Update & Happy Halloween!

Just heard from my friend this morning (through Facebook) - she doesn't have power, Internet or cell at her home.

But she's staying at the WALDORF ASTORIA.

She's fine. Obviously. :)

Happy Halloween all!

God of the Hills

I am concerned for my friend living in NYC. She's one of the most reliable and dependable people I know and I haven't heard from her since yesterday afternoon. We traded Facebook messages online yesterday...but then the power went out.

And, now, I can't get ahold of her. Calls to her cell roll right to voicemail, texts aren't going through normally and pleas from friends/family members on Facebook have gone unanswered since yesterday.

I.am.worried.

Worried about what the scene must be like. Is she safe? Is she warm? Is she scared?

A million things run through my mind and, more than anything, I wish I could be there with her.

In Bible Study, we are reading through 1 Kings...and, just this morning we discussed this passage:
²³ "Meanwhile, the officials of the king of Aram advised him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they were too strong for us. But if we fight them on the plains, surely we will be stronger than they..."

Context - The "King of Aram" is waging war with the kingdom of Israel and had just suffered a crushing defeat in "the hills." His "officials" or advisers, trying to explain the defeat, reasoned that the God of Israel (what they call "The gods of the hills.") could be defeated if only the terrain were more favorable. This means that their estimation of the God of Israel was that He was something of a local god...confined to only a certain set of optimal conditions and that, faced with less favorable conditions (ie - "the plains") He could be rendered ineffective and incapable.

But, as some of us know, these officials had an incalculable misunderstanding of the nature of the God of Israel. But what can we expect - these folks didn't know Him, so how could they possibly fathom the unlimited bigness of Him?

Funny but sometimes we, as believers, also consider God to be local or regional. We trust Him with healing a common cold, but surely He can't be big enough to protect my spouse when he deploys to a scary country. We give up a broken relationship, but we toil to do things "our way." I trust Him to keep me safe when I drive...but can I trust Him to care for my friend who is without power and cell signal in a chaotic NYC?

Wow, nothing like a good rhetorical question to jolt some sense. Yes, yes of course I can trust Him. And I know her well...so I'm already looking forward to hearing from her soon about what the past 24 hours have brought about.

Grace & peace:)     

Sandy Images

Being part of the Military Community means that my Facebook news feed is often filled with some rather "unique" things.

However, on this day, I've seen this photo (below) no fewer than 30 times. Oy!

I've seen this image so many times today, I'm not sure whom/which source to properly credit.

This is one of the quotes I loved the most:
"Their patriotism, dedication, and perseverance are unparalleled. Praying today for all those in the path, but especially those brave soldiers who will endure it full force."

(For my civilian friends who don't know, they cannot leave the tomb unguarded. Not even during a hurricane.)

Btw - the above photo was ACTUALLY taken in September (and not this morning). There are quite a few "fake" photos flying around these days. Curious? Read more here!

Special Announcment - AWN

Normally, you won't find me posting on the weekend. Weekends are always spent with the husband - either watching movies together on the couch or, if the weather is nice and we're feeling motivated, outdoors hiking or walking. So far, this weekend, we've been inside flipping back-and-forth between SEC Football and Halloween-ish movies (helloooo black & white Dracula movies & the Hound of the Baskervilles!). :)

Anywhoooo....I wanted to share a very special word about a very special opportunity.

You may remember a mention late last month about an event I attended hosted by the Army Wife Network.

The Army Wife Network is the premier online resource for Army wives...by Army wives. It also offers on-site conferences from time-to-time. It's a dynamic and vibrant community (some 44,000+ strong!) and it is a wonderful support for Army spouses worldwide.

And...

Now....

I'll be partnering with this fine organization! Woo Hoo!!

The Army Wife Network (AWN) maintains a blog appropriately named Loving A Soldier (LAS) and I've been  invited to be a contributor to this forum. So, stay tuned, and "look" for my "voice" every month at LAS.   

My very first post, a personal introduction, was published just this morning - and you can find that here.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go find a place to do the happy dance.

:)

Fall Fun - A Nasty Haunting

Quick, if you're a parent thinking of taking your children to a safe, wholesome, family-friendly fall activity, what's the first thing you think of? 

If you try to tell me that a, "Nasty Haunting hosted by the 172nd Chemical Company" was the first thing that came to mind, I'm afraid I'm going to have to call "BS"...or as Joe Biden would say, "Malarkey." Impossible!

Well, my friends, let me tell you - that is an actual event. Here. On Fort Riley.

Only in the military.

So let me break this down (since I am sure you must be completely intrigued by this concept):
Every unit has an informal "call sign" of sorts. Our Battalion's is "Crimson Talons"....some are a little more, um, creative. The 172nd Chemical Company's is "Straight Nasty" (admittedly, somewhat controversial).

So, when the "Straight Nasty" hosts a haunting, it becomes a "Nasty Haunting." Get it?

Interestingly, the mission of chemical companies is to defend the Nation against nuclear, radiological and biological attacks on US soil (so they don't deploy)...they run continuous scenarios for the benefit of homeland defense. Perhaps that makes you reluctant to take your kids to an event that's located at military Chemical Company? I get that...it is slightly less than traditional ;)

But, surprisingly (or, perhaps, unsurprisingly) this is a pretty well known and much anticipated event. They had folks dressed as zombies passing out fliers at the Commissary (subsidized grocery store on Post) and the PX ("Post Exchange" - general merchandise store on Post) and emails have been whirling around about the event. This Unit hopes to raise at least $1000 so they can hold a Ball for the Soldiers and Family members in December. And, since they are a loosely related/affiliated Unit to EOD (explosive ordnance disposal), we were all too happy to help them reach their goal!

Gotta admit, it was very well done. There's no telling how many hours were spent setting up the haunted house (which was constructed in their "bay" - the large warehouse/storage space with concrete floors and heavy metal lockers). There were at least 20 volunteers in costume and admission is $4 for adults and $2 for kids. The parking lot was full last Saturday night so I am hopeful that they'll bring in the cash and their goal will be fully funded!

Again, only in the military.

:)

For more information about the 172nd Chemical Company, you can click here.

The Custer House

Let me tell you the story about Custer. Yes, that CUSTER.

Actually, allow me to cut/copy/paste a portion of Wikipedia's story about Custer:

Custer was appointed lieutenant colonel of the newly created U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment, headquartered at Fort Riley, Kansas. As a result of a plea by his patron General Philip Sheridan, Custer was also appointed brevet major general. He took part in Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock's expedition against the Cheyenne in 1867. 

This is the first reported time we see Custer show up at Fort Riley.

On June 26, 1867 Lt. Lyman Kidder's party, made up of ten troopers and one scout, were massacred while in route to Fort Wallace. Lt. Kidder was to deliver dispatches to Custer from Gen. William Sherman, but his party was attacked by Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne (see Kidder massacre). Days later, Custer and a search party found the bodies of Kidder's patrol.

Seems tame now but, at one time, Kansas was a wild, wild frontier. It looked less like "Cowboys & Indians" and more like "US Govt & Indians."

Following the Hancock campaign, Custer was court-martialed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas for being AWOL, after having abandoned his post to see his wife. He was suspended from duty for one year. At the request of Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan, who wanted Custer for his planned winter campaign against the Cheyenne, Custer was allowed to return to duty in 1868, before his term of suspension had expired.

On a docent training tour I took last week, we learned that Libbie Custer was likely very ill from influenza that was rampant during this time. This part of the text made it sound like Custer went AWOL just to pop in and say, "Hey" to his wife. 

Under Sheridan's orders, Custer took part in establishing Camp Supply in Indian Territory in early November 1868 as a supply base for the winter campaign. Custer led the 7th U.S. Cavalry in an attack on the Cheyenne encampment of Black Kettle—the Battle of Washita River on November 27, 1868. Custer reported killing 103 warriors; estimates by the Cheyenne of their casualties were substantially lower (11 warriors plus 19 women and children); some women and children were also killed, and US troops took 53 women and children prisoner. Custer had his men shoot most of the 875 Indian ponies they had captured. The Battle of Washita River was regarded as the first substantial U.S. victory in the Southern Plains War, and it helped force a significant portion of the Southern Cheyennes onto a U.S.-assigned reservation.

Even though this story has nothing at all to do with Fort Riley (the actual location of the battle was in Oklahoma) I included it just because I got so gosh-darned tickled that this was considered the "first substantial U.S. victory in the Southern Plains War" when no one really knows for sure if 103 Indian warriors were killed or 11 warriors + 19 women and children. Hmmmm....

In any case, last week I went on a guided tour of Fort Riley (long-time Fort Riley museum director Dr. Bob Smith was, in my estimation, THE best person to lead this tour - he did such a great job!). We toured all around Historic Main Post and capped off our tour with a visit to the Custer House. Think of it as the cherry on top!

You're probably wondering - when did Custer reside at the Custer House?

He didn't.

It's believed that his actual quarters burned down in a fire a half a century ago...but don't worry - if Custer were alive today, this is one of only 4 original buildings on Fort Riley - so Custer would surely at least recognize the house. :)

See what we did there? Cute, right?

It's OK - even if it isn't the true dwelling place of Custer, we can at least appreciate the real world depiction of how impossibly difficult life was back then. I took lots of photos, mainly because it's a building that's been around since the mid 1880s!

So, if you can't make it to the Custer House yourself, this is for you!

Front parlor

Walking towards the dining room

Upstairs Childrens' room

Upstairs Master bedroom (yes, you are looking at the "bathroom sink" also!)

Master BR

A necessity in Kansas for every Master BR - a fireplace

Really old sewing machine with some of the latest fashion sketches

Creepy doll that has become the center of several Ghost stories.

Now it's time for me to study all my notes of things I learned so that I can share this information with visitors who tour the Custer House!

Cheers:)

Fall Fun - CGMCG

Fort Riley, as I may have mentioned before, began as a "frontier post" as America expanded westward and, as such, was home to many Cavalry or horse units. In fact, a somewhat lesser known fact is that the Buffalo Soldiers were a part of this Post's history.

Ahhhh....a brief walk down memory lane:

• In 1853, the War Department approved the location and "Fort Riley" was birthed to provide protection for American movement westward. Obviously, that's just a really sanitary way of saying, "The west was a wild and dangerous place as America pushed westward and encountered Native Americans who called the region home." Thus, the need for, "protection." 
• As the expansion pushed westward and the hostilities lessened, many Forts were closing...but Riley escaped that fate when it was named by Congress, "Cavalry Headquarters of the Army" in the late 1800s.
• Around this same time, it was decided to establish the "Cavalry and Light Artillery School" at Fort Riley, thus further reinforcing the significant ties between Cavalry/horses and Fort Riley. 

Bottom line: horses have been a significant part of Fort Riley's history since the very beginning. In fact, the odd layout of our present day roads in and around Fort Riley are due to the fact that this was originally a horse post and many of the present-day buildings in Historic Main Post used to be horse stables and training arenas. So, it's no surprise that Fort Riley still embraces that aspect of its history - through the establishment of the Commanding Generals Mounted Color Guard:

Established in 1992, the Commanding General's Mounted Color Guard provides a link to Fort Riley's historic past. Troopers and horses of this unit are outfitted in the uniforms, accoutrements and equipment of the Civil War period. Soldiers are detailed from the ranks of units assigned to Fort Riley and receive instruction from manuals used by Civil War cavalrymen.

From privates to officers, these men and women recreate the colorful spectacle of the American Horse Soldier. They demonstrate their horsemanship for professional rodeos, community events, parades, school groups and official ceremonies.

- Source: Fort Riley website

Over time the role of the horses of Fort Riley has evolved - whereas, in the past, their job was to provide the means for defense and protection, their primary function today is pageantry. These horses are hand-selected for their color (the fewer white markings, the better), their train-ability (there's virtually no limit to what these horses can do in professional competition) and temperament (they must have nerves of steel and be able to perform well despite the presence of crowds, children, dogs, cannons & gunfire). They can be found on Fort Riley at Change of Command Ceremonies and often appear on the national stage at Ceremonies (including Presidential Inaugurations) and Parades (Memorial, Independence Day, etc).

And....

Week before last....

Our small group arranged to guided tour of Historic Main Post by horseback.

Arriving at the Stables on Post

10 horses for our morning Ride.

All Aboard!

In the practice ring - making sure we knew how to "operate" :)

A pair of gorgeous draft horses!

Draft horses pulled a restored wagon filled with kids & others from our group.

A gorgeous Day!

Posing in front of Angi's house - my horse is smiling :)

Our entire group in front of Angi's house. We lined up in less than 2 minutes' time!

This lineup took a little longer - some of the horses were a little wary of the over-sized Cav School Statue :)

Riding down "Officers Row" on Historic Main Post

My view for the morning - most awesome!

My horse - Lexington "Lex"

Property of the "US"

The first photo I ever took of "Lex" - front horse. At a Change of Command Ceremony in May

Video from last May's Change of Command Ceremony - Lex doing his thing!

To say that we had an amazing time would be an extreme understatement. It was a wonderful day, shared with good friends, enjoying an incredible experience.

It sure can be great to be a part of the Army Family!!