just a grumpy old dude trying to make as many trips around the sun as I can
Calif and parts unknown
Joined October 2014
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GrumpyOldFecker retweeted
What an interesting read...........
On Jeopardy the other night, the final question asked: “How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the Tomb of the Unknown?”
All three contestants missed it.
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
1. How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the Tomb and why?
He takes 21 steps — symbolizing the 21-gun salute, the highest military and foreign tribute.
2. How long does he pause before turning to walk back and why?
He waits 21 seconds, again in honor of the same tradition.
3. Why are his gloves damp?
They are lightly moistened to ensure he never loses his grip on his rifle.
4. Does he keep his rifle on the same shoulder, and if not, why?
He always carries it on the shoulder farthest from the Tomb. After each crossing, he performs an about-face and moves it to the outside shoulder.
5. How often are the guards changed?
Every 30 minutes, 24/7, 365 days a year.
6. What are the physical requirements for a Tomb Guard?
Applicants must be between 5'10" and 6'2" and have a waist no larger than 30".
Other expectations of the Guard:
They devote two years to the Tomb, live in the barracks beneath it, and must refrain from drinking alcohol on or off duty for the rest of their lives.
They can never swear in public or dishonor the uniform or the Tomb.
After two years, they earn a wreath pin signifying their service — fewer than 400 are currently worn.
If they violate the code, they must relinquish the pin.
Their shoes have thick soles to protect against extreme temperatures and metal heel plates that create the crisp click when they halt.
Uniforms must have zero wrinkles or lint and are inspected in a full-length mirror.
For the first six months, guards do not speak to anyone and do not watch television.
Their off-duty time is spent studying the 175 notable individuals buried at Arlington National Cemetery, memorizing who they are and where they rest.
Among them: President Taft, Joe E. Lewis, and Audie Murphy, the most decorated WWII soldier.
Every guard spends five hours daily preparing their uniform.
ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM, O LORD, AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM.
When Hurricane Isabel approached Washington, D.C. in 2003, Congress shut down for two days. The guards were offered permission to suspend duty due to danger.
They replied: “No way, Sir!”
Drenched and marching through the storm, they insisted that guarding the Tomb is the highest honor, not just a task.
The Tomb has been continuously guarded — day and night — since 1930.
God Bless and Keep Them
I don’t often encourage sharing posts, but I would be honored if this one reached as many people as possible. We should always feel proud of the men and women who serve, wherever they are stationed.
Duty – Honor – Country
IN GOD WE TRUST — with Herbert F Wieland.
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
Some claims in this post are inaccurate. The Society of the Honor Guard says the Tomb has been guarded since 1937, the guard changes hourly in winter, sentinels can drink off duty, and there is no lifetime ban on alcohol or swearing.
tombguard.org/society/faq leadstories.com/hoax-alert/202…
I'm not crying, you're crying.
GrumpyOldFecker retweeted
🐾 HEAR HEAR📣 FRESH BAKED BLANKIES!
MOST PROCEEDS GO TO FURBABES SPONSORING 🐾
DM me for details.
GrumpyOldFecker retweeted
(Amanda)
My good friend Auntie Maria (@madridnantes ) has been busy making these lovely cat blankies.
She is doing it to raise money for cat rescues.
If you send her a DM (whatever that is) then she will give you details of how you can buy them.
Another way to help is by sharing this post.
Thank you so much.
@madridnantes
Thesecwere the best parts of Cheers, which says a LOT, because there were so many great parts to this series.m
NASA: Space is hard and a very serious business!
@kateesackhoff and @trutriciahelfer :
😭😭😭😭 Every. Damned. Time.
Author unknown shared from Everyday Magic
"Calvin? Calvin, sweetheart?"
In the darkness Calvin heard the sound of Susie, his wife of fifty-three years. Calvin struggled to open his eyes. God, he was so tired and it took so much strength. Slowly, light replaced the darkness, and soon vision followed. At the foot of his bed stood his wife. Calvin wet his dry lips and spoke hoarsely, "Did... did you.... find him?"
"Yes dear," Susie said smiling sadly, "He was in the attic."
Susie reached into her big purse and brought out a soft, old, orange tiger doll. Calvin could not help but laugh. It had been so long. Too long.
"I washed him for you," Susie said, her voice cracking a little as she laid the stuffed tiger next to her husband.
"Thank you, Susie." Calvin said.
A few moments passed as Calvin just laid on his hospital bed, his head turned to the side, staring at the old toy with nostalgia.
"Dear," Calvin said finally. "Would you mind leaving me alone with Hobbes for a while? I would like to catch up with him."
"All right," Susie said. "I'll get something to eat in the cafeteria. I'll be back soon."
Susie kissed her husband on the forehead and turned to leave. With sudden but gentle strength Calvin stopped her. Lovingly he pulled his wife in and gave her a passionate kiss on the lips. "I love you," he said.
"And I love you," said Susie.
Susie turned and left. Calvin saw tears streaming from her face as she went out the door.
Calvin then turned to face his oldest and dearest friend. "Hello Hobbes. It's been a long time hasn't it old pal?"
Hobbes was no longer a stuffed doll but the big furry old tiger Calvin had always remembered. "It sure has, Calvin." said Hobbes.
"You... haven't changed a bit." Calvin smiled.
"You've changed a lot." Hobbes said sadly.
Calvin laughed, "Really? I haven't noticed at all."
There was a long pause. The sound of a clock ticking away the seconds rang throughout the sterile hospital room.
"So... you married Susie Derkins." Hobbes said, finally smiling. "I knew you always like her."
"Shut up!" Calvin said, his smile bigger than ever.
"Tell me everything I missed. I'd love to hear what you've been up to!" Hobbes said, excited.
And so Calvin told him everything. He told him about how he and Susie fell in love in high school and had married after graduating from college, about his three kids and four grandkids, how he turned Spaceman Spiff into one of the most popular sci-fi novels of the decade, and so on. After he told Hobbes all this there was another pregnant pause.
"You know... I visited you in the attic a bunch of times." Calvin said.
"I know."
"But I couldn't see you. All I saw was a stuffed animal." Calvin voice was breaking and tears of regret started welling up in his eyes.
"You grew up old buddy." said Hobbes.
Calvin broke down and sobbed, hugging his best friend. "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry I broke my promise! I promised I wouldn't grow up and that we'd be together forever!!"
Hobbes stroke the Calvin's hair, or what little was left of it. "But you didn't."
"What do you mean?"
"We were always together... in our dreams."
"We were?"
"We were."
"Hobbes?"
"Yeah, old buddy?"
"I'm so glad I got to see you like this... one last time..."
"Me too, Calvin. Me too."
"Sweetheart?" Susie voice came from outside the door.
"Yes dear?" Calvin replied.
"Can I come in?" Susie asked.
"Just a minute."
Calvin turned to face Hobbes one last time. "Goodbye Hobbes. Thanks... for everything..."
"No, thank you Calvin." Hobbes said.
Calvin turned back to the door and said, "You can come in now."
Susie came in and said, "Look who's come to visit you."
Calvin's children and grandchildren followed Susie into Calvin's room. The youngest grandchild ran past the rest of them and hugged Calvin in a hard, excited hug. "Grandpa!!" screamed the child in delight.
"Francis!" cried Calvin's daughter, "Be gentle with your grandfather."
Calvin's daughter turned to her dad. "I'm sorry, Daddy. Francis never seems to behave these days. He just runs around making a mess and coming up with strange stories."
Calvin laughed and said, "Well now! That sound just like me when I was his age."
Calvin and his family chatted some more until a nurse said, "Sorry, but visiting hours are almost up."
Calvin's beloved family said good bye and promised to visit tomorrow. As they turned to leave Calvin said, "Francis. Come here for a second."
Francis came over to his grandfather's side, "What is it Gramps?"
Calvin reached over to the stuffed tiger on his bedside and and held him out shakily to his grandson, who looked exactly as he did so many years ago. "This is Hobbes. He was my best friend when I was your age. I want you to have him."
"He's just a stuffed tiger." Francis said, eyebrows raised.
Calvin laughed, "Well, let me tell you a secret."
Francis leaned closer to Calvin. Calvin whispered, "If you catch him in a tiger trap using a tuna sandwich as bait he will turn into a real tiger."
Francis gasped in delighted awe. Calvin continued, "Not only that he will be your best friend forever."
"Wow! Thanks grandpa!" Francis said, hugging his grandpa tightly again.
"Francis! We need to go now!" Calvin's daughter called.
"Okay!" Francis shouted back.
"Take good care of him." Calvin said.
"I will." Francis said before running off after the rest of the family.
Calvin laid on his back and stared at the ceiling. The time to go was close. He could feel it in his soul. Calvin tried to remember a quote he read in a book once. It said something about death being the next great adventure or something like that. He eyelids grew heavy and his breathing slowed. As he went deeper into his final sleep he heard Hobbes, as if he was right next to him at his bedside. "I'll take care of him, Calvin..."
Calvin took his first step toward one more adventure and breathed his last with a grin on his face
GrumpyOldFecker retweeted
Every share helps. Please spread the word and help save Snuggles! #SaveSnuggles
If anyone reading this is an attorney in Arizona or knows one, this is for you.
Snuggles' family needs a lawyer. Lucy and I will be doing everything we can to help @LoneStarChica bring national media attention to this case. This would be a great chance for you to make a name for yourself. Don't shy away from the moment. If you want to go down in history as a hero, this is your chance.
I know the right person will see this. Step up. Seize the moment.
#SaveLucy
#SaveSnuggles
@jenniferevn22
GrumpyOldFecker retweeted
PROTECT THOSE PAWS! ⚠️ Important PSA as we continue to get hotter into the summer. At over 140°, concrete and asphalt can burn paws in under 60 seconds. Remember: If it's too hot for you, it's too hot for them.
GrumpyOldFecker retweeted
I have a Marine vet Dan (combat veteran with PTSD rating) in emergency surgery at Vanderbilt in Nashville right now. His only transportation was his motorcycle. He was in a serious crash. It would be beautiful to get him a vehicle. He is an incredible spirit!!!!
🇺🇸🙏🏽
GrumpyOldFecker retweeted
After surviving life overseas and becoming part of a veteran’s family, Lucy the rescue dog is now at the center of a heartbreaking legal battle.
Read the full story here: lawenforcementtoday.com/savi…
#lawenforcement #BackTheBlue #SupportVeterans
SHARE this family is fighting to save her.
An HOA in Virginia tried to pull this bullshit on a Medal Of Honor earning veteran. It didn't work out well for the HOA or their law firm. This bitch is gonna find out the hard way the first time she "Karen's up" and tries enforcing it.
HOA bans American flags for being "triggering."
This is illegal.
This violates the 2005 Freedom to Display the American Flag Act.
Federal law protects your right to fly the U.S. flag on your property.
HOAs can only make reasonable rules on size/placement. Not ban it.
If your HOA tries to ban it, heres what to do:
Cite the 2005 Act and refuse to comply.
Document everything.
Send a cease-and-desist via attorney.
Your flag. Your right. 🇺🇸
GrumpyOldFecker retweeted
.@brendanmjones One month ago, our world absolutely shattered.
One month ago, authorities came onto our property and stole our dog after a brief leash slip and a neighbor reporting it. One month ago, I stood in my driveway completely heartbroken, angry in a way I had never experienced before, watching them drive away with a dog we had loved for 10 years. I cussed. My children cried. My husband went silent. His heart broke more than any of ours. The dog he had bonded with in war, who had helped him heal and come back to us, was gone.
One month ago, two years of harassment, court visits, dozens of police calls to our home, intimidation and alienation all came crashing down. For one brief moment, it felt like they had finally succeeded in their vile plan—breaking us to the point that we would give up and leave.
And somehow, through all of this pain, God has done something absolutely incredible.
One month ago, the fight began.
What was meant to destroy our family has instead united us, strengthened our marriage, deepened our faith, and connected us with millions of beautiful and amazing people across this country and around the world!
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.” — Romans 8:28
Our sweet Lucy—our Pearl of the Desert—has become something so much bigger than we ever imagined. She has become a symbol of ordinary people coming together, standing beside one another, and refusing to stay silent in the face of injustice, intimidation, and government overreach.
Today, we realize the incredible change Lucy’s story is already bringing into the world around us. And while we never would have chosen for it to be us, the Lord clearly saw fit for it to be so—our story, our family, our Lucy.
And so today, we are more determined than ever that this fight will continue—even after she comes home to us, which deep in my heart I absolutely believe she will.
Because Lucy’s story is going to inspire real change.
Change that protects ordinary families. Change that exposes the cracks in a system that too often allows good people to be intimidated, harassed, and pushed to the breaking point simply for living and raising their families how they best see fit. Change that helps protect dogs from being unfairly labeled and unnecessarily separated from the families who love them. Change that helps ensure no family is ever forced to endure this kind of heartbreak, fear, and exhaustion again.
We still have a long road ahead. But today, we no longer feel powerless.
Today, we fight with purpose.
BRING LUCY HOME.
#savelucy
@LoneStarChica @brendanmjones @MasonWillett20 @SaraGonzalesTX @catturd2 @buckleycarlson
*photo of Lucy and her two best friends, Brendan and Lex*. All three are my “military rescues”, and I love them dearly.
