Charles Stricklin's Personal Blog

I mourn the loss of childhood friend, Paul Taylor.
Paul was only a few months older than I, and he lived just over my backyard fence when I was in junior high and high school. He was the proverbial archetype of the “tough guy with a heart made of gold.” Even at 14, he shaved, and smoked, and drank and rode a motorcycle.
We became friends when David, my best friend even today, moved away to Houston. We would spend afternoons in his smoke-filled house, listening to records and playing our own music. Often we’d drive around the neighborhood in his old Fold Fairlane looking for something to do, and nearly without exception he drive in arcs across the local park’s parking lot so fast it’d nearly tip the car over, on my side!
During those years, I progressed from smoking Swisher Sweets to nearly 2 packs of Marlboro a day when he realized the reason I’d taken up smoking was to emulate him. Suddenly, one day when he and I walked around our neighborhood he suddenly stopped, grabbed the pack of cigarettes from my shirt pocket, tore them in half, stood inches away from my face and swore to me that if he found me smoking again, he’d beat the snot out of me. And no, he didn’t use the word ‘snot’, I did.
In the decades since, I’ve lit up a cigarette only twice.
At school, he and I spent a great deal of time and thought concerning the young women in our classes. In high school, he began dating Pam, a girl who’d run afoul of my girlfriend at the time. They married, and started their family right away. Paul dropped out of school to support them. Some time later, because of our mutual love for Paul, Pam and I settled our differences, which it turned out wasn’t that hard because neither of us could remember the root cause in the first place.
When I returned home after serving in the Gulf War in 1991, I visited with Paul and his family, giving t-shirts and trinkets to his children, Rachel and James. They were very young and small then… both of them are fully-grown now.
Paul and I met a few years ago at Murrell’s for a cup of coffee and conversation. I found out that the pinging sound on my home’s rotating exhaust fans that had driven my Dad crazy had been caused by Paul sitting on his back porch, pellet rifle in hand, shooting away and trying not to give away his position with laughter. I also found out that his marriage to Pam seemed to be ending. Shortly, his prediction came true.
Some time later, I received an announcement in the mail that Paul was marrying again, to a woman named Roxanna, and subsequent phone conversations proved to me that he was very, very happy.
I’ve been intending to call and visit, but as with many relationships, if you don’t make the time, the time slips away from you. Tuesday morning, Pam called me, got my answering machine, and because she wasn’t sure of my voice, ended the call. She called again later and told me the news: Paul had laid down along side his van at work and passed away. The speculation was that it was a heart attack.
I’m thankful that Paul didn’t suffer long. I’m thankful he was a friend when I needed one. I’m thankful he stopped me from becoming addicted to cigarettes. I’m thankful he taught me how to play the drums. More that those things, I’m thankful for all the times he made me laugh. He was a good man, and a good friend, and he will be sorely missed.

I suppose it’s time to introduce my readers to my two cats, Sammie (short for Samantha) on the right below and Alex (short for Alexander) on the left.

Sammie is about 4 or 5 years old, and a tortie (having a tortoise-shell appearance.) She belonged to my former fiancé, and her youngest daughter was concerned that I might be lonely after the breakup, so Sammie came to live with me.
Alex was left on a co-worker’s front doorstep when he was just a day or two old. He has a gray coat with a splash of white fur on his breast. I adopted him after my co-worker asked me to.
Some interesting notes about these two:

• Alex was originally named “Ally” — a play on “Alley” as in “Alley Cat”, since she thought Alex was really a girl cat.
• Sammie has a foot fetish, rubbing against and lightly biting my bare feet anytime they’re exposed, especially when I first get out of the shower.
• Alex is a climber, always has been. When he was just a kitten, he used to jump and climb up the side of my slacks and shirts until he was perched on my shoulders. He would frequently climb up dressers, the refrigerator and shelves.
• Sammie frequently stretches or cleans herself, then seems to forget to bring her tongue totally inside.
• Alex likes to smell things with his mouth partially open, then leaves it that way for several moments.
• Both Alex and Sammie “chatter” when they see birds outside.
• Both are afraid of the vacuum cleaner and plastic bags.
• Sammie picks up her toys with her claws and flings them against the walls.
• Alex can sometimes be found sleeping on the floor underneath the bedspread, or on the bed itself under the comforter.
• Alex used to climb up inside the back of the couch and go to sleep.
• Sammie frequently lays across my legs and wrists, as if she’s trying to tell me to stop blogging.
• Alex goes to sleep against the pillow beside me or curled up against my side. Sammie goes to sleep at my feet or between the legs.
• Alex cannot be let into the bathroom because he’ll destroy the toilet paper and drag the bath mat all over the apartment.
• Alex frequently runs ahead of me, lies down and stretches out, fully expecting me to rub his tummy.
• Alex can sometimes be found lying on the carpet, on his back.
• Alex will stick his arms and paws underneath the bathroom door and try to claw anything that moves.
• Sammie actually kisses me, putting her lips against mine when she wants to show affection.

They’re my buddies, and I love taking care of them.

Updated and modified a bit since my February 26th, 2005 pseudo-anonymous list

1. My given name is actually Charles.
2. I don’t publish my surname because I don’t care for people in the real world Googling for me and thus reading my blog. I’m sure the more industrious and Internet-savvy of you out there could easily put two and two together, I just don’t want to make it any easier than I have to.
3. The nickname ‘Twidget’ is actually military slang meaning “a military enlisted person whose job primarily involves using or maintaining electronics.”
4. I took the term as my nickname because I used to be a ‘twidget’.
5. I spent five and a half years as an enlisted person in the U.S. Navy (December 2, 1987 – July 26, 1993).
6. I actually remember those dates.
7. My rating was a Data Systems Technician (DS).
8. That rating no longer exists, it was combined, along with several other technical ratings, into Electronics Technician after my discharge.
9. I spent two months in Boot Camp and the Recruit Training Command in San Diego, California. It was closed in 1995.
10. After boot camp, I spent a year at DS “A” and “C” schools at CSTSC at Mare Island Naval Station in Vallejo, California. Mare Island was closed in 1996. (Beginning to see a pattern here?)
11. The highest rank I ever achieved was that of Petty Officer Third Class.
12. The chevrons petty officers wear on the sleeves of their uniforms are more often called “crows”, because of the perched eagles at the top.
13. I enlisted in the Navy under a program called “advanced enlistment” where, if I enlisted for six year’s duty instead of the usual four, I’d receive a year and a half of electronics training and be advanced to the rank of E-4.
14. Thus, I was called a “push-button crow.”
15. My NEC involved Link 11, a technology that took all the tracks in my ship’s combat systems computer, encrypted the data, turned them into frequencies or tones, broadcast them over radio waves, then in turn receiving other Link 11 capable ships, planes and such’s broadcast data and reversing the process. This effectively created a computer network involving military vessels spreading over hundreds of miles. So, in effect, I was there to maintain and repair, when necessary, a huge modem.
16. While in the Navy, the only ship that I was billeted to was the U.S.S. Worden (CG-18), a destroyer that was upgraded to a light-cruiser in the 1970s.
17. On Monday, October 19th, 1990 at latitude 00000 and longitude 105° 17′ E, my crewmates and I were found qualified to be numbered as one of King Neptunus Rex’s honored shellbacks and duly initiated into the Solemn Mysteries of the Ancient Order of Shellbacks. Doing so also added 2 points to every advancement exam I would take afterwards.
18. While on the Worden, I served in a war (Desert Shield/Desert Storm), 2 West Pacs, 1 Midshipmen’s cruise, and 1 LEO.
19. While in the Navy, I traveled to the states of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii; to the United States territory of Guam; to the countries of Australia, Canada, Mexico, British Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Sri Lanka; and the Arab Emirates Bahrain, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi.
20. I got to know Bahrain and Singapore as well as my hometown of Shreveport.
21. I was nominated by my Divisional Chief Petty Officer for a NAM prior to my 2nd deployment to the Arabian Gulf for completely overhauling a piece of equipment during the previous deployment.
22. The last time I took the advancement exam, I missed being advanced to 2nd Class Petty Officer by 0.001 of a point.
23. I was later recommended to the Captain for advancement.
24. Sometime during my 2nd deployment to the Arabian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch, while also serving my first of two tours as a mess attendant, I began an upgrade on the Worden’s SSM-4A (Link-4A equipment used to coordinate aircraft’s vectoring). To this day, I don’t remember what happened, but I must’ve started the upgrade, gotten involved with something else and forgot all about it. While spending 12 hours a day making coffee and salad, washing dishes and swabbing decks, I was still expected to do all of my preventative maintenance on my equipment. I must’ve signed off on a preventative maintenance procedure on the equipment I’d begun the upgrade on, but never completed. In Navy slang, this is called “gun decking.”
25. I’m not proud of myself for that. And, I do not remember doing it, but that’s no excuse.
26. I was taken to Captain’s Mast for dereliction of duty. With perfect 4.0 evaluations up to this point and being the most senior 3rd class on the ship with no trouble before this, and falling on the mercy of the Captain, I’d expected maybe a “suspended bust” where I’d be reduced in rank for 6 months, restricted to the ship for that period and being given back my rank and privileges once the time was completed. I was instead reduced in rank to an E-3 (Seaman).
27. Another Petty Officer, who’d helped me in the overhaul and a new Divisional Chief Petty Officer, who hadn’t even been there when we did the overhaul, received the NAM I’d been nominated for. It would’ve been worth an additional 2 points on every advancement exam I would’ve taken from that point onward.
28. Needless to say, I was pretty pissed off.
29. The Worden was scheduled to be decommissioned upon the end of my 2nd deployment. When an enlisted member’s EAOS coincides with their ship being decommissioned, the serviceperson may request an early discharge rather than having that serviceperson be transferred to their next duty, then being discharged, So, I got out 6 months early.
30. People ask me about my feeling for the Navy now. I tell them, “It was just like high school: I had good times, I had bad times; overall, I’m glad I did it but you could not pay me enough to go back and do it all again.”
31. Did I mention that I was honorably discharged? No? Well, I was.
32. On Saturday, June 17, 2000 the Worden was sunk in water over 14,000 feet deep and more than 50 miles South of the island of Oahu, where she and I had been home-ported in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. This made it official: every single command I ever served at has since been decommissioned!
33. I’ve just realized that I’ve spent a third of my list of 100 things writing exclusively about my years in service to my country. I’m sorry if it bores you, but it obviously made an enormous impact on me.
34. I’m male (in case you haven’t figured that out, or if you’ve been listening to Jennifer.)
35. I was born May 5, 1960. That makes me 44 at the time of this writing.
36. I’ve been 6 feet tall ever since high school.
37. I currently weigh about 260 pounds.
38. I’ve worn glasses ever since the 6th grade. One day, I’ll get Lasik surgery to correct my near-sightedness.
39. I’m a Christian.
40. I’m heterosexual.
41. I’m pro-life.
42. Decades ago I took a Mensa-proctored intelligence test that measured my I.Q. at 139, making me eligible to join them, but I never have.
43. I never did well in school.
44. I’ve been diagnosed as hypertensive.
45. I’ve been diagnosed with hypothyroidism.
46. I suffer from depression.
47. I am obsessive-compulsive.
48. I probably have always had ADD.
49. I grew up less than two miles from where I currently live.
50. I graduated in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration majoring in from Mississippi State University.
51. I’ve only voted for one Democrat in my life: Bill Clinton; a badge of shame I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
52. I have two housemates: Samantha/Sammie, a female “tortie” I inherited from the breakup with my ex-fiancé and Alexander/Alex, who a co-worker rescued and I later adopted.
53. My first cat was a sweet Burmese named Smokey. He is still my favorite.
54. I’m right-handed.
55. I’m a baritone.
56. I own every (legitimate) Steely Dan CD ever produced.
57. I’ve never been married or lived with a women, but I came close.
58. I smoked a joint the night before I went to see the Navy recruiter.
59. My dad passed away several years ago.
60. I only have one sibling, an older sister named Sharon.
61. I hate having to shave.
62. I couldn’t grow a decent moustache or beard if my life depended on it.
63. I tend to get involved with women that are no good for me.
64. I have no piercings or tattoos.
65. I snore, apparently.
66. I hate to wake up.
67. My idea of the perfect vacation is to stay in bed, never shower or shave, and sleep when I feel like it.
68. I’m lonely, and I’m not ashamed to admit it.
69. I wouldn’t pass my own standards for size and attractiveness I require of women I date.
70. But my ex-fiancé taught me that I shouldn’t lower my standards just because that’s a double-standard.
71. My favorite meal is Blackened Salmon Alexander with dirty rice, French bread, a salad with Ranch dressing and Shiner Bock from Pappadeaux.
72. My second favorite would have to be Chicken Scaloppini from Johnny Carino’s.
73. I drive better in the middle of the night and the early morning than I do in the afternoon.
74. I’d rather be too hot than too cold.
75. The first thing I look at on a woman is her hair. If she takes care of her hair and styles it well, it speaks volumes.
76. The second thing would have to be her breasts. Yep, I’m a breast man.
77. Generally I prefer larger to smaller. Although small can be nice. It’s really all about shape.
78. A woman’s flat tummy and the nape of her neck are big turn-ons for me.
79. If I could date any celebrity, the only name that instantly comes to mind is Jennifer Connelly .
80. I smoked two packs of Marlboro red in high school, and gave them up cold turkey.
81. I talk way too much and about things I ought not.
82. I love lean, large, juicy filet mignon.
83. I also love Waffle House in the middle of the night.
84. In high school, I was a draftsman.
85. I’ve also been a waiter, a head waiter and an assistant manager.
86. My favorite ice creams are Ben & Jerry’s Coffee Heath Bar Crunch, Ben & Jerry’s Brownie Batter, Ben & Jerry’s One Sweet Whirled (sadly, no longer available) and Godiva Belgian Dark Chocolate.
87. My taste in music ranges from Bach to They Might Be Giants.
88. I spend an inordinate amount of time talking about anything but WordPress in #wordpress.
89. I’ve blogged using Blogger, Movable Types and WordPress.
90. I’d rather listen to Glenn Beck and Mark Davis than Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.
91. My shoe size is 12 wide.
92. My favorite color would probably be forest green.
93. Briefs.
94. I’ve memorized many Monty Python scenes.
95. My favorite authors are Tom Clancy, Douglas Adams and Bill Hybels. (How’s that for eclectic?
96. No, I won’t tell you when I lost my virginity, only that it did, indeed, happen.
97. If I could’ve chosen any other career for myself, I’d either be a musician/singer/songwriter or a college history professor.
98. To this day, I still fold my underwear and t-shirts. See number 9 and 47.
99. I flail all over the bed when I sleep, except when Sammie and/or Alex pin my legs down.
100. This list was easier to make than I thought it would be.

Suppose everyday, 10 men go to dinner. The bill for all ten comes to $100. If it were paid the way we pay our taxes, the first four men would pay nothing; the fifth would pay $1; the sixth would pay $3; the seventh $7; the eighth $12; the ninth $18. The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
The 10 men ate dinner in the restaurant every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement until the owner threw them a curve. “Since you are all such good customers,” he said, “I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily meal by $20.” Now dinner for the 10 only costs $80.
The first four are unaffected. They still eat for free. Can you figure out how to divvy up the $20 savings among the remaining six so that everyone gets his fair share? The men realize that $20 divided by 6 is $3.33, but if they subtract that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man the sixth man would end up being paid to eat their meal.
The restaurant owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.
And so the fifth man paid nothing, the sixth pitched in $2, the seventh paid $5, the eighth paid $9, the ninth paid $12, leaving the tenth man with a bill of $52 instead of $59. Outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings. “I only got a dollar out of the $20,” declared the sixth man pointing to the tenth, “and he got $7!” “Yeah, that’s right,” exclaimed the fifth man. I only saved a dollar, too. It’s unfair that he got seven times more than me!” “That’s true,” shouted the seventh man. “Why should he get $7 back when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks.” “Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in unison. “We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor.”
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. The next night he didn’t show up for dinner, so the nine sat down and ate without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They were $52 short!
And that, boys and girls and politicians, is how the tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up at the table anymore.
There are lots of good restaurants in Switzerland and the Caribbean.

I got into an interesting conversation with a young woman tonight where a large portion of the subject matter was our shared Christian faith. After that conversation, I thought an overview of what I believe in might be in order.

• I believe God exists.
• I believe that only He is God, and that there are no other gods.
• I know that I’m not Him.
• I believe He created me, just as He created everything that has ever existed and ever will exist.
• I believe that He loves me.
• I believe that He wants what’s best for me, and that consists of living in His will.
• I believe that sin is the result of me doing what I want to think, say and do, instead of what He wants me to think, say and do.
• I believe that He loves me despite the things I think, say and do that He hates.
• I believe that my sin prevents me from being able to experience God and commune with Him (in this human life.)
• I believe that a blood sacrifice is necessary to atone for my sin. In ancient times, God-followers would sacrifice animals on altars to atone for their sins.
• I believe that it’s not enough to love God; I should be obedient to His will.
• I believe that He became a man, and lived as one of us in the form of Jesus of Nazareth.
• I know the Romans crucified Jesus as a criminal.
• I believe that doing this, God acted as His own blood sacrifice for my sins.
• I believe that Jesus came back to life three days later, and spent many days among his faithful followers.
• I believe that He rose up into the Heavens.
• I believe that one day, possibly soon, He will return to take those of us who are faithful to be with Him in Heaven.
• I know that many people say they are Christian, while living their lives in a way you never would otherwise know it.
• I know this because I was one of them.
• I believe that many con-artists and crazy people continue to appear and proclaim themselves as faithful followers, just as they have since before Christ’s time.
• I believe that many people have taken a “buffet style” approach to their faith, picking and choosing what to believe depending on what suits them and peer pressure.
• I believe that many politicians point to their faith while campaigning then vote in the opposite when they govern.
• I believe that many religious denominations take certain passages of the Bible and either ignore them or obsess over them, at the expense of misguiding non-believers.
• I believe that several religious denominations are overly legalistic, and lose focus on what really matters: the Grace of God.
• I believe there is a church in Kansas that is one of these overly legalistic churches that, although they mean well, is doing great damage to the Gospel.
• I believe that, despite not liking church services and not wanting to wake up early on a Sunday morning, I really should go to church.
• I believe that every morning I must rededicate myself to Christ and learn as much about Him as I possibly can.

A Conservative blogger friend sent an e-mail to his fellow political bloggers asking them a series of questions. Here are my answers:
1. Which founding father do you admire the most? Why?

John Adams, because his melancholy temperament is a lot like mine, because he was one of the first to be Conservative in ideology but more than willing to risk everything to throw off the British monarchy and create an entirely new form of government.

 
2. What’s your favorite historical quote?

“The government turns every contingency into an excuse for enhancing power in itself.” – John Adams
 

3. Which President do you admire the most? Why?

Abraham Lincoln, because he deftly selected and controlled his cabinet became the most “hands on” commander in chief the United States has ever had.
 

4. What, if anything, would you legalize?

The airing of radio, television and newspaper campaign advertisements attacking candidates within 60 days of an election.
 

5. What, if anything, would you make illegal?

Abortions for any reason other than to save the life of the mother.
 

6. Which pollster do you trust? Why?

Scott Rasmussen, because he seems to be more accurate than others.
 

7. Favorite political commentator? Why?

Andrew Klaven 

I don’t like to go to church.
There! I’ve said it.
I’m a Christian who enjoys learning more about God and how to live my life according to His will and plan for my life, but I dislike going to church. I always have.
Not that I have anything against the church members: I don’t.
I grew up in a small church just a stone’s throw from where I now live. Probably not even 200 members, they still have services geared to the “blue-haired old ladies” who have been members for years. A Southern Baptist church, they still sing from hymnals and print out the order of service on an old mimeograph. I hated it. I loved God and I loved the people, I just hated the church services.
So, I moved to a mega-church. This church has projection television behind the choir, stadium seating, and a gift shop in the lobby, a television studio, and all the trappings of today’s mega-church. I tried to get into the swing of things; the record-contract quality singers, the “happy, happy, joy, joy” songs with the lyrics projected where I could read them. I really did.
I don’t like singing.
That’s not entirely accurate: I don’t like communal singing. I don’t like singing when I’m part of a choir or a congregation.
I also don’t care for the style of soloist who chooses and perform songs with built-in “stand up” points. You know… the key-change or crescendo that can be counted on to cause at least a handful of people in the congregation to stand and lift their hand toward Heaven or begin applauding, which in turn causes the entire congregation to stand, many just feeling awkward.
I also don’t like it when preachers try too hard “close the deal.” God works in people’s lives differently, and they shouldn’t have their hand forced when it comes to a decision of that magnitude.
My idea of the perfect Sunday morning church experience? First, it probably wouldn’t be morning for me. I’m not a morning person.
I’d wake up at about 9AM, take a shower, brush my teeth, put on my good blue jeans, a decent shirt, my loafers, then drive to church where I’d meet a handful of other believers. We’d spend a few moments settling in, sharing coffee and doughnuts or something to eat, talking about our past weeks and finding out how each of us is doing. After that, we’d pick up where we left off the week before and really study the Bible. After a while, we’d talk about what’s on our minds, what’s bothering us, insights we may have had, questions that linger, burdens we bear. We’d comfort each other and pray, then disband for the week.
Afterwards, we’d move into the common area where we’d hear the announcements, and one of our ministers would share a brief lesson, then extend an invitation to join. No big productions. No grandiose moments. No high-pressure tactics. Just friends and fellow believers getting together to share a few precious moments together.
I’m positive there are churches like this elsewhere, just not anywhere near my home in Shreveport.