Christmas Day 2010 'The SECRET'

I got up about 6 AM and turned things on...and just sat in the Lazy Boy n Nodded out till about 7AM...Just kind of  Lazy Morning nothing really going on...just another day in my Life...But I went on FB and there were only 2 Friends on line...

I knew I wanted something Different this Morning...instead of just Coffee and Donuts...Did the OJ and my Meds. got my First cuppa Coffee and life started flowing through my body...Brain started to Function...Oh what to do, Oh what can we have thats EAZY and Different...I had already planed to make this, I just did not know when....So after thinking about it for a few minutes...

How about "Hungarian Crepes" Now as everyone knows there is No such thing as Easy 'Hungarian Cooking'...So without further ado....

The 'HOT' Pan with a little Oil...It starts to cook as soon as it hits the Pan..

It does not take long to cook on one side...It is so light...It almost Flips itself...

There is a "SECRET"...

I like a little Apple Jelly in mine...you can use anything you want...

A little Powered Sugar...Ready to EAT...YUM

Hungarian Crepes

2 Eggs

1/2 cup Milk

Pinch of Sea Salt

1/2 Tsp. Powdered Sugar

1 1/2 Cups Flower

Now the SECRET

1 1/2 Cups Soda Water (any carbonated water)

Mix w/Whisk

Let sit for about 5 Minutes

Hot Pan w/Oil (I use extra virgin olive oil)

And that was Christmas Morning Brunch...

If you have Enjoyed or have any words of encouragement.. Please leave a comment...Just to Help my Alter Ego...He/We feel alone sometimes...

MoH

The Medal of Honor of the United States

Each branch of the Service has their own...



ARMY



AIR FORCE





NAVY



 The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed on members of the United States armed forces who distinguish themselves "conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States."

This Movie/Video is the Story of a Young Man that just Received the "Medal of Honor".. I Salute This MAN...the video is a little over 14 min. but worth it...

http://restrepothemovie.com/

Also this is the Story in His Own Words...

Copyright be damned. Here's the transcript:

Vanity Fair contributing photographer Tim Hetherington spotlights Giunta in the December issue. While on assignment with contributing editor Sebastian Junger-who wrote a book about Giunta and his platoon, War- Hetherington was with a platoon near Giunta's in the Korengal durin...g Operation Rock Avalanche.

Hetherington also wrote a book about his time in the Korengal, Infidel, and he and Junger's documentary Restrepo won the Grand Jury Prize for best documentary at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Giunta sat down with Hetherington and spoke a...t length about the medal and his service in Afghanistan.

Tim Hetherington: Let's start at the beginning. How did you end up joining the army?

Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta: At the time I joined the Army I was working at Subway. I didn't really have a whole lot going on.

Was it a result of 9/11, or were you curious about the world?

I was curious about the world. I wasn't trying to be patriotic. It just felt right.

Did you want to do this growing up?

When I was working at Subway, I was working nights-and the commercial came on about the recruiters in the mall handing out T-shirts. Oh, I'm a sucker for a free T-shirt. I'm still a sucker for a free T-shirt. I'd keep that quiet around some people-offer me a free T-shirt, I might do something crazy.

Your first appointment was in Zabul?

Yes, with 173rd and Battle Company.

You went from Iowa to Afghanistan. What went through your head?

I don't know exactly the one thought that was running through my head. I know I became a man in Afghanistan-whatever entails being a man-there was definitely a change that happened that first time in Afghanistan where I grew up. I felt grown up. I felt like the world could beat me. I didn't feel so impervious either. I knew shiat could stop me.

Was there a particular event that happened there that made you realize you'd grown up?

August 21, 2005, there was an I.E.D. that hit one of the trucks in the company from Third Platoon-four guys died and one guy was seriously wounded. It's one thing to see someone dead. But it's another thing to see an American soldier, or someone you know. They're at the strongest moments of their life and it is just ... gone from them.

In Sebastian Junger's book War, he talks about when Brendan O'Byrne says, "There's people in this platoon who hate each other, but we'd all die for each other." It's not just friendship, but it's also a brotherhood?

It is a brotherhood. I don't think it's something you can expect, because it's such a strong feeling, you'll never know it unless it's already happened, and then you have it. Can't get rid of it. Can't shake it.

What else sticks in your mind about the Zabul Province deployment?

 

 

On September 1, 2005, Lieutenant [Derek Haines] died in the Baylough area, and that made me really feel my own mortality at 19 or 20. My team leader, Nicholas Post. talked to me. He said, "It is what it is and you just got to try to do ever...ything you can when it's your time to do it. It might be you tomorrow. It might be me tomorrow. It might be, you know, all of us tomorrow. But that's tomorrow." I've pretty much taken that with me the rest of my life from the time we had that talk.

Did you re-up after Zabul, or had you signed up for a certain length of time?

I signed up for four years when I came into the army. I didn't think that I was going to go again, but Stop-Loss. I didn't really understand Stop-Loss, until Stop-Loss.

So as a result of Stop-Loss you went to the Korengal?

We were in the Korengal, but I couldn't leave the Korengal as a result of the Stop-Loss, yes.

Describe flying into the Korengal.

There's a lot of mountains, and they're steep and rocky. I was thinking, it was maybe going to be a little Afghan paradise. It was not an Afghan paradise. The dudes already there were looking rough and tired. And they were happy that we were there, which makes you a little bit uneasy.

What had you heard about the Korengal before you went?

I didn't really hear much. I tried not to pay attention. It was going to come regardless of what I heard.

Tell me about Operation Rock Avalanche.

You get a warm-fuzzy feeling inside when you see the Apache [helicopter] circling. That's pretty sweet, you know? I know they got rockets. I know they got guns, and they got eyes from above. We were walking back out the way we came in, in the morning. We came in under darkness, and we're going to leave right there as the sun's going down and Apaches are around-should be fairly quick and painless.

See, I try to forget a lot of this-it benefits me in the long run-and coming back and talking about it wrenches the gut. Rock Avalanche was a long, drawn-out deal. So we started walking back, and they set up a good ambush. They did what we would have done.

What was the first-

There were more bullets in the air than stars in the sky. A wall of bullets at every one at the same time with one crack and then a million other cracks afterwards. They're above you, in front of you, behind you, below you. They're hitting in the dirt early. They're going over your head. Just all over the place. They were close-as close as I've ever seen.

What do you do in that situation?

You do everything you can. You don't think. You just react. Everyone knows. This isn't our first rodeo, and this isn't everyone's first time getting shot at. This is a newer experience, and this is a different way that it's ever come in, but everyone knows exactly what they need to do. If they're shooting? Shoot back. If there's cover, you find it. It's just all self-preservation at that point. Everyone's just giving it back as hard as we can, because the more we shoot, hopefully the less they shoot.

When did you know it was an L-shaped ambush?

Not until the end. All your attention is where all the flashes are. It looks like a bunch of little dragons spitting fire, and then there's just a whole bunch of rounds coming in.

You can see bullets around you going off and-

I got hit in the plate, but in the lower part of the plate, and I got hit at an angle that it came more from the north and not from the east, which is where all these bullets were coming from, and bullets don't turn corners. They bounce off of shiat, but they don't turn corners, and that one would have had to turn a corner to come and hit me like that, and there's nothing you can do about it.

If a bullet hit my plate, I would freak out. Weren't you scared?

There's no time to be scared. In hindsight, it's scarier than it was then. That's what makes talking about it so difficult. Talking about it I can rehash and I can think about every second of it and everything in my mind and I can really dwell on it when, at the time, there's no time to dwell on it. They brought the fight. We'll bring the pain.

It didn't even feel like I got hit down here. Almost simultaneously as that happened, I looked at Sergeant Gallardo, and I watched his head kind of do one of those-I don't know-an abnormal twitch. I thought he got shot in the head. He got shot in the helmet. I just ran and grabbed onto him and brought him back to where we were. We consolidated grenades.

You swapped grenades?

There's no time-you can't sit there. You got to act. We only got so many grenades. So we threw our grenades and we ran forward. We got down. Returned fire. Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot. Throw grenades. Boom. Run forward. On the third grenade we threw, we made it to Specialist Franklin Eckrode, and he was trying to fix his jam [in his gun]. He's on the ground. He was already shot at that point. I think he got shot in the calf and in the thigh.

What sort of time frame are we talking?

One, two, I don't know-a million lifetimes. Time is out the window.

When you're in that situation, those heightened moments, did you feel like you had a chance to think at all?

I didn't have to think at all, and I didn't even think about having to think because we were just going...

So you push forward. You get to Eckrode and then?

I just kept on running up the trail trying to find Brennan and see what the fark is up, why the fark he was all the way up there. This shiat sucks-I kept on running and I saw three guys. There was two guys carrying one guy and the one had his arms, and the other had his legs. I got my gun in my hand, just running at him. At that time, the thought was: Who the hell is up here and how did they get up here? How did they pass us?

All of a sudden, I only knew one of them, and it wasn't the one that I wanted to know. It was Brennan-and he was the one being carried away. Just farking running and shooting, running and shooting, trying to close the gap with them. I shot at both of them. I killed one, I guess. The other one I shot the shiat out of... but didn't see him, and by the time my magazine was already empty, I was at Brennan... I yelled for Sergeant Gallardo that, God, they're farking taking him.

Take your time. It's O.K.

Yeah, it's a lot harder looking back on it than it was when it was happening.

 

 

Like you said, going over it at a distance is tough.

I don't really plan on answering this question too many times. I don't have to. I got a great book written by Sebastian Junger called War. You want to read about it, read about it. You don...'t want to hear me talk about it. I don't want to talk about it.

It must be an awful experience to see your friend really hurt, and to see some assholes trying to drag him off the side.

It did. Plus, Brennan's was a bad ass, too. He's not that big a guy, but he's tough. And he was hurt. And he was hurt bad.

What was he saying?

He was just hurt. He said he couldn't breathe. He said he couldn't breathe. And his face was-was pretty bad. And I just grabbed him by the strap on the back of his [body armor], turned around, and started running the other way. When I dragged him back, he didn't have his gun, he didn't have his rucksack, he didn't have his helmet, he didn't have his NODS [night vision], he didn't have anything with him. He's alive. He's not dead. And he's talking.

I didn't know, but I guess Specialist Hugo Mendoza, the Platoon medic, got shot in the leg in his femoral artery and he ended up bleeding out, so I didn't know that there was not going to be a medic coming...

I was with Brennan, like, "Dude, this time you're really going to go home. You're going to be drinking beers and telling your stories to the ladies." He said, "Yeah. Yeah, I will."

Was there a point where you thought, "What the fark just happened?" Or were you still focused on Brennan?

I was focused on Brennan. I knew that they took Mendoza and I didn't know that he was dead. I knew they took Eckrode, and I knew they took Brennan, and I don't know how bad anyone else was other than Brennan.

Your platoon eventually joined the 2nd. What was going through your head when you were walking back?

Same thing that goes through my head every time, I guess, we're walking. Scan, look, check team, confront, check team, scan, look. Sooner or later we'll be back. We had to divvy up the equipment, so there were people carrying multiple weapons, people carrying extra body armor. I could just feel the weight of Brennan's body armor in my ruck.

When did you first hear that you were going to be up for a Medal of Honor? It was some time after you returned from the Korengal, wasn't it?

It was a couple of days later that I heard. Sergeant Gallardo went down for a meeting and came back up and told me. That's when I found out.

What went through your head when you heard about it?

"fark you," I said. It sounds really awesome in theory, but what's it worth? Brennan? Mendoza? No. I did what I did because in the scheme of painting the picture of that ambush, that was just my brush stroke. That's not above and beyond. I didn't take the biggest brush stroke, and it wasn't the most important brush stroke. Hearing the Medal of Honor is like a slap in the face. I don't think you know what I did. I didn't do shiat.

You'll get asked a lot about bravery. What is bravery to you? How would you define it?

Bravery to me is doing something that doesn't necessarily have to be done, doing it full heartedly, accepting it no matter what consequence comes from it, because it really does need to be done. Everyone out there is brave. Don't have to be in Afghanistan.

By your own definition, it's brave, what you did out there.

I was one person being brave in a group of a whole bunch of people that were being just as brave. Everything had the same thing to lose: their friends and themselves. I guarantee, no one thought about that out there. Bravery gets thrown around a lot. I served in Battle Company Second of the 503rd with the bravest men I've ever met in my entire life, and I'm proud to say that.

What does the Medal symbolize for you?

I want to stress the fact that this is the nation's highest honor. Awesome. And it's given to me, but just as much as me, every single person that I've been with deserves to wear it-they are just as much of me as I am. This isn't a one-man show. I'm here because someone picked me. I hope that everyone around me can share in whatever pride that comes from it. They deserve that pride.

Tell me about the moment you got the call from the president?

President Obama called me on September 9, 2010, and notified me that he had approved the Medal of Honor for my actions on October 25, 2007, in the Korengal Valley. My heart was just pounding. I don't even remember what I said, but there was a Mr. President in there.

It's quite a story. The guy who listened to a recruiting jingle while mopping floors in a Subway sandwich shop is talking to the President.

I'm just another American dude. I'm nothing special, trust me.

What did you think when you heard the news that we were pulling out of the Korengal?

I was in Washington, D.C., when I saw it on the news. At first it upset me. And then, there's no sense being upset with it. That's not our land. We're not occupying their country. We don't even want the Korengal Valley. We're there to help them. If we pull out, that is ultimately going to be their loss, but for whatever reasons, we're not pulling out of Afghanistan.

If there was peace in Afghanistan would you go back?

The world's a big place. I'd rather go somewhere else.

 

Well that's It, I Salute this MAN and all who went before Him.....

 

 

Please say a prayer to keep out troops Safe....

If you have Enjoyed or have any words of encouragement.. Please leave a comment...Just to Help my Alter Ego...He/We feel alone sometimes...

My Alter Ego: AMERICAN FLAG

My Alter Ego: AMERICAN FLAG

A little Post Script to this: When I was working at the VA Hospital here in Miami,(about 13 yrs. ago) I lived in a Apartment Building it had Two Floors. I think there were 40 units with a on site Manager...I was on the First floor and right outside my door was a Flag Pole. It had an American Flag but it was old and tatered and kind of wrapped around and stuck at the top. I asked the Mgr. if I could take down and put up a New One and I would be responsible for taking care of it....She said OK..I bought a New Flag and managed to get the Old one down..I even changed the rope and snap hooks....for a couple of months everything was fine...One Saturday I went to the Beach and when I returned home the Flag had been taken down...I went to see the Mgr. and she said she took it down because someone had complained...I told her I wanted the Flag back...she said No, that she had to keep the Peace. The next day was a Sunday so I could not do anything...but on Monday Morning I was speaking to one of the Owners...I had my Flag back and on the Pole that Afternoon....

I found out a few months later after the Mgr. was gone..that it was her live-in boy friend, who was not even a citizen of this Country that Complained....

If you have Enjoyed or have any words of encouragement..Please leave a comment...Just to Help my Alter Ego...He/We feel alone sometimes...

AMERICAN FLAG

The American Flag

It seem that Recently a 13 year old boy was Told that he could not Display the American Flag on his bicycle on School Grounds, when he came to School. This was done a few days before Veterans Day....He had been displaying the Flag for about 2 months before anything was said.

The School responded that It did this because there had been some complaints about his Displaying the Flag.
And they did not want any Racial Problems such as the Cinco de mayo problems.





Ok, I can understand about his Safety and the Safety of the other Students...

My problem is with this SO CALLED RACIAL PROBLEM...

Since when did "AMERICAN become a RACE" as far as I can tell there is NO such Animal.
We Do Not Even have an Official LANGUAGE...We are A Country made up of many Races...

Something is wrong Somewhere...

It seems too me, that it is not so much about RACE....as it is about Nationality. The United States of America is made up of many Nationalities and those are made up of Different Races...

Over the years that America has been Growing and taking in the many Nationalities and they have Assimilated and Coalesced into the American Nation with it's own form of Nationality.

It has been pointed out that "well the Irish display their Flag on St.Patrick's Day and have a Parade"
The Greeks, Germans, Cubans and many other Nationalities also have Special Days and Parades...
But the one thing all these Groups of People have in Common...
They have Assimilated and Become American...They have Learned our spoken Language (ENGLISH).

They have become Americans...It's OK to remember your Heritage as others have...

But you came here for a Reason or your Parents did...This is NOT the OLD country...

By making demands that as a (blank-American) you have certain Rights...

First as an AMERICAN you have Rights, not because of your Heritage...or Race...

As far, as I am concerned you should learn English, American History and American Nationalism...
and be able to say the "Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag" too Graduate High School.
Secondary Languages and History of the place of your Heritage or Race after you have a good Education of America and the English Language...

And if you don't like this way of Life, you and your Parents can Leave...There are Many people that want to Become Legal Americans...

If you have Enjoyed or have any words of encouragement.. Please leave a comment...Just to Help my Alter Ego...He/We feel alone sometimes...

My Brain is Melting

After the past few days Halloween and the run-up too Election Day...I know I have been spending to much time on the inter-net namely Face Book...

It has made me a little Crazy...A little..I was Crazy when I Started....

But so far I have landed with my feet on solid ground again.

But my Brain is still Hurting...

I think (there i go again thinking) I have too Decompress...Even though my Blood Pressure has been about average for me lately...

Halloween was pretty good posting on the Net, I even changed my photo of FB just too Scare People...

My Glenn Beck Mask...LOL

"Be afraid..be very afraid"

It was well received...

But I think (I've got to stop this) it was all the posting and READING about

the Political situation that was building before Election Day...

I try too be Fair and I Read up on the Subjects that I want to be Involved with...

I try and choose my battles...No sense in going to a Gun fight with only Rocks in my pockets...

I do not belong to any Political Party....I am an Independent Voter...A lot of times I can not Vote

for certain people because only Party members can Vote...

And more than once, the people I like and Vote for do not get Elected

But there are times that my Vote and those of other Independents have turned the tide of an Election...

And these are the ones that make it all worth wile...

At one time I did consider myself a Democrat...but those were the early days, but after I had some living

under my belt and seen the World and worked in it...

I never fully embraced the Republican Ideology if anything I am a Liberal Republican...

That's pretty dam scary...

I am an American First, I have talked about this in my other Blog...

I Believe in the Constitution...I am a Veteran...

I will NOT say "my country right or wrong", there are to many Nuts out there that say this...

To me that is a deformed type of Nationalism...

It is OK to be Nationalistic and have National Pride...but to be DOGMATIC about it...

The Constitution and the Laws of this Country are writen and Passed into Law by MEN...

And man is Fallible...

 

If you have Enjoyed or have any words of encouragement.. Please leave a comment...Just to Help my Alter Ego...He/We feel alone sometimes...

ADULT CONTENT...If you are Easily Offended Do Not Open...

I have given You Fair WARNING....ADULT CONTENT...proceed at your own RISK...



                                                                    Camel Toe

NOT

                                     

If you STOP now....You may not have Suffered any Permanent Damage to your Brain or Emotions....

The Dildo Song

I saved you a Ticket...

I would Say, I was Sorry and I know you would Agree with that Statement....Sooo...





If you have Enjoyed or have any words of encouragement.. Please leave a comment...Just to Help my Alter Ego...He/We feel alone sometimes...

The Dangers of making Videos

I have found that Making the Video putting the Pictures together is not so bad but finding and Adding the Right Music is the hardest part....Then you end-up having the song rolling around in your head for a few hours...HaHaHa....



              This is what I am talking about....

I think I will add a few more of my creations here...As I say at the end of this page if you like what I do or just want to add some CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM... Please do so..LOL




Some of these can put you to sleep or Relax you....But I enjoy doing this....


At times I just want a Nap, but hay I Hope you all Enjoy them....








If you have Enjoyed or have any words of encouragement.. Please leave a comment...Just to Help my Alter Ego...He/We feel alone sometimes...

Pet Peeve

With the consensus of Group Think, on our Part...

I / We have come up-with the Number One thing that Pisses Us Off the most...

People that say they will do something and they Fail to do so...

As in I will call you back or call you soon...or I'll be over or I will see you soon...

These people set you up to wait on them....

When I say, I will call someone back...I try and do my best too do so...or if I say I will be over to see you soon...I try and do this at the earliest convenient time...

I guess some people have NO common Courtesy...

or have no Idea what it is...

                     I / We guess that is my/our Bitch for Today, maybe the whole Week....

If you have Enjoyed or have any words of encouragement.. Please leave a comment...Just to Help my Alter Ego...He/They feel alone sometimes...

It has been an Interesting Day

The whole day was out of whack, but I survived...Ever have one of those day that just seemed like a phase shift. In and Out....In your mind you are moving at normal speed, but not getting anywhere...then you stop and think and it seem everything is going faster....

A better comparison...

Maybe it's just me or the whole

Universe could be out of Whack...

I will have to Sleep on this....

Oh, I almost forgot

There is also Me, My-self and I...running around...

I have seen  people cross themselves then cross the street when they see me coming...

But that is their Loss...

Sometimes I loose myself in my mind...I know what I am supposed to be thinking and doing....

But then this other thought, pushes its way into my conscious thought...

And says 'WHAT IF'...

Nothing Dangerous or Illegal

But I tend to let the scenario play out in my head...

I am still doing what I should be doing...but it's like watching two TVs at the same time...

My Alter Ego

Is my Shadow it is always with me...This is a continuation of my other Blog....

I have to wonder sometimes where I'm at...But then all I have to do is Look down at My feet...

And I'm Right where I am Supposed to be....

I don't know where this Blog will take me...but I will try and be Serious...maybe a little tongue and cheek Humor...