Once a Marine; Always a Marine

Robert Russell Hammond, my “Uncle Bobby” was the son of  a U.S. Army Calvary “Buffalo Soldier.” Uncle Bobby entered the U.S. Marine Corps as one of nearly 20,0000 African-Americans who broke the color barrier during World War II. His boot camp was at MonfortPoint Camp, Jacksonville, North Carolina.  By May 1943 Bobby found himself in action in the Pacific until the war’s end when he returned to civilian life.  However, in 1948 Bobby was called back to active duty for the United Nations peacekeeping action known as the Korean War.  

After Korea he continued his military career  by engaging in three combat tours in Vietnam.  Bobby retired from active duty in August of 1975 as a Master Gunnery Sergeant in the Marine Corps. In June 2012, Master Gunnery Sergeant/Sergeant Major Robert R. Hammond received the Congressional Gold Medal.  Uncle Bobby passed away on May 26, 2016 and was buried with full military honors (including a 21 gun salute) at Cheltenham Veterans Cemetery in Cheltenham, Maryland. 

Semper Fidelis - Always Faithful. The U.S. Marine Corps’ motto sums up the life of Robert Russell Hammond, my “Uncle Bobby” and all Marines who make the commitment on  a daily basis to protect our country by land, sea and air.

Once a Marine, Always a Marine. Uncle Bobby in Vietnam 2^nd from left

Up in the mountains

We use to meet from time to time up in the mountains. Let us return up high to where the air is so clear that we can send a clear transmission. Vader would agree (click).  

Lex Talionis

The Code of Hamurabi the kings law from around 1754 BC predates the Hebrew Bible with it's Lex Talionis "An eye for an eye," doctrine. My interpretation of this principle of law is to insist on adequate monetary compensation for the victims of tort cases that I may represent in my work. 

Laugh and cry

Last night I dreamed I was on  a high tower looking down on people going about their lives below me. Then someone who appeared to be a man climbed up and joined me and asked me, "why are you here?"  I said to him,  "I want to see as many people as possible live out their lives."  "When you go back down," he said, "what will you do for them?" Right then I awoke from my dream and lay awake thinking that I should write down my  thoughts, but I had no writing materials. Instead I grabbed my phone and sent myself an e-mail with some of my thoughts and recollections from my dream. The next morning as I read my e-mail I realized that what I wrote was more like a prayer. A prayer that went something like; "Help me Lord to treat every person I encounter as someone to laugh with or to cry with." "Let me express to each person I find in my path, that they’re funny and that I enjoy laughing with them. But if they are going through something sad, let me walk with them for part of their journey and pray with them to be alright."  

I know that it sounds overly simple and very impractical because some of the people that we meet are either going to be hostile towards us or afraid of us, if not both. Yet, something tells me that this won't be too much of a problem. That's because most of the people we meet on a day to day basis are people just like us who are living out their lives. They are the people I saw from high up on that tower I dreamed of.

Let my record show

Let my record show, that ever since I made Jesus Lord my life has changed.

I was sick now I’m well

I was blind now I see

I was deaf now I hear

I was lame now I run
I was a slave now I'm free

I was dead now I’m alive

I’m not so proud anymore

I still have selfish wants, but now I let go and let God. 

I’m still a sinner, but now I have His power to throw off sin more quickly.  
I had a guilty conscience but now my conscious is clear.

What I received one day was grace and absolution along with healing and this was nothing short of a miracle. 
There is nothing special about me. I did not earn or deserve this grace but the beautiful thing is is that you can have this miracle too by stepping towards God. He will meet you more than halfway there. 

More:

Read Matthew 11:1-6 and enjoy Anointed I Adore You an uplifting music video.

The Great Migration

Europeans migrated to North America (The New World) 400 years ago in great numbers, they often came violently and were unstoppable.  Now the descendants of native Americans come in ever increasing numbers from Mexico and from Central and South America and no wall, no political rhetoric or anyone’s going to stop the great migration. Call it Montezuma’s REAL revenge if you will.  I believe that our pre-historic human migrations, the European migration and today’s world wide migrations of peoples are all natural occurrences in nature. Migrations have always existed just like the ocean tides have always existed because of the gravitational attractions of the sun and the moon on the oceans of the Earth. 

Maybe our efforts as a species would be better spent not fighting these migrations, but in finding new places for people to migrate to. Aside from the Earth's land mass there are also even larger areas right on the surface of our oceans and also under them that people can inhabit. But the ultimate dream would be to travel outwards to new worlds among the stars. I sure hope that we won't find a wall blocking us from where we need to go. But if we do encounter one I'm sure that we’ll find a way past it; it’s in our human nature to overcome obstacles.  

Reflections of a butler (Manservant to a Cave Man)

My employer Nitchee is a bit of an Neanderthal. No actually he is ALL beast! I've seen his quill pen and paper that he keeps locked up in his desk drawer. I've observed him longing to wet his spear again and do some spear whacking. He complains about e-mails yet he knows nothing about computers. Although he pretends to use his computer, I've never seen him write an e-mail.  His computer is an ancient model called a Compaq Presario with less computing power than a first generation smart phone. I think he fears that the more bytes his computer has, the greater the chance it may bite him on his harry a--. But I am only a butler and an unwilling cook and I must go now to make him his bloody steak! No, I'm not English that's how he likes to eat them;  rare and bloody and by the full moon. My brooding employer receives some interesting paper mail in the letter box from time to time. I haven't been able to peek inside of one of those envelopes yet because of those archaic yet effective wax seals. When I bring him his mail to his study he always behaves the same. He'll snatch the envelopes off the silver tray I carry and slam the door in my face. That one is definitely up to something all right and I think that someday soon; humans are going to have hell to pay.