Honky Tonk Cruzers

Wordless Wednesday - Joel and John

2012-02-07T21:59:00.001-06:00

Is Naval Aviation Culture Dead?

2012-02-05T09:11:00.000-06:00

Here's a good read written by a a former Secretary of the Navy. A history lesson too - from the pivotal Battle of Midway to Korea and Vietnam, followed by a hyper-jump to Tailhook '91 and joint duty in the Pentagon. Times have definitely changed. For the better? We'll see...

A Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat from Fighter Squadron 5 awaits clearance to launch from the aircraft carrier Yorktown on November 20, 1943. Squadron 5 had been assigned to hit targets in the Marshall Islands.

Is Naval Aviation Culture Dead?

By John Lehman

Created 2011-10-02 10:28

The swaggering-flyer mystique forged over the past century has been stymied in recent years by political correctness.

We celebrate the 100th anniversary of U.S. naval aviation this year, but the culture that has become legend was born in controversy, with battleship admirals and Marine generals seeing little use for airplanes. Even after naval aviators proved their worth in World War I, naval aviation faced constant conflict within the Navy and Marine Corps, from the War Department, and from skeptics in Congress. Throughout the interwar period, its culture was forged largely unnoted by the public.

It first burst into the American consciousness 69 years ago when a few carrier aviators changed the course of history at the World War II Battle of Midway. For the next three years the world was fascinated by these glamorous young men who, along with the Leathernecks, dominated the newsreels of the war in the Pacific. Most were sophisticated and articulate graduates of the Naval Academy and the Ivy League, and as such they were much favored for Pathé News interviews and War Bond tours. Their casualty rates from accidents and combat were far higher than other branches of the naval service, and aviators were paid nearly a third more than non-flying shipmates. In typical humor, a pilot told one reporter: “We don’t make more money, we just make it faster.”

Landing a touchy World War II fighter on terra firma was difficult enough, but to land one on a pitching greasy deck required quite a different level of skill and sangfroid. It took a rare combination of hand-eye coordination, innate mechanical sense, instinctive judgment, accurate risk assessment, and most of all, calmness under extreme pressure. People with such a rare combination of talents will always be few in number. The current generation of 9-G jets landing at over 120 knots hasn’t made it any easier.

Little wonder that poker was a favorite recreation and gallows humor the norm. In his book Crossing the Line, Professor Alvin Kernan recounts when his TBF had a bad launch off the USS Suwanee (CVE-27) in 1945. He was trying desperately to get out of the sinking plane as the escort carrier sped by a few feet away. Looking up, he saw the face of his shipmate, Cletus Powell (who had just won money from him playing blackjack), leaning out of a porthole shouting “Kernan, you don’t have to pay. Get out, get out for God’s sake.” No wonder such men had a certain swagger that often irritated their non-flying brothers in arms.

Louis Johnson’s Folly

By war’s end more than 100 carriers were in commission. But when Louis Johnson replaced the first Secretary of Defense, Jim Forrestal—himself one of the original naval aviators in World War I—he tried to eliminate both the Marine Corps and naval aviation. By 1950 Johnson had ordered the decommissioning of all but six aircraft carriers. Most historians count this as one of the important factors in bringing about the invasion of South Korea, supported by both China and the Soviet Union. After that initial onslaught, no land airbases were available for the Air Force to fight back, and all air support during those disastrous months came from the USS Valley Forge (CV-45), the only carrier left in the western Pacific. She was soon joined by the other two carriers remaining in the Pacific.

Eventually enough land bases were recovered to allow the Air Force to engage in force, and more carriers were recommissioned, manned by World War II vets hastily recalled to active duty. James Michener’sThe Bridges at Toko-Ri and Admiral James Holloway’s Aircraft Carriers at War together capture that moment perfectly. Only later was it learned that many of the enemy pilots were battle-hardened Russian veterans of World War II.

By the time of the armistice, the Cold War was well under way, and for the next 43 years, naval aviation was at the leading edge of the conflict around the globe. As before, aviators suffered very high casualties throughout. Training and operational accidents took a terrible toll. Jet fighters on straight decks operating without the sophisticated electronics or reliable ejection seats that evolved in later decades had to operate come hell or high water as one crisis followed another in the Taiwan Strait, Cuba, and many lesser-known fronts.

Between 1953 and 1957, hundreds of naval aviators were killed in an average of 1,500 crashes per year, while others died when naval intelligence gatherers like the EC-121 were shot down by North Koreans, Soviets, and Chinese. In those years carrier aviators had only a one-in-four chance of surviving 20 years of service.

Vietnam and the Cold War

The Vietnam War was an unprecedented feat of endurance, courage, and frustration in ten years of constant combat. Naval aviators flew against the most sophisticated Soviet defensive systems and highly trained and effective Vietnamese pilots. But unlike any previous conflict, they had to operate under crippling political restrictions, well known to the enemy. Antiaircraft missiles and guns were placed in villages and other locations known to be immune from attack. The kinds of targets that had real strategic value were protected while hundreds of aviators’ lives and thousands of aircraft were lost attacking easily rebuilt bridges and “suspected truck parks,” as the U.S. government indulged its academic game theories.

Stephen Coonts’ Flight of the Intruder brilliantly expressed the excruciating frustration from this kind of combat. During that period, scores of naval aviators were killed or taken prisoner. More than 100 squadron commanders and executive officers were lost. The heroism and horror of the POW experience for men such as John McCain and Jim Stockdale were beyond anything experienced since the war with Japan.

Naturally, when these men hit liberty ports, and when they returned to their bases between deployments, their partying was as intense as their combat. The legendary stories of Cubi Point, Olongapo City, and the wartime Tailhook conventions in Las Vegas grew with each passing year.

Perhaps the greatest and least known contribution of naval aviation was its role in bringing the Cold War to a close. President Ronald Reagan believed that the United States could win the Cold War without combat. Along with building the B-1 and B-2 bombers and the Peacekeeper missile, and expanding the Army to 18 divisions, President Reagan built the 600-ship Navy and, more important, approved the Navy recommendation to begin at once pursuing a forward strategy of aggressive exercising around the vulnerable coasts of Russia. This demonstrated to the Soviets that we could defeat the combined Warsaw Pact navies and use the seas to strike and destroy their vital strategic assets with carrier-based air power.

Nine months after the President’s inauguration, three U.S. and two Royal Navy carriers executed offensive exercises in the Norwegian Sea and Baltic. In this and subsequent massive exercises there and in the northwest Pacific carried out every year, carrier aircraft proved that they could operate effectively in ice and fog, penetrate the best defenses, and strike all of the bases and nodes of the Soviet strategic nuclear fleet. Subsequent testimony from members of the Soviet General Staff attested that this was a major factor in the deliberations and the loss of confidence in the Soviet government that led to its collapse.
During those years naval aviation adapted to many new policies, the removal of the last vestiges of institutional racial discrimination, and the first winging of women as naval aviators and their integration into ships and squadrons.

‘Break the Culture’

1991 marked the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and the end of the Cold War. But as naval aviation shared in this triumph, the year also marked the start of tragedy. The Tailhook Convention that took place in September that year began a scandal with a negative impact on naval aviation that continues to this day. The over-the-top parties of combat aviators were overlooked during the Vietnam War but had become accidents waiting to happen in the postwar era.

Whatever the facts of what took place there, it set off investigations within the Navy, the Department of Defense, the Senate, and the House that were beyond anything since the investigations and hearings regarding the Pearl Harbor attack. Part of what motivated this grotesquely disproportionate witch hunt was pure partisan politics and the deep frustration of Navy critics (and some envious begrudgers within the Navy) of the glamorous treatment accorded to the Navy and its aviators in Hollywood and the media, epitomized by the movie Top Gun. Patricia Schroeder (D-CO), chair of the House Armed Services Committee investigation, declared that her mission was to “break the culture,” of naval aviation. One can make the case that she succeeded.

What has changed in naval aviation since Tailhook? First, we should review the social/cultural, and then professional changes. Many but not all were direct results of Tailhook.

‘De-Glamorization’ of Alcohol

Perhaps in desperation, the first reaction of Pentagon leadership to the congressional witch hunt was to launch a massive global jihad against alcohol, tellingly described as “de-glamorization.” While alcohol was certainly a factor in the Tailhook scandal, it was absolutely not a problem for naval aviation as a whole. There was no evidence that there were any more aviators with an alcohol problem than there were in the civilian population, and probably a good deal fewer.

As a group, naval aviators have always been fastidious about not mixing alcohol and flying. But social drinking was always a part of off-duty traditional activities like hail-and-farewell parties and especially the traditional Friday happy hour. Each Friday on every Navy and Marine air station, most aviators not on duty turned up at the officers’ club at 1700 to relax and socialize, tell bad jokes, and play silly games like “dead bug.” But there was also an invaluable professional function, because happy hours provided a kind of sanctuary where junior officers could roll the dice with commanders, captains, and admirals, ask questions that could never be asked while on duty, listen avidly to the war stories of those more senior, and absorb the lore and mores of the warrior tribe.

When bounds of decorum were breached, or someone became over-refreshed, as occasionally happened, they were usually taken care of by their peers. Only in the worst cases would a young junior officer find himself in front of the skipper on Monday morning. Names like Mustin Beach, Trader Jon’s, Miramar, and Oceana were a fixed part of the culture for anyone commissioned before 1991. A similar camaraderie took place in the chiefs’ clubs, the acey-deucy clubs, and the sailors’ clubs.

Now all that is gone. Most officers’ and non-commissioned officers’ clubs were closed and happy hours banned. A few clubs remain, but most have been turned into family centers for all ranks and are, of course, empty. No officers dare to be seen with a drink in their hand. The JOs do their socializing as far away from the base as possible, and all because the inquisitors blamed the abuses of Tailhook ’91 on alcohol abuse. It is fair to say that naval aviation was slow to adapt to the changes in society against alcohol abuse and that corrections were overdue, especially against tolerance of driving while under the influence.

But once standards of common sense were ignored in favor of political correctness, there were no limits to the spread of its domination. Not only have alcohol infractions anonymously reported on the hot-line become career-enders, but suspicions of sexual harassment, homophobia, telling of risqué jokes, and speech likely to offend favored groups all find their way into fitness reports. And if actual hot-line investigations are then launched, that is usually the end of a career, regardless of the outcome. There is now zero-tolerance for any missteps in these areas.

Turning Warriors into Bureaucrats

On the professional side, it is not only the zero-tolerance of infractions of political correctness but the smothering effects of the explosive growth of bureaucracy in the Pentagon. When the Department of Defense was created in 1947, the headquarters staff was limited to 50 billets. Today, 750,000 full time equivalents are on the headquarters staff. This has gradually expanded the time and cost of producing weapon systems, from the 4 years from concept to deployment of Polaris, to the projected 24 years of the F-35.

But even more damaging, these congressionally created new bureaucracies are demanding more and more meaningless paperwork from the operating forces. According to the most recent rigorous survey, each Navy squadron must prepare and submit some 780 different written reports annually, most of which are never read by anyone but still require tedious gathering of every kind of statistic for every aspect of squadron operations. As a result, the average aviator spends a very small fraction of his or her time on duty actually flying.

Job satisfaction has steadily declined. In addition to paperwork, the bureaucracy now requires officers to attend mandatory courses in sensitivity to women’s issues, sensitivity and integration of openly homosexual personnel, and how to reintegrate into civilian society when leaving active duty. This of course is perceived as a massive waste of time by aviators, and is offensive to them in the inherent assumption that they are no longer officers and gentlemen but coarse brutes who will abuse women and gays, and not know how to dress or hold a fork in civilian society unless taught by GS-12s.

One of the greatest career burdens added to naval aviators since the Cold War has been the Goldwater-Nichols requirement to have served at least four years of duty on a joint staff to be considered for flag, and for junior officers to have at least two years of such joint duty even to screen for command. As a result, the joint staffs in Washington and in all the combatant commands have had to be vastly increased to make room. In addition, nearly 250 new Joint Task Force staffs have been created to accommodate these requirements. Thus, when thinking about staying in or getting out, young Navy and Marine aviators look forward to far less flight time when not deployed, far more paperwork, and many years of boring staff duty.

Zero-Tolerance Is Intolerable

Far more damaging than bureaucratic bloat is the intolerable policy of “zero-tolerance” applied by the Navy and the Marine Corps. One strike, one mistake, one DUI, and you are out. The Navy has produced great leaders throughout its history. In every era the majority of naval officers are competent but not outstanding. But there has always been a critical mass of fine leaders. They tended to search for and recognize the qualities making up the right stuff, as young JOs looked up the chain and emulated the top leaders, while the seniors in turn looked down and identified and mentored youngsters with promise.

By nature, these kinds of war-winning leaders make mistakes when they are young and need guidance—and often protection from the system. Today, alas, there is much evidence that this critical mass of such leaders is being lost. Chester Nimitz put his whole squadron of destroyers on the rocks by making mistakes. But while being put in purgatory for a while, he was protected by those seniors who recognized a potential great leader. In today’s Navy, Nimitz would be gone. Any seniors trying to protect him would themselves be accused of a career-ending cover-up.

Because the best aviators are calculated risk-takers, they have always been particularly vulnerable to the system. But now in the age of political correctness and zero-tolerance, they are becoming an endangered species.

Today, a young officer with the right stuff is faced on commissioning with making a ten-year commitment if he or she wants to fly, which weeds out some with the best potential. Then after winging and an operational squadron tour, they know well the frustrations outlined here. They have seen many of their role models bounced out of the Navy for the bad luck of being breathalyzed after two beers, or allowing risqué forecastle follies.

‘Dancing on the Edge of a Cliff’

They have not seen senior officers put their own careers on the line to prevent injustice. They see before them at least 14 years of sea duty, interspersed with six years of bureaucratic staff duty in order to be considered for flag rank. And now they see all that family separation and sacrifice as equal to dancing on the edge of a cliff. One mistake or unjust accusation, and they are over. They can no longer count on a sea-daddy coming to their defense.

Today, the right kind of officers with the right stuff still decide to stay for a career, but many more are putting in their letters in numbers that make a critical mass of future stellar leaders impossible. In today’s economic environment, retention numbers look okay, but those statistics are misleading.

Much hand-wringing is being done among naval aviators (active-duty, reserve, and retired) about the remarkable fact that there has only been one aviator chosen as Chief of Naval Operations during the past 30 years. For most of the last century there were always enough outstanding leaders among aviators, submariners, and surface warriors to ensure a rough rotation among the communities when choosing a CNO. The causes of this sudden change are not hard to see. Vietnam aviator losses severely thinned the ranks of leaders and mentors; Tailhook led to the forced or voluntary retirement of more than 300 carrier aviators, including many of the finest, like Bob Stumpf, former skipper of the Blue Angels.

There are, of course, the armchair strategists and think-tankers who herald the arrival of unmanned aerial vehicles as eliminating the need for naval aviators and their culture, since future naval flying will be done from unified bases in Nevada, with operators requiring a culture rather closer computer geeks. This is unlikely.

As the aviator culture fades from the Navy, what is being lost? Great naval leaders have and will come from each of the communities, and have absorbed virtues from all of them. But each of the three communities has its unique cultural attributes. Submariners are imbued with the precision of engineering mastery and the chess players’ adherence to the disciplines of the long game; surface sailors retain the legacy of John Paul Jones, David G. Farragut and Arleigh “31 Knot” Burke, and have been the principal repository of strategic thinking and planning. Aviators have been the principal source of offensive thinking, best described by Napoleon as “L’audace, l’audace, toujours l’audace!” (Audacity, audacity, always audacity!)

Those attributes of naval aviators—willingness to take intelligent calculated risk, self-confidence, even a certain swagger—that are invaluable in wartime are the very ones that make them particularly vulnerable in today’s zero-tolerance Navy. The political correctness thought police, like Inspector Javert in Les Misérables, are out to get them and are relentless.
The history of naval aviation is one of constant change and challenge. While the current era of bureaucracy and political correctness, with its new requirements of integrating women and openly gay individuals, is indeed challenging, it can be dealt with without compromising naval excellence. But what does truly challenge the future of the naval services is the mindless pursuit of zero-tolerance. A Navy led by men and women who have never made a serious mistake will be a Navy that will fail.

Dr. Lehman was the 65th Secretary of the Navy and a member of the 9/11 Commission.

Article Information

Magazine Volume:

Proceedings Magazine - September 2011 Vol. 137/9/1,303 [1]

Author:

By John Lehman

Kids in the Yard

2012-02-04T22:31:00.001-06:00

Here's a quick video of CJ and Jake with their cousins Jena and Ariel hanging out in the backyard during the Christmas break. Flannigan is with them too. No kids or animals were harmed in the making of this film.

We Miss You Paw Paw

2012-02-01T22:55:00.000-06:00

Carol's step-dad, James Mathews, better known as Paw Paw to the kids and Mathew to the grownups, passed away last month at the ripe young age of 91. Carol's Mom called him Mathew because she didn't want to confuse him with her son who was also named James. So Mathew it was. Like Aunt Charlie says, "It doesn't matter what your name is, we're gonna call you what we wanna call you." Gotta love Aunt Charlie.

When loved ones pass away, it's of course very natural to feel great sadness. With Mathew's passing though, I was uplifted by the story of open arms and love that defines Carol's family. And so here's the quick story:

Aunt Charlie got to know Mathew through his first wife, Ruby. She was Ruby's oncology nurse. After a long and happy life, Ruby died of cancer over 20 years ago, leaving Mathew pretty much by himself. Unfortunately, he and Ruby were unable to have kids. But it wasn't God's will for Mathew to be alone. One day, Aunt Charlie invited Mathew to one of the family gatherings. Before this invitation, Mathew didn't have any kids and the very little family he had lived out of state. After this invitation and lots of love from the Hosmer gang, Mathew suddenly inherited a multitude of kids, grandkids and enough family to win an election! He also met his future wife, Carol's Mom. It's amazing how powerful a single invitation can be.

Here's Carol and Mathew right before they walked down the aisle to partner up with an incredible studmuffin of a Navy man.

Watching over Carol while she's pregnant with CJ.

Mom and Mathew drove all the way to San Diego to visit us. On the last day of driving, they got pooped out and checked into a hotel that was about 20 minutes away from our house. They didn't realize how close they were. Carol hopped in the car, retrieved them, and did the caravan back to our humble abode. It was a fun visit.

Jake and CJ love their Paw Paw.

Mathew has seen a lot of things. He was with Ruby during her battle with cancer. He was with Mom through her successful fight with breast cancer. He was also a veteran, having served overseas during his time in the Air Force.

During our last couple of trips to Alabama, Mathew would ask me, "So are you on a ship in Tennessee?" Speaking of ships, here is Mom and Mathew dressed up as pirates during one of CJ's birthday parties. These two pirates got to do a lot of traveling during their time together. They visited Italy, Israel, Alaska and many places throughout the US.

Mathew was a very spiritual man and did many things for his church. He was sharp as a tack all the way until the very end. I'll miss hanging out at his house in Bessemer laughing at Ray Romano on the tube or watching the Weather Channel while the boys played checkers. It was always pleasant conversation with Mathew, although you had to talk kinda loud so he could hear you. After failing my hearing test two days ago during my flight physical, my ears aren't far behind. Darn jet noise.

Growing up as a kid, I had no memories of grandparents. They had all passed away when I was young or before I was born. I'm really glad that my boys have many fond memories of their Paw Paw. One memory that I hope stays with the boys for a long time is the story of Aunt Charlie's invitation.

Paw Paw - you were loved by many and will be sorely missed. Rest in peace.

Wordless Wednesday - Vain & Vicious

2012-01-31T21:37:00.000-06:00

2011 Year in Review - Part II

2012-01-29T10:00:00.001-06:00

Whoops. Forgot to post this one before I went on travel. So here's the other half of 2011:

Jena got to hang out with the Honky Tonk Cruzers in Tennessee after a fun vacation week in Miami. Of course we got our fishing on at nearby Garner Lake. She crushed me. She was catching bass, catfish, crappie, and blue gill. I was catching a cold. I wouldn't have had it any other way. Seeing her so giddy over her fishing bounty made it a highly successful day on the lake for the both of us.

In July, I took a work trip along with some of the other detailers and placement officers from Navy Personnel Command to the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina. You might have heard about JSOC in the news after the OBL mission went down. They are one of the commands that I place for. My brother Lee is stationed at Fort Bragg so we got to catch up a bit. The bonus was doing some indoor skydiving with the JSOC folks. Very cool.

For CJ's 13th birthday, he jokingly asked for a 5 pound gummy bear, a kazoo, and a shark with a laser attached to his head. So what did we get him? A 5 pound gummy bear, a kazoo, and a shark with a laser attached to his head. Mission accomplished. Due to the summer heat, the gummy bear arrived in the mail as a large gelatinous mass. Not good. The kazoo was a big hit. He's belting out "Rolling in the Deep" and "Edge of Glory" like there's no tomorrow. And here he is with the shark. I made the laser myself.

So glad the family got to attend my good friend Hoss' retirement ceremony in Meridian, Mississippi. Hoss and I were roommates during our Department Head tour with the VS-30 Diamondcutters. The second set of wings under Hoss' ribbons are from his time in England flying Harriers.

More travel in July. This is the US Northern Command Headquarters in Colorado Springs. They are one of 10 Combatant Commands (COCOMs) that I place for. I'm the Placement Officer for all of the COCOMs, which means I provide them with their Navy officers. There is one less COCOM now that Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) has disestablished. Now I know why everyone wants orders to NORTHCOM. It's gorgeous up there. NORTHCOM was established after the 9/11 attacks.

Speaking of JFCOM, I had another trip to Norfolk, Virginia to work the many disestablishment details. The disestablishment kept me busy for several months. Nice to have that behind me. Got to see some good friends in my old stomping grounds in Virginia. This is me, Lani, and Ruben at the Goo Goo Dolls Concert in Portsmouth. A good friend of mine was nice enough to get us tickets. Always nice catching up with friends.

Speaking of catching up, Jake and Hannah had a ball spending time together during the Allen's trip to Memphis. These two were besties from their Korea days. The thoughts of being close to the Allens for our next tour is pretty exciting.

More travel. This time to Stuttgart, Germany for some business with European Command and Africa Command. Awesome place. I really enjoyed running through their nature trails. They've got them all over the place. I got to take in a nice wine festival during my trip. Every time I push someone's orders to Stuttgart, I know that I'm making dreams come true.

Things are bigger in Texas, except for the Alamo. It was much smaller than I thought. The trip to San Antonio was to visit the Joint Information Operations Warfare Center at Lackland Air Force Base. The JIOWC is a part of Strategic Command.

In September, I was part of the Seaman to Admiral 21 Selection Board held in Pensacola, Florida. This board picks the best and brightest enlisted sailors to go through this special program to eventually get commissioned as Navy officers. I got to catch up with Katrina and her boyfriend Tom. I will be eternally grateful to Katrina for introducing me to Carol.

October was a big month for the Cruz household. CJ got baptized! Love this picture.

San Diego for Fall Break! This is one of many pictures of the Pose from 2011.

An Alabama Thanksgiving. The girls decided against doing the Pose.

In December, we did a quick weekend trip to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville. Gotta do it if you get the opportunity. They do military specials every now and then so check those out. Although we didn't see the Rockettes, we did get to catch a live show with Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, Puss in Boots, and the Madagascar Penguins.

And to round out the year, we had the Cruz Christmas Palooza in Memphis. Lots of laughs, food, and toilet paper. Here we are hovering over the newest Cruz - Sammy!

Chilling with their newest cousin.

It was great having Mom visit all the way from the Philippines. Too bad Dad couldn't make it.

Graceland!

New Year's Eve 70's Party to roll in 2012!

And there we go. So like a good Navy family, we're prepping for the next set of orders and the new duty station. More on that later. Hope you all have a great 2012!

Wordless Wednesday - Miewon Orphanage

2012-01-18T21:00:00.000-06:00

2011 Year in Review - Part I

2012-01-16T11:52:00.001-06:00

Ringing in 2011 with our awesome Coltwood neighbors. That's Amy, Lori, Carol and Stephanie. I felt like I was back in Korea when they broke out the karaoke machine.

My brother Lee's graduation and commissioning ceremony in January at the Airborne and Special Operations Museum in Fayetteville, North Carolina. There was enough flair up in that piece for a dozen Bennigan's restaurants. Lee is now with the 82nd Airborne.

Unfortunately, it was time to put the old Acura out to pasture. Carol finally got a new ride in Feb. This is Big Blue. If the big smile in the front seat is any indication, Jake approves of the new purchase. We are officially a Mazda family. If you're shopping for a new car, USAA buying services is a great source to save some bucks. At a minimum, it gives you some serious leverage.

In February, Carol's brother James hosted his annual bonfire at his place in Alabama. Bonfire, fish fry and smores makes for a nice weekend. The white pieces of paper are pictures of Justin Bieber drawn by CJ and his cousins. They are not fans of the Bieb.

For Spring Break in March, we drove to Virginia to visit Alan, Danita, Joel and Jena. Who doesn't like Krispy Kreme donuts?

In April, we were back in Alabama for the Burgers and Bluegrass fundraiser at the Spirit of Hope Youth Ranch. Carol's cousin Leenie runs Spirit of Hope. Check out this link to learn more about this awesome organization: http://www.sohyr.org/

The family got to spend our first Easter in Alabama. The boys got to participate in one of the biggest family events of the year in Alabama - the Easter Egg Hunt. Big and little kids are tumbling over themselves at the start line to get to the prized money eggs.

One of our favorite things about Memphis is our church - Bellevue Baptist. CJ and Jake both enjoy the Sunday School and youth programs. Pastor Steve Gaines is amazing and tells it like it is. Here's one of the murals near Jake's Sunday School class.

Spring means it's baseball season. Play ball! I got to coach Jake and the rest of the Reds.

A couple of us in Millington flew down to Pensacola in a T-39 to conduct some detailing business and attend the Centennial of Naval Aviation (CONA) events. Many thanks to Q and VT-10!

Carol and I were living on a prayer while rocking out at the Bon Jovi concert at the FEDEX Forum in May. I gotta say, it was one of the best concerts I've ever been to. Made for some interesting people watching too. We saw an older lady that didn't notice the expiration date on her tube top. There were young ladies with their 80's hair so big they needed turn signals. Of course the mullet was out in full force. I still cranked out my physical fitness test the next morning.

Saying farewell to Team Walker. That's Lynn, Ann, Carol, Amy and Michele.

CJ put on a heck of a campaign and was elected Vice President of the Student Council at Arlington Middle School. Here's the poster that was banned by the school administration. Always the rebel.

Block party in our neighborhood.

Supporting the local AAA baseball team, the Memphis Redbirds. Try the BBQ nachos.

Here's our crew at work. That's Megan on the left, the best lawyer in the US Navy, Shrek who drives submarines and Pam, a helicopter pilot. Our job - making dreams come true.

My good friend Deke came down for a weekend in Memphis. Got some business done and snuck in the Gibson Guitar 5K run downtown. The weather didn't cooperate very well though. The rain started pouring at the start of the run and didn't let up for quite a while. It turned into one of the biggest wet t-shirt contests I've ever been to.

Tubing and having a blast on the waverunners at Leenie's lakehouse at Lake Martin in Alabama.

In June, we got to visit Jason, Kristi, Aidan and Olivia in Ormond Beach, Florida. As you can see, CJ enjoys being the center of attention.

We headed south to Miami for the Cruz family summer vacation. Lots of eating, laughing, beaching, fishing, shopping and zaboomafoo-ing.

Angela and Carol soaking up the sun at the lake for Cousin's Day.

An Alabama 4th of July!

To be continued...

Sausage Biscuit

2012-01-14T10:32:00.000-06:00

My brother Bernabe (Beanie) who lives in New York wrote this note recently. I thought it was pretty cool.

------------------------------

I'm not a pious person. I'm not a religious person. I don't pray as often as I should. I don't regularly attend church. One would find it hard to believe that I'm a Christian, because I've not led an exemplary Christian life.

I am a Christian, and as many times that I have failed to live up to the standard that Christ has set for us, I know He wants me to always forge ahead. "Leaning forward in the foxhole" is the phrase one of my old platoon Sergeants used to say.

That is neither here or there. It is related and simultaneously unrelated to the purpose of this note. One of the things I do consistently is warm my car up for about 5-7 minutes in the morning before work. While I'm sitting in my car waiting, I usually pray. Regretfully, it is often the only time I'll pray during that day. This morning I asked God to take care of my family and friends, as I usually do, and to take care of me. I also requested that God send people my way that need help. That need a blessing. That need a break. Did he ever.

It's 7:20 AM as I'm writing this. God has already answered my prayer twice, and the Sun is barely awake. I was sitting down at a McDonalds eating an Egg McMuffin. (2 for 3 by the way, 600 calories), when a young woman walked into the restaurant, approached me and stopped 3 feet away and said rudely. "Buy me a sausage biscuit!!". No exaggeration.

I looked at her and paused. Inside I was telling myself if this person were male, I would quickly tell him to remove himself from my vicinity or face dire repercussions. Again she said "Buy me a sausage biscuit!!" I looked her right in the eyes and remembered my prayer and said, "Is that all?". She replied, (no kidding), as if startled by my response "Umm, get me two!!" I replied "How about something to drink?" She said that's ok. I think she felt guilty. I thought it peculiar to enjoy two sausage biscuits without a nice beverage.

I stopped mid meal, stood up, and went right to the counter. I ordered her two sausage biscuits and swiped my card, and sat back down to finish my meal. As I was concluding my meal, I wondered if she would thank me. Every time I've ever wondered if someone would thank me, it has never happened. Sure enough, she got her food and walked right out of there without looking back. I thanked God quietly.

Later, as I was leaving, in a not so dramatic incident, I saw a scruffily clad fellow who definitely looked like he needed nourishment. I had my fruit and oatmeal to go in my hand and offered it to him. He politely denied. However, another fellow saw this and immediately yelled out "I'll take it!!" So his it was.

Upon driving away I realized how good God is. He may not have answered my prayers for more carnal and material things, but He gives me what I need. He nourished me this morning. I guarantee if we ask God to send people our way, He won't disappoint.

A quick note by B Cruz

Flashback Friday

2012-01-13T18:25:00.000-06:00

Here are the Cruzers back when they still taught cursive writing in school. I would've shared my big fat #2 pencil with the nice girl in the red shirt if she needed one.

Wordless Wednesday - Gargoyle

2012-01-11T20:47:00.000-06:00

Roll Tide!

2012-01-10T23:13:00.000-06:00

I felt confident that Alabama would get the win last night because I found it hard to believe any team could beat Nick Saban twice in one year. The sheer magnitude of the butt-whooping doled out by the Crimson Tide was surprising though. I almost felt bad for Les Miles. Almost. So that's three National titles for ol' Nick. Awesome.

The Legend - Coach Paul William "Bear" Bryant in his trademark houndstooth fedora. He's had his fair share of National titles too.

And so in honor of the big Alabama win, I present a small collection of houndstooth pictures. There are plenty of Alabama fans in Tennessee. This fan couple was in front of the Graceland mansion. She's got on a stylish houndstooth winter jacket and he's got the more informal Alabama hoody with houndstooth liner. That's my brother Beanie's hand on the right. He's quite the prognosticator. With his fingers, he's holding up the number of points he thought LSU would score in the big game. He was exactly right.

I was gonna post the link that accompanied this gem of a picture but it was kind of mean-spirited so I decided to leave it out. Although we may have our own opinions of proper maternity wear, you have to love this couple's spirit. Oh please help that baby.

So as a Miami Dolphins fan, I've forgiven Nick Saban for ditching the team a few years back. As a Crimson Tide fan, I hope he keeps bringing more of the same. Roll Tide!

Flashback Friday - New Year's Eve 21 Years Ago

2012-01-06T06:35:00.000-06:00

Flashback 21 years ago, when I was home in Virginia Beach for Christmas break during my senior year at VMI. Not sure what got into Mom and Dad but they said no problem to having a "small group" of friends over to the house for a New Year's Eve "get together." Needless to say, it kinda got out of hand. I guess the parents were so happy to have me home for a few days, they were pretty much forgiving about everything. So much so that they overlooked the houseful of people, loud music and beers sitting atop of Dad's large Sony stereo speakers. They even vacated the house early in the evening. I can't remember if they had plans or if they just couldn't stand to see the shenanigans. Either way, it was very cool of them to just let us do our thing.

It was an incredibly fun New Year's Eve. Some of my VMI buddies drove down earlier in the week as well as good friends from Mary Baldwin College and James Madison University. We hung out at my friend Anthony's place. It was like a long slumber party. Most of us were seniors and ready to let our hair down.

Aileen, John and Dawn.

The living room wasn't much of a dance floor but we made the most of it. We jammed out to "Can't Touch This" by MC Hammer, "Pump Up the Jams" by Technotronic, "I've Got the Power" by Snap, "Rhythm Nation" by Janet Jackson (Ms. Jackson if you're nasty) and of course the mega-one hit wonder from 1990...drum roll please..."Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice. Word to your mother.

So there were other pictures from that night, but trust me, no one needs to see them - especially if the individuals captured in said photos are even remotely considering the possibility of entering the world of politics.

Man, there are some good peeps in these pictures. You're talking an Army Colonel, Navy Commander, engineers, FBI Special Agent, business owners and other professionals. Can't wait to catch up with some of them later this year. Unfortunately, I won't be able to catch up with one of them until much, much later. Miss you Ann.

Hope you have a great 2012!

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-04T06:17:00.000-06:00

HB!

2012-01-03T23:48:00.000-06:00

The boys love their Uncle Beanie, better known as Uncle Awesome. He lets the boys play games on his iPhone and iPad and even hangs out with them on New Year's Eve. He also gives the best presents (CHC - cold hard cash).

So that's Jake forming the letter "H" and CJ contorting his body to make the letter "B." You would think they're making these letters cheerleader style in honor of their Uncle Awesome's birthday today. The "HB" is actually for his Hairy Buttocks. Obviously, Carol and I have failed miserably as parents.

Happy Birthday Beanie! Btw, that's Flannigan in the background forming the letters "DN."

Wordless Wednesday - Getting Down

2011-12-28T08:12:00.001-06:00

A New Addition to "The Pose"

2011-12-26T19:46:00.003-06:00

This is a first. Mom Cruz has joined the rest of the Cruz's in "The Pose!" Here we are in front of Elvis Presley's Mansion at Graceland. Mom has graced us with her presence, traveling all the way from the Philippines to spend time with her kids and grandkids.

Yes, some small corrections are needed with her knee bending and head positioning, but hey, she's joined the club. Although not perfect, she entered the arena and will never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. Besides, this picture was mere seconds from the tour bus running us over. We had to take it with a quickness. Not bad for a pressure filled picture.

Flashback Friday - Miami Christmas

2011-12-23T15:52:00.000-06:00

A Cruz gathering during Christmas 2007 in Miami.

Our 2007 Christmas was definitely memorable for a number of reasons. Although we were visited by the Grinch, we still had a great time. Clink on the link for the full story:

Christmas 2007

Total Randomness - LaFonda

2011-12-22T17:14:00.000-06:00

LaFonda Restaurant during a trip to San Antonio

Kip waiting for LaFawnduh

Kip and LaFawnduh

Our neighbors as Kip and LaFawnduh

Peter Fonda

Jane Fonda

LaFawnduh and a witch

A witch and Jason

Jason in space

Jane Fonda in space

Peter Fonda spaced out

What You Got There Coach?

2011-12-21T22:32:00.000-06:00

I had the pleasure of coaching Jake's baseball team this past spring. It's a really nice baseball league run by Bellevue Baptist Church. I highly recommend it. Everyone gets a chance to play, the atmosphere is comfortable, the kids learn about sportsmanship and it's a lot of fun. We do a prayer at the beginning of games, we don't keep score and there's always a juice box and snack at the end of every game.

So here was the awkward parenting moment. When I popped open the trunk to pull out the baseball gear for a Saturday morning game, I forgot about the refreshments still in the trunk that I had grabbed the day prior. To be clear, the cervezas were for a work function and not a juice box replacement. I don't always drink beer, but when I do...

Wordless Wednesday - The Ceej

2011-12-21T06:22:00.000-06:00

Flashback Friday - Cruz Family Christmas

2011-12-15T17:39:00.000-06:00

Christmas at the Cruz's while living at Hewitt Farms Navy Housing in Norfolk, Virginia. My best guess is 1978 or 79. I think we still have the set of bowls Dad used to put over our heads when cutting our hair. Good times.

The annual Christmas letter is coming by the way. I think. I probably need to write it first.

Wordless Wednesday - Tragedy

2011-12-13T22:45:00.003-06:00

Flashback Friday - Aunt Annie & Uncle David

2011-12-08T22:38:00.001-06:00

This is in front of our house during Aunt Annie and Uncle David's visit to San Diego back in 2001. At the time, I was a flight instructor with VS-41 at Naval Air Station Coronado. CJ was three years old. You couldn't ask for better family than Aunt Annie and Uncle David. They broke the mold on these two. Just really great people.

This past weekend, Aunt Annie and Uncle David celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. As a nice keepsake, they were given a compilation of memories. Family and friends wrote down their favorite memories of the lovable couple. Here's what the Cruzers submitted:

Dear Aunt Annie and Uncle David,

We wish we could be there with you at the AnniversaryParty. You are both so special tous. Below we have each shared somefavorite “Aunt Annie and Uncle David Memories.” Happy 50^th Anniversary!! You two are a shining example tous.

Love,

Carol, Chris, CJ and Jake

Jake: I lovemaking strawberry milk at Aunt Annie’s house. It’s really speciaI because I don’t get to drink it athome. I like playing with AuntAnnie’s toys and she has the cuddliest blankets. I like sitting with Uncle David in his big chair andwatching Sponge Bob. I like itwhen Aunt Annie hugs me.

CJ: I like howAunt Annie is always so nice to everyone. She knows how much I love Golden Flakes and always has a bag waiting forme when I come to her house. Ithink it’s awesome that Uncle David is so cool with all the kids. I love watching iCarly with him. When I was little, I loved playing onyour big deck out back, and I loved playing with all the other kids. I feel like I’m at home every time I’mat your house. Thank you so muchfor all the wonderful memories that you’ve given us over the years.

Chris: I firstmet Aunt Annie and Uncle David in 1992 as a young spy with the PhilippineIntelligence Agency on assignment in Alabama to infiltrate the deep south inorder to procure secrets on country living and SEC football. Just kidding. It was with the Chinese Intelligence Agency.

From that very first 4^th of July celebration,you’ve both always been so kind and full of love towards me – even though Iwas, you know…Navy. I remember anapron-clad Uncle David behind the smoky grill and the American flag, armed witha spatula and tongs - and not smelling one bit like a Bud Light.

Your wonderful home has always been a place of comfort. Full of laughs, love and goodeating. The only challenge withthe food was carefully navigating through the Walker refrigerator and notknocking everything over. As CJonce said, it’s like Jenga in there!

Some of you might’ve seen the recent commercial about theAlabama work force and how a lot of the core workers are retiring. The young folks need to step up andtake their place. Well, UncleDavid, because of the strong man that you are and how hard you work for yourfamily, they’ll need 3 or 4 guys to take your place. I have so much respect for you and your work ethic. You’re still working harder inretirement than some people that are still on the work force.

We were so happy to have you guys come all the way out toCalifornia to visit us. I knowthat was challenging for you, what with all the liberals out there and all. I’m also glad you got to meet mybrother Beanie during that trip. He still gets tickled because you thought of him on his birthday andsent him a card with $10 in it so he could get a hamburger. He was in the Army doing some toughduty in Haiti at the time. Youdefinitely lifted that soldier’s spirit. But that’s one of your specialties isn’t it – lifting people’s spirits?

You’ve always been there for us. When Carol’s father passed, you were there. When Carol got hit by the van inPensacola, you were there. WhenCarol walked down the aisle to marry a studmuffin of a man, you were there.

You were there when CJ was born. You even cooked up a massive amount of chicken and rice soupto hold us over. We loved it butdang, you cooked up enough to feed the entire Navy Fleet. We still have some in our freezer.

And Aunt Annie, you are always prepared. Who can forget that one time when wewere driving and the car accidentally flew off the overpass into a deep ravineand we were trapped by our seatbelts upside down with water closing in to drownus? If it wasn’t for thoseneedle-nose pliers and the sawz-all that you had in your purse, we neverwould’ve made it. If I had toguess, your middle name is McGyver.

There are many more memories to add but I’ll stopthere. I’ll simply close by sayingthat you two are some of the best people on this entire planet. Happy 50^th Anniversary. We love you!

Carol: Oh my,so many wonderful memories! Wheredo I begin? For as long as I canremember, Aunt Annie & Uncle David’s house has been one of my favoriteplaces in the world. As a kid, Icouldn’t wait to walk and meet Angela half way at the church and head over toyour house. It was entertaining,fun and always loving under your roof. You two probably thought you had 6 kids instead of 3 with all of thetime that the 3 youngest Harmons spent at your house.

Aunt Annie, it was always so much fun going places with theWalkers. You would pile all of uskids in the back of the car and head to town. There would always be a wet washcloth in a Ziploc bag justin case we needed it and inevitably you would have to yell “DUCK!!” at somepoint in the car ride so you could see out the back window. We were well trained and when we heardthe urgency in your voice, we all hit the deck. From our speed reading classes at the University to trips toZayre’s, it was always fun, and I have to admit that I thought it was prettycool when I was mistaken for one of your kids. Maybe the brown hair had a little something to do withit. : ) And how could I not mention how much I LOVED your wienersand potatoes for dinner. One of myall time favorites! I was so happywhen I saw that recipe in the family cookbook. Here’s an oldie for you… When you guys were still living inthe old house I loved standing in the closet with the heater next to thekitchen. That was a happy place ona cold day! Aunt Annie, I canremember you leaned against one wall and I would lean against the other. Both of us just listening to the hum ofthe heater and soaking up the warmth.

Uncle David, you should be listed in the “Best Dad/UncleHall of Fame” for taking Angela and I to all of those concerts! From Sting in Birmingham to BruceSpringsteen at the Omni in Atlanta, they were certainly memorable. I still laugh at how you tricked Angelaand I into thinking we were half deaf after one of our concerts. You were kind enough to stop on the wayhome to get us something to eat. We were at Krystal if I remember correctly. Little did we know that you were whispering when you spoke tous. Our ears were ringing likecrazy and we couldn’t hear a word you were saying. Thankfully you didn’t keep us fooled for long. It was quite a relief when we heardyour big laugh come rolling out. And how could I forget sliding off the back seat of that burgundy FordLTD. You are a man that knows howto keep a car clean! Those backseats were so polished with Armor All, it was hard not to come sliding out. And you can drive in reverse fasterthat anyone else on earth! I wasso amazed by that when I was a kid. Don’t go trying to break your record with the school bus now.

From spending countless days with you two as a kid, to UncleDavid giving me away when Chris and I got married, and Aunt Annie coming to bewith me when CJ was born, you’ve both been a rock in my life. When I think back, there are morememories than I could ever put on paper. Thank you for sharing yourselves and your love with me. You both have made me a betterperson. I love you with all myheart!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-07T06:05:00.001-06:00

Thanksgiving Weekend

2011-12-03T07:52:00.001-06:00

It was unseasonably warm in Alabama this past Thanksgiving day. The sun was shining bright on these lovely ladies. Behind them is the field goal post that Uncle Don put up so the twins, Trent and Austin could get some practice in before auditioning for Nick Saban. After the overtime loss to LSU a few weeks ago, we heard the University of Alabama was in need of a kicker.

The young cousins having fun in the back of Clyde's new truck.

Zack, Jake, Lori and Cooper. Can you guess which one loves lemons?

Remembering Grandmother and Grandfather on Thanksgiving.

After attempting a few field goals myself, I have a new found respect for kickers. The next day, the inside of my left leg was wobbly like a newborn giraffe. Trent and Austin were both booming them with accuracy.

Prepping for the Black Friday sales. We forgot our pepper spray.

So here's Carol putting the kibosh on Jake riding in the back of the tractor, at least while another six year old was driving. On cue just a few minutes later, CJ comes toppling out of the back of that thing as it took off for its next fun ride. Carol's spider sense is still working.

One difference between the Thanksgiving gatherings I experienced growing up and the gatherings here in Alabama is the turkey. When you have big gatherings like here in Alabama, it's much easier to have the turkey already carved up and ready to eat so there's not a huge wait when it's time to grub down. The bird is already sliced up and on a platter. There's only one catch with that though. There's no magnificent golden brown bird to gawk at on the dinner table. You know us filipinos. Taking pictures of food is in our DNA:

See what I mean? This is from a couple of years ago at our house in Miami.

No matter how the bird is prepped, we're really gonna miss these Alabama Thanksgivings since we're probably moving next spring. Such is the life of a Navy family. Wherever we celebrate Thanksgiving next year, I'll make sure to take some pictures of the food.

Here's a short Thanksgiving video that Leenie put together. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving too.

Flashback Friday - Christmas

2011-12-02T06:17:00.001-06:00

There's nothing like breaking bread with your family. Today's flashback rewinds to last December when all of the Cruz siblings made it to Tennessee for Christmas. With plenty of food, fun and laughs, it was an awesome time. Lee was the winner last year in the big news department. He announced at this very table that he and Cathy were expecting a baby. It was a happy night.

We're looking to get together in Tennessee again this December with two important additions - Mom (coming all the way from the Philippines) and little Samuel, the newest member of the Cruz family. The swine intake will be tremendous.

As the dreaded New York Jets linebacker infamously said in last year's playoffs after beating the Patriots, "Can't wait!"

A Clean Deck

2011-11-22T06:19:00.001-06:00

Sailors are funny.

Tom's Bar-B-Q!

2011-11-21T19:47:00.001-06:00

A little something to wet the appetite of our upcoming visitors this holiday season. We're expecting my Mom and my siblings to visit us here in Memphis over Christmas break. Mom is coming all the way from the Philippines. Dad couldn't make it because he has that thing at that thing.

One thing you can be sure of when the Cruz family gets together - we always get our pork on. So when Tom's Bar-B-Q was featured on one of my favorite shows, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Carol and I just had to go. Check out the video:

It's a very unassuming place.

I'm guessing Guy Fieri had something to do with the recent addition to the place.

Brisket and rib tips make for a heck of a lunch.

The sweet tea was SWEET. Even going half and half with the sweetened and unsweetened tea was a little too much for me. I was reminded that "you in the south now, boy!"

Beware of any BBQ joint that doesn't have a chimney stack.

Sasified!

That meal hit the spot for me. I'm much more of a carnivore than Carol. She gets easily skeeved out by jiggly pieces of fat. Me, I'm not afraid of taking a bite and having a vein or chunky piece of cartilage biting back at me.

Okay. So this was not my best moment but I think it's a good indication of how much I enjoyed the meal. Carol tried a piece of my brisket. She liked it but she trimmed part of the fat off and laid it to the side to throw away. When she wasn't looking, I grabbed that piece of heavenly goodness and stuffed it down my pie-hole. I just couldn't let it go to waste. Needless to say, Tom gets two two thumbs up.

Future Aviator?

2011-11-19T23:21:00.001-06:00

Another flyer from the Cruz ranks? We'll see. On a related note, Jake recently asked about how much money Walmart cashiers make. Who knows what the future holds?

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like naval aviation is in CJ's future because he's partially color blind. Not a good thing aboard an aircraft carrier. Knowing that it's not an option for CJ kinda bummed me out a little bit to be honest with you.

But hey, aviation, cashier or whatever the boys choose to do - I just hope they enjoy doing it with a passion. And make enough money to move out of the house.

Working Out Together

2011-11-19T08:07:00.001-06:00

Carol and I have a long history of working out together. You might remember this one:

Working Out

Well, we're at it again:

I think it might be time to start working out with CJ too. Maybe he can count my pushups or something.

Purple Heart

2011-11-19T07:58:00.001-06:00

Jake and his Purple Heart

Flashback Friday - Spreckels Park

2011-11-18T22:28:00.001-06:00

Hanging out at Spreckels Park in Coronado, CA in August 1999...

...and again in Oct 2011

They grow up quickly! That's CJ by the way.

San Diego!

2011-11-16T08:50:00.000-06:00

One of the challenging things about being a beach bum living in Tennessee is... wait for it... no beaches. So for Fall Break, we cashed in some frequent flier miles and headed to sunny San Diego.

San Diego has been one of our favorite duty stations. Coronado is so nice that the President and his family (the Clintons at the time) vacationed there when I was a flight student. There's incredible Mexican food, awesome weather, beaches, Coronado, the Gaslamp District, Pacific Beach, La Jolla, Sea World, and a ton of stuff to do. Yup, it costs an arm and a leg to live there but man is it nice.

Doing the pose on Coronado Beach. As you can tell, Jake got a little chilly. This was on the Navy base. They're building a new Navy Lodge which I'm sure will get a lot of business. We stayed in their new cottages on the beach. Highly recommend them. Gotta book it early though.

It was great to be able to attend Lex Walker's change of command ceremony where he took over the reins of the USS STOCKDALE. The Walkers lived across the street from us here in Tennessee. Here is Ryan pinning on her dad's command pin. Very nice moment and a really special day.

In the STOCKDALE wardroom with its newest Commanding Officer.

Balboa Park. CJ remembered one of his favorite things about the park - the big rice crispy treats we'd get after visiting the model rail museum. Because he was such a big fan of trains, that was a regular outing for us.

CJ doing his best Beretta impersonation. I'm probably dating myself with that reference. Robert Blake anyone?

Spreckels Park in Coronado. CJ played in this park as a little two year old. Every Sunday during the summers, Coronado would have their concerts in the park. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday evening.

We got to visit with the Maves! It was good catching up. Doc was the Flight Surgeon for the Airwing back in the day when we were still allowed to roll videos at Foc'sle Follies. We served together aboard the USS GEORGE WASHINGTON.

Legoland with the Walkers!

Bunch of daredevils!

Sea World! No trainers were eaten that day.

La Jolla Cove. The sea lions in the background remind me of what I want to do when I retire.

Jake thought it smelled funny near the sea lions. He was right.

At the Coronado Ferry Landing with downtown San Diego in the background.

Amy and Carol right before Lex's ship sailed by. It was great spending some time with Team Walker. We miss our neighbors.

So it was really good escaping the arduous 60 degree weather in Tennessee for the perfect 63 degree weather in San Diego. I have a feeling this wasn't our last trip to San Dog.

JT!

2011-11-15T21:40:00.001-06:00

So here's a Tennessee connection for you. Justin Timberlake is from little old Millington, TN. I was never a big fan of his until he started doing Saturday Night Live. I dare you not to laugh at "D in a box." His opening monologue on his most recent hosting gig was hilarious. Lady Gaga was pretty dang funny too.

Anyway, JT got extra bonus points for this:

http://www.justintimberlake.com/news/my_night_at_the_marine_corps_ball

CONA

2011-11-05T09:36:00.000-05:00

2011 is a huge year for Naval Aviation. Check out the video:

Loud Cruzers

2011-10-26T06:21:00.000-05:00

Having a little fun with the noise meter outside of our apartment in Busan, Korea:

The New Breakdancing Capital of the World is...

2011-10-24T06:32:00.000-05:00

...Seoul, Korea of course. Check out the article:

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2011/1011/US-cedes-status-as-breakdancing-capital-to-South-Korea

We got to see some serious breakdancing during our time in Korea. Here's a quick video of a group performing by our apartment during the big Global Gathering event in Busan, Korea:

They're probably a little bit better than the Fil-Am Rockers of Virginia Beach, circa 1984.

Tennessee Food - Good, Bad and the Ugly

2011-10-23T16:27:00.000-05:00

The Good. This is an obvious one in barbeque-crazed Memphis. The ribs are something to write home about. This nice rack is from the Rendezvous restaurant. Simply awesome.

For BBQ near the base in Millington, I like Barbarosa's. We took my niece Jena there during her visit. The sauce on her face was her sign of approval.

Definitely in the good category. Although not pictured here, also in the good category is sweet tea which is very prevalent in the south. I like to mix half sweet and half unsweetened tea to tone down the sugar a bit.

Speaking of sugar, we move on to the bad. There's a Chinese buffet restaurant in Millington. While it's a good buffet at a decent price, we definitely had a bad moment there. This sugary donut wasn't so sugary. Instead of the sweet stuff, this usually delicious morsel was coated in salt. Definitely not what the taste buds were expecting. Even after telling our waitress about this obvious kitchen error, they didn't change out the salt-covered donuts that were still laid out in the buffet. Other customers had to taste a mouthful of salt before the staff changed them out. Like nobody was gonna notice? C'mon man!

Cue in Clint Eastwood western theme music and a rolling tumbleweed. We move on to the ugly. Who leaves a plate of half eaten collard greens by a gas station pump? There was a dang trash can just a few feet away. C'mon man!

The Gun Show!

2011-10-22T22:34:00.000-05:00

Here's CJ showing off his guns in front of the 5 inch gun onboard the USS STOCKDALE. Carol and I are wondering how we're gonna get this kid to come out of his shell. Notice how he's clamming up around the girls in the background.

So this is during a ship tour after my good friend Lex Walker's change of command ceremony. The STOCKDALE is in great hands.

Every now and then, Carol hears CJ banging around upstairs when he's supposed to be in bed. He'll sneak away to the bonus room to workout on the Bowflex or throw some weights around. I do like the Bowflex by the way. You can hang a lot of clothes on it.

I'm glad CJ is getting into fitness. I'm pretty sure he's proud of his abs. I know this because he told me he's proud of his abs. I tell him that those aren't abs - that's malnutrition. I shouldn't talk. Carol and I were also lean creatures when we were his age. Keep it up boy!

Pickles!

2011-10-22T12:14:00.001-05:00

Meet Pickles, the newest addition to the Cruz family:

We think she's a girl but we're not really sure. Our niece Jena found Pickles while turtle hunting at Leenie's lake house in Alabama this summer.

CJ managed to talk Mom and Dad into keeping Pickles even though his track record for keeping pets alive was less than stellar. The recent fish tank experiment did not go well. Jerry, George, Kramer and Newman - all dead. It was like the underwater Bubonic Plague. Bring out your dead! Newman the bottom feeding catfish, lasted the longest, but alas, we could not stave off his untimely demise. It was a busy couple of days for the toilet bowl.

Fortunately, our cold-blooded friend Pickles seems to be a hearty creature. She's evaded death for a couple of months now. It's relaxing to watch her swim around and let her eat out of our hands. I also appreciate that she keeps her salmonella to herself. Just kidding there. She is totally disease free. We think.

p.s. Carol reminded me that CJ didn't talk Mom into anything. I guess it was all on me to allow CJ to kill another animal, I mean have another pet. Okay Pickles - it's up to you to live a long and healthy life. To spite Mom of course.

Happy Birthday US Navy!

2011-10-13T00:46:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday to the US Navy! 236 years young and going strong!

Manning the rails under the Golden Gate Bridge aboard the USS CARL VINSON.

Blue Angel doing its thing during Fleet Week in San Francisco.

21 gun salute during a burial at sea.

Flight operations while underway.

My oldest brother Alan enjoying a sunset at sea.

You can tell this one is old because there are Vikings and Tomcats in the picture.

In San Francisco, it's a romantic fog. In San Diego, it's the May gray.

United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

VS-30 Diamondcutters doing our thing in Fallon, Nevada. The troops are what it's all about.

A stacked flight deck.

SCOUTS RULE!

Change of command ceremony onboard the USNS WATSON at Pier 8 in Busan, Korea.

I used to hunt these things for a living.

The USS SUMTER, LST 1181. I did my midshipman cruise aboard this beast. We were off the coast of Liberia for what seemed like an eternity in case American citizens needed to be evacuated.

They have no fly days on these things. Mind boggling.

Dad as a young seaman. Odds are I wouldn't be in the Navy if Dad didn't join the Navy. Heck, I may not have ever stepped foot in the United States if Dad didn't do what he did. Many thanks Dad!

Thanks for following along with me on this birthday card to the best Navy in the world. Happy Birthday!

C'mon Man...

2011-10-12T22:45:00.000-05:00

After Demise of 'Don't Ask,' Activists Call for End to Military Ban on Transgenders By Rowan Scarborough, Washington Times

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/sep/28/after-demise-of-dont-ask-activists-call-for-end-to/

With homosexuals now able to serve openly in the military, the gay rights movement's next battleground is to persuade the Obama administration to end the armed forces' ban on "transgenders," a group that includes transsexuals and cross-dressers.

"Our position is that the military should re-examine the policy, the medical regulations, so as to allow open service for transgender people," said Vincent Paolo Villano, spokesman for the 6,000-member Center for Transgender Equality.

The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), which pushed to end the military's gay ban, is urging President Obama to sign an executive order prohibiting discrimination based on "gender identity."

Flashback Friday - Fleet Week in Busan

2011-10-08T10:19:00.000-05:00

Here's a Navy flashback for you. Right about two years ago to the day, while stationed in Busan, Korea, my command, Military Sealift Command Korea, had the great pleasure of participating in the Republic of Korea Navy International Fleet Review - better known as Fleet Week. This event is held once every ten years. It encompassed over 30 different Navies throughout the world and over 50 ships. It was a lot of fun but also a very busy week.

This international event commemorated the 60th founding anniversary of Korea's armed forces. Thousands of people, including domestic and foreign dignitaries attended the event to witness the massive gathering of navy ships and aircraft from around the world.

The ships were lined up for as far as you could see. A fleet review is a naval event in which the head of state reviews the country's fleet as a show of strength or before a major engagement. This British naval tradition dates back more than 600 years.

The beautiful city of Busan in the background.

Lieutenant Colonel Kim and Colonel Lee are in the middle from the ROK Army Port Operations Group. Colonel Lee is the Commander of the ROKPOG. On the right is my partner in crime, LTC Tripp Blanton, 837th Transportation Battalion Commander. The incredible work relationships and personal friendships forged between our three units is something I'll always look back on with fondness. It was only through these strong bonds that we were able to accomplish some good things on the Korean peninsula. These guys were simply awesome.

This is aboard the Australian ship, HMAS Toowoomba during a Fleet Week reception. Tough duty, but someone had to do it.

Of course you have to eat kangaroo while aboard an Australian ship. Ate some emu too.

Another difference between US ships and Aussie ships - they have a bar! The crew was kind enough to host an "after hours" event in their wardroom.

The premiere US ship participating in Fleet Week was one of my old ships, the aircraft carrier, USS GEORGE WASHINGTON. My longtime friend, VMI classmate and squadron-mate, Steve "Whip" Blasch was serving as the Mini-Boss aboard the GW. It was great catching up and tossing back a beer with one of my closest friends. The Navy is always good for adventures and mini-reunions.

MSCO Korea hosted a Fleet Week Social in my building. With so many stuffy events happening throughout the week, I think this informal event was a nice change. The party was well attended by folks from various ships. There were officers from the US, Korea, Australia, Canada, Great Britain and others. And yes, with a crowd of about 150 foreigners, we managed to disturb the peace and ended up getting kicked out. Of course we had a back up plan - Gwangalli Beach. Somehow, I managed to catch my shoe on fire at the party.

Some of the crew from the Busan Foreign School. They definitely enhanced the international flavor of the event.

So this whole week reminded me of one of my favorite things about the US Navy - the opportunity to meet new friends, whether they live next door or halfway around the world. That's good stuff there. I also got the bonus reminder that shoes are flammable. Have a great Columbus Day weekend.

Flashback Friday - Are You Ready For Some Football?!

2011-10-01T11:01:00.001-05:00

I'm going with this post even though the Miami Dolphins are winless this year. It's gonna be a long season. I hope head coach Tony Sparano survives.

So here is this week's Friday Flashback. It's actually Saturday, but who's counting?

In the fall of 1997 after returning from a six month deployment aboard the aircraft carrier USS JOHN F KENNEDY while attached to the VS-24 Scouts, a couple of friends from the squadron hopped in a car (minivan actually) and headed south from Jacksonville to Miami. It was a fun football weekend to hang out with good friends and watch my beloved Dolphins play at Joe Robbie Stadium. Or was it called Pro Player Park or Sunlife Stadium at the time? I don't know. Whatever company was paying the big bucks for naming rights at the time.

Anything we did with our squadron-mates was always fun - hanging out on the water, parties, going to see movies, road trips, working out or grabbing beers. It really didn't matter what we did. There's nothing like being around a great group of guys to make a long deployment out at sea that much more palatable.

There was something off about this particular football weekend though. Carol was always able to hang with the boys well - actually out-hang a lot of them. But this weekend, she seemed...tired. Very unlike her usual energetic self. It wasn't until a couple of weeks later that we unraveled the mystery of her massive wide-mouthed yawns - she was pregnant! We were absolutely shocked. Nope, we weren't trying to have a baby at the time. I should've known that the odds of slipping one past the goalie were greatly enhanced after being deployed for six months. And so this is one of the first pictures of Carol with the little "Pinto Bean" inside her. We nicknamed the baby Pinto Bean because when we found out Carol was pregnant with CJ, the doctor informed us that the baby was currently the size of a pinto bean.

BTW, that's our good friend Speedy on the right. He spent most of the game looking at the red-headed cheerleader on the sideline through some binoculars.

Here is Knobby, Fran and Whip. Fran was kind enough to let us load up in her minivan for the trip. I gotta say, those things aren't sexy but man are they convenient. Fran was always a ball to be around. Our seats at Fruit of the Loom Stadium weren't great. Matter of fact, our seats were almost the furthest away from the field that you could possibly be. I say almost because that specific honor belonged to the people just two rows behind us. Of course we had to turn around and tell those people that their seats really sucked. That made us feel a little bit better.

Anyway, even though my team is struggling - and has struggled for the last decade or so - I am absolutely ready for some football. Go Dolphins!

The Delta Fair!

2011-09-04T23:24:00.000-05:00

Funnel cakes, ferris wheels, demolition derby, deep fried Snickers bars, tube tops and air brushed t-shirts - it's gotta be the Delta Fair in Memphis, Tennessee. I don't care what anyone says, the fair is fun!

Here's a short video of our day at the fair with the Forsyth family:

Delta Fair Video

Flashback Friday - Carol's 21st Birthday

2011-09-02T23:42:00.000-05:00

Since Angela and her family are here in Tennessee visiting us right now, I thought this picture of the girls would be appropriate for the Friday Flashback. This is in Gina's dorm room before heading out to celebrate Carol's 21st birthday.

I won't say who but someone blew chunks that night. Ah, to be 21 again.

Looking good girls - big hair and all. We miss you Gina.

Flashback Friday - Working Out

2011-08-25T22:52:00.000-05:00

Now that I'm back on the workout wagon, I thought this picture was appropriate:

This is at Carol's old apartment in Alabama during our dating days. Here's Carol's idea of working out together.

Flashback Friday - Guest Writer: CJ!

2011-08-04T22:20:00.000-05:00

Hello internet! It's CJ and I'm the guest writer for this week's Flashback Friday.

It's been awhile since we've lived in Korea. It's hard to recognize that short, buck-toothed kid on the left with the shaved head and glasses surrounded by Asians. Living in Korea was a blast and I'm so glad to have made such great friends there.

In this picture, I'm standing with my fourth grade class inside the hangar bay of the USS GEORGE WASHINGTON aircraft carrier. Awesomest field trip ever! Guess who set it up? The dude on the far left. Next to my Dad is my teacher, Ms. Taylor. She was fun, despite the two to five hours of homework. She was an Olympic swimmer and even knew Michael Phelps. Pretty cool. The teacher in the back that's taller than my Dad is Ms. Keenan. She was my science teacher and was equally as awesome as Ms. Taylor.

Chilling with the boys. From left to right is Koyo, Daniel, Sam, Kevin, the Ceej, Dong Whi, Terry and Ricky. We were a pretty tight group of dudes.

This is my Dad's close friend, Uncle Whip. Whip is his nickname, or as my Dad says, his callsign. He and my Dad flew together for a long time. They were squadron-mates and went out to sea together. Here he is giving an impressive speech about something. At the time, he was the Mini-Boss on the George Washington. If my Dad had the same job, I think he'd be called the Mini-Mini Boss. Uncle Whip is really cool. He even gave me a Darth Vader action figure from the original toy collection!!! I'm talking about the big 12 inch figure. The guy in the ball cap is Mr. Walt. He ran the Seamen's Center by my Dad's work. I always liked going to his restaurant to eat real American food - like pizza and tacos.

Me chilling with the brown man on an aircraft carrier. It was an epic day.

Flashback Friday - Boo to Boot Camp

2011-07-28T23:52:00.000-05:00

As I'm writing today's flashback, Flannigan is nuzzling his wet nose under my elbow. Even after a year of being with Flannigan, I still call him Fred by mistake. I have to stop doing that.

And then there's Boo. Or Kookookashmoo. But I should stop using those names too. After all, the cute little boy in this picture isn't a little boy anymore. Brandon is a grown man now and only a couple of days away from shipping off to Army boot camp. We're all so proud that he's chosen to serve his country like his uncles and grandfather.

And Brandon, we all know you'll serve well. You might have other things on your mind right now. Who wouldn't? But I know that you'll be focused, determined and strong at boot camp. In other words, it's your turn to show that TCD - Total Cruz Domination. Go get em Boo! I mean, Brandon!

Flashback Friday - 13 Years Ago

2011-07-24T11:37:00.000-05:00

So I'm a little late for Flashback Friday. Details.

For this post, I'm rolling back the clock 13 years, when CJ first somersaulted out of the cramped quarters of Carol's belly and into this great big world of ours - with a full head of hair standing on its end that would've made a pencil-sitting troll beam with pride.

Like most babies, he was a PECS machine - poop, eat, cry, sleep. That's all they do for those first couple of months. He had the "C" part down extremely well. Because of his maximum capacity lungs and the above average crying ability that went with them, the nurses nicknamed him, "Pavarotti."

That's Alice Cagnina who delivered CJ at the Naval Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida. Although the actual delivery was more complicated than expected, the entire experience at the hospital, especially Alice's personal attention, was really great.

Those first couple of days were surreal. We weren't sure whether we were coming or going. Thank goodness for all of the help from family and friends. Fred wasn't sure what to make of our new addition. They soon become fast friends though. Until CJ learned that he could stick his fingers into certain places that is. That's another story.

Our intent was for CJ to breast feed. I say "our" as if I'm the one with the boobs. He was having a hard time latching on at first so we gave him a bottle every now and then at the hospital just to make sure he was getting enough to eat. Little did we know that giving a baby a bottle would result in the full wrath of the La Leche League and their fanatic cultdom philosophy of world domination through breast feeding. I believe their weapons department has recently developed a laser that instantly disintegrates baby bottle nipples upon initial detection. Maybe it was just this one La Leche League lady that was off her kilter, but dang. I get it. Breast milk is good. But don't throw us in the hole with Charles Manson just yet cause we wanted to give our kid a bottle for a whole quarter ounce of milk. CJ did get the hang of the breast feeding thing. Good thing too. I would've hated to be on the LLL's black list. BTW, if you see these whopper-sized kids still breast feeding - I'm talking 4 and 5 year olds with a full set of teeth and size 9 Skechers on - that's just wrong. I'm sure the LLL had a little something to do with that. If your feet are hitting the ground while feeding, it's well beyond time to stop with the booby. I digress.

And now we have a teenager! Weened and all. Let the Parenting Olympics begin!

Carol and I are extremely blessed to have such a fine young man. I salute you CJ!

US Navy - #9 Most Blissful Place to Work

2011-07-16T09:24:00.000-05:00

With zero sarcasm in my typing, I'm pretty blissful. Check out the article:

CSmonitor article link

Military Outranks Disney, Microsoft As Happy Place To Work
(CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR 25 OCT 10) ... Brian Anthony Hernandez

Disney owns the "Happiest Place on Earth," but it doesn't employ the happiest workers in the U.S., according to a new survey that identified the most "blissful places to work." The list reveals all four major branches of the military and the National Guard rank higher than Disney and other well-known companies such as Microsoft and Johnson & Johnson.
Despite lengthy deployments and lower salaries, for example, the Army and National Guard ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in the career advancement category, beating out Google for the top spots. The military also ranked high in growth opportunity, benefits and job security.
"Corporate America could learn from our military's unique programs. The bottom line is that when a company provides opportunities to grow and tools to improve skills, it creates a happier work environment," said Rick Wainschel, vice president of online career-guidance tool CareerBliss.
CareerBliss used independent reviews to evaluate companies based on opportunities for growth, compensation, benefits, work-life balance, career advancement, senior management, job security and whether the employee would recommend the company to others.
In a review from the more than one thousand appraisals written by military members in 2010, an Army administrator in Georgia wrote, "Serving in the Army offered the ultimate job security, not to mention an unmatched benefits package. It was also a good source of gaining valuable technical and real-life experience."
Bradley Brummel, a psychology professor at University of Tulsa in Oklahoma weighed in why the military has happy workers.
"Despite challenges that may occur when serving our country, including the possibility of going to war, the military provides many of the essential elements to finding happiness at work, including having a meaningful impact on the world, having true camaraderie with your co-workers and having the opportunities to develop skills," Brummel said.
Top 10 blissful places to work, according to CareerBliss:
1. Google
2. 3M
3. ABN AMRO
4. DTE Energy
5. Air Force
6. Qualcomm
7. Army National Guard
8. Marines
9. Navy
10. LSI Logic
The Army ranked No. 11, ahead of Johnson & Johnson (16), Cisco Systems (21), General Electric (30), Microsoft (39) and Disney (41).
"It was interesting to see how well the military ranked relative to many top-tier corporations. After reviewing the comments from hundreds of reviews, it was clear our military service members not only take pride in serving and protecting our country but find a deep sense of personal accomplishment in the important work that they do," wrote Wainschel in a statement.

Flashback Friday - Ike!

2011-07-15T06:32:00.001-05:00

My best guess is 1977 or 1978 for this picture. From left to right is Lee, Darby Alan, me in the blue and red shirt, Beanie and of course Mom sitting in the Monte Carlo. Here we are at the Naval base in Norfolk, Virginia in front of Dad's ship, the USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (CVN-69), affectionately known as Ike. I know the picture isn't from 1976 because the ship was commissioned in 1977.

Beanie is rocking his Happy Days "Fonzie" t-shirt, complete with the word "Aaayyy!" emblazoned across his chest and Henry Winkler with his signature leather jacket, white t-shirt and two big thumbs up. I'm pretty sure Mom made at least one or two pieces of clothing that you see in this picture. She's always been quite the seamstress.

Our dark blue Monte Carlo is almost brand new in this picture. A young enlisted sailor with five kids buying a brand new car? Well, I probably would've advised against that as a Division Officer but it worked out okay for Petty Officer Alfredo Cruz. Lots of memories in this car to include several bouts of carsickness; my brother taking the car for a non-approved joy ride with no driver's license and getting into an accident with a pregnant lady; and a trip to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia that resulted in the fire department busting the car window to put out a fire inside the car. The last thing you expect to hear after riding the Loch Ness Monster roller coaster is your name being paged over a loudspeaker.

The A-7 Corsair on the left has long since been decommissioned, just like the attack jet that replaced it, the venerable A-6 Intruder. On the top right is the E-2 Hawkeye and it's huge round radar, or as I used to tell the kiddies while giving tours on the flight deck, the in-flight helicopter landing pad. The Hawkeyes are still going strong unlike my beloved S-3B Viking. Hey, times change. And that's a good thing.

Dad served as an MS, or Mess Specialist aboard the Ike. They've since changed the name to CS for Culinary Specialist. Basically, he was a cook for the Navy. Very tough work feeding 5,000 people three hots a day. When my dad joined the Navy, the reality back then was that if you were black or filipino, you were going to be a cook. That's just the way things were. There certainly weren't any black or filipino commanding officers during the early part of my dad's career. He served 23 years as an MS. It wasn't an easy career but he did what he had to do not only to feed the 5,000 aboard the carrier, but also the five kids at home.

Today, sailors have the opportunity to do whatever they want if they work hard enough. They can be jet engine mechanics, musicians, intelligence specialists, logisticians, special forces, search and rescue aircrew - almost anything you can think of. I'm extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to fly jets, lead some great sailors, be the commanding officer of MSCO Korea and most importantly, serve my country. Carol and I are planning a trip to San Diego so we can see our good friend take over as commanding officer of a US Navy warship. BTW, he's African American. Hey, times change. And that's a good thing.

Happy Friday!

F-111 Belly Landing

2011-07-14T21:25:00.001-05:00

The dreaded barber pole. In my airplane, during the landing checklist that you perform every time the landing gear go to the down position, you visually check the three landing gear indicators on the instrument panel. If you're looking at a couple of tilted stripes (like what you see on a barber pole), then your wheels aren't 100% down and locked. This means that your landing gear could be only partially down, not down at all or a number of other problems. Trouble.

That's when you break out your handy dandy pocket checklist (PCL) and thumb to the proper emergency procedure. Once you get to the correct section in the PCL, you start executing the steps in order like it's a recipe in a Betty Crocker cookbook. Easy, peezy, Japaneezy. Well, not quite. Especially when you've gotta get back aboard the aircraft carrier that's getting tossed around the ocean like it's a little rubber ducky in a bathtub full of rowdy kids. Did I mention you gotta do this at night? Speaking of recipes, here's one for you. What do you get when you take a complicated emergency at night, sprinkle in a rookie pilot, sauté it with a jet that's running on fumes and add a dash of pitching deck? You get a highly puckered sphincter capable of crocheting some nice doilies into your ejection seat. That's what.

This was an outstanding job dealing with this emergency by this F-111 crew. But I am reminded of the main differences between carrier aviation and those landlubbers that have the good fortune of landing on a nice long runway. Us tailhookers drop our hooks every time and perform a controlled crash aboard that postage stamp of a landing strip - while it's moving. And you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way.

Go Navy!

Making Dreams Come True

2011-07-11T23:24:00.001-05:00

After growing up as a military brat, attending one of the most spartan military schools in the world and serving 20 years and counting in the US Navy, I consider myself to be a pretty organized and attention-to-detail kind of guy. It used to be that the checking account was balanced and reconciled monthly down to the last penny. Mail and papers were filed expeditiously and with precision. Each clothes hanger in my closet faced the same direction with the exact spacing of two finger widths, just like the way we did it at the Virginia Military Institute. My car was washed and waxed on a regular basis, boasting a sense of pride. And checklists galore for every evolution. Oh yeah, I was one together dude.

But after 17 years of marriage, two boys, pets and the daily grind of family life, the order of magnitude of my meticulous ways (read anal tendencies) has dropped a notch or two. And that's a good thing. Now, I'm totally okay with piles of clothes on the floor, stacks of unfiled papers all over the house, an unmade bed and a lawn that's not edged. Don't get me wrong, I still try to get to these things, but if I don't, I won't have a conniption like I would in the past. I'll admit it, Carol has worn me down. I've joined the Dark Side of the organization world - and I like it. There's a sense of joy and liberation over not stressing over the little things that really don't matter. No longer does every second of every day of vacation need to be planned. It took a little bit of letting go. But it's the right thing to do. And I'm liking it.

There are certain things in the organization arena that I still think are pretty important though. Like being on time - especially for church. If you're going to make time for God, then be on time for God. But as a family, we've been pretty bad about getting to church on time for whatever reason.

And so a couple of weeks ago, Carol went down to Alabama for a surprise 40th birthday party for her good friend, Heather. I was Mr. Mom for a couple of days. The boys and I had some good bonding time. On Sunday, we got up, had breakfast, got showered and dressed and bam, we were on time for church. Not a big deal. It just kind of happened that way. When Carol came home, I casually told her about how things went with the boys and mentioned how we managed to get to church on time.

Well. Did I ever strike a nerve. I haven't had the pleasure of visiting Yellowstone Park but I could've sworn Old Faithful was catapulting highly pressurized water right there in my kitchen. Carol's reaction was energized and comedic. I haven't heard octaves that high in a while. Now it was crystal clear. Surely Carol was the weighted anchor that kept dragging down "my dream" of getting to church on time. It's all Carol's fault! Good thing she was gone for a few days so I could experience the ecstasy of promptness. My lovely wife's profuse (and highly sarcastic) apologies for crushing my dreams of butts in pews on time was pretty dang funny. I honestly wasn't trying to rub it in her face. But she was giving it to me good. It was a lungbuster of a laugh. I'm sure that if I was drinking something at the time, it would've came shooting out of my nose. I am very happy she was only joking.

And yet, like the verbal diarrhea that spews from the mouths of the inebriated, sometimes a little bit of truth escapes. For the last couple of weeks, "my dream" has come true. I didn't ask Carol to change a thing. And yet we've been getting to church on time on a regular basis.

The boys making a beeline for the car. Gotta get to Bellevue Baptist on time! CJ's job is to grab the Bibles. Jake's job is to not spill anything on his shirt.

And there she is, making Daddy's dream come true.

We did have a glitch this past Sunday though. Our garage door opener broke that morning. I had to manually pull the door open and stand on a ladder while supporting the open door while Carol drove the cars out of the garage. And so we were just a tad late. Dream crushed.

To be clear, I really wasn't making any fuss at all about being late for church. It's nice if we're on time but I'm not gonna get in a bad mood or lose sleep over it. I do appreciate the family's extra effort in being more timely for this one thing though. You see, Carol does so much for me and the boys already. I've got zero to complain about. Absolutely nothing. She still makes my dreams come true - and I'm not talking about being on time.

Top Gun - How It Should Have Ended

2011-07-09T00:36:00.000-05:00

Here's a follow up to my recent Top Gun post:

Flashback Friday - CJ and Jena

2011-07-08T06:12:00.000-05:00

So after a week of vacation in Miami, we surprised CJ with a stowaway visitor. Jena would be driving back to Tennessee with us so she could hang out with us in Memphis, go down to the lake house in Alabama and also celebrate the 4th of July in the country with Carol's family. Or as my brother Beanie put it, experience bonus happiness.

So in honor of the extra Jena time, here's this week's submission for Flashback Friday:

CJ and Jena at about a year old. Back then it was all about the Teletubbies.

Jena and CJ four days ago at the big 4th of July celebration in Alabama. Now it's all about Axe shampoo, Old Spice Swagger body wash, animals, Bass Pro Shops and technology. One big difference between the two is one is crazy about fishing and the other lives off of air. Other than that, they're two peas in a pod. They've been known to talk on the phone for hours on end.

As great as our experience was in Korea, it really is nice to be around family again.

Chinese Top Gun?

2011-07-07T20:17:00.002-05:00

Family, military, humor, Korea and Tennessee - those are the main focus areas of this blog. At least until we move again. With that in mind, you'll see me posting more stuff on these five areas.

So here's one that hits on two of those areas - military and humor. At least I thought it was funny.

Article on Chinese Air Force Drills

BTW, the rumors are true. There will be a Top Gun 2. If TV Guide said it, then it's happening:

Top Gun 2 article in TV Guide

4th of July

2011-07-07T00:07:00.001-05:00

I was amazed the first time I experienced the 4th of July with Carol's family in Alabama. Many years later, I'm still amazed. Check out this video made by Carol's cousin, Leenie. It'll give you a good peek into how Independence Day should be celebrated. Thanks Leenie for the video!

Jake had a little attitude problem before the festivities began so he needed a little alone time in the corner. I'm glad I didn't need to break out the fireworks for Jake to turn things around.

That's Carol's mom on the left.

Nothing like dipping in the pool on a warm day.

The cousins finally meet. CJ, Jena and Andrea got to hang out at the lake prior to the big 4th of July celebration. They got along great.

More cousins - Angela and Carol. They get along okay too.

Aunt Annie and some of her grandkids.

The veterans get called up to the front by Uncle David (on the right). The flag belongs to Carol's dad who served in the Army in the Korean War. He passed away when Carol was 18.

The O'Neals

Passing out the balloons.

Getting ready to release the balloons in honor of Grandmother and Grandfather. The 4th of July was their favorite holiday.

And away they go! Quite the sight.

Time for the parade around the pool.

Aunt Charlie and Aunt Joy jumping in after the parade.

You know it's a hot day when they jump into the pool.

And that's how you do the 4th of July in Alabama. God bless America!

Miami Vacation - Part 2

2011-07-05T23:18:00.001-05:00

It was just too much to put in one blog entry. And so, like the crusty uncle that bores you to death with a projector full of vacation picture slides, I present to you more Miami pics.

Like Jake, this shark in front of the Bass Pro Shops lost one of his teeth. Without the toothless area, CJ wouldn't be able to perform this fine impersonation of a human hors d'oeuvre.

Darby and Ariel at the Fort Lauderdale Riverwalk.

Alan and Danita

Chilling.

Too often, we leave the kids to their devices. Literally. Even the six year old has to have his fingers on the laptop, iPad, iTouch or iPhone. Not only that, it's gotta be hooked up to the internet. Steve Jobs - you're a witch! If there was even a micro spare moment during the vacation, you'd see these little boogers scrambling to be connected - Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, Facebooking, texting, emailing... it was ridiculous. Like little crack addicts. Jake is less than two seconds out of bed in this picture and he's needing his internet hit bad. What have we created?

Carol and I got to visit my good friend Edisa at the new US Southern Command Headquarters. Edisa and I worked together a few years back. Although the job was extremely challenging, spending time with Edisa was the best. I really miss her. Got to see some of the old gang too. The new place was really nice. Might have to find my way back to Miami.

Saw a couple of these guys basking in the sun.

It was all smiles on our 4 hour fishing trip aboard the Flamingo. Couldn't beat the scenery.

CJ the hood ornament

Bait

The pose while cruising through Fort Lauderdale, the Venice of America.

Rigged and ready to catch some fish.

That's Darryl the deck hand on the left. It was obvious he had been on the high seas for quite a while. I think he was growing barnacles. He had to be one of the grumpiest and vilest human beings I've ever met in my life. I'm convinced he's eaten a child or two. "I told you we shouldn't have done a drop rig! Filth, flarn, filth!" Note: actual language replaced because this is a family blog. "Those kids are gonna be bored out of their minds in a few minutes!" Loud burp right after he removes a remora suctioned to his backside. "Who put this squid on the railing?!? That's gonna jack up the boat!" Juicy fart. "Argh, look at this tangle! That's gonna be 30 minutes of no fishing! I told you so!" Silent fart followed by seagull poop hitting the deck. Although he reeked of pessimism, his gloom and doom disposition rang true as soon as we left calm waters...

No more smiles for the cousin trio. Our young fishermen were not amused by the steady rocking of the Flamingo. Queasy and green is no way to go through life. While it didn't stop them from feeling horrible, CJ's suggestion of going horizontal helped the cousins to avoid the dreaded technicolor yawn - unlike the rowdy teens who were loudly chumming the waters over the side of the boat with their violent vomit comets. I was proud that CJ, Jena and Ariel didn't hurl. They were troopers. I believe this type of experience is a major reason why Jena's brother Joel will be doing Army or Air Force ROTC at VMI vice Navy ROTC. Darn shame.

I should be fair. I'm exaggerating with Darryl's personality. He was keeping it real and was very helpful. I don't think we could've gotten a harder worker. There's not much he hasn't seen. I could've sworn we brought four kids on the boat though.

Catching a couple of tilefish.

Josh getting in on the action.

CJ feeling a little better.

Staged picture only. No actual hurling, unlike the group of teens that kept yelling for their friend Ralph. "Ralph! Ralph!" CJ now knows that if he's disrespecting Mom or Dad or isn't doing his chores, he just might get the dreaded punishment of an all day deep sea adventure with Dad. That'll keep him on the straight and narrow.

Alan enjoying the ride.

The tourists on this Duck Tour boat gave us a couple of loud quacks as we sailed by.

What recession?

One good thing about Fort Lauderdale fishing trips is that even if you don't catch anything, you'll still take in some fantastic scenery. You know you have a big boat when you need a small boat to get to your big boat.

Believe it or not, after having a bad experience during the deep sea fishing trip, later that same day, Jena and Ariel wanted to go to the lake and do some freshwater fishing. They just had to catch some fish. Reminds me of my brother Lee when he gets skunked on a fishing outing. He goes out and eats some revenge sushi. Jena caught this little one without a fishing pole. She used a stick and some line just for kicks. Show off!

Speaking of showing off, here's Jake showing off his new Jake-O-Lantern smile. Always the negotiator, Jake let it be known that he thought the Tooth Fairy should leave him more money than usual because 1) he's on vacation 2) it's one of his big teeth 3) it's right after losing the other big tooth.

Carol on the balcony of our resort.

Jake enjoying the big sauna tub with some of the members of Jena's duck collection.

Super Mario Smash Brothers (or something like that) was the Wii game of choice. Those darn devices again.

Every time the elevator went by the 3rd floor, a strange rumbling noise would emanate from under the elevator. We were convinced it was the cables grinding past the forgotten bones of the elevator repair man that was sent to investigate the original noise many moons ago.

We walked around the Hard Rock complex for a bit. That place has gotten really big.

Too bad Hooters didn't get the memo on the big theme. For those that can't read lips, Jena is saying, "Where's the beef?" At least we got to see Prince's purple jacket, Slash's top hat, Elton John's crazy outfits (compete with boa) and listen to some good live music. There was also plenty of silicone that evening, even outside of Hooters.

This Cuban meal was definitely better than Jena's burger. La Granja is such a simple place but so dang good.

Although we played plenty of games, we didn't do a full blown Cruz Olympics this time. We were playing Yahtzee this night.

Taboo was the best though.

Jena keeping a close eye on the timer.

Of course the Cruz's had to spice things up with the game of Taboo. Hasbro, take note. We introduced this plastic horn - the Vuvuzela - as an added punishment if you made three or more mistakes or only got two correct words during your turn. The Vuvuzela, or Zaboomafoo or whatever it's called, was made famous during the 2010 World Cup. Imagine an entire stadium full of soccer hooligans blowing into these horns at the top of their lungs to support their team. If you didn't perform up to standards during your turn at Taboo, the punishment was to place your hands behind your back and take the full brunt of a loud Vuvuzela being blown into your face. If small pieces of undigested pork or a damp mist of black bean aroma unintentionally smacked your face during the trumpeting of the horn, so be it. More motivation to perform better next time. Here's Joel doling out the punishment of the Vuvuzela on Brandon.

Darby was fortunate during this punishment. Her son was being lenient and did not blow at point blank range. Still deafening though.

Usually a solid player at Taboo, this punishment will remind me not to let my guard down. After being water boarded at Survival/Evasion/Resistance/Escape (SERE) school years ago and now experiencing the Vuvuzela punishment, I believe the Vuvuzela should be banned by the Geneva Convention. I can live with the water boarding.

Another fun (and very simple) game was "Four Eyes." You sit in a circle where you have eye contact with everyone in the group. Everyone puts their head down. Someone then says, "head up!" All you have to do is stare at one person and one person only. Just randomly pick someone. If that same person is staring back at you, you're both out. You can't look at the same person two times in a row until you get down to four people. When it gets down to two people, you have a staring contest to determine the champion. If it's an odd number of people, you won't need to do the staring contest.

And so the champion of Four Eyes was Jake! He won it fair and square. The big prize was Ric Flair. Josh won Ric Flair at the first Cruz Olympics. Jena won it last year at the Outer Banks. And now, Jake gets to take home the prize. Ric Flair is his until the next big Cruz get together. For those that can't read lips, Jake is saying, "Woooh!!!!!" in his best Nature Boy voice.

Woooh!!!!

The farewell pose.

The girls get into the act too.

Can I simply say that I love my family? During the blessing for Alan and Brandon's surprise graduation party dinner, my brother Beanie reminded us all that God has really blessed the Cruz kids in that we WANT to see each other and WANT to spend time with each other. I don't take that for granted. Some of my friends don't keep in touch with their mother, father, brother or sister. The issues that sometimes get in the way are money, kids, favoritism or some rift that seems too big to overcome. I'm telling you, whatever the issue is, it isn't too big to overcome. It's simply a matter of letting it go.

Don't think that we didn't have our issues. We fought like cats and dogs as kids and would've been great entertainment on Jerry Springer in our hey day. Heck, there's stuff happening right now but we're all trying to work through it.

A lot of us expend so much energy putting up these walls of anger, guilt, shame or pride with our own family. Instead of piling on to those negative walls, be reminded of the Good Book and specifically, the Greatest Commandment - which tells us to love God and love each other. Remember that this is a COMMANDMENT. It's not a suggestion or a polite request to follow only if we feel like it. I'll get off my soapbox (or pulpit) now.

I like to think that we're following this commandment when we get together like we do. I hope my kids and my nephews and nieces remember and learn from these times together so that they can carry it on with their families when they get older.

The games, movies, fishing, sightseeing, meals, silliness, shopping, sharing a pew at church, Cruz Olympics, laughs, tears, Ric Flair, loud horns and all of the time together with family - it just brings a huge smile to my face and a tear to my eye. That's good stuff right there.

Cathy and Lee - we missed you guys. Until next time. Woooh!!!!

Flashback Friday - Superhero Style

2011-06-30T23:34:00.000-05:00

So here are all five of the Cruz kids along with a neighborhood friend. From left to right is Sharold Guay, Darby, Lee, Alan, Beanie and yours truly. This is while we were living in the Hewitt Farms Navy Housing off of Little Creek Road in Norfolk, Virginia. My best guess is 1976.

In Beanie's hot little hands are two toys - action figures of Captain America and Thor. Not really action figures because you couldn't move any of their appendages. More like small statues. Still a lot of fun back then though.

Those heroes were popular with us way back when and they're still popular today. CJ and I try to watch all of the new superhero movies. Two big thumbs up for the latest X-men movie. It's very cool that CJ and I get to enjoy some of the same things that I liked when I was his age.

By the way, we don't have a rug hanging on the wall in our house. Have a "super" Independence Day.

Miami Vacation - Part 1

2011-06-28T23:20:00.003-05:00

For me, a vacation ending is akin to having to eat a huge casserole of okra, popping a massive zit in the hyper-sensitive nose/upper lip area or running into a sliding glass door in front of a large group of people. So no surprise that I'm writing this in a slightly depressed post-vacation stupor. But like the great Dr. Seuss said, "Don't cry because it's over...smile because it happened." Lots to smile about over the last couple of days with my brothers and sister and their kids while vacationing in southern Florida.

Before I forget, all you military folks need to check out the Armed Forces Vacation Club at www.afvclub.com. We used them for this vacation and it was simply awesome. We stayed in a really nice vacation resort in Weston, Florida (near Fort Lauderdale). Can't beat the price. One unit was about 1500 square feet, two bedrooms, two kitchens, two living rooms and two bathrooms. For a whole week, the unit cost $350. We reserved two units for about a total of 3000 square feet, 4 bedrooms and room to sleep 16. The Armed Forces Vacation Club has locations all over the world. Check it out. We're definitely going to use them again.

Without further ado, the summer antics of the Cruz family:

The pose at Fort Lauderdale beach. This is right before my sister Darby saw a shark. She had everyone hopping out of the water. We even warned the lifeguard who proceeded to tell us that big tarpon like to cruise around the area and people sometimes confuse them for sharks. I don't care what the local experts say, if my sister says she saw a shark, then it was a dang shark. Fortunately, we didn't need to speed dial Roy Scheider or Richard Dreyfuss for their great white expertise. No limbs were lost that day. We did see a couple of brown butt whales though.

There are some fishing fools in my family. Guilty! Any good Cruz vacation will contain massive amounts of ripping lips of some largemouth bass. Lee, we missed you bro.

My nieces have definitely caught the fishing bug. That's Ariel on the left. Or Ning Ning. Or Ning the Merciless. Or Ariel Assault. Jena is on the right showing off the first catch of the trip. Here's how much they love fishing. They were getting up at zero dark thirty with me on most mornings to go fishing. And were happy to do so. I had a ball with them. You can't put a price on the fish catching smile. I was elated that they out-fished me on that day.

Jena showing off the big catch of the day. Nice. Notice her sporting the Bass Pro Shops gear. Like I said, she loves fishing.

I caught this Mayan Cichlid on a spinnerbait. These guys love nightcrawlers too. Jena and Ariel were catching these guys all week long.

I caught this bass on a topwater Hula Popper. Love the topwater. I was disappointed that we didn't catch any Peacock Bass during the trip. My brother Lee and I have vowed to take a trip to the Amazon to catch Peacock Bass. Lock it in. Championship.

Umm. One morning, we had a visitor while fishing. He didn't get too close but it's kinda spooky that the gators are out there. Goes to show you how much the girls love fishing. They still wanted to go after seeing this guy. I won't even mention the snake. No limbs lost this day either.

A nice bass caught by the fish whisperer.

One of my fears is that one day, I'll end up on the website, "People of Walmart." Actually, I ain't skurd. I love me some Wally World. They've got live nightcrawler worms in the fishing section. It would've been a different fishing experience for the girls without this great bait. I'm feeling slightly more than redneck-ish because we hit Walmart three days in a row. Notice the huge Extreme Big Gulp soda mug. We used that thing as a worm cooler for our fishing. Worked like a champ, although I highly recommend washing the thing before drinking out of it after a fishing trip.

Here's proof that we did other stuff besides fishing. Nice picture. The water was incredible at Fort Lauderdale. We were thinking about heading to South Beach but decided against it in part because I forgot to pack my banana hammock.

Enjoying the beach with the boys. It's moments like this that make the sand up the crack and the uncontrollable beach water nasal drip bearable.

It's Super Ceej!

The pool at the resort was ginormous. Very friendly hospitality crew too. They'd go around handing out free popsicles for the kids, had Wii games going on, bingo, water volleyball and other activities. The most fun had in the pool though was the Cruz clan playing "Water Ninja."

Jake first learned to swim in Miami from his Latin swim instructor that kept calling him Yacob. Yacob seemed to have forgotten all of his swimming lessons while we were in Korea. Fortunately, his aquatic skills have recently returned.

CJ sporting the slicked back look.

The pool even had this nice waterfall. Waterfalls are good for two things - jumping over in a barrel and serving as background for the pose.

Rachel Ray hit this empanada place for one of her shows. We love it.

Some of the Cruz girls getting ready to chow down on some 'nadas.

Only thing wrong with this picture is it needs about twice as much of the green chimichurri stuff. We hit those empanadas, and we hit them hard.

Jake and Joel showing some cousin love.

I hadn't had this caprese pizza in years. This is my favorite pizza in the world. And yes, taking pictures of food is a Filipino thing - just like the rice cooker in the kitchen and the framed picture of the Last Supper hanging in the dining room of your Filipino friend's house.

We're not enjoying this food at all.

Eating together is such a happy event when the family gets together.

Jake lost one of his front teeth just days prior to this picture. During the vacation, he lost the other front tooth. He turned into a Jake-O-Lantern!

Alan, Danita, Jena and Joel - the Suffolk Cruz's.

Carol living on the wild side! Don't do it!

That'll leave a mark.

The Honky Tonk Cruzers at the Riverfront in Fort Lauderdale.

Jake chilling with Uncle Awesome.

I photo-shopped some of the bird poop out of this picture. Seemed like the right thing to do for my lovely bride.

Before this picture, I took Alan and Brandon to the Bass Pro Shop and Tate's Comic Shop as a diversionary tactic so Carol, Danita and Darby could set up for the surprise graduation party. This picture captures us springing the surprise. Darby even had the graduation theme music cued up. Alan recently finished his degree from Liberty University and Brandon graduated from High School a few weeks ago.

Congrats to Alan and Brandon! Brandon will be joining the Army Reserve soon. Boot camp! That's Alan doing his Rodney Dangerfield "Back to School" impersonation.

Speaking of Rodney Dangerfield, he didn't get any respect but this pork shoulder surely did. My brother Beanie cooked up this mouth watering lechon. Amazingly, it was fat free.

To further escalate our pork intake for the evening, Beanie also made some delicious pork chops, complete with chorizo. Add in some plantains, rice and beans for the south Florida flair and you've got a heck of a meal.

Gotta have a mojito while in Miami. Darb says the steak sandwich at the Biltmore Hotel is incredible.

Well, since it's getting late and I haven't even mentioned Taboo, Zaboomafoo, Four Eyes, the other fishing expedition, the deck hand, Rick Flair and some other juicy morsels, I need to say, to be continued...

Hope you're having a great summer too.

Father's Day

2011-06-17T16:09:00.000-05:00

With Father's Day upon his, here's a look back to last June in Busan. Last year in Korea, I was invited to be part of a panel interview to help commemorate Father's Day on the English radio channel in Busan, eFM 90.5. It was fun talking about the boys, parenthood and being a military dad. The radio show is called "Let's Talk Busan" and is hosted by Jeff Lebow. Jeff, who had read my blog of the family's exploits in Korea, caught me off guard and asked me about "the pose" and about "Thong Man." You can read more about Thong Man by clicking on this link:

Thong Man

As far as "the pose", it's simply a fun thing the boys and I do to capture good memories. We have pictures of us doing the pose in Hong Kong, Australia, Thailand, Seoul and many other places. And so Jeff suggested that we all do the pose to remember our Father's Day radio interview:

The pose in St. Louis

The first documented account of the pose. Here are the Cruz boys with my Dad in Norfolk, Virginia. I'm maybe 6 years old.

This is the most recent pose picture, taken immediately after I introduced Ceej to the manly art of grass cutting. Although there was a lot of sweating and I chopped the heck out of a PVC cap in the front yard, we didn't lose a single toe.

And so Happy Father's Day to all you Dads out there - in Korea, in Tennessee, or wherever the heck you might be. Hug on them kids and enjoy this classic gem of a video. This is definitely how I roll...

Dad Life Video

Philippine Independence Day

2011-06-13T23:23:00.000-05:00

A little history for you.

Yesterday was Independence Day in the Philippines. It was initially celebrated on the 4th of July.

Between 1941 and 1946, during World War II Japanese occupation, the Philippines remained a US territory. When General Douglas McArthur landed in Leyte, some of the Japanese continued to fight until the official surrender of the Empire of Japan on 2 September, 1945. The Philippines gained complete independence on July 4, 1946 via the Treaty of Manila. The treaty provided for the recognition of the independence of the Republic of the Philippines and the relinquishment of American sovereignty over the Philippine Islands.

Former President Diosdado Macapagal later moved Independence Day to June 12th, the date on which the Malolos Republic declared independence from Spain in 1898. Filipino-American Friendship Day was created in its place and it coincides with the United States' Independence Day on July 4. (from Wikipedia)

I need to do a better job of teaching the boys about their heritage. I'm thinking this is also a good reason for a June celebration. We need to cook up some good Filipino food and have a party at the house next year!

Lumpia (eggrolls)

Pancit (noodles)

CJ, Jake and a duck at Grandma and Grandpa's house in the Philippines in 2008. What a memorable trip that was.

Mustachio's First Video

2011-06-12T08:45:00.003-05:00

Peek into the life of Mustachio...if you dare.

Graduation - One Year Ago...

2011-06-11T12:16:00.003-05:00

Congratulations to my nephew Brandon who recently graduated from high school and was sworn into the US Army Reserves. As the youth of America don caps and gowns all over the country and seniors rake in the graduation gifts of cold hard cash from friends and family, I'm reminded of one year ago, when the family was in Busan, Korea at the Busan Foreign School Graduation Ceremony.

The Principal (and good friend), Mr. Scott Jolly with opening remarks.

CJ and his friend, Tevin, trotting to the stage to accept their leadership awards for the 5th grade. These guys were pretty tight.

Here's Jake receiving the Student of the Year award for Pre-Kindergarten. Umm, I think he was a little happy. Now that's a smile.

Jake is in the middle of the picture high-fiving his teacher, Ms. Amber Newton. Couldn't have asked for a better teacher.

Carol presented some awards from the PTA to some deserving students. She also received a plaque of appreciation from the school for her efforts throughout the year. I was proud to say that I was the husband of the PTA President.

I was very honored to give the commencement speech. As with most things, Carol gave me some good advice on the content of the speech. Here's the speech itself:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. and Mrs. Haddon, Principal Jolly, faculty and staff, parents, students, and most importantly, the 2010 graduating class of Busan Foreign School, I am very honored to be speaking to you on this special occasion.

I have to admit that when I was in your seat during my own high school graduation 23 years ago, I really wasn’t paying attention to the guest speaker. I honestly don’t even remember who the speaker was. Like many of you, my mind was somewhere else – the future, college, what do I want to do with my life? – those kind of heavy thoughts.

Well, in an effort to stay somewhat current, I’d like to share with you some of the heavy thoughts that are on people’s minds right now. Please raise your hands if you have a Facebook account.

So here are some of the different status comments from some of my own Facebook friends from the last couple of days. Maybe you can relate to some of these comments:

So... am I the only one that has absolutely no idea what to do now that we're done with school...?

dude i woke up this morning all happy alone in my house, and now im like, now what?

Only 6 days of school left and then I leave BFS forever...sad

Trying to find a job is the hardest thing I have EVER done in my life! I think getting the degree was the easy part...they don't tell you about the "REAL WORLD"... PRAYERS ARE NEEDED

So some of you might be feeling this same apprehension, excitement and anxiety. And that’s normal. The future can be a very daunting thing.

With the future in mind, I’d like to pass on to you one thing that I think is extremely important as you begin your new adventure of college, a new job or even living in a new country. And that thing is FOCUS. Focus is one of the key things that will get you to where you want to be.

Being a Navy brat and growing up next to a military jet base, I knew in high school what I wanted to do with my life – I wanted to fly jets for the Navy. There were many days in high school where I would doze off in class, only to be woken up by the thundering sound of the Navy jets flying overhead.

And so I worked real hard in college and was commissioned as a Naval Officer after graduation from the Virginia Military Institute. I was also fortunate enough to earn an aviation slot and so off to Navy flight school I went. Flight school was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done in my life. Unfortunately, a lot of my buddies didn’t make it through flight training. Some of them were hitting the nightclubs a little too much and not studying nearly enough. Some were distracted by personal issues, money issues and other things. Many people simply weren’t cut out for the training – whether it was the grueling physical demands, the academics or putting it all together in the airplane. A lot of good people didn’t make it through. And I was almost one of those people. But if there’s one thing that I can point to that helped me to make it through this challenge – it was my FOCUS. I always had my eye on the prize and I wasn’t gonna let anything get in the way of reaching my goal. Instead of hitting the beach, I spent extra hours in the flight simulator. Instead of watching TV, I was memorizing my emergency procedures and rehearsing my flights. I was gonna do whatever it took to reach my goal.

I learned about focus early on from various role models, including my boxing coach in college. When I was boxing, it was only when I was truly focused that I was able to achieve the highest levels in my sport.

I’d like to share a story with you about focus. My current boss grew up in Hawaii. He tells me about a guy he knew in high school in Hawaii by the name of Barry. Now, Barry loved to play basketball. And he was pretty good too. He worked hard at his game and had aspirations to be a professional basketball player. The thing is, he was a decent player compared to the small crowd in Hawaii, but when he had tougher competition in college, he came to the realization that professional basketball was not in his future. As much as Barry focused on his game, he knew it wasn’t gonna be a long term thing.

But that focus and determination that Barry had – it was an impressive thing. You see, with the proper focus, you can do anything you set your mind to. Nothing will get in your way. Without focus, well, that’s where you can lose your way.

The reality is many of you will finish up college and go on to be presidents of companies, community leaders, raise families, make lots of money and do great things. This will happen. I have no doubt. And your focus on your goals will be one of the common themes behind your success.

The thing is, there will be distractions along the way – temptations that sidetrack you away from your goals – partying, girls (I should know, I married one), video games, TV shows, downright laziness and even homesickness – while none of these things are necessarily bad, if you allow them to become major distractions and you lose focus, then they become terrible things. These are some of the same distractions that are the downfall of many professionals – famous actors with drug problems, professional athletes with domestic abuse issues, politicians with extra-marital affairs or corruption…pick up any newspaper and it’s on the front page - many high profile people losing focus.

With a strong focus on your goals though, nothing will stand in the way of what you want. Let me get back to the story about Barry.

You see, as hard as Barry worked on basketball, it just wasn’t in his future. But Barry was a focused person. And after basketball didn’t work out for him, he used that incredible focus in another part of his life. He got into politics. And he did real well at that – and I mean really well. Now, Barry wasn’t his real name. That’s what people called him in high school. But now, most people know him as Barack. President Barack Obama.

Let me point out one other thing about focus. You shouldn’t set your focus on small, easy goals. You don’t need a lot of focus to achieve small things. Don’t limit yourself. Set your sights high and go for it. Earlier, I mentioned my desire to fly. I didn’t say I wanted to fly just propeller airplanes or helicopters. I wanted to fly the best. I wanted to fly jets. And that’s what I went for and that’s what I got.

During my boxing days, I didn’t compete for second or third place. I aspired to be the very best – to be the national boxing champion for the entire country, and that’s what I achieved.

I challenge each and every one of you to not settle for mediocrity. Aspire to be the very best and use that focus of yours to get there. Don’t settle for just “good enough.” Go for it. Knock the bottom out of everything that you do.

That average stuff – that’s for the other schools. That’s for the ISB graduates. You come from the Busan Foreign School. This is the place where students score perfect on the SAT. This is the place where the students get accepted to the most elite colleges and universities in the world. This is where the teachers challenge their students to do their very best. I can’t tell you how proud I am to have my boys going to the Busan Foreign School. As a Navy family, we move around a lot and have experience with many different schools. Busan Foreign School is by far, the very best.

And so, Graduates of the class of 2010 – I’ll close by saying that you should be beaming with pride over this great school that’s now a part of your history. Like Barry did, I challenge you to represent your school well. Congratulations to each and every one of you on achieving this major milestone of graduation. I wish you tremendous success in your personal and professional lives. Stay focused and do great things. Thank you so much for your time today.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

All in all, it was a very memorable day for the family. The graduation ceremony capped off an outstanding school year. We really can't say enough great things about Busan Foreign School. For those new graduates and their families - congratulations to you all. Enjoy this special occasion. For the BFS faculty, students and family that are moving on to new adventures, to include the Jolly's, Allen's and other friends we've had the pleasure of spending time with, we wish you the very best on the future. You've got friends in the Cruz's.

Flashback Friday

2011-06-10T06:16:00.002-05:00

Here's my submission for Flashback Friday:

In alphabetical order from left to right, it's Alan, Bernabe, Chris, Darby and Euclid. Of course Mom all the way to the right. Yes they did, the 'rents named us in alphabetical order. Here we are in all our plaid glory, chilling at the Botanical Gardens in Norfolk, Virginia. Mom made at least two of the shirts in this picture herself. She was quite the seamstress. Dad cut all of the boys' hair himself. He was quite the... photographer.

Alabama Thanksgiving

2011-06-06T21:33:00.001-05:00

I'm trying to be more prompt with my blogging. With that said, here are pictures from Thanksgiving. The drive to Alabama is a short 4 hour drive down Highway 78. It's been years since we've been able to spend Thanksgiving with Carol's family.

Fishing at Uncle Sammy's lake yielded this nice largemouth bass. Cold weather means you break out the suspending jerkbait.

Another nice fatty. I think I got seven bass that morning.

Driving around in the country in the back of a pickup truck. Oh yes. I love that the boys get to hang out with their cousins.

Big day here. This was the first time CJ fired a weapon. We got to shoot all sorts of guns in his Uncle James' backyard. Charlton Heston would've been proud. I'm thinking CJ grew at least one chest hair that day. And also started his journey towards a hearing aid.

Of course I gave CJ the safety brief - don't point the weapon at anyone, no jokes, check the safety, etc. So what happens the first time he handles a revolver? He points the weapon at an imaginary person and says, "There's Miley Cyrus! Bam! Bam!"

Shooting cans with shotguns reminded me that you should never...

... break into a Southerner's house.

The good looking women in Carol's family.

Got to have lunch with three of my favorite ladies in the whole world - Carol, Angela and Katrina. They've been friends for a long time.

Watching the Iron Bowl (Alabama versus Auburn) with Aunt Charlie. Wish the outcome was different.

We usually stay with the Walker's when we visit the country. Some of the nicest people you'll every meet.

Happy Thanksgiving (6 months later)!

We try and hit Bob Sykes BBQ in Bessemer every chance we get. I have to say that Full Moon BBQ is giving them a run for their money though.

Carol and her Mom.

Honestly, CJ isn't trying to give Grandma an uppercut. After eating a big meal, she checks the boys' muscles to see if they're growing.

The good-byes aren't nearly as tough since we know we can come and visit again.

So that was Thanksgiving weekend in Alabama. Family, friends, food, football, fishing and firearms. What more could you ask for?

Allowance

2011-06-05T22:28:00.000-05:00

Jake has been begging us to start giving him an allowance like we do for CJ. We told him he had to show us he was ready for the big bucks - more maturity and helping around the house and less temper tantrums and toddler stuff. I have to say that he's responded well. He's been making up his bed every morning without being told, helping set the table and clear it, and cheerfully doing small chores when we ask him.

On a couple of occasions, we've even tucked him in bed under the covers only to find him sleeping on a freshly made bed a few minutes later. After prayers, the little booger hops out of the sack, straightens out the covers on the bed and sleeps on top of the made bed so it's an easier task in the morning. Pretty soon, he'll go to go to bed in the clothes he's going to wear the next day.

It might seem like a small thing but getting kids started on finances early is important - from saving to budgeting to giving. How else are they going to learn these things? Watching them do the math in their heads as they're trying to choose which toy to buy at Target or Wal-Mart is priceless. It's good for them to make these kind of financial decisions early. Learning about tax, tipping and bills helps them to appreciate the value of a buck. Explaining the good that comes from giving at church and charitable causes is important too.

And so we decided just recently to give Jake a weekly allowance of two dollars. We were going to start with one dollar a week but his attitude with helping around the house convinced us he was worthy of the 100% increase in the CHC department - cold hard cash.

Here's the little guy accepting his first of many weekly allowances.

Always the negotiator, Jake tried to cajole us into giving him retroactive allowance for the time since he's been on planet earth. We thought about it for a nano-second before giving him the big "no" sandwich. Good try though kid.

Mustachio!

2011-05-28T10:12:00.001-05:00

I am Mustachio. As you can see from dee peetchur, I like to eat da pistachios. My hobbies consist of eating da gummy bears, da jelly beans and da pistachios. What? You say dat eating da gummy bears and da jelly beans is for da younglings? I am not youngling. Cannot you see dat from da mustachio under my nozzo? DO NOT JUDGE MUSTACHIO!

In case you cannot read word on bag, here is da closeup peetchur. It says pistachios are "wonderful." Therefore, Mustachio is wonderful!