Daily Prompt: Missing

They fought wars in the most obscure and newsworthy places around the globe.  They are mended together through the brotherhood (and sisterhood) of warriors’ shed blood and comradeship.  They are truly the ones that gave up their life in defense for humanity, their troops and your freedom. They are the missing soldiers who died on the battlefield, died from their wounds and captured, beaten, tortured and then murdered. Killed senselessly, needlessly in a war torn country that will continue in its embattlement.

 Let us remember our fallen heroes, those who came home bringing their fresh memories as survivors, the wounded with and without the visible signs of hurt, pain and wounds yet to surface, and especially those who we will miss dearly everyday!

Daily Prompt: Treasure

In the Army, I’ve made lots of friends and met great people along the way. I think the greatest treasure given from the military was its experience and personal values instilled into me that has helped me deal with the mechanisms of civilian life.  Eventually I learned to channel situations, complex and simple, through everyday turmoil into making it work out triumphantly. 

Often the perception we have is always money associated with treasure. And that’s fine. But the real treaure is your experience and how it can benefit you and others like you get through this crazy maze called life!

Daily Prompt: Protest

You see it all the time. Most recently from our new President-Elect Donald Trump, he has ignited a series of protests around the country.  The people who didn’t vote for him was astonished. He beat Hillary Clinton, the battered but favorite to win!  Impossible! And like the adult size tantrums that we can give, we march into the streets with signs of catchy phrases, time off from work, school, and other activities and we let the one object of our focus to know we don’t like you or what was done.

Sometimes protesting works. In Egypt, a few years back, the masses took on Twitter and other firms of social media to eventually force the President Hosni Mubarak out of office with a crowd never before seen in Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo, Egypt in 2011.

  In our case, sadly it won’t work. Quietly, signs are put down and lives goes on; complaining and nitpicking all the way through the next four years.

Daily Prompt: Martyr

 

I remember when I was in boot camp, we had to learn about donning on the gas masks at different mop gear levels.

 And on this particular day, the drill instructors was giving us a lesson in a certain area that had a potentially deadly, colorless and odorless gas. He asked for volunteers to check it out. Of course, all of us were chicken. No one wanted to be the “martyr” in finding out if this so called gaseous area was indeed detrimental to our very existence.

Then as to give us an incentive, he said, ‘You’re family will be well compensated for your service.  After all, you are insured.’ Was that really to motivate us or make us fear that much more!? Regardless, if I had to die, I wouldn’t want to be remembered as the idiot who took on this stupid tragic challenge.

Daily Prompt: Vanish

Today is the day that I’m exhausted from the weekend.  Yet I got all this incoming mail and phone calls coming at me.  Tomorrow is another day, people.  Another day cause I’m gonna vanish from social media for 12 hours. Goodnight! Sleep is my medicine.

Daily Prompt: Construct

If you had a way to look inside my mind, good luck! Have at it! Its a mess in there! Get your glue gun, staples, nails and hammer cause you’ll have to reconstruct this haphazard construct!  It might take you 45 minutes, 16 days or however long, but I can’t get this mess to impress anyone!

The brain and the mind are two distinct entities.  Did you know that? The brain is static in everyday learning but that mind… it changes all the time, but can be controlled with narcotics or medicine.  Now that is where the precepts of the constructs begins and processes. But don’t listen to me, I’m still under construction.

Daily Prompt: Echo

“Faster than the speed of sound”, “In an instant”, “Microwave blessings”, and other cute quibs are firmly repeated in some point of our lives.  Its echo of that mysterious, proverbial “they”people dictating what we should say, what we believe in or not.  Who are “they” anyway?? Why do “they” infiltrate our lives with words that has stream from generation to generation? How did “they” become so popular that we believe them as the best great majority?  

As for me, I’ll cautiously entertain what “they” say as I let their words echo into my thoughts in an attempt to figure out who “they” are, what “they” want and how did “they” gain so much traction and power over us.

Stories From Boot Camp

As promised, I’m gonna tell you a few of my stories (actual events) while I attended Basic Training.

When I arrived at Fort Jackson, S.C. for my training, it was dark and mysterious looking.  Also quiet and civil. Until we unloaded off the bus that brought us (men and women) to the doorsteps of reception station. Didn’t even knew what that meant.  After lining up, we were greeted by the drill sergeants and then as cool as they welcomed us all, they told us to begin separating allowed stuff from not allowed stuff. Then, with all the not allowed stuff, it was disposed into a large garbage can, never to be seen again. ‘Welcome to the military’, I said in my mind as we proceeded to be processed in. Now the men were separated from the women at this point because they have assigned barracks for them and the women have their own assigned to them. No fraternization, no intimate or late night hooligans.  They made sure of that: by spacing us quite a great distance from each other. It was like there was no women for the men and for the men, there was no women. Out of sight, out of mind.

So here we ladies are. 50 of us living in an archaic 1940’s looking barracks that looked preserved for posterity. Twenty- five living on the first floor, twenty-five living on the second floor.  So we’re being briefed on things we need to adhere, care packages was among the topic. Absolutely no exception were we to have ‘sweets’ (hard candies, cookies, cakes, etc- you know) in the care package or in your possession.  So here we are into the third week if boot camp.  At the end of our day, we gather for our mail and stuff.

The mail was distributed and all packages. The drill sergeants went to their office as usual before leaving. I was on the second floor when it all happened.  Immediately, we heard the serious tone of the drill sergeants as we huddled into formation on the first floor. As he walked menacingly between the lines on the floor’s aisle, he asked us, “who does this candy wrapper belong to?”.  All the offender had to do was confess: she had the candy and we could have gone on with our business.  So after waiting and hearing all these women gripe on the air pleading with whoever the individual was who got the candy to just come forward, the drill sergeant  came back with his own punishing resolution.

“All right”, he begins. “No one wants to come forward. OK.”

 In my head I’m like, “ok? So you’re gonna let this slide, right?” Then his voice I declare went two octaves down as he commanded us “Half right face!” Next thing unpleasing was we all had to do pushups- wait, not just hand to floor pushups- with our toes on top of the footlockers near every bed. Every one of us was positioned so that we shared a corner footlocker in order to do it.  And it was excruciatingly painful as we counted off.  I think we got to 5 or something before the offender finally admitted it had came from her. There was only four care packages at that time. Since that incident, I told my folks don’t send me any care packages.

That was an interesting way to start off boot camp. Eventually that lady left boot camp. Yeah, I know I thought once you signed up yours stuck, but somehow she and the drill sergeants found a loophole and she left on a general discharge.

Well, I’ve got more stories to come. Someday I’ll read your stories too.

Daily Prompt: Vigor

Tell me, when do you feel at your best? The height of feeling you can accomplish anything set before you can only be described as vigor.  You’ve got your life, health, strength and common sense intact. You’ve got a job, children and a place to live.  This makes you feel stronger than comparison.

 And then you  see and appreciate all that you go through because, hey, you made it one more day!! That took a lot of vigor and endurance just to last in an uncertain time to see the day end and the night begins.  See you again in the a.m.

Daily Prompt: Pungent

Have you heard the expression:”too much of a good thing is bad for you”? The power of suggestion is no longer further from the truth. Take smoking. Whatever it is, cigarettes, marijuana, etc, it’s no good. And who would want the above anyway with its lingering powerful pungent smell that could repel your sweetest religious grandma!  Or take coffee breath, or decaying rotten onions in your forgotten cabinet of wasted products! Eeww!!

Even a bad fragrance that was meant to do no harm cries foul in the attempt to cover up a nefarious bad pungent odor.  And don’t get me started on the fragrance good money was paid only to disappoint as a gift!  Oh, my! When can a pungent odor be good? Heck, don’t ask me! Ask that rotting flower that blooms once a year!! 

 Sorry, but I’m gagging. Gotta go outside for some real air or else there will be no escape!  Run!