Poetic Ramblings Of An Insomniac

~Regardless where I go, there I am waiting...like an inescapable shadow of which I'd like to circumsize myself away from.
So let me sleep the sleep of a thousand sleeps and dream the dream of a thousand dreams.
Homesick, for a place I've never known and exhausted with this temporal realm.
A realm of frivolous vanity and meaningless masquerading as greatness.
Where is the egress, the exit, or the backdoor?
Praying for peace but battling the ever internal war.
Pain and grief are a soldier's constant companions, they'll never leave him...not in 'this' life.
Even in a crowded room one always feels alone.
When alone one always feels over crowded.
Adorned in a civilian mantle, I feel like a farce.
All the while the heart still longs for the battle-force.
Three two seven Infantry, rendezvous with destiny.
Still singing cadences, like it was just today.
Time stands still when you go away.
Dreams-of-your-father, I'm a fish out of water.
The music has stopped but the melody still plays.
It is the song that never ends, going on and on my friend.
Do the others hear it anymore, or is it only me?
O'Hail, O'hail, O'Infantry, civilian life is killing me...

♣Hoo-ah♣
22April2016
AnDrew S.

~A Soldier's Nostalgic Memories On A Sleepless Night~

27March2015
0215hrs.



~Unable to sleep I have reheated a pot of black coffee and while listening to old airborne cadences on Spotify feelings of nostalgia overcome me and I am taken back once again to the roots of my military birth place and a culture which has left it's eternal brand upon me. Ever marking my soul.


 ~I recalled a quote they once had us remember, which was posted upon the wall of my platoon area, and it remains in my memory even at this moment:
" The greatest happiness is to watch your enemies scatter before you. His love ones shrouded in tears. And gather to your bosom his wives and daughters." Ghengis Khan 1200AD...


~At Sand Hell U.S. Army Infantry School, Ft. Benning Ga., there was one interesting thing the Drill Sergeants use to do was to make a recruit (a joe) grab their own testicles and squeeze them if they didn't 'sound-off' loud enough when speaking or yelling.


~I recall one Caucasian recruit squeezing himself so hard while the Drill Sergeants were yelling at him to squeeze his genitalia that he caused himself to pass out unconscious.


~Common rhetoric Infantry recruits would be forced to repeat daily at top volume (as part of the indoctrination) would be, "What makes the green grass grow?~The blood, the blood, the bright red blood!"
"What is the spirit of the bayonet?~To kill, to kill, with cold blue steel!"
"Whadaya wanna be?~Infantry!"
"Whadaya wanna do?~Kill a mother ******! Kill a mother******! KILL!"
"How far you wanna go?~All the way!"
"Are we ever coming back?~Hell NO!"


~In the Infantry culture we often repeated the rhetoric, " Learn to hate, learn to hate, open your arms and embrace the hate, then learn to love it!" Quite often in my company when an Infantryman was asked what he was doing, the rhetoric reply would be, "Learning to hate." Or the reply would be,
"Making love to the hate."


~Each morning after conducting physical training (P.T.) my platoon would gather in a circle with our right hands stacked atop of our platoon leaders, with our platoon sergeant's hand on top, to give thanks to God for allowing us to conduct good P.T., for keeping us healthy, and then we would pray that God send us a war so we could kill some M*****F*****s...THAT WAS THE SPARTAN CULTURE WE WERE RAISED UP IN AS TEENAGERS AND VERY YOUNG MEN.


~Each morning, when not deployed into the field, we reported for P.T. in our parent units around 0400hrs until often after 0730-0800hrs. Sometimes even later if we did an excessively long ruck-run or road march.


~If it was raining in the middle of winter we got soaked in our P.T. uniform while cold rain pelted our face and eyes, sometimes even hard sleet, while at Ft. Campbell. But not a man in my platoon would ever complain, not in the least, but on the contrary everyone would shout "Hoo-ah!!!!" and we'd start asking God to send us 'hail'...That was the morale and attitude of our happy band of masochists.


~During our P.T. runs we had a culture of singing very violent, sometimes borderline blasphemous, always politically incorrect, songs we call 'cadences' which are designed to serve as a method of breath control, pace control (speed) maintaining no less than a 7minute mile pace (regardless of the cross country or marathon distances we ran) uniformity of step, psychological motivation, self-hypnosis to help separate the mind from the body during painful runs, and finally to maintain psychological indoctrination...All of that just in a cadence! No one has ever said that the Infantry didn't have programming combat-soldiers down to a science.


~As I've grown into a mature man at almost forty years of age I understand the science and premeditation behind programming and training teenagers and young men to become Spartans whom are ever ready and anxious to fight for their master, their country, love ones, prestige, and most of all for their brothers in arms. Some even do it for the love of fighting or because they never felt they belonged in civilian society and finally found a home in the Infantry culture. There are some whom have psychologically broken down the motivations of why such individuals do what they do and have developed an acronym for it: M.I.C.E...This acronym also applies to other fields of service, but I digress.


~I've religiously studied the writings of Sun Tzu, Robert Greene, Niccolò Machiavelli, as well as numerous psychology text books and sociology books. Even reading a book written by one of the founding fathers of the Roman Vatican Jesuits whom mastered the art of indoctrination, programming, and trauma bonding. So I'm not ignorant to the methods behind the madness from which elite military brotherhoods are built upon. It's all very clear to me...and yet.


~NOT A DAY GOES BY THAT I DON'T MISS IT AND WANT TO RETURN TO THAT WORLD WHERE I FELT FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE... 'HOME'.


~And therein lies the conundrum folks.

~
♣Forever Hoo-ah♣
5th Plt. Dco.
3~327th Inf. Reg.,
1st. Brigade,
101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).
"Rendezvous with Destiny"

~ Create Leaders As You Lead The Way~

~In the Infantry we have a saying, "The best way to learn is to teach". So just like in the Infantry I will present a block of instruction to my students and then ask them to teach it back to me.





~Whether it be language class or H2H/Close Quarter Combat class, regardless, it never fails to impress me how much more quickly even the most insecure student will grow when they are given the opportunity, or requirement, to engage their brain in a more proactive manner by teaching the material back to myself and the class 'in their own words'.
 


~In language class, over the course of a few months, I've singled out my most insecure female student and patiently cultivated her to the point that she now is my most outspoken and sharpest student.



~She readily grasps even the most difficult material and has surpassed my best students already during a relatively short period of time.
 
~Regardless of any negative aspects to the Infantry culture from which I was forged, it is my personal belief that they have mastered the art of not building mindless drones but building teachers. Because in the Army Infantry and Light Infantry they begin training you to be a teacher from day one. Every single soldier, down to the lowliest E1 private, is required to teach classes, lead morning P.T., and quite often delegated authority to lead details at the inception of his career.
 
~This culture breeds not mindless followers but rather teachers and soldiers whom are disciplined enough to follow but confident and skilled enough to lead. We are taught that the best leaders are the ones whom 'Lead By Example'. Which is embodied in the Infantry motto, "Follow Me".
 
~This is what is lacking in the public school system and in the training of our children and youth today. The understanding that the best students are the ones whom we train not to be students but rather to be teachers...To lead by example.
 
~I tell my students during almost every class, "I'm not teaching you to merely repeat or copy what I tell you. I am teaching you how to think for yourself and to understand how to be your own translator as opposed to merely being a parrot that repeats a bunch of words and phrases. I am not teaching you to be students...I'm teaching you to be teachers so that you can go out and teach others! Hoo-ah?" (They still are not sure what 'Hoo-ah' means nor am I certain how to translate the meaning into Spanish.)
 
~I encourage you all, be you a veteran or civilian, to embody both the Infantry motto and the Infantry Ranger motto in whatever field that you pursue in life: "Follow-Me" (Implying that you lead by example) and "Rangers Lead The Way" (Same implication as the Infantry motto: to lead by example.) ~


AnDrew
25March2015.

~A Personal Interview With Author N. Cognito~The author of the book, When Hell Becomes Your Home: How I Survived 14Years In Prison. Published by Lulu Publishing.

~11February2015~

~This is an interview conducted over breakfast on the cold morning of 23January2015 with Author N. Cognito , at the author's home.

~The author of this blog, having personally served closely with Mr. N. Cognito in the military and abroad, has decided to publish this exclusive interview with the permission of Mr. Author N. Cognito whom has recently published a self-help book based upon his past training and personal life experience with the intent of helping others.

~The following abbreviations 'Q' represent 'question' and 'A' represent 'answer' for the global community readers not familiar with the common use of 'Q & A' within the English line of inquiry.

~Q. Goodmorning. We both understand that your name Author N. Cognito is actually a pseudonym by which you've published this book for reasons of both privacy and personal security, is that correct my friend?

~A.  Yes, that is correct.

~Q. Is there a particular reason why you feel personal security is such an issue that you must publish your written work under such a pseudonym as Author N. Cognito? Or are you merely being overly cautious because of the times that we find ourselves living in these days?

~A. Actually I have legitimate reasons for preferring to remain outside of the spotlight, so to speak, for that is where I am most comfortable. And yes, there are other reasons of which I prefer not to recount. Reasons by which any sane individual would take the necessary precautions to remain as grey as possible. I believe that I once read somewhere, it slips my mind exactly where or whom said it, but that a man without enemies has never stood for anything. We shall leave it at that.

~Q. Roger Lima Charley...So can you tell us a little about the inspiration behind this 'self-help' book which you've recently published?

~A. Well, I was at a place in my life's journey where I found myself contemplating a vast many things concerning the past, present and future. But none more so than that of my son whom was  nearing manhood, having been born and grown in my absence, with troubling reports of his behavior weighing heavily upon my heart. The letters I wrote to him did not seem to be enough instruction while my fear was that he may someday find himself upon the same path to purgatory which had brought me down to a place of hell on earth. My instinct told me that, as difficult as it had been for me, he would not be so well prepared for such tribulations were he ever to find himself in the same shoes. So it occurred to me to draw from the well of my hard earned experiences and write down everything that was most crucial in order to set him up with enough knowledge, tools, and wisdom that he would not have to learn through trial and error but have the benefit of years of my hard earned experience. To provide him with an edge to survive the extreme hardships of life.


~Q. So can we ascertain that you initially wrote this book as a block of instruction for your son?


~A. That is correct.


~Q. What made you decide to share it with the public at large, or did you initially intend to share it with the public?


~A. Initially I did not consider sharing it with the public but after having let a few close friends read my manuscript they adamantly advised me that the information within my book could greatly benefit others, particularly individuals whom were struggling to survive in a similar environment, and they pressed upon me the need for this type of information to be shared with the public. Particularly with the subgroup of individuals whom have, or will have, found themselves as a prisoner within a detention camp, jail, or prison. Two of my friends also impressed upon me that the psychological nature of this manual, with it's many tools for stress and fear management, as well as the politics/criminology/criminal science aspects, could also be of great benefit to the civilian public at large and not just to the applicable subgroup implied. One of them asked me a profound question which was the catalyst for my publishing this information to the public.


~Q. Would you like to share that catalyst with us?


~A. Well, he asked me, "What good is the useful knowledge that you've gained through experience if you take it with you when you die?"


~Q. So realizing that we live in a very jaded world and some people can be very critical in a deconstructive manner, what would you say to those whom may or may not say that this book is written by a fraud or that because you use a pseudonym that you can not be checked out and verified as a legitimate authority concerning the knowledge you're sharing from your personal life experiences? (And I only ask this because there seems to be a fixation for some people these days to attack the credentials of anyone whom publishes a relatively successful book.)


~A. That is fine and I agree that we should question everything and pay attention to detail. I was taught to believe nothing you hear and half of what you see. Which perhaps is a jaded philosophy so I can somewhat relate to such distrustful individuals. My sincere answer to them, if there were such critics, would be that the information presented in my book, while being able to benefit the civilian public at large, was and is written more specifically for the benefit of 'at risk' youth and 'at risk' adults whom are either on a path to incarceration or have already been sentenced to incarceration. Such a target group, particularly the ones already having to survive within that world, will recognize the value and truth of the material within my book because they are the ones experiencing it for themselves. The public at large, unless they work within the penal system, will in fact not know for certain whether the information within the pages of my self-help manual are factual anymore than we can assess whether a cooking book is factual until we have tested the recipes and applied it to our specific needs. Veterans or active duty members with similar military training will read the information within the pages of my book and recognize it right away. For most civilians, and most veterans for that matter, having never received the same training and information found in a portion of this book will not, in fact, know whether the information is coming from a legitimate background. To put it simply, anyone whom has, or is having to, walk the same paths will relate to the information in this book and validate it's legitimacy. Those whom have not, are not, most likely can not because the rule of thumb, as my good brother once told me, is that unless someone has walked through it, or is currently walking through it, they can not relate to it. In my own words, "Real recognizes real." I'm out to help those whom are walking through it, or at risk to walk through it, and that is my target audience. If anyone else takes an interest in the viable information within the pages of this brief book than my hope is that something I've shared from my personal experience will positively impact their life...To help just one person, or even save a single life, would make it worth all of the effort I've placed into publishing this very personal work.


~Q. Having read both your manuscript and your published work I noticed that you don't speak very highly of criminal gangs or syndicates. May we assume that is also one of the reasons why you've published under a pseudonym?


~A. That assumption would be correct. Many authors, including the famous Mark Twain, published under pseudonyms for various personal reasons without any criticism from their readers so I see no reason why my readers would have a problem with this. Again, real recognized real and anyone walking through the same tribulations will understand right away the value of the information presented in this self-help book.


~Q. So can we infer that although your book was written to a specific target audience you feel that there may be other individuals within the general civil population whom may also glean valuable and useful information within the pages of this rather brief book?


~A. Yes.


~Q. Can you address a little bit why you chose to publish your book in paper back form and in the type size which it is written in?


~A. Yes, I wanted not only the public to have access to this self-help book but most importantly my target group which of whom many are being held prisoner within maximum security facilities which do not permit hard jacket books of any kind to come in through the mailing system. So it was important to publish this book with a soft cover for security reasons in order for everyone to have access to the information being shared. The type-size that it is written in was for economic reasons and most importantly to allow the book to be less intimidating to readers whom are put off by larger or thicker books. A smaller or thinner book is more compact and more apt to be read by individuals whom normally wont commit to reading a larger or thicker book. I wanted to reach as many people as possible and touch their lives in a positive way so a lot of thought went into how to make this book more accessible and less intimidating to my potential readers.


~Q. Is that also why you chose to offer it at such a low discount price with Lulu Publishing?


~A. Again yes, my intention was not motivated by monetary gain nor by self-promotion but by a desire to hopefully impact someone else's life in a positive manner by sharing knowledge gained through my education and personal experiences. I would have given the book away to the public if it were possible but the publisher must get their money back so we offered it at the lowest price available at Lulu Publishing. Let me also mention that it is more expensive if one orders it from the bigger name vendors.


~Q. Having mentioned that the initial motivation for writing this book was to share this information with your troubled son whom was approaching manhood, did you send him a copy as soon as you published it and did he read it?


~A. That is a rather painful subject for me but I will share that with everyone. I wrote this book while still serving a sentence for attempted homicide in prison but could not get it published from within prison without having outside help. So upon my release I began to work towards publishing my manuscript but within four months of my release from prison I lost my teenage son. He never got to see the book I wrote for him published so I was going to scrap the manuscript when a fellow veteran and dear friend advised me that I should still publish it and share this valuable information with the world in the hope that it may help someone else's child or love one. So after some procrastination that is what I did and I mailed a copy to my son's maternal grandfather. If he read it I can not say since we've drifted apart after the loss of my son, his grandson, and his daughter's remarriage.


~Q. Taking into account that there will always be trolls and destructive critics, What would you say to a pessimistic individual whom may or may not say that you've agreed to let me publish this interview in order to promote yourself or increase book sales for lucrative gain?


~A. Well first I would point out that if I wished to promote myself I'd have published my work under my real name in order to take credit and get my name in the spotlight. Secondly, if my intention were monetary success I would not sell it at the lowest possible price that Lulu Publishing would permit while including the largest percent-discount allowed by Lulu Publishing.


~Q. What would you like to ultimately see happen with the information in this book and why?


~A. I would like to get copies into every prison library, copies to everyone's relative whom is at risk or has recently entered the penal system, and get a copy to every corrections' officer for the purpose of positively impacting the lives of others and promoting a safer environment for both prisoners and corrections administrators. A great deal of violence ensues from a lack of psychological and emotional stress management, miscommunication, hopelessness, despair, and all around naivety to the inner workings of the criminal subculture. Knowledge saves lives while the ignorant perish for lack of knowledge. We all have something to offer that can help others and make this world a little better place before our time on earth is through. From dirt and manure springs forth beautiful flowers and nourishing plants if given proper cultivation, so everyone can take even the bad experiences of their life and use it to touch lives in a positive way and make this world a little bit better with our small contributions. I wanted to take lemons and make lemon-aid, then share it with those in need.
(End of Inquiry)
~Mr. Author N. Cognito, I wish to thank you for your time and for openly sharing so much with me and the readers of this blog. Hopefully anyone interested in reading your self-help book or those whom have already read it will have a better understanding of the author, thanks to this personal interview. There will be a link to your book from Lulu Publishing, because they are offering it at a much lower price than other book vendors, in case any readers wishes to acquire a copy for their self or a loved one.


~I must say that I've read Author N. Cognito's book and was very impressed at how much detailed information and practical knowledge was presented in such a short read. I believe it was only about seven brief chapters and a conclusion, making it a short read. But the amount of information to absorb and the interesting method in which it just flows spurned me to read it over several times while absorbing something new each time I read through it.


~Also, let me add that although the information presented maybe drawn from the author's tribulations within the penal system, while serving time for protecting his pregnant fiancée, and drawing heavily upon his military training, there was nevertheless much information and tools laid out within this book that one could find useful to daily life within our urbanized, exceedingly stressful, and tumultuous world of increasing criminality.


~My acquaintances from varying walks of life, including former convicts, current correctional officers, veterans of infantry special operations units, self-defense instructors, criminology majors, and even a catholic priest have expressed that the practical knowledge shared within this book by Author N. Cognito is applicable to both daily life as well as surviving extremely harsh situations from which the inspiration of this self-help book came. The target audience was blatant when I first began skimming over the first chapter of this book but the information was presented in such a flowing style that I soon found myself half way through the book. By the end I had realized that the information and principles presented by the author would benefit me in my civilian relationships, jobs, struggles and personal outlook on life.


~I've since purchased additional copies for friends and relatives while one of my long time friends has purchased several copies and had the vendor mail them to a prison library in the Northern United States.


~If you're interested in self-help books this one draws upon the author's elite military training and education in counter-detention, counter-interrogation/interrogation, battle-proofing the mind, self hypnosis, physical fitness, strategic thinking, self-defense, survival, psychology, political strategy, criminology, and criminal science, as well as personal testimonies of positive evolution and transformation than I would recommend this very brief and low priced book to you.
~
~http://www.lulu.com/shop/author-n-cognito/when-hell-becomes-your-home-how-i-survived-14years-in-prison/paperback/product-21937195.html
~
~11February2015.

Soldier's Book Review: WHEN HELL BECOMES YOUR HOME, By Author N. Cognito.

                                                                BOOK REVIEW


   ~If you're interests delve into the realms of criminology, criminal science, psychology, stress/fear management, people management, self-protection, combatives, counter-detention, survival, fighting fitness, Budo, prison politics, prison sub-culture, spirituality and much more than this is a book which will grab your attention and hold onto it until the last page is turned over.
   
   ~Written as a self-help/personal development book, When Hell Becomes Your Home: How I Survived 14Years In Prison by Author N. Cognito, this manual is actually so much more!
   
   ~Not only a valuable manual for a newly incarcerated love one or someone whom possibly faces incarceration and wishes to possess the psychological tools and wisdom to survive the most challenging moment of their life, but also an extremely insightful manual for anyone whom works in corrections, teaches self-defense/self-protection, works in law enforcement, studies at university, wishes to better understand the psychology of human survival, works with at risk delinquent youth, majors in sociology, has ever been on a spiritual quest, or simply has a respect for what it takes to over come extreme circumstances in the face of major adversity.
   
   ~This personal development book is written by an elite U.S. Army soldier with no criminal history whom was thrust into the prison system and forced to survive on his own within a world that he knew nothing about. Imagine being a soldier trapped alone deep behind enemy lines, in an urban environment, vastly outnumbered by superior forces, unarmed, no back up, no one coming to rescue you, no chance of escape and evasion, surrounded by atrocious brutality, no adequate medical care, no adequate nutrition, and for the most part ignorant to the local culture...How would you feel? Most importantly, how would you survive?
   
   ~The author of this book survived very similar situations, over a fourteen year period, learning through trial and error. Drawing upon his personal military training and experiences the author adapted and overcame as a survivor until one day while contemplating the question in his mind of how well his own son, without the same benefit of the author's prior training, would fair should he find himself in such a horrible place the author began to write for his son all of the most important things he would need to know.
   
   ~Sitting in his prison cell his pen began to write, as if writing to his own son, the most vital pieces of information that one would need to possess in order to have a fighting chance of surviving such a world and avoiding the most dangerous pit falls that await the uninitiated. Only later was he made to realize that this work should be shared with the public in order to help others in the way he had desired to help his own son.
   
  ~The information within the pages of the personal-development/self-help book are drawn strictly from the author's personal experience. Some have said that experience is the best and most cruel teacher of all. The knowledge and wisdom that the author had to earn the hard way: through a life of adversity and tribulations, is being readily given to the reader without having themselves earn it through the same crucibles.
   
   ~I would classify this work as being a self-help/personal-development book derived from the author's autobiographical experiences. Thus, in my humble opinion, making it more valuable than the theoretical. For if one should teach from theory and another should teach from their personal experience than with whom does the wisdom lie?
   
   ~This book is available in paperback print at Lulu.com and is offered 'on sale' for $3.63 U.S. dollars. If interested parties would log onto the book publishing site Lulu.com and search for either the title When Hell Becomes Your Home or the name Author N. Cognito then a copy can be readily attained at such a discount price. It is the author's desire to share life saving knowledge with readers more than to merely accrue monetary profits, so he offers it at the lowest price possible.


    ~Having read this book myself, as have many of my associates, I must say that the amount of knowledge contained in such a relatively brief book is astounding and yet written in a manner that one's attention never strays from it's pages. Though originally intended to give the reader the tools necessary to survive within the dangerous criminal underworld of prison the concepts and tools found within these pages just as easily apply to the dangerous streets of civil society while providing the reader with vital tools for dealing with stress, fear, anger, grief, and an assortment of other challenges we all face in our daily lives!~


http://www.lulu.com/shop/author-n-cognito/when-hell-becomes-your-home-how-i-survived-14years-in-prison/paperback/product-21914575.html

" Too Easy: An Infantry Soldier's Life "

   I recall when Tennessee Titans football team went to Fort Campbell, Kentucky to try and do morning physical training with my unit 3rd Battalion, 327th Infantry 1st Brigade Combat Team "Bastogne" 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and Steve McNair (RIP) said on television news, "We are NFL football players but we can't hang with these men. They look like ordinary men but these guys are like supermen. It's incredible what they can do."
 

  On news footage they showed all the Titans falling out of a ruck-run, some couldn't get up with a full ruck load, some gave up and said 'no way, can't take this'...It was a reality check for NFL athletes and the fans who watched that news broadcast.
 

  Infantrymen don't do it for money, cause the pay sucks, nor for fame or recognition because most people never hear about our work and the rest don't believe it, nor because it's glamorous...It's just 'who' one is and 'what' one does...You're either cut out for that life or your not...A happy band of masochists who (rather than complain) say when their cold, wet, hungry, sleep deprived and humping 120lbs of extra weight for 25miles, "Hoo-ah!!! Let it suck some more!"
 

  When they've done enough physical exercise that their limbs are jelly and they can barely stand up, the Infantrymen will shout, " We like it! We love it! We want some more of it! Make it hurt! Make it hurt! Make it hurt! " Men who say, "Pain is just weakness leaving the body! Pain is our best friend, it lets us know we're still alive!"
 

  Men who get off on the pain and misery that makes other men cringe and withdraw...Men who value honor, camaraderie, brotherhood, courage, strength, and altruistic love above all other things...Men who mean what they say and say what they mean...Men who are not afraid to suffer and sacrifice their lives for honor, loyalty, and to protect the people they love (or the people they don't even know)...Men who hate bullies and whose greatest joy in life is to make the predator become the prey...Men who are professionals even before they are old enough to shave or buy a beer...Men whom, despite hunger, fatigue, muscle failure, sleep deprivation, cramps, blisters, flu virus, high temperature, or injury, will parachute or rappel into an area of operation and then run a literal marathon under a full combat load just to get to the fight of their lives!
 

  So tell me again, how 'sports' athletes who get paid multi million dollar contracts have it so tough playing with a broke finger or cramps (Lebran James), how a gangsta rapper (50cent) on stage feels like his job is equal to being a combat soldier, or an actor (Tom Cruise) says his job is every bit as hard as being an Infantry Marine in Afghanistan...Maybe we should give them another 50million dollars annually, along with a hug, since those cup~cakes got it so tough.
Hoo-ah4Life,
AnDrew*

'We Were Soldiers'...by Andrew Soldier.

There was a time when the ignorance of youthful bliss intoxicated one like a passionate kiss and we

 

believed that not even kryptonite could end our reign. We were so naive and the world still seemed

 

like a dramatic theater and we the main characters. We were the Lords of our time and thought

 

ourselves wise because we were over fed on knowledge and nursed by adventure. Danger and

 

romance were our vices while we were being subtly cured like smoked tender loin. Until the day

 

we look back and wonder, when did we lose our self. And we try so hard but we can't go back and 

 

recover what was lost. We can only cultivate the strength to drive on...


♣Hoo-ah 4 Life♣


~AnDrew Soldier~