Christmas And Beyond

Taking time off from writing for Christmas (you don't see the word Christmas much anymore and it's a shame) to concentrate on singing in the studio. I go in on the 27th to record about seven Sinatra songs for a CD and a demo for possible big band work. I've had a bad head cold, and I'm working on a Z-pack to knock it out, hopefully by the 27th.

The Kentucky Ghost Hunters are coming back in February to spend the night at my house. Holidays always seem to spark some activity among our live-in other dimension friends, if they can be called friends. We are supposed to have a man, woman, and child spirits, and one of them is angry all the time. Their activity doesn't seem to be on any regular schedule. It has never been aggressive, but is more to let us know they exist, with thumps, crashes, flitting images, lights on and off, and whispering.

Yesterday, another one of my childhood friends, JC, reached the 65th snow mark. None of us thought we would live this long, given the wars and the lifestyle of our generation. We're glad to still be around, but we're at the age where we know many more dead people than live ones. We meet every Thursday for breakfast.

Back in 1998, three out of five members of our then breakfast group died within two weeks at age 50. JC and I were the two left, and the odds against our survival seemed pretty slim. People looked at us like we were angels of death. But we're still here almost 15 years later and have added a few more members.

Lord of Homicides is one of my favorite novels. I love writing bizarre humor to explain weird events, and I had a blast with it. The Kindle version cover is above. I truly believe there is a parallel dimension that crosses into our lives at certain times and we have contacts from beyond. It's kind of like dealing with DC politicians.

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Vietnam: The Liberty Bridge

(This entry has had a lot of comments, and I'm glad it can help bring Nam vets together or to help find each other. If you have a comment, please attach your name to the comment or from this point forward it won't be published. I've received many comments that are phony and obviously made up, submitted by anonymous submission. I do screen all comments. Click the photo to enlarge. Semper Fi.) This is the Liberty Bridge (click to make larger) in Quang Nam Province in Vietnam during July of 1968. Of the 14,000 Marines killed in Vietnam, 10,000 were killed in Quang Nam Province. (Figures in comment section show a little under 7000 KIA in Quang Nam.) This was late in my tour on July 2. The bridge had been blown once again by the enemy to isolate the Marine base at An Hoa. I was a 50 caliber machine gunner on a convoy to resupply the An Hoa Firebase. I called this the River Styx because it had a ferry boat. Once you crossed the river you entered a nightmare hell on earth cal...

The Jesus Moth

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The Old Corps: Marine Corps Boot Camp 1966

BLT 1/3 USMC 1967 Vietnam Boot Camp Hell I recently saw a video of what I assume was the current Marine Corps Boot Camp. It mentioned recruits reporting any abuse right away and the DI was trying to be tough (and he did sound tough to an extent), but underneath it all you could tell the old Corps was gone in the civilian desire (political desire by people who never served) to make things easier and less traumatic for the boots. They never mentioned abuse to us in 1966 because we were abused 24/7. I'm an old Corps Hollywood Marine (that's an inside Marine joke about the difference between boot camp in Parris Island or San Diego.) The boots in Parris Island claimed they had it rougher because they had swamps. The Hollywood Marines had mountains. I would rather walk in water than climb mountains so I disagree. I entered the Marine Corps on August 10, 1966. Marines had been in Vietnam for over a year. All of us would probably go to Nam. For some of us it woul...

Dennis Latham: Life, Fiction, and the Pursuit of Madness

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