CHRISTMAS IN NAM

Brothers in front of a Huey D model, again, 47 years later as they were in Vietnam together! Austin was a helicopter pilot and Ray, a Marine platoon leader. 

"Captain, you look like shit. (Joke between us, term of affection among Vietnam vets) Austin looks great. Where is the Huey located? Naturally , I have a war story." 

I logged in lots of hours in a Huey! In Nam, I had a Huey all to myself on Thanksgiving and Christmas. This guy painted a gigantic Christmas tree on the front of the helicopter. It was beautiful, blinking lights, everything. I am amazed that the VC didn't shoot us down. Would you believe that if we did one trip over enemy positions, we did a hundred. Not one time did we take fire. Other choppers were fired on constantly. 

I know this is a stretch but reminds me of the story I just heard of the 1914 WWI ceasefire on Christmas eve between German soldiers and the Brits. It was Christmas in Nam and the VC never fired on us. Good story and I'm sticking with it. 

SHARING INFO WITH MY NIECE

My daughter has 2 have chemo. She starts January 2nd.

On "60 minutes" last week, one of the stories was about this theory that chemo should be in smaller doses over a longer period. The present practice is to give massive doses of chemo which in turn causes the cancer cells to disappear, making patients think they are gone when in fact they were hiding. (MFers)They reappear. Longer, lessor doses are more effective in killing the cancer cells so goes the theory. It is an insidious disease. 

Always thinking of you and especially now with your daughter. Her final report had negative nodes but she will probably still have 2 have chemo. She will find out next Thursday. Regardless, I hate your daughter has to go through this and will be much in prayer. God bless her and you and all the family. F..K

THE RIGHT TO DIE COMES IN MANY FORMS

I have always been a proponent of our "right to die, death with dignity, whatever the overall term we may use". And, I am an Albert Ellis disciple and live my life by Rational Emotive Therapy. Al says very simply our life belongs to us and we can do what we want with it. 

I recently had this live experience which I think is related. Our neighbor is in the hospital. Looks like a serious illness possibly, may be something like MS. She was OK on MRI but can't stand up, etc. My wife, in trying to follow the Augustinian Principle (you can't help everyone but when you are confronted with need, you are obligated to help). She possibly involved herself too early on. Now she has to continue. You cannot get involved with someone and abandon them in crisis. She has, at my suggestion, gotten the fiancée and friends involved. 

The issue is her cat and this is "a right to die" question. Seeing her cat as she does is totally foreign to me. It is a cat for God's sake, I don't even like cats and he needs to be "put down" from my perspective. 

But, she refuses. The point is, it is her choice, she could do it. (We treat our animals better than we do people). However for us humans, as my mentor, Al Ellis says. I repeat,  "Our life belongs to us and we can do with it what we want."  

She views Henry as her baby and in normal times treats him 10 times better than most kids. One of the old guys I hang out with, my GFs, as my wife calls them; when I was telling them about it, and lamenting the fact that the cat, should "hit the road," said to me, "What you don't understand, she views her cat like you would your grandchildren. What if it was one of them." Wow. Helped. And this concept works all kinds of ways--

This is my neighbor's choice. It is her choice for her cat's right to die or not. God bless her and I might add, Henry.