Wednesday ramblings

There was two changes that i made in my preferences during my twenty two year National Guard 'career'. One was i started using plain old soap to shave with. The unit i started out in did a lot of "flyaways" and i found out pretty quickly that shaving cream had two side effects. One was that the scent attracted bugs... lots, and lots of them. The other was that the contents were usually under pressure and after spending several hours in an unpressurized C-130 had a tendency to spray out its contents... the air pressure as well as the stacking of rucksacks on top of each other. Messy and a bug magnet. Not a good combination when you would get dropped off somewhere and have no repreive for several days or weeks. The other thing was i grew to really hate how my watch felt on my wrist. My ruck or web gear would snag on it, dirt would collect under it, and it could reflect light and draw attention to me when i was not wanting to be seen. As a result i began to wear and use a pocket watch. One thing about the American GI's uniform is that there are (usually) a lot of pockets to be had. Especially on the newer uniforms. My first pocket watch was not like the one pictured to the right, but you get the idea. I have a thing for watches and would love to collect them, but i don't really have the money or space to really do so. Which is a good thing. One type of watch i would love to someday get a hold of would be an old fashioned mechanical pocket watch. the kind you have to wind up. I currently own two watches. One is a Carolina Panthers watch, the other is a classic style that a dear friend gave me as a Groom's man's gift (i was his best man). He took the care to make sure my initials were engraved on it as well. It is currently in need of a battery, but that will be taken care of very soon. I HAVE to know what time it is pretty much regularly. When i was living with my dad in New York City, one of the things that used to do, and remember quite fondly, is when i took lessons to play the recorder. It didn't last very long but as i grew older i remember hearing a "penny whistle" (it has several names, but the latest i've heard is 'tin whistle') and i sort of fell in love with the sound. Eventually my fascination grew into a desire to learn how to play, but by then i was married, trying to go to school full time and working full time. I went so far as to purchase a tin whistle and song book at a "Country Store" near the Antietam Battle field. I practiced for a while on my own, but i never went far enough to find someone to help encourage it, so it eventually faded. I still own the instrument but i've long since lost the song book. But my children are getting a little older now and i am spending a couple of hours a week sitting somewhere while they are practicing, etc. I might look into picking it up again and practicing somewhere out of hearing range of others... at least until i can get to a reasonable proficiency. I have no clue as to how many people regularly read this blog. I doubt it's very many, but that's ok. I blog to ramble and work out my various thoughts. It's funny how the things come to mind that i blog about. The watch came to me by reading the recent article about the recent confirmation of an inscription within President Abraham Lincoln's pocket watch. It baffled my beloved that i was so interested in the story. The whistle come to mind as i watch catching up on my friend who gave me my favorite pocket watch (mentioned above - he recently took part in a cooking competition and i was trying to find out how he did), and i saw an ad on Facebook for Irish Tin Whistles. I think music is the most beautiful and universal language. My inspirations can come from anywhere.