Happy Something ... New Year? Fox News watching?

The year ends.

I'm not much on the "big story" baloney. Most would have said that the stock market crash of 1929 was the story, yet the real story was the "Talkies." From that technological advance came a string of motion pictures that moved and shaped the world as nothing else before or since.

There were many stories in 1944, yet THE story was the reining in of Patton in favor of Monte's pipe dreams. The result being "The Battle of the Bulge" with 20,000 killed and the Soviet Union being allowed a full share of Germany. God only knows what misery that ultimately caused.

Later the stories were the defeat of the US in Vietnam by its own Congress but even there we find only a smidgen of truth. Goldwater may have midwifed conservatism and Reagan took it to the altar but it was the Left's antiwar actions that allowed the simmering hatred of them to take a political child and turn him into a man.

So pardon me if find the stories about the evil Bush and the glorious Hussein both juvenile and boring. Come back in a few years and we can talk. In the meantime, I find myself continually reminding my Leftie friends of some of the oldest saws in the world.

Success, dear chums, is getting what you want.

Happiness is wanting what you get.

Many people will soon understand the truth of that.

And while it is true that Bush has been all but destroyed by the hater's of the Left, especially those in the media. He, like Truman, will see his presidency ascend over time.

I myself find him flawed, as was Truman. He has been too loyal to those who weren't capable and he failed to fight back at the utter nonsense spewed by the Left over the war on terror. Failing to do this has allowed the Left's unpatriotic attacks give comfort to an enemy who became convinced that they could, like the communists in Vietnam, win a political battle given to them by the Left's hand maidens in Congress.

In the meantime only 20% approve of a Democratic Congress, less than the approval of Bush. That it is Democrats who control Congress is why you hear almost nothing about this.

But now the Democrats have it all and it is their right to govern. It is their war on terror. Their recession. Their housing crisis. Their failed energy policy. Their failing school systems. Their "homeless" sleeping under bridges. Their "everything."

There is no evil Repub in charge and no racist in the White House, although the new occupant was elected because of his race. All the claims of the Left, all the charges, all the social theories can now be tested.

In the meantime all we know for sure is we have a youth going to the White House that has never been tested. He is the first of the "no one loses, everybody wins" generation. As such his natural narcissism gives us a man who has never lost so he doesn't know how to win. He will be too gracious to our enemies and too harsh on his critics, He will confuse our allies and enemies alike. The results will most likely be death and destruction here in the US.

We truly suffer from the Chinese curse. We live in interesting times.

God help us all.

Farm kid in the Marine Corps

There's a real kernel of truth in this.

Dear Ma and Pa,

I am well. Hope you are. Tell Brother Walt and Brother Elmer the Marine Corps beats working for old man Minch by a mile. Tell them to join up quick before all of the places are filled.

I was restless at first because you get to stay in bed till nearly 6 a.m. But I am getting so I like to sleep late. Tell Walt and Elmer all you do before breakfast is smooth your cot, and shine some things. No hogs to slop, feed to pitch, mash to mix, wood to split, fire to lay. Practically nothing.

Men got to shave but it is not so bad, there's warm water. Breakfast is strong on trimmings like fruit juice, cereal, eggs, bacon, etc., but kind of weak on chops, potatoes, ham, steak, fried eggplant, pie and other regular food, but tell Walt and Elmer you can always sit by the two city boys that live on coffee. Their food, plus yours, holds you until noon when you get fed again. It's no wonder these city boys can't walk much.

We go on 'route marches,' which the platoon sergeant says are long walks to harden us. If he thinks so, it's not my place to tell him different. A 'route march' is about as far as to our mailbox at home. Then the city guys get sore feet and we all ride back in trucks.

The sergeant is like a school teacher. He nags a lot. The Captain is like the school board. Majors and colonels just ride around and frown. They don't bother you none.

This next will kill Walt and Elmer with laughing. I keep getting medals for shooting. I don't know why. The bulls-eye is near as big as a chipmunk head and don't move, and it ain't shooting at you like the Higgett boys at home. All you got to do is lie there all comfortable and hit it. You don't even load your own cartridges They come in boxes.

Then we have what they call hand-to-hand combat training. You get to wrestle with them city boys. I have to be real careful though, they break real easy. It ain't like fighting with that ole bull at home. I'm about the best they got in this except for that Tug Jordan from over in Silver Lake . I only beat him once.. He joined up the same time as me, but I'm only 5'9' and 170 pounds and he's 6'8' and near 300 pounds dry.

Be sure to tell Walt and Elmer to hurry and join before other fellers get onto this setup and come stampeding in.

Your son,

John

Hat tip to Mike L