Come-on America, move over to the right!

Its time. Lets all grow up and learn to fucking swallow our pride and move to the far right lane when driving the speed limit or slower. Shit even when driving the slowest speed, this could be above the speed limit, move the fuck over to the right. Why is it so fucking hard to understand that you should only pass on the left. Ohh wait, what is that? Pass on the left, so if your the slower traffic... move the fuck over to the right side.
Yes, I understand. Sometimes its so hard to turn on the blinker and slightly turn the steering wheel. Not to mention making sure you have no one in your blind spot. Put your fucking phone down, and stay to the right! If an entire country, fuck if the entire world (other then the USA), can understand the rules of the road why cant the USA? In Germany, its 90% flawless, the other 10% being american drivers that get flashed to move the fuck over.
But this doesnt work in the States. Drivers are so stuck up they say fuck it, you move around me, even though I am in the far left lane. "Shit, you should be driving the speed limit anyways!"
Come-on America, move over to the right.
Fuck trying to make sure ever kid gets fed!
Or making sure everyone has a job!
Or even saving a great white shark!
That shit aint important... stay to the fucking right if your not passing, or turning left!

USA is pretty fucking awesome

Lets get serious for a second,
This country, the USA, is pretty fucking awesome! I totally forgot how cool it is to have so many options for dinner. We drove down the road and within a 2 minute drive had to decide on one restaurant form about 14. Ok its kinda crazy seeing the empty Boston Market parking lot right next to a super crowded Golden Coral. Ohh I luv you GC! They made so many positive changes! The food was so much better! Hmm and those roles... Damn now I want some more! Burger King ever 5 minutes. I love food!
The fast internet and TV channels. So many choices and plans. So many cool shows for 30year olds! To many you need to have a way to record them... and there is! Just record your favorite shows to watch later with no commercials... soooo fuking awesome! Netflix... soo super cool. No need to ever rent or own a movie!
IMAX 3D: the best way to watch a new movie. I cant explain how different this 3D technology is. They have 4D movies now... you scratch and sniff in certain scenes. Crazy shit huh!
All the new cars are soo sexy! Even Hyndai and Kia have cool looking cars.
The super cool malls. With so many cool stores and specials. We went to a cool kids clothes store that was totally rock style clothing... super cool. Most stores offer military discount.. except dumb Old Navy who only offer it on Mondays.
I just have to say I am defiantly looking forward to moving back to the good old USA next year!

Deployments

Deployments

One of the hardest thing a military family will face is a deployment. The struggles and issues resulting in a deployment can be very hard on the spouse and children. My family should be experts on this subject. We have been married for 9 years. We have two daughters. I have been deployed 6 times already. One deployments was over 9 months and it involved convoys in Iraq. While many might argue that we shouldn't even deploy troops overseas and might be offended that our military are helping other countries rather then our own, I look at the bigger picture: happy world=happy United States. 

One of the struggles when finding out the harsh news is telling the family. This news should not be shared over the phone but rather during a dinner or a quite family setting. I always make sure to get any information on the new deployment that I can to answer any questions. Dominique, the oldest, is very smart and takes it the hardest. She will ask all the hard questions: the length, the reason, and how dangerous is this place. After the tears and hugs it is now a waiting game. This can be a week or 6 months. This time helps us get ready emotional and gives me time to make sure my wife and daughters are taking care of.

There are many things that need to be accomplished before a deployment. Will, POA, taking care of the bills, car inspections, and ensuring the family is mental ready. My wife will be a single parent for 6 months. She will be the boss and what ever I can do post deployment, will reduce some stress in the future. For my kids, we try to have allot of daddy and daughter days. Play dates, movies, and going to the park are great way to just have one on one moments. This is also difficult since Dominique will use this time to open up and tell me how sad or scared she is. All I can do is listen and make sure she understands that I will be back and we will still get to talk over the phone or through the internet. My wife understands the military life, but it never gets easy. Making sure she is mentally ready is important. She  knows the struggles and frustrations she will face including the stress of being a single parent. 

At the airport, the tears start rolling again. The youngest, Hayden, is holding on tight. Researching my face to remind her how I look, I am guessing. Dominique is flowing with tears and is holding my hand. So is my wife trying to be strong, but those tears are overpowering her. We say our "see you laters" and I walk alone towards the gate and look back and wave. Holding back my emotions to show that I am strong and try to prevent more tears, I turn around and walk away. With many phone calls and the occasional web cam chats to look forward to the 6 months will fly faster then someone might think.

Deployed military members go through many stressful task. The normal everyday argument could evolve into big fights that usually can cause divorces. Trust plays a big role in everyday thoughts for both the deployed member and the stay at home parent. What are they doing right now, why haven't I received any phone calls this week, are some thoughts that start to appear. The spouse at home has the everyday headache of dealing with the kids, bills, the house, the cars, and anything else that might come up. For the kids, depression can take place. School grades can degrease and not behaving for the single mom. This all is on the deployed members mind, every day, every second. Not to mention just missing their family. Looking for any new emails or letters with that new picture of the kids smiling makes the week seem like months. Not to mention the normal stress from work.  

A deployment can destroy a family or make them stronger. Normal routines can help with busy days and the normal stress. Communication is a must and cant be broken. Both adults need to remember that both are going through rough times and should try not to play the "I have it harder" card. Trusting in each other has to be accomplished. If the trust is broken, being apart thousands of miles cannot help any situations. Both parents need to start healthy activities with the kids. Like a calendar to count down days, plan a family trip, and  even painting pictures r starting a journal. If a family has a strong bond it can conquer anything, including a deployment. 

Clowns

Clowns would be cooler if they walked around naked and had sex on stage with funny balloon characters. I hate clowns. Clowns are gods lil hick-ups. Painted faces, big flower shoes, and those stupid fake smiles. They are dumb. Oversized clothes like dumb bums! Clowns are like cows without the l and n! Why do we need clowns you might ask? To have something dumb to talk about. To waist our time as humans. To remember we might not have it as bad as me might think we have it. Stupid clowns. Today I want to punch a clown in its big red nose. Just one good punch, would he laugh... would he cry? Hmm I don't think I ever saw a cowboy clown or an astronaut clown. Weird. Either way, clowns should be pissed on, spit on, chopped up, and flushed down the garbage disposal.

Yup, all done with the Bus rides

So its Tuesday. Made it to Little Rock Monday morning. The bus rides were not to bad. They could have stopped at maybe a Burger King or McDonalds. Nope only small gas stations and candy machines. Kinda sucked. Either way we made it ok. Had a good breakfast and now spending some time with Nana and Papa. Today we went to Walmart to buy Dom some school clothes. We also shopped at the dollar tree and eat lunch at Sonic. Tomorrow we are gonna go to the farm to take some pics and go 4wheeling. Sounds fun.

Good morning USA, is that piss I am smelling?

So its August the 7th. We finally got out yesterday. We decided to go to Dover and our name was called. We said our goodbyes and got in the gate around 1600. On to the bus 30 minutes after. Just to sit in front of the C17 for another 30 minutes. I knew what was going on... this cant  be happening! The staircase truck drove off, and the bus driver came back on the bus, "sorry folks. Looks like they couldn't fix the problem, we are heading back to the gate."
Great, so we get to the gate and we were told we had to go upstairs and couldnt leave our bags in the bus. We walked up the metal stairs and got relaxed waiting for further information. 10 minutes into it we were told the plane is ready. So off we go downstairs tot he bus. As soon as we sit down, they tell us, there was a mistake and to return back upstairs to the gate. We walked through the front doors and they get a call on the radio, "all good send them down!" We were like are you serious? But we ended up on the plane were we had some spicy chicken strips, and some needed rest. Even though my back and neck is still killing me.
The flight went well until we landed and a kid behind us threw up! Great, felt sorry for her, but felt sorry for everyone else, cause I was gonna throw up if I continued to smell that shit.
We landed in Dover around 1900 local time. Desiree looked at me and said... weeee we are in Dover, now what? Good question, the pax terminal didnt have any base shuttle service nor map! So i got some direction to the lodging. Only a 20 minute walk. We got a room for a couple of hours to shower, change and eat some pizza. It was worth the $40! We walked to the front gate to meet our taxi, but this pizza deliver person gave us a drive instead... and he didnt even take a tip! There are still some nice people in this world!
We got to the Dover Greyhound station, hmmm my radar was turned on. It was pretty getto, didnt mind since I am kinda crunk myself! Yeahhh! We got on this bus and the first think I noticed is all the faces staring at us... then the hot piss smell slapped my face! It was soooo bad. Desiree sat behind me and I sat next to a guy. It was pretty nasty and my stomach still hurts! So around 0045 we left Dover. 5 hours later we got off that piss bus and completed our first transfer. This bus is da bomb! Nice fresh smell, new leather seats, internet, and elec socket. This si what I read about on the website. So far we are doing better... cant wait for that first breakfast stop,,, I am hungry!  

Day 6

So its Saturday. Who has a cigarette? Yup still at the pax terminal. Everyday we miss the chance to get on a flight by one person. There's nothing worse then following the list, hearing your name, and then get asked: There's one seat left, if you would like it...
Uhhhh Noooo! Aggression, hatred, and frustration are running through everyones veins. So now we carried all of our luggage back to area. Plugged up all of our electrics and now back to the drawing board. Well we should be like on the top of the list now. Well unless more people walk in with a lower category or sign up date. I guess we can get some breakfast now.
Good news: we have a couple of chances today including a Mississippi one...
Bad news: any flights can be canceled at any time, people can be added on the list at any time, and then there is always the normal 2-3 hour delays.

Hmmm Day #4

So dont know how many times we came to this wonderful PAX terminal. But it is Thursday. We were here early and one of the first ones through the door at 0400. We are like veterans. Desiree straight to the counter to sign in and I straight to the second floor to secure our lil section. We are like a small family, us here on second floor. Same people since Monday, just hoping to get out. So there are a couple of flights leaving hopefully soon we can start the next chapter and stress about finding a Greyhound bus to take us the rest of the way. The best way I can explain this Space A experience, is like a HELL Bingo game. We are a close family just waiting to see who is gonna get their number called.

Germans

If you see this on Facebook, I created it!




Being a German doesn't mean I don't shower nor hate Jews. I say "Guten Tag" and enjoy fresh veggies, eggs, and pastries. I might sound aggressive, but I will speak my mind. I don't ONLY like 80's music and the "Hoff". Enjoy drinking Wodka and driving Volkswagen, my water has gas in it, I party at beer/wine festivals, point out your flaws, laugh at your football, and out-drink you at the bar! All proud Germans repost

Free flight home

So its now been 2 days, I think. We came back yesterday at 1900 to try to get on the 9:45pm flight. But it got pushed to 3:30am. So we stayed until around 8pm, and drove back home. Watched some "the hills"episodes and then took a shower and left the house at 1:20 am. We got to the terminal around 1:50am just to find abut 10 people already waiting infront of the pa terminal door. Thank god they opened the door an hour early. Got signed in just to find out our flight got canceled. Great. The terminal of course started to fill. At around 0400 a flight to Denver started its role call. about 50 passengers got on that one. Its now 7am. Our flight got pushed back to 1330. We are just gonna chill here until then. This flight will take us to Denver. Where we will take a bus or something to Arkansas. So far its a gamble. You wait to hear your name. You kinda wait to see your flight cancelled or pushed back on the flat screens scattered around the terminal. You kinda just wait to wait some more. I can see how some people could get aggravated and act like grown monsters! Either way, I feel drunk... and i havent drank anything! Tired...

Sociology Project #1: Deviant Act

Thomas Kessler

JUST SKIP IT

As adults we are considered not just role models but also to set standards and enforce rules. Pretty basics stuff, so having an opportunity to step out of the norm and perform a deviant act, why wouldn’t I take this chance and skip past the ordinary. According to www.walkinginfo.org about 107.4 million Americans use walking as a regular mode of transportation. With all of these regular walkers, what would happen if we, as adults, started to skip? Seeing children skip is pretty typical, but what about us adults? Business men in suits? Military soldiers in uniform? Women in Sunday dresses? The Post Office clerk? The lawyer representing you? The Doctor in the ER hallway? All of us using the fun motion of hopping in rhythm, while running to get from point A to point B. We would be happier and let’s not forget the extra calories we would burn. This is why I decided for my deviant act, to spent one day as an adult skipper.  This should be a challenge since I live in Germany and I am in the United States Air Force. Not to mention, I will have to do this while shopping at the biggest and busiest BX in the world “KMCC” and going down town Kaiserslautern to have some adult time. My wife, Desiree, has told me that she would not participate during my shopping experience on base but agreed to assist me that evening while we go bar hopping, or should I say skipping in Kaiserslautern.

Entering the base, I remind myself of all the rules and standards the military enforces. From little things like how to write a sentence to the way we wear our uniforms. Skipping in the craziest shopping center that the military has to offer definitely will be fun and scary. If you’re trying to find a place with a combination of many cultures, ethnic groups, and races; the Base Exchange will do just fine. There is also the young crowd, the old, and lets not forget the high ranking. I decided to go at lunch time on a Saturday. If I get passed the front door, the overwhelmed food court, and go straight to the BX I should be in the clear to buy the new “Source Code” DVD and skip my way back to my car. So here I go. Locked the VW. Secured the keys, iPhone, and wallet and started skipping to the front door. Of course, like every weekend, parking is a nightmare and I was pretty far from the door. Gently skipping through the moist afternoon air, I was happy. I started to smile when people watched me skipping down the parking lot. Just a grown man, wearing shorts and a plain T-shirt, skipping to the BX. I did notice most of the other adults were staring but smiling also. So now I started to feel better. I had to slow down to make sure I didn’t skip into the automatic doors, but when they did open, I was amazed how many people were waiting in lines to get lunch. I continued skipping, with my keys jingling, people moved out my way. This time I got some disgusted looks. I even heard a “slow down” and “no running.”  Even with some of the disgruntled faces I did make some kids smile. To help make this more interesting, I made one more round around the dining area and started softly humming, “skip, skip to my lou.” Some teenagers were pointing and laughing at me, pretty sure they were making fun. Another couple giving me the look, but like themselves, I received many looks and attention, mostly negative. But not in trouble yet, so continued to get my DVD and finally stopped at the counter. Now sweating, the cashier ask me, “are you in a hurry?” I just smiled and replied, “No just skipping.” She explained to me that she would never be caught skipping in public because it was childish and too much work.  I paid and skipped back to my car.

Honestly, this went pretty fast. I did notice a lot of looks, some good some bad. I noticed hand pointing and laughter. Some tried to stop me; some tried to call me out. If someone would have stopped me I would explained this project and most likely would have gotten out of it. It was fun at first but as soon as those double doors open, I was nervous. I tried to smile and continue to accomplish my mission. Would I do this again, no don’t think so. I was sweating pretty badly. With the combination of bad looks and the exercise, the only positive thing was it cut my shopping time in half. The risk of falling or running into someone was what made this experience a folkway. This military community is likely not going to start skipping in this mall any time soon.

I predict this evening will be quite different. With so many fun and drunk adults walking around, I predict no one will care that Desiree and myself are skipping by them. We parked our car in skipped across the main street, legally. Some drivers looked at us but no real impressive reactions. We ended up at the first bar where she ordered a coke and I had a beer or two. When the sweating stopped we continued skipping the strip. It’s a street for pedestrians with local bars on both sides.  We had fun, laughing and skipping along. With so much going on, we didn’t really recognize any reactions. We had the usual look and figure point, but no great reactions. After a couple more beer stops we ran into some friends. I introduced this project and we all decided to give it a try as a group. This time we had the reaction I was looking for. Many laughed and we even had some applauds. I believe skipping was accepted in this setting. We couldn’t continue the rest of the night. Skipping is a hard thing to do, plus nobody wants a sweaty group of Americans in a German bar. Either way, my friends, my wife, and I had fun. When skipping along you just can’t help to smile. I expected at least one drunk guy to mess with us, but we just had some laughter and figure pointing.  

This project has taught me how nervous and fun doing something out of the norm can be. I was excited, scared, and tired after my skipping adventures. I can definitely see that skipping can be fun, great for fitness, and a great way for 6 friends to get around.  Yes, at the military mall I got the most shocked expressions and even had some members yell at me but why cant adult skipping be fun. Why was I being looked at like I was doing something wrong? Was it because I was skipping or was it because I am an adult skipping? If kids can run around, with only their parents yelling, why did I have adults yelling at me when I was just skipping? I guess it’s just isn’t normal to see an adult skipping away in a crowded public place, unless you throw in the alcohol factor. Kim Corbin, www.iskip.com, reminds us to think about when we notice joggers; they have grimacing looks on their faces. Even walkers seem to be unpleasant when completing a task. But if you ever watch someone while they’re skipping, they will be smiling.  Put a skip in your step!