Monday, September 3, 2012

Reality. Check.





The last 4 weeks have been eventful, more so then ever thought possible.

I’ve experienced:


...ridiculously high temperatures I thought I would melt my tires to the road…I guess some smart engineer thought of that one. 
mind you this was around 8pm


...crazier weather changes than Oregon. T-Storms that set a fire. Near flash flood?

The rain was gone too fast to help...

It was unreal...      

     
Then it was gone...

...Mud-rain…rain, so dirty that the clouds couldn't filter it all out, that leaves muddy rain spots on my car. Never thought possible:

mud-rain:

...A BFIST… Bradley Fire Support Team (tracked and wheeled bradley's) 

25mm main gun. Used solely for the FSO and his team to monitor the calls for fire.



...FREE Brad Paisley concert. (one of my favorite's of his "I'm still a guy" and "American Saturday Night")

Really classy fella...


...Not this…but someone did, and all this occurred in about 2 days. Who knew so many birds could live is such a small tree and poop SO MUCH! 
There is always poop on my car, thankfully not this much...



...One of Oklahoma’s hidden gems
I'm a sucker for these things...

...My ceiling caving in. Don’t set your AC to below 60 for too long, it’ll burst pipes and leak to the room below (mine) 

He's lucky the ceiling tile didn't break my french press!



...High-Tech equipment the Army spent that actually works and is usefull! Ok, there was going to be a picture to post with it, the LLDR (Light-weight Laser Designator Rangefinder), but after searching google for a similar picture, I couldn’t find one, so to use common sense here, and attempt to not violate some security measures and end up like the wiki leaks guy, I’m not posting it, but here's a similar one  It’s a lot like the popular video game “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare” We were on the ground though, and it gave us more information, like distances and directions. Maybe I'll show you when I get home...in 42 days (plus travel)





Normal everyday FABOLC stuff right? Check. Then a reality check:


On Friday, August 24th at 1:21 AM, here in Lawton, OK, my friend, 2LT Ryan Yancey died in a motorcycle accident. He was wearing a helmet, but was traveling very fast. No one will ever know why he always chose to drive his bike so fast. Was it his immaturity? Was he Racing? Could it have been his PTSD from his 2 past deployments and seeking a rush like he got while conducting missions? We'll never know, and knowing wont bring him back. I had to quickly learn how to cope with this new experience, how to remember the man, quickly conquer mourning, and instead, celebrate his life. He served 9 years is the U.S. Army as an enlisted soldier, before commissioning around the same time as myself.



Someone bought him a shot of whisky, in his memory



I had to escape "Reality" (Musical theme song for the remaining)...

We have a 4-day weekend for Labor day, so friday night, my 2 closest friends here and myself drove up to Oklahoma city (OKC) 

...Went to OKC with those 2 close friends. I escaped reality. Had an amazing burger, watched a movie like never before ( Push button service, motorized recliners, and heated seats), squeaked by a victory in mini-golf, smoked a cigar on the water front, people watched, and just hung out with the guys.
Anthony isn't as "reflective" as Blake and I.
watched "The expendables 2"

River in the middle, with restaurants and bars on both sides. On the right, on the second level, is a cigar bar, it was like a slice of paradise...ish
man-made "river" that runs through Bricktown.


...didn't go here...next time?

Really? This exists?


...Needed more of an escape...3 hour hike/ climb/ scramble on MT. Scott.
Mt. Scott, the 15th highest "mountain" in OK. I climbed up and down rocks and boulders all morning(there were no trails...just a paved road. No Thanks, I'll scramble), summiting at 2,461 ft. Mary's Peak in Corvallis sits at: 4,097. They call it a mountain, but it looks like a hill. Coincidentally, there is a Mt. Scott in Oregon, too, near crater lake. It sits at 8,934 ft. Take that Oklahoma.

mostly straight up...
it's bigger in person...