when we can.

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Goodale:

We recently learned that Christopher has joined the military and is attending basic training at Ft. Benning, GA. We are pleased to inform you that he has been attending the Church services on base and are grateful for the spirit he brings to the meetings. President Funk is the Church leader at Ft. Benning and will do all he can to help strengthen Christopher's faith and testimony. We appreciate your support and know you join with us in asking that the Lord will guide and protect him during this time of uncertainty and turmoil in the world.

In these troubled times, it is heartwarming to see sons and daughters courageously step forward to help preserve our freedom and way of life. You can be proud of the part you played in molding Christopher's character. Courage and patriotism do not come automatically; they are planted in the hearts of children by their parents. We express our gratitude to you for your selfless service in his behalf.

We have a deep and abiding interest in Christopher's welfare and want to ensure the blessings of Church membership are available wherever he is stationed. As military members move around, occasionally they are unable to find out where and when the Church meetings are held. Our Military Relations Division can assist them. Likewise, we are able to help concerned parents locate the bishop or branch president where their son or daughter is stationed. In addition, many times we can assist in locating the name of a group leader aboard a ship or at a deployed location around the world.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact the Military Relations Division at (801) 240-2286 or e-mail them at PST-Military@ldschurch.org. We know that the Lord is mindful of Christopher and the challenges he will face as he valiantly serves in the military.

Sincerely,
Robert C. Oaks

Grab Kleenex Before Watching

I have uploaded a couple of videos from the funeral services for James Michael Cotter II, held in January 2005. Michael was in a singing/dancing group called the "Hi-Tops," and they performed at his funeral. Below are videos embedded from YouTube, of the group singing "God Bless the USA" and "Hero." When this group performs "Hero," each member wears a shirt with his/her picture on it. At the funeral, they all had a picture of Michael pinned over their own picture - it was really sweet. At the end of the song, they all point to a picture of Michael up on the wall. Enjoy... but try to ignore the family members on the first couple of rows weeping in both joy and sadness. :-)

We have more video from the funeral, and I'll post some of that later.

Family Reunion

Over Independence Day weekend, we held a Descendants of Morris and Cora Wilcox family reunion in Delta, Utah. My maternal Grandma and Grandpa Morris and Cora were both born in 1905. My grandpa passed away in 1984, and I remember it well. I was in my senior year of high school, and sitting in my "College Typing" class when I was summoned to the office, where I was informed that my grandpa had just passed away. As much as grandma wanted to go be with grandpa, she still lived for more than 10 more years. They had five children, of which my mother was the oldest. The picture here on the right is of the surviving siblings (all but my mom are there) and their spouses.

Mark had Boy Scout Camp all that week, returning Saturday (the Fourth of July), so Michelle stayed home to wait for him, while on Friday Brianna, Andrew, Steven and I drove down to Delta (about 8 hours from Boise). It was weird not having my full family with me, especially Michelle, but we had a lot of fun. Then on Saturday evening, Michelle and Mark flew down to SLC. We left the reunion early to go pick them up, then Saturday night we stayed in Salt Lake, for my cousin's baby's blessing in Provo that next morning. The pic here to the left is a picture from that.

Anyway... on Friday evening, the four of us checked in to our hotel in Delta and got ready for a fun-filled 24 hours there in that HOT SPOT of Utah (Delta, with a population of all of 3,200, in a county with just over 13,000). :-) But seriously, it was fun to experience Small Town America on the country's birthday.

Friday evening, the town hosted a bike parade, where the main street was blocked off, and the kids (and many many adults) could ride up the street on their decorated bikes, scooters, etc. Amongst all the pics I got were some of our own family that participated. But the real highlight of the evening was the family program we had. The pic here to the right is all of the second cousins singing Lee Greenwood's "Proud to Be an American." I won't go in to all of the details, but it was a great program, and we had a lot of fun.

On Saturday, we all went to the Fourth of July Parade that the city of Delta had. I couldn't believe how many people were there!!! I think the entire county was there, and then some. But it was a way cool parade. To the left here is my sister and her husband and Austin, strolling down the street just before the parade. There was even an Air Force flyover - how cool is that???!!! That afternoon, many of us first cousins and their families went to the movies to escape the heat. Delta has a two-screen theater, and I think those who went to the movies were split between the new Transformers movie and the new Ice Age movie. Most of the clan was going to the town's Demolition Derby that night, but we missed it because we had headed back up to Salt Lake. I heard it was way cool, though.

Anyway... it was great fun. You can see all 66 pics I have posted here on Flickr, or here on Facebook.

Fun Day at Lagoon

Over the Independence Day weekend, we had a Descendants of Morris and Cora Wilcox family reunion in Delta, Utah (I'll be posting some pics from the reunion later). After the reunion and before heading home, we spent a day at the amusement park in Farmington, UT, "Lagoon." We went on quite a few roller coasters, played in the water park, and Brianna, Andrew and Mark even "flew" the "Sky Coaster" - GREAT FUN!!! All six of us even crammed in to the little tiny photo booth at the left, resulting in the wacky pictures you see scanned on the right. Thanks, Brianna, for suggesting this; it's a good thing we're a close family!

Also that weekend, on the evening of the Fourth of July, we found ourselves at an Applebees restaurant in West Valley City, UT for dinner and no fireworks plans. The restaurant manager must have taken pitty on us, so he invited us to join he and his staff when they closed at 10pm, as he had purchased some $200 worth of fireworks for his staff since they had to work on the holiday. So... for Independence Day 2009, we enjoyed fireworks in a parking lot with the Applebees staff; that'll be a fun memory.

Here are some additional photos from the day, and you can see all the pics from Lagoon and our Applebees fireworks here on Facebook, or here on Flickr.

Address for PFC Christopher James Goodale

Today we finally received an address for Christopher while he's at Basic Training. So between now and September 10, 2009 (when he graduates Basic Training - Michelle and I intend to be there for the ceremony), you can reach him at the address below. I'm sure he would love to hear from you, so please write him at:

PVT Christopher Goodale
RN 303 3rd Plt
DCO, 2-47INF
5375 Hanson Drive
Fort Benning, GA 31905

We've also received two letters to date from Christopher, the contents of which I will post when I have a chance to retype/edit them. He also called this past Saturday evening. He was given just 5 minutes to speak (though we spoke for 8 - I hope he didn't get smoked for that), and he, Andrew, Mark and I had a nice but brief chat. Christopher said it was "very hard" but he sounded great, and anxious to start doing what he went there to do (train hard).

A Sentimental American

Five years ago this weekend, I sent an e-mail to my family, entitled "A Sentimental American." I had completely forgotten about it, until my sister recently reminded me of it. I post it below in its original form, adding only a couple of additional countries that I have visited since then, as I travel the globe. Happy Independence Day from a sentimental American.....

Happy Independence Day from a very sentimental American. It occurred to me today that I have passed through eight U.S. ports of entry, upon returning to these great United States from various overseas trips. Whether it be at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, or at SFO in San Francisco, or any other ports of entry I have passed through, they have all had one thing in common: Just prior to entering the Immigrations and Customs clearance areas, there is undoubtedly a depiction of the U.S. flag, and a very prominent sign stating, "Welcome to the Unites States of America."

It further struck me today that since the first of this year, alone, I have passed through the international arrivals areas of LAX some six times, and through San Jose International Airport's port of entry once. Certainly more than once in this my 38th year, upon seeing "Welcome to the United States of America," I have had to fight back tears. In many ways, I have felt unworthy of the U.S. passport that I so proudly hold. Many times throughout the years, as I approach the Immigration officers at these U.S. ports of entry, I have had to wipe away a tear, fearing that these guys would think I'm a bit nutty. But... I truly get all weak and sappy when I consider the great country whose passport I feel so protected by. And it gets worse with each passing year. I guess I'm just a sentimental American.

Even though I've visited a lot of the same countries many times, I haven't really been to that many countries. My limited international experience includes Japan (where I have also lived), Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, France, and Italy. Of ironic note, very few of these countries proudly display their flag and prominently place "Welcome to ......... " signs in their ports of entries. The United States is a very welcoming nation, and I swell with patriotic pride every time I see "Welcome to the United States of America" upon returning home. I guess I'm just a sentimental American.

I truly wish that more Americans could share in this experience, and truly felt the spirit of "Welcome to the United States..." upon returning to our blessed nation. Perhaps fewer Americans would be inclined to listen to and support those fellow citizens who hold their mother country in contempt. One such prominent U.S. citizen recently told a gathering in the United Kingdom, "You're stuck with being connected to this country of mine, which is known for bringing sadness and misery to places around the globe." Such statements really break my heart.

I regularly give thanks to God that we have the right to free speech, but that doesn't mean that what people say is always correct or responsible. In fact, I'm grateful I have the right to reject the lunacy that sometimes spews from the mouths of such America-hating fellow citizens. This past week I have been brought to tears thinking about some of the malicious things some of our own citizens have said about our country. I guess I'm just a sentimental American.

If you will indulge me, I would like to share some of the things I have learned from people who are NOT citizens of these great United States:

• In the late summer of 1986, I sat in the home of a Japanese family (father, mother, a son, and a daughter), and the mother in the family recounted to me (in her own Japanese tongue) the story of how her entire family (grandparents, parents, siblings) were killed in the atomic fireball that consumed Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. She happened to be out of the city at the time, at a prep school in Tokyo. As she recalled the story, I began to feel extremely awkward. You know what she said, though? She told me that she was GLAD that we Americans recognized evil and stood up against it. She explained that all during the U.S. Occupation of Japan through 1952, that she deeply resented Americans, but that in the end, she was glad that America didn't drag the war on any longer, and that we rid the world of Imperialist Japan. We all cried during the discussion. They insisted to me there's were tears of happiness. As for me, I guess I'm just a sentimental American.

• In March of 2003, shortly after the Iraq war started, I sat with two Italians at a business lunch in Genova, Italy. We had a very candid discussion over lunch, a conversation started by the two gentlemen I was dining with. They freely shared their views of Americans, and the current war effort. They expressed to me that, only two time zones away from Iraq, they feared what Iraq could do to them, and stated their gratitude to America, for standing up against evil. They broadened it beyond the scope of the current conflict, and furthermore stated how grateful they were for all that America has done over the years to ensure freedom throughout Europe. Driving back up the Italian and French Riviera coasts to return to my Cannes hotel, I fought back tears. I guess I'm just a sentimental American.

• Not quite two weeks ago, I was in Seoul, South Korea, when one of their own faced a terrible, unjust execution in Iraq. Fearing possible anti-American sentiment, I tried to lay as low as I could. My fears may have been largely unfounded, and I hope they were. One South Korean woman asked if I had heard the news, and spoke very openly about it. I asked her, frankly, if South Koreans were saddened or angry. She sadly replied, "Both." I pressed further, "Are South Koreans angry at Americans?" She smiled and emphatically said "NO!" Upon further pressing, she explained that some younger Koreans hold Americans in jealous resentment, but that certainly any older Koreans still held Americans in great appreciation, for our involvement in the Korean War, for protecting their freedom. She told me she is 26, and is appreciative that Americans fight so strongly for freedom around the world.

Of course, the above-listed experiences offer anecdotal evidence, at best; however, I would bet that these are not unique circumstances. I believe such sentiments are held by many individuals who are citizens of other nations. Unfortunately, their voices will continue to be drowned out by those who would wish to stifle the cause of freedom. And indeed, they will continue to be drowned out by the citizens of our own country who hold it in contempt.

However, I will take comfort in knowing the truth: that indeed we embrace freedom, and we strive for freedom all over the world. And that most of the world is absolutely grateful that we do so. May God continue to bless this great nation, and may we ever be worthy of those blessings.

Happy Independence Day, from a Sentimental American.

May we especially honor the following:

• The Civil War: 184,594 soldiers dying through out the valleys and hillsides of America’s North and South.
• World War I: 116,708 soldiers die on foreign soil to protect this nation.
• World War II: 407,316 soldiers died to change the face of the world and how others viewed the United States of America.
• The Korean War: 33,651 soldiers dying, so others could be free.
• The Vietnam War: 58,168 gave their lives to help free others.
• The Persian Gulf War: 148 a war to stop a dictator.
• The Iraq War: 865 American Soldiers have given their lives so far.
• And many others, who have served or are currently serving to protect and defend our freedoms and liberty.

PFC Goodale in Georgia

After seeing Christopher off at the airport very early this morning, we heard from Christopher tonight that he has safely reached Fort Benning, Georgia. He sent a quick text message to me, "They announced we'll be there in 10 minutes, so get your last phone calls in." Upon receiving that text message, of course, I did the only logical thing any father would do: I called him. We all spoke with him briefly, and it was great to say one last good-bye before we don't hear from him for a while. They told us previously not to expect to hear from him for up to two weeks after his arrival, but already we could tell that he sounded anxious and ready to start this whole thing.

To the right here is a picture of him waving good-bye as I saw him off at the airport very early this morning. And below are several other photos over the last couple of days as we said our good-byes.

Some silly faces as we dropped him off at the Airport Holiday Inn Monday night where he started his MEPS processing.

PFC Goodale with proud Mom and Dad as Andrew tries to make silly faces in the background (brothers!!!).

Brianna with her big brother and best friend.

PFC Goodale at the airport very early this morning.

PFC Goodale in line waiting for Security.