Category: A Very Short Story

From the Short Story Vault

Tarawa

An excerpt from “Kurofune: The Black Ships.” Click on the link above for more information about this story. You can get it through Amazon or through Munro Books in Victoria, BC.

An excerpt from my book Kurofune: The Black Ships. You can get it on Amazon or from Munro’s Books in Victoria:

It was a long way from Bremerton, Ted thought, while transiting the channel into the outer reaches of Tarawa Lagoon in the Higgin’s Boat toward the departure and marshaling area. Looking at the other Marines, Ted couldn’t help but be amazed at how far he and the others had come in just a few months. How their worlds had changed. From the relative peaceful backwater of the Puget Sound, to the Marine Corp Recruiting Depot, San Diego, for Boot Camp; followed by Corp training at Camp Pendleton, additional amphibious Operational training in Hawaii, then reassignment to the 2nd Division. Finally, embarkation in USS President Jackson, a Troop Transport, and subsequent arrival in Wellington New Zealand to prepare for future operations with the 2nd Marine Division. Ted remained a regular infantryman of the 1st Battalion, 2nd regiment; Lou specialized in communications as a TBY radio operator and Jonathon qualified as a marksman / sniper. Jonathon had his own tailored Browning automatic that he held and coddled like a baby. The rest of them had the standard issue M1 8 round Automatic Rifle, a Marine’s best friend.

“Who is the King of glory? Why now Jeremiah is, of course” Jonathon would taunt, rubbing the stock of his carbine as gently as if it was a baby’s bottom!

“The LORD is strong and mighty! With Jeremiah? Of course he is!” He continued.

And as a last thought:

“The LORD will be mighty in battle, Lord Praise Jeremiah” Jonathon would mutter as he cleaned his “Jeremiah,” as he affectionately called his carbine.

“Whoa,” was about all Lou could say, shaking his head. “Heaven help us”

The swells and the sea were playing havoc on the Marine’s sense and sensibilities throwing them around the boat like loose corks left in the water during a storm. Just about everyone was retching now, except the Reverend. The noise form the bombardment was ear shattering. The earth seemed to open up disemboweling hell’s wrath onto the small landing craft. As they got closer and closer to the departure point the concussions from the shells of the big guns became more and more pronounced and intense. Small bursts of small arms fire could now be heard in between the thud, thud, thump impacts of the 14 inch shells on the island. Some of the men in the boat began crying, calling on their own God, or reaching out for their mothers who were never there. The Squad Leader did his best to address their fears. Fears yes but they had yet to come into the maximum effective rage and death envelope of the island’s defenders.

“You’re Marines men, steady. Steady. Remember your training. We’ll get through this”

Ted was silent. He just stood there observing what was going on. He felt a nervous twitch and strong pull deep down in his gut but for the most part he was not as afraid as he thought he’d be. For a brief moment the Squad Commander and Ted’s eyes met and locked. Ted could see the anxiety and concern on his superior’s face but at the same time acknowledged his calmness and forth righteousness among the chaos and the men around him. Cool under pressure. Ted wondered how he was going to react. His thoughts came back to that last discussion with Father Doherty as he looked around the interior of his Higgins Boat at the other Marines.

“I can’t answer that Ted. I can only say that He has some sort of plan for all of us. What that is I can’t really say. Some will die, yes, a given, a fact of war, while others will come through all of this unscathed, for some other purpose perhaps, for another day. You just have to trust in God that he knows what is best for you – be it death in defending your country, saving a fellow marine, defending your homeland, freedom, or life for some other purpose that may or may not be so clear to any of us until left in the wake of this war.”

Can I do this? He thought. He quickly put those thoughts to rest. Ted gave his Squad leader a short two finger salute as an acknowledgement that he respected him and that he had his back if need be.

All at once the small arms fire got a bit louder and more intense. At the same time the shore bombardment ceased. It was 0900. There was stillness in the air that was surreal given the intensity of the chaos of the last three hours. All that could be heard is the odd short rat a tat tat sound of light machine gun fire coming from the area of the beach. The odd ricochet or whizzing, whirling sound of stray or random bullets could also be heard.

The Few, The Proud

Have a great day.

SJ……….………………………Out

Tumerically Latte

Could I just have a cheeseburger please (my comments are in bold):

A feminist-owned and operated cafe that made headlines around the world after introducing an 18% “man tax” on male customers will be closing its doors at the end of the month. “Handsome Her,” oxymoronically speaking, a vegan establishment located in Melbourne, Australia, will be going out of business on April 28, according to an announcement on its website.

It turns out that “brazen public discussions of structural inequality and oppression,” rules about women having “priority seating,” and serving turmeric lattes (what the f%$K) with macadamia milk (nuts!) isn’t in fact the basis of a thriving business. Even in Brunswick, Melbourne. However, the empowered proprietors insist that the mockery aimed at their pricing policy merely “showed us how fragile masculinity is (really?) and solidified the necessity for us to confront and dismantle patriarchy.” Naw we just want a hamburger.

See the source image

“Toxic masculinity is the root cause of our bankruptcy” said one of the disgruntled feminist owners. “Tuesday came and those toxic masculine bastards didn’t pay.”

No, perhaps your latte, tumerically speaking of course, may have played some part in the cat-laughery of your demise, tumerically speaking of course.

I am sure glad I got my wiener roast in last weekend:

New York City to ban hot dogs and all processed meats. I kid you not.

Soon to be coming to a Canada near you. Oh and those Frikandel Speciales from the Netherlands will soon be a done deal. Woe is me. All of this to fight climate change. The mayor of New York claims we have to do this by 2030 or else. Or else what? A Tofu Burger / Dog? Let me off the planet now cause I will not be able to live with these idiots we have for leaders for very much longer. They are all nutty fruitcakes and it ain’t even Christmas yet.

What are these guys going to do?

See the source imageHow about banning Bill De Blasio, NYC Mayor.

Pass the mustard. Next? Ban fun!

Speaking of wieners:

For the last several years California legislators have been ramping up their efforts to legally obliterate male and female definitions by disconnecting the legal link between biology and a person’s sex or gender. 
 
The author of all of this, LGBT Cockus (sic) Chair Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), says the bill is necessary to protect transgender identified people from “physical assaults” and to preserve their “basic dignity,” and “respect.” But Wiener doesn’t seem to care about the privacy and dignity concerns of real, biological women, who would have to share personal, intimate living space with any male inmate claiming to be a woman.

Doing anything else will make this bill wiener-less, Scott Wiener announced. Bill nodded in agreement and invited Scott to New York City, which will soon become a wiener sanctuary city.

Anthony Weiner, the disgraced wiener, er Governor, of New York State mumbled in agreement. “Pass the mustard” he was heard to say.

Take my mayor…..please and please, please bring back the 60s.

Up next? Ban baseball. Real synergy!

Canadian Currency: first came the Loonie from our loonie toon leaders. Then came the Toonie from our tooney loon leaders.  And now comes the all inclusive, not to be outdone LGBTQURSTWXYZ:

Queenie

Of course it will be tail-less.  Heads only and that’s the way they like it. Heads UP!

Identity politics gone amuk here in Canada. Hey, I want a heterosexual coin. How about a Threenie?

The New York Yankees Major League Baseball franchise took Kate Smith’s rendition of “God Bless America” off its seventh-inning stretch playlist when its managers learned of the singer’s “history” of racism.

However, if you dig a little deeper, the racist actions of Kate Smith can’t hold a candle to the racist past of Major League Baseball — including the N.Y. Yankees.  In fact, MLB teams refused to hire qualified black players for decades, and well into the 20th century.  If your past actions affect how you’re viewed by today’s standards, as the N.Y. Yankees deem the case to be with Kate Smith, this makes MLB one of the most racist organizations still active in America today.

So, lets abolish major league baseball and the New York Yankees for sure. At the very least it would help alleviate those nasty hot dogs that proliferate at these racist games and are a main contributor to climate change.

See, my articles are somewhat synergistic at times.

Seems appropriate. Kate Smith’s God Bless America. While in the thick of it during World War ll – 1943.

Have a nice day.

God bless America and Hot Dogs.

I know, I know. There is no diversity in that video, so America is a racist, shitty, backroad of a country and just a footnote in history! Thank god for that shitty, racist shithole of a country during WW 2 – Pacific and Europe.

Have a great weekend. Read ya Monday.

SJ……….……Out

 

 

Animal Farm

A modern parable. Thanks to Lynne

 

Wild Pigs…No Truer Words…

So close to the truth that it’s downright scary!!

A thought to remember, Marx said, “Remove one freedom per generation and soon you will have no freedom and no one would have noticed.”

There was a chemistry professor in a large college that had some exchange students in the class.

One day while the class was in the lab, the professor noticed one young man, an exchange student, who kept rubbing his back and stretching as if his back hurt.

The professor asked the young man what was the matter. The student told him he had a bullet lodged in his back. He had been shot while fighting Communists in his native country who were trying to overthrow his country’s government and install a new communist regime.

In the midst of his story, he looked at the professor and asked a strange question. He asked: “Do you know how to catch wild pigs?”

The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line.

The young man said that it was no joke. “You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come every day to eat the free food.

When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming. When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence.

They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in the last side.

The pigs, which are used to the free corn, start to come through the gate to eat that free corn again. You then slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd.

Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom. They run around and around. inside the fence, but they are caught. Soon they go back to eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten how to forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept their captivity.”

The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees happening in America & Canada. The government keeps pushing us toward Communism/Socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, tax exemptions, tobacco subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to plant crops (CRP), welfare entitlements, medicine, drugs, etc., while we continually lose our freedoms, just a little at a time.

One should always remember two truths:

1. There is no such thing as a free lunch, and

2. You can never hire someone to provide a service for you cheaper than you can do it yourself.

If you see that all of this wonderful government “help” is a problem confronting the future of democracy in America & Canada, you might want to share this with your friends.

If you think the free ride is essential to your way of life, then you will probably not share this.

BUT, God help us all when the gate slams shut.

Think about this

Quote for today: “The problems we face today are there because the people

who work for a living are now outnumbered by those who vote for a living.”

Oink, oink.

Have a great Navy day.

SJ……….……………..Out

Shakin in Your Boots

Islam: the religion of peace:

a group of people in a room: A view of St. Sebastian's Church, damaged in a blast in Negombo, north of Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Sunday.

Islamists blamed for Sri Lankan coordinated attack that killed 290 people. Primarily Christians.

Christians under attack everywhere it would seem.

How about Notre Dame and the other churches in France? Little coverage of the who, or the why, regarding these tragic events. Just saying.

Of course any criticism here and one is branded an islamophobian – or hate. Time to stop the BS and call a spade a spade and address this scourge. To hell with political correctness. Oh wait, according to the Pope hell no longer exists. Okay then I’ll retract: “to purgatory with this political correctness.”

The West’s response: sales of John Lennon’s song “Imagine” soaring. Pianos are also on the rise.

See the source imageYup, that should do it. Radical Islamists all over the world are shaking in their booties.

Love this headline

“Oil Prices Soar As US Intends to Remove Iran Sanction Waivers”

On further inspection of this news article one finds out that oil prices increased by 3%. When confronted with this misleading bit of shoddy journalism, the journalist could only say…..sorring!

a sunset over a grass field: FILE PHOTO: An oil pump jack pumps oil in a field near CalgaryLandlocked Canadian Alberta Oil.

Elon Muskrat launches a new Tesla EV car in China. Modelled after one of those earlier muscle cars such as GM’s “Firebird,” this model will be called the Tesla S “Fireball.” Spontaneously, everyone in China is in a fit of rage to get one of these babies.

North Korea’s dear leader, Who-Flung-Poo is off to Russia to have talks with Russian President Poutine. They will discuss their future plans for world domination over a luncheon of French Fries, Cheese Curds and Gravy. Mmmmm, yummy.

Child abuse. Even stars are not immune to this wackiness:

The very private Charlize Theron is opening up about her family life.

Um, er, close it please.

The Academy Award-winner revealed that her eldest child is transgender. According to the actress, Jackson, 7, was assigned male at birth but told Theron four years ago (when he/she was 3 years old) that she was actually a girl.

“Yes, I thought she was a boy, too,” the 43-year-old admitted to The Daily Mail. “Until she looked at me when she was three years old and said, ‘I am not a boy!’”

She then went on to say that she would not get married to her current boyfriend until everyone in the world could get married to whomever they wanted…

All I can say to that last statement is that her boyfriend is one lucky guy to have dodged this bullet…

                   Ribbet, ribbet. Hey mommy, I think I’m a frog!

 

Enough already.

Love this tune by KC and the Sunshine Band. Love those bell bottoms

Have a great Navy Day.

Pray for the Sri Lankan victims and all other Christians who are being persecuted around the world.

SJ……….…………………Out

 

Good Friday

Good Friday

Good one. Thanks to SDA comments:

Regarding the tragic fire at Notre Dame

“Obviously someone who was just trying to bring the Holy Spirit back to the church.”

I had to laugh at that even though I am aghast at the tragedy. Sometimes a good laugh at something that is so obviously painful to see can ease the pain somewhat. I think this emotion is a protective mechanism and is sometimes referred to as “gallows humour.”

IAN LANGSDON/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Have read or have listened to many comments regarding the fire at Notre Dame in Paris. Thousands of people, mainly Muslim, Millennials and other young people are rejoicing. Sad to see that some people believe in nothing; have no values of any sort and cannot see past their own noses. This new generation! Our future leaders! Sad state of affairs.

When you lose your sense of belonging; when you lose your values or moral compass; when you ignore your heritage, culture, history…well…you have no beliefs and no civilization, and when you have no civilization you become an anarchist and you fall into chaos with no direction in life. And without direction you have lost your sense of being and are truly dead…spiritually, emotionally and physically.

Good Friday to all:

See the source image

I am a Christian

See the source image … and I make no apologies for my beliefs

“If I am wrong, no big deal. But if non believers are wrong they have everything to lose…” (thanks to my dear Sadie).

A gift from God, a voice from Heaven that we all can enjoy:

Happy Good Friday, Happy Easter Sunday

Pray for Our Lady, Notre Dame.

Hey I would love to hear from any of you in the “comments.” I respond to everyone.

Read ya Tuesday. No post on Monday. Taking the day off for a weiner (hot Dog) roast!

SJ……….………………………Out