Interesting article from awhile back.
02-13-2003 | 01:00 PM
#1
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 66
From: madison, wi
Interesting article from awhile back.
well leif asked me what was the quote in my sig.. this is the article i got it from.. read it, although long.. it is a very good article.
SAN DIEGO - It was just around midnight Tuesday night, and the outdoor courtyard at Dick's Last Resort was throbbing with the rowdy energy of a spring break bacchanal. There was loud rock music blaring out of the stereo speakers, and the air was filled with the distinct and somewhat revolting aroma of deep-fried bar food, cigarette smoke and spilled beer.
Dick's is the sort of bar-restaurant ideally suited for Super Bowl week mischief, because it has a down-and-dirty roadhouse feel to it. The waiters, waitresses and bartenders are charmingly rude, and the wood floors are covered with sand and all sorts of indistinguishable debris.
The clientele on this evening is a fascinating mix of twenty-something college kids, thirty-something conventioneers and 40-something Super Bowl high-rollers.
Yet there was one table in Dick's courtyard Tuesday night that was noticeably different from the others. There were six young men at the table and one young woman, and while they were drinking like everyone else in the room, there was something all too serious going on at this table that let you know that their thoughts were a long way from the mindless frivolity of Super Bowl week.
Maybe it was the close-cropped "barracks haircuts" that gave them away.
All the men's heads were cut in that familiar look of a professional soldier, skin-close on the sides, and on top a tight shock of hair that resembled new shoe-brush bristles.
"We're Marines," one man told me. "And tomorrow we're boarding a ship for . . . well . . . I really can't tell you where, but you know."
Of course we knew. In less than an hour, they would report back to a ship docked along the Southern California coast, then on Wednesday head across the Pacific Ocean, bound for a potential war in Iraq. So this was no Super Bowl party for them. This was their last night out on the town.
One Marine was saying goodbye to his wife. The others were not so lucky They all just sat around the table, throwing back beers and wrestling with the sobering uncertainty of the rest of their lives.
"We're going to war and none of us knows if we're ever coming back," said another Marine, a 28-year-old from Southern Illinois. They all requested that I not use their names. "Just tell 'em we're the men of (Marine Aviation Land Support Squad 39)," they said.
On Super Bowl Sunday, the men of MALS 29 will be watching the game from the mess hall of their ship. "That is, if we're lucky and the weather is good and it doesn't interfere with the satellite signal," said the Marine with the bald head and burnt-orange shirt. "But I gotta tell you, I'm not that big a sports fan anymore. It's going to be the first pro football game I've watched in . . . I can't even remember."
Why is that?
"Well, here's my problem with pro sports today," he said. "I don't care whether it's football, basketball or baseball. Guys are complaining about making $6 million instead of $7 million, and what is their job? Playing a damned game. You know what I made last year? I made $14,000. They pay me $14,000, and you know what my job description is? I'm paid to take a bullet."
When he said those words, it positively staggered me.
Fourteen thousand dollars to take a bullet.
Not a day goes by that I am not reminded of what a wonderful life I lead.
I am paid to write about sports and tell stories on radio and television about the games people play. But sometimes, even in the midst of a grand sporting event, something happens to put the frivolity of sports into its proper perspective, and this was it.
Fourteen thousand dollars to take a bullet.
As I sit here writing from my hotel room, I can look out my balcony window and I see a Navy battleship cutting through the San Diego Bay, heading out to sea. I can see the sailors standing on the deck as the ship sails past Coronado Island, the San Diego Marina and the downtown Seaport Village, and I wonder if any of the men from MALS 39 are aboard.
It was only 12 hours ago that I was sitting at the table with my guys, buying them beers, and listening to their soldier stories. The Marine from Southern Illinois who sat to my right pointed to the bald Marine in the orange shirt who was seated to my left. "You know, I don't even know this guy, can you believe that? We just met a few hours ago when we came into Dick's. Oh, I've seen him on the base, but I've never met him before tonight. But here's what's so special about that man, and why I love that man. He's my brother. Semper Fi. I know a guy back home, and he is my best friend. I'm 28 years old and we've known each other all our lives.
But today, that friend is more of a stranger to me than that Marine sitting over there, who I've never met before tonight. That's why they call it a Band of Brothers."
The little Marine in the orange shirt lifted his glass toward the Marine from Southern Illinois and nodded his head. "That's right," he said.
"That's my brother over there, and I'm gonna take a bullet for him if I have to."
He said it with a calm and jolting certainty. There was a moving, but chilling, pride in his words
All around them, people were drinking, shouting and laughing. The college kids and the conventioneers and NFL high-rollers were living the good, carefree life. Across the street, a storefront that was vacant two weeks ago was now filled with $30 caps, $400 leather jackets, $40 mugs and $27 T-shirts with the fancy blue and yellow Super Bowl XXXVII logo embroidered on it.
From every end of the streets of downtown San Diego's fabled Gaslamp Quarter, Super Bowl revelers toasted the Raiders and the Bucanneers with grog-sized mugs filled with beers and rums. But just around midnight in the middle of the courtyard of Dick's Last Resort, a far more deserving toast was going up to the men of MALS 39. We clicked our glasses together, and a few minutes later, they quietly slipped out the courtyard gates.
Suddenly, the Super Bowl didn't seem so important anymore.
-- Sports Columnist Bryan Burwell
SAN DIEGO - It was just around midnight Tuesday night, and the outdoor courtyard at Dick's Last Resort was throbbing with the rowdy energy of a spring break bacchanal. There was loud rock music blaring out of the stereo speakers, and the air was filled with the distinct and somewhat revolting aroma of deep-fried bar food, cigarette smoke and spilled beer.
Dick's is the sort of bar-restaurant ideally suited for Super Bowl week mischief, because it has a down-and-dirty roadhouse feel to it. The waiters, waitresses and bartenders are charmingly rude, and the wood floors are covered with sand and all sorts of indistinguishable debris.
The clientele on this evening is a fascinating mix of twenty-something college kids, thirty-something conventioneers and 40-something Super Bowl high-rollers.
Yet there was one table in Dick's courtyard Tuesday night that was noticeably different from the others. There were six young men at the table and one young woman, and while they were drinking like everyone else in the room, there was something all too serious going on at this table that let you know that their thoughts were a long way from the mindless frivolity of Super Bowl week.
Maybe it was the close-cropped "barracks haircuts" that gave them away.
All the men's heads were cut in that familiar look of a professional soldier, skin-close on the sides, and on top a tight shock of hair that resembled new shoe-brush bristles.
"We're Marines," one man told me. "And tomorrow we're boarding a ship for . . . well . . . I really can't tell you where, but you know."
Of course we knew. In less than an hour, they would report back to a ship docked along the Southern California coast, then on Wednesday head across the Pacific Ocean, bound for a potential war in Iraq. So this was no Super Bowl party for them. This was their last night out on the town.
One Marine was saying goodbye to his wife. The others were not so lucky They all just sat around the table, throwing back beers and wrestling with the sobering uncertainty of the rest of their lives.
"We're going to war and none of us knows if we're ever coming back," said another Marine, a 28-year-old from Southern Illinois. They all requested that I not use their names. "Just tell 'em we're the men of (Marine Aviation Land Support Squad 39)," they said.
On Super Bowl Sunday, the men of MALS 29 will be watching the game from the mess hall of their ship. "That is, if we're lucky and the weather is good and it doesn't interfere with the satellite signal," said the Marine with the bald head and burnt-orange shirt. "But I gotta tell you, I'm not that big a sports fan anymore. It's going to be the first pro football game I've watched in . . . I can't even remember."
Why is that?
"Well, here's my problem with pro sports today," he said. "I don't care whether it's football, basketball or baseball. Guys are complaining about making $6 million instead of $7 million, and what is their job? Playing a damned game. You know what I made last year? I made $14,000. They pay me $14,000, and you know what my job description is? I'm paid to take a bullet."
When he said those words, it positively staggered me.
Fourteen thousand dollars to take a bullet.
Not a day goes by that I am not reminded of what a wonderful life I lead.
I am paid to write about sports and tell stories on radio and television about the games people play. But sometimes, even in the midst of a grand sporting event, something happens to put the frivolity of sports into its proper perspective, and this was it.
Fourteen thousand dollars to take a bullet.
As I sit here writing from my hotel room, I can look out my balcony window and I see a Navy battleship cutting through the San Diego Bay, heading out to sea. I can see the sailors standing on the deck as the ship sails past Coronado Island, the San Diego Marina and the downtown Seaport Village, and I wonder if any of the men from MALS 39 are aboard.
It was only 12 hours ago that I was sitting at the table with my guys, buying them beers, and listening to their soldier stories. The Marine from Southern Illinois who sat to my right pointed to the bald Marine in the orange shirt who was seated to my left. "You know, I don't even know this guy, can you believe that? We just met a few hours ago when we came into Dick's. Oh, I've seen him on the base, but I've never met him before tonight. But here's what's so special about that man, and why I love that man. He's my brother. Semper Fi. I know a guy back home, and he is my best friend. I'm 28 years old and we've known each other all our lives.
But today, that friend is more of a stranger to me than that Marine sitting over there, who I've never met before tonight. That's why they call it a Band of Brothers."
The little Marine in the orange shirt lifted his glass toward the Marine from Southern Illinois and nodded his head. "That's right," he said.
"That's my brother over there, and I'm gonna take a bullet for him if I have to."
He said it with a calm and jolting certainty. There was a moving, but chilling, pride in his words
All around them, people were drinking, shouting and laughing. The college kids and the conventioneers and NFL high-rollers were living the good, carefree life. Across the street, a storefront that was vacant two weeks ago was now filled with $30 caps, $400 leather jackets, $40 mugs and $27 T-shirts with the fancy blue and yellow Super Bowl XXXVII logo embroidered on it.
From every end of the streets of downtown San Diego's fabled Gaslamp Quarter, Super Bowl revelers toasted the Raiders and the Bucanneers with grog-sized mugs filled with beers and rums. But just around midnight in the middle of the courtyard of Dick's Last Resort, a far more deserving toast was going up to the men of MALS 39. We clicked our glasses together, and a few minutes later, they quietly slipped out the courtyard gates.
Suddenly, the Super Bowl didn't seem so important anymore.
-- Sports Columnist Bryan Burwell
02-13-2003 | 02:06 PM
#2
Contributing Member
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 692
From: AUSTIN BABY
Re: Interesting article from awhile back.
Originally posted by jin kazama
Of course we knew. In less than an hour, they would report back to a ship docked along the Southern California coast, then on Wednesday head across the Pacific Ocean, bound for a potential war in Iraq. So this was no Super Bowl party for them. This was their last night out on the town.
"We're going to war and none of us knows if we're ever coming back," said another Marine
"Well, here's my problem with pro sports today," he said. "I don't care whether it's football, basketball or baseball. Guys are complaining about making $6 million instead of $7 million, and what is their job? Playing a damned game. You know what I made last year? I made $14,000. They pay me $14,000, and you know what my job description is? I'm paid to take a bullet."
When he said those words, it positively staggered me.
Fourteen thousand dollars to take a bullet.
"That's my brother over there, and I'm gonna take a bullet for him if I have to."
Of course we knew. In less than an hour, they would report back to a ship docked along the Southern California coast, then on Wednesday head across the Pacific Ocean, bound for a potential war in Iraq. So this was no Super Bowl party for them. This was their last night out on the town.
"We're going to war and none of us knows if we're ever coming back," said another Marine
"Well, here's my problem with pro sports today," he said. "I don't care whether it's football, basketball or baseball. Guys are complaining about making $6 million instead of $7 million, and what is their job? Playing a damned game. You know what I made last year? I made $14,000. They pay me $14,000, and you know what my job description is? I'm paid to take a bullet."
When he said those words, it positively staggered me.
Fourteen thousand dollars to take a bullet.
"That's my brother over there, and I'm gonna take a bullet for him if I have to."
i have a BIG problem with the people in the armed forces, so i have no sympthy for these people. the decision was theres to join. They knew that the chance for war could pop up at any given moment, and yet they still joined. 14,000 to take a bullet, HA! ***** has never been shot. And you can bet damn sure that i would never "take a bullet" for anyone but my wife or kids
i have a lot of friends who all joined for the free room and board, free college, chance to see the world....and now they are ALL scared ****less.
Sadam has ALREADY gave his generals the green light to use Chem and Bio weapons on our troops.
i can't believe the attitude our troops have about going to war. (not these) but mostly all the troops are all saying, "lets hurry up and go to war i'm sick of waiting around doing nothing...blah blah blah" the sad truth is that HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF TROOPS FROM THE 1ST GULF WAR CAN'T HAVE KIDS because they were exposed to some bio-agents....would you really want that?
or how about this fact. There are 250,000 bio protection suits (out of like 800,000) that dont work. The governments policy of using the lowest bidder to do its work failed them, and MANY people are in jail as a result of it...but the scary fact is that NO ONE KNOWS WHICH SUITS work, and which ones dont
that means some 250,000 poor bastards are going to get to watch themselves bleed from EVERY pore in their body, or have their insides turn to liquid. We are dealing with SCARY ****. And again, no one seems to be informed about what we are up against, esp the troops
and if you want to question me about the 250,000 bio suits that dont work go ahead and i'll find the article for you
02-13-2003 | 02:18 PM
#3
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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 692
From: AUSTIN BABY
http://www.sierratimes.com/cgi-bin/w...m=11&topic=157
ha ha ha
they say that up to 90% of the gas masks wont work as well....this is just great
http://www.gigo-soapbox.org/gigo/200211/04.shtml
another site on the subject
i first read about this in a Newsweek Mag, and i DID go to cnn.com and i DID find articles on it...but now they seem to have been erased
ha ha ha
they say that up to 90% of the gas masks wont work as well....this is just great
http://www.gigo-soapbox.org/gigo/200211/04.shtml
another site on the subject
i first read about this in a Newsweek Mag, and i DID go to cnn.com and i DID find articles on it...but now they seem to have been erased
02-13-2003 | 02:21 PM
#4
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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 692
From: AUSTIN BABY
02-13-2003 | 02:27 PM
#5
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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 692
From: AUSTIN BABY
see, this is why i have some serious issues with the united states... its like the people in power expect us to be stupid about everything and just expect us to believe everything they tell us without question
and you people do it...i just can't understand how people in such an informationly free society can be so ignorant about so many things.....and seriously, if you people really knew what was going on you'd be upset too.....
i dont intend to come off as prarnoid or anything like that....theres just so many things our government has done to other people (and to us) that if you knew....you'd want to leave too
take for expample viet nam.....DID YOU KNOW OUR GOVERNMENT USED BIO WEAPONS ON THE PEOPLE OF SOUTH VIET NAM...these are the people we were there to help!!!!!! and they just totally crippled them gentically.....its horriable
and you people do it...i just can't understand how people in such an informationly free society can be so ignorant about so many things.....and seriously, if you people really knew what was going on you'd be upset too.....
i dont intend to come off as prarnoid or anything like that....theres just so many things our government has done to other people (and to us) that if you knew....you'd want to leave too
take for expample viet nam.....DID YOU KNOW OUR GOVERNMENT USED BIO WEAPONS ON THE PEOPLE OF SOUTH VIET NAM...these are the people we were there to help!!!!!! and they just totally crippled them gentically.....its horriable
02-13-2003 | 02:51 PM
#6
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Registered User
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 66
From: madison, wi
yeah, i know.. but the article was just interesting and made me look at things differently. getting paid 14grand to defend and die for your country. im cambodian so i know all about that vietnam stuff. when the u.s. bombed cambodia it triggered the civil war in cambodia which led to over 2million dead at the hands of pol pot or whatever the fug his name is. yea, genocide. o well. good info thought leif. interesting reads.
02-13-2003 | 03:23 PM
#7
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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,841
From: NY
Originally posted by leiferik1
and you people do it...i just can't understand how people in such an informationly free society can be so ignorant about so many things.....and seriously, if you people really knew what was going on you'd be upset too.....
and you people do it...i just can't understand how people in such an informationly free society can be so ignorant about so many things.....and seriously, if you people really knew what was going on you'd be upset too.....
02-23-2003 | 02:47 AM
#8
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 77
From: AZ
Honestly I am able to put up with a few "mistakes" the U.S. has made. There are very few other places in the world in which you are able to live the way we do. Anyone who wants leave the country should go ahead and do it, it wont bother me one bit.
It pisses me off when people talk badly about the U.S. but yet they still stay here and dont try to change anything. If you really hate the country then leave and stop complaining about it.
Im not trying to start a fight, everyone is entitled to their opinion, and this is mine.
It pisses me off when people talk badly about the U.S. but yet they still stay here and dont try to change anything. If you really hate the country then leave and stop complaining about it.
Im not trying to start a fight, everyone is entitled to their opinion, and this is mine.
02-23-2003 | 11:25 AM
#9
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 66
From: madison, wi
yea man, i love america. i was born and raised here, but i've lived in other countries for short periods of time. like 3 months or so. and it sucks. just because they dont have the things we do, or some countries you gotta be careful of what you say and do. and i got a lotta respect for the people who enlist to protect this country and what not. i was going to, but my parents were trippin about it 
02-23-2003 | 03:47 PM
#10
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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 692
From: AUSTIN BABY
Originally posted by uofa240
It pisses me off when people talk badly about the U.S. but yet they still stay here and dont try to change anything. If you really hate the country then leave and stop complaining about it.
Im not trying to start a fight, everyone is entitled to their opinion, and this is mine.
It pisses me off when people talk badly about the U.S. but yet they still stay here and dont try to change anything. If you really hate the country then leave and stop complaining about it.
Im not trying to start a fight, everyone is entitled to their opinion, and this is mine.
why do you think i'm still here? i'm just waiting for the war to start so i can go out protesting and start my cultural revolution
i ****in love this place...the schools here are awesome, the people here are awesome...i love everything about the US...just not some of the decisions the united states government makes (and i dont like how "lazy" the american people are)
know what i mean? the united states is the only country where you'd ever see someone who weighs like 600 lbs
but hey, your right...everyone is entitled to their own opinion and mine happens to be that i dont agree with the way our "elected" leaders handle situations
and yes, i am working on changing this country
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