A Big Texas Welcome Home

For the first time I decided to take R&R leave at home.  Normally I take advantage of the opportunity to take a trip to Europe for the two-week deployment break but this time I just wanted to chill with the family.

The Shores of Beaumaris

This is a story about unfinished business.  Business, it sounds so corporate, so official and cold.  There is no message for you here, no wisdom or advice.  This is an attempt to share what was locked away in the subconscious.  This story is a purely selfish endeavor, an attempt to understand a pain that could never heal.

Sleepwalking

Noxious diesel exhaust makes my stomach roil and I am miserable in this sweat baked days-old uniform.  I’m filthy, but rarely are we able to look our best at that defining moment. 

A few moments for clarity

One of the most important things I think a person can do in a difficult situation is work to pass by the bad in order to find that silver lining.  Deployments are like that in so many aspects.

Tom's Top 10 for 2011

Most of you generally take a little time to reflect on the previous year, that’s part of the deal when you’re counting down the days and hours before the New Year parties begin.  The lists run the gambit from greatest this or most incredible that, I’m doing it my way with a top-10 all my own.

Here we are in no particular order - The 2011 Top-10 odd things I love about my wife: