What makes a Hero? What makes us believe?

I just finished reading the book "In the company of Hero's" by Michael Durant, who was the famous Blackhawk night stalker pilot that was shot down in mogadishu and held captive for 11 days before getting released. First, I cannot fathom going through what he did. He was a brave person alone for just surviving what he went through. However, he brought up some interesting points in his book.

He said that growing up he was a Catholic and attended church every sunday with his family. Once he moved out of the house after graduating high school and joining the military, he said he stopped going, but would on occasion ask for a prayer from a non-denominational preacher on the base.

During his captivity, one of the greatest things that was delivered to him was a tiny Holy Bible. It was great in two-fold. The first was that he used it to secretly keep a journal of everything that happened to him from the crash, to the present. He wrote in any areas of blank space in the bible. Second though, he actually started to read the bible and he conjured up a point that is often said: "There are no atheists in fox holes", which meant that even a non-believer will begin to pray to God when faced with their own mortality.

He didn't always consider himself a non-believer, but going through what he went through seemed to bring him closer to God in many ways. From his time after his captivity, he swore his devotion to making God a priority in his life and it has been that way since.

One of the other cool things from his book was the story of the two Delta Snipers I've spoken about before (Gary Gordon and Randy Shugart), who knowing that they would be stepping into a death pit, begged to be released on the ground from a hovering Blackhawk so they could provide support to Durants fallen chopper and crew. I'm still blown away at Durants recount of how they were both so very calm, despite bullets flying around them and people getting closer and closer. Even when he heard Gordon yell, "I'm hit" , it wasn't a shreak, it was matter-of-factly as if to say "dang"as if he was annoyed. These guys were extremely brave and both obviously earned their post-humous Medals of Honor.

But something interesting Mike Durant found. Upon his arrival home and his rehabilitation, he was asked to come to Gary Gordon's hometown in Maine to speak at a memorial for Gary. When he arrived in the town, he stopped by the local library to check out a book on the Medal of Honor so he could do a little research. He noticed it seemed the book was pretty old, but had not been used much. As he looked at the check-out card, he noticed that years ago, a person by the name of Gary Gordon checked out the book. I'm not sure if he did research or what, but he claimed it was Gary who had checked it out last, when he was a teenager.

So that begged the question, what makes a hero? I believe that heros are born and are within some of us and we just don't know it. Guys that join the military, and especially those that are hard-core committed, say like a Gordon or a Shugart, are people think that have what it takes to be a hero. They're calm under pressure and they think clearly. They have something inside of them that is selfless and proud.

I'm proud of those that choose to truly serve our country, not just get into it to get some schooling paid, or free room and board for a few years (although I'm still grateful for those people at least making a commitment to something), but those that believe in what America does, should, and could stand for. People bitch about our country (and I think most of it comes from within our borders), but I'd like to see someone point out to me a better country and how much greater they have it there. When they do, I'll tell them to pack their bags and get their ass over there and enjoy the rest of their days. I'm not going anywhere.

/rant

This is why I don't own a cat

I go to my brother's house for 10 minutes to get a few things and I come home like this.



I consider this both a curse and a blessing. The curse is that it itches like hell. The blessing is that if Alene liked cats (she doesn't, so I guess this is a moot point), I have an excuse as to why we can't have cats.

I hate allergic reactions. I guess it could be worse. I could be allergic to football or pizza.

Thankful

On this day of thanksgiving, I want to post some of the things I'm thankful for.

I'm thankful for my wife. She puts up with so much of my crap and I really owe her so much for it. She is beautiful in every way. I love so much that she is my partner and always will be. I am excited to live a life with her and hope to make it more adventurous for both of us.

I'm thankful for my children. They provide so much motivation for me to want to be a better person. I love them so much and am so excited to see them every day.

I'm thankful for all of my family. They mean so much to me and I hope to gain a better closeness with all of them.

I'm thankful for my faith in God. As much as I slip up so much and don't always represent being a true Christian, I believe in what I believe for a reason that is so deep and personal to me, I could not describe it in words and I know I will be forgiven as long as I strive to be a good person and do what is right.

I'm thankful for my friends.

I'm thankful for my health (so far) and I hope to stop taking it so much for granted.

I'm thankful for a job.

I'm thankful for this beautiful state I live in. It has so many things to offer if you are one that enjoys the outdoors.

I'm thankful for this great nation we live in. It may seem so bleak and screwed up for a lot of people, but in the end I cannot think of another place in this world I'd rather live than my country.

Lastly, I'm reading the book "In the Company of Heros" which was written by Michael Durant, who was the only surviving member of his Blackhawk crew in the story known as "Blackhawk down", which took place in Mogadishu back in 1993. In the crash he broke his back and leg and had his eye-socket broken by what he reluctantly recalls as one of his crew members body parts (likely an arm), which an angry mob swung at him after the crash. He was then rescued by the very militia they were fighting, from the angry mob and held captive for 11 days with little food and little medical care.

I had read the book Blackhawk Down, by Mark Bowden, and it was a great read, but it covered so many stories of that event. This one is great because it's more detailed about this one guys story. I'm not done with the book, but it describes his reaction to being rescued by these two heroes, Gary Gordon and Randy Shugart, two US Army Delta snipers who begged to be put on the ground so they could provide some protection for any possible survivors of Durants crash. It was a sure death sentence, but they didn't flinch at the idea.

I also finished a great book called "Lone Survivor", about a Navy seal's amazing tale of survival in the high mountains of Afghanistan.

Both of these books have been the quickest reads I've ever read. I cannot believe how quickly I read the Lone Surivior book (I think in a week?) and I've read 116 pages so far in 3 days.

I'm grateful for members of our military and those that serve honorably with the true resolve to defend our country and fight for freedom and safety for all those involved.

Zion National Park & St. George (more updates)

I'm posting from the Best Western in Springdale, UT just outside Zion National Park. Keep an eye on my Outdoor adventures blog for pictures and updates on the trip.

Here is the link:

Zion National Park & St. George

Bookshelf unit is complete!

Threw on the last few touches of trim a few minutes ago and snapped these pictures. At first I had wanted to put some sort of work surface in this empty space, kind of a study space, but being that this house does not have any sort of linen closet, Alene suggested we build a linen box/bench.

Here are some pictures of the completed project:

I take so much crap at work

I am, literally, out of 200+ people, the only BYU fan here at work and I take a lot of crap for it. I've been fortunate the past two years, for BYU to have won and to come back to work on Monday with a smile on my face. This year, I can only hope we win. I don't have a lot of confidence, but I think we're capable of it.

I doctored up my co-workers sign hanging outside her cubicle. It didn't last long.

Bailey loves the microwave

It seems like I'm posting a lot about Bailey and I thought I'd let Alene post this, but she hasn't yet, so I will.

Every time we take Bailey into the kitchen, she immediately turns and looks at the microwave and starts either laughing or talking to it. It's hilarious.

Falling gas prices

Man, what a drop in prices huh? I could not believe it the other day when I went to fill up my truck and it stopped around $39.50. I thought for sure the nozzle malfunctioned, so I pulled the lever and it filled about $0.25 more and stopped again. I could not believe I was paying less than $40 to fill up the tank (I was on empty). Just to have a little fun, I topped it off enough right at $40, just to kind of feel normal I guess.

Today I was running an errand for work and again, saw gas around $1.85. I immediately got excited and thought, "do I need gas? should I top off my tank?". Then reality set in and I noticed I still have 3/4 of a tank left.

I hope these prices stay low. I'm not an economics guy, so I have no idea how this is happening, but I do know that OPEC controls the prices, so it must be pressure from the world to lower the price per barrel? I have a buddy who is in with some oil people and when prices got really high, he predicted oil would drop below $70 a barrel before Christmas, and they're now at $60. He based his prediction off both inside information and some sort of formula he uses. He is now predicting that oil could drop down to $30 a barrel. I sure hope he's right. I can't stand the thought of having to drive my subaru camping. I would much rather drive the truck.

On a similar note, I am shocked that a bunch of pirates are able to take over a tanker with millions of gallons of oil and get away with it. They take it to their port in Somalia, then hold it "ransom"? Don't we have some super cool ninja soldiers that could bum-rush that ship and just take it back over? Of course, there is the deal with it possibly being rigged with explosives?

Still shocks me that these people can get away with it. I say send a few missle's to teh ship, blow it to nothing. Sure, it's a waste of a ship, but it would send a message. I know, I know. What about the environment. OK, nevermind.

Here is an article on the ship that has been taken over by "pirates":

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE4AH1FV20081118

Rivalry Week

It's BYU vs. Utah this week and I believe this is the biggest game both teams will have played in. BYU is ranked # 14 with a 10-1 record while Utah is # 7 with an 11-0 record. The game is at Utah, so Utah will be favored (along with their undefeated season). So much is on the line in this game. If BYU wins, they will force a 3-way tie for the conference championship with Utah and TCU. In addition, they knock Utah out of the running for a BCS game, which Boise St. will likely get (unless they lose one of their two remaining games).

It's so tough being a BYU fan and living in SLC. Pretty much everyone at my work is a Utah fan, so I get a lot of crap about that when I proudly wear my shirts around the office.

The one thing BYU has going for them right now is the fact that they've won two of the last 3 games and have shown that they have the ability to come from behind to make some amazing plays to win the games. Their offense is still pretty high-powered, but their defense is clearly weak, so that should be interesting how they play against Utah. Utah has a pretty good group of WR's and that is where we are weakest. It could be a shoot-out and a somewhat high-scoring affair, although the last 3 years each team has scored in the high 20's and low 30's.

I'm stoked for this game though. Unfortunately (OK, kind of fortunate because we're getting out), we will be in St. George for that weekend. We plan on going to Zions National Park, then just chill in St. George to watch the game on Saturday and possibly visit with one of Alene's old friends. I really wanted to see this game in HD, but our hotel TV's are those crappy tube TV's. I have a buddy who's parents have a vacation home in St. George along with a nice TV, so he's looking into whether it's being used this weekend or not. If not, we get to use it to watch the game. That will be sweet.

To close, I have to post this video that tears me up a bit at the end. It's a little long (5 minutes), but it picks up at the end and if you're a BYU fan, the payoff is always great. If you're a Utah fan, sorry :-).

The book case is done!

Finally got the book case done downstairs. Now we have plenty of space for all of our books. I decided to go with building it myself, rather than buying them because I could make it so they fit and filled up the wall completely, wasting no space.

Here are some pictures of the before and after, as well as additional angles:

Before (before the flood)



Before (blank wall)



After



I built each case in the garage separately, then took them downstairs to screw them into the wall:





Here are some other angles:





I plan on building a sort of linen box/bench in the center of the book case (that area that still looks undone). The last thing I have left to do down here is to finish the base boards up to the book case, then path all the nail holes and touch up with paint.

As far as getting the basement done, I still have to paint the laundry room and our office room, but they're both really small.

At the gun range

Russ and I took a few hours to go the gun range to shoot his new AR-15 and my CZ 75B along with his friend's .22 rifle. It was VERY busy that day. Here is a video I made of our time there.



Here are some pictures too:

Caiden's football pictures

I have to post these, mostly because of how impressed I was with the parental support we had as the little league coaches this year. When I coached at East, the parental support was pretty much non-existent, save for a few of them that would help out when they could.

With Caiden's team, we had parents at practice there offering to help with whatever we needed them. We had a team mom that volunteered to do all the work, which was really tough. In addition, a mother who is also a photographer, took the time to take pictures of EACH kid on the team. She then took the pictures and put together a collage for each individual kid. At the banquet, she (with her own money), gave each kid an 18"x30" picture, along with a 6"x4" photo of the collage she did for each kid. This was a total surprise to me and I was so grateful for her taking the time to capture some great pictures of Caiden.

Here is what Caiden's looks like (note, to see more detail, click on the picture, then "all sizes" and it will show you the bigger version):



Here are the other individual and team photos we had done.

Like mother, like daughter

Alene reads at least 3000 books every year and absorbs EVERY word written. I read, maybe 1 book a year and absorb about 10% of it.

Bailey seems to be on the right track. With my earlier post of her taking over reading time, to last night, where we put her book in front of her and she just held onto it and looked at it for a good 10 minutes.

Some before/after pictures of the basement

As you may or may not remember, we had a flood in our basement a week or so before Bailey was born. It was about 75% ruined, so we basically had to start over down there.

Luckily our homeowners insurance took care of the costs of replacing and repairing, so I spent a good part of my paternity leave fixing the basement back up (as opposed to paying someone to do it). It sucked and it was hard work, but it's worth it to save money and get it done the way you like it.

There is still a tiny bit of work to do, but for the most part it's all ready. I also just noticed that I'm missing some "before" pictures on my flickr site, so I'll have to see what I have at home and add some of those later.

Family Room

Before (note: this is tile on the floor under the stove, which I had to break up)


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Hallway

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Bailey's Room


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Caiden's Room (for some reason I did not take any before pictures of his room, but it basically looked just like Bailey's)







Post flood video



Finished video