"And Ajax by mad passion borne stern had replied, fierce scorn enhancing scorn to fell extremes…"
This was one of the last photos of me in my Class As.
I’ve got my hard earned Expert Infantryman’s Badge (which I gained by going True Blue in late 1996) and I actually look happy. Which means I’m close to getting out.
One of my favorite photos. I think I look somewhat squared away.
Some copy and draw artwork.
This is Frank Castle (AKA: “The Punisher”)
This was taken at the end of the year.
I’d just had my picture taken with my children and family and was almost ready to shave my face.
I was pretty good on growing a full beard for a month or two, but anything thereafter became problematic as my face would begin to itch and I’d have to shave that fucker off. But for this one I persisted just a little bit longer.
I remember the day this photo was taken.
I told my boss that I was going to search for the remains of fugitive financier Robert Vesco and that I probably wouldn’t be be back before he closed up the office.
What had prompted my field trip was a New York Times article that appeared to confirm that a man who had been wanted by the FBI was now buried in a Havana cemetery.
As one of only two legally recognized United States law enforcement officers operating officially in Cuba at the time, I felt duty bound to go investigate this matter to determine for myself whether the author’s story was actually true.
In fact, prior to my visit, I emailed the author in order to obtain more information as to his assertion that Vesco had actually been buried in this cemetery, but as I recall, he was more interested in collecting facts regarding why a “government official” (such as I) was doing to investigate the matter.
Regardless, after a couple of hours of stumbling around, I finally went to the cemetery’s office and requested to see the same paperwork the industrious newspaper reporter had uncovered by himself.
Sure enough, it indicated Vesco had been buried there.
But that really didn’t mean anything.
All it mean was that someone convinced a cemetery official to record that a person named “Robert Vesco” was buried in a plot in that cemetery on the outskirts of Havana, Cuba.
Shorty thereafter I sent a restricted e-mail to our FBI liaison notifying him that I’d essentially confirmed what a newspaper reporter had already done.
As an aside, I’m wearing the same white linen Guayabera I’d gotten engaged in six years prior. (See also my Chicago Maroon and Burnt Orange Virginia Tech lanyard.)
As a young impressionable teenager, this was my cinema palace.
It’s where I first saw “Back To The Future,” “Die Hard,” “Weird Science,” “La Bamba,” “Young Guns,” “Adventures In Babysitting,” “Aliens,” and a plethora (yeah, I said it) of classic 80s movies.
Per FB:
“Ridge Cinema, 1510 Eastridge Road, Henrico, Virginia.
This theater was originally built in the 1970’s and was owned by Neighborhood Theatre Inc., Cineplex Odeon Corp., Neighborhood Entertainment Inc. and lastly by Regal Entertainment Group.
The two-story building had a huge, open lobby. On the second floor were three auditoriums, several offices which were used by the Regal District Management, and a concession stand. The first floor had two giant auditoriums with full stages, one with 750 seats and the other with 550. These two large auditoriums were originally the only two in the theater and were used for various types of live entertainment.
When it closed in September 2002, the now seven-screen theater showed foreign and independent films as well as first-run commercial fare. Regal decided to sell the old Ridge Theater and the surrounding land and it was demolished in early-2004.”
It’s now a Kroger.
10 years ago today:
“Move over, Butler. Virginia Commonwealth University is crashing the Final Four.
Two weeks ago, the 11th-seeded Rams so doubted they would get an NCAA tournament invite that they watched Cartoon Network and went out for burgers instead of watching the selection show. Now, all of America will be watching them in the Final Four.
The 11th-seeded Rams are heading to Houston, and final No. 1 seed Kansas is heading home after the biggest March upset in years.
VCU stunned the Jayhawks 71-61 on Sunday, becoming just the third 11th seed to make the Final Four. The Jayhawks had been the last top seed standing, but what looked like an easy path to the final weekend ended in a stunning collapse.”
Sad to say, but I attribute the recent collapse of my once beloved hometown to this moment.
Before VCU beat Kansas and made it to the Final Four, Richmond was a pretty insular, gritty, tattoo’d hipster enclave.
Those who lived there knew how special it was.
But VCU making it to The Show brought a whole new level of attention to the city.
It became a destination.
A place to be.
And that brought visitors.
Who stayed.
And who changed the politics of the city.
It was an amazing moment for those of us who loved the city.
But it was probably the worst thing that could ever have happened to it…
From FB:
“The screaming child was the first thing I heard.
I’d overslept until 6 AM and didn’t have time for breakfast, so I had to grab a bite at the café in my building. I was waiting for my food when I first heard the little kid in the pink jacket begin wailing. Her mother was standing at the register with a cell phone pressed between her ear and shoulder as she rummaged through her oversized handbag for something.
The woman at the register waited impassively with a thin Buddha smile on her face.
I watched the mother for what seemed like an eternity as she continued to talk on the cell phone while languidly rifling through her bag. When my order was ready, I moved behind her to pay for my food and noticed that I could see a large portion of her ass crack as it peeked out above her too tight, too small jeans.
No underwear. Classy.
The woman kept talking on her phone and digging through her handbag for what seemed ages. I looked on the counter. There was a single chocolate milk and a one dollar bill. The register read “$1.77”.
As amused as I was by the entire absurd spectacle of her arrogance and obliviousness as to what her selfish actions were requiring others to do, I knew I held my fate in my own right buttcheek.
Employing a bit of sarcastically dramatic flair, I dug into my wallet, pulled out a single dollar bill, and laid it heavily on the counter. The lady at the register quickly snatched up both bills and mouthed the words, “Thank you,” to me.
With bovine indolence, the woman on the cell phone slowly turned her head to me and said, “Thank you.” Then she spoke into her cell phone. “Yeah, uh, some man just gave me a dollar.”
“No problem,” I said, waiting for her to leave.
As the lady at the register rang up the order, the woman on the cell phone held out her hand.
She kept my change and walked away.”
From FB:
“I was thinking about this recently, but if someone were to ask me in all honesty and seriousness what was my single happiest childhood memory, it’d have to be the day some fool gave me and my brothers an ass ton of free video game tickets at the Exton Square Mall Time Out circa 1982…”
“Barring love I’ll take my life in large doses alone – rivers, forests, fish, grouse, mountains. Dogs.”
I need to read more of his work.
A latter day heir to Hemingway.
BIO
Song Of Ajax 