American Sniper ( a very brief book review)

So I just finished reading American Sniper by the late American war hero Navy SEAL Chief Chris Kyle.  The subtitle is "The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History."  Highly recommended!

I loved Chief Kyle's story.  He made me laugh, made me cry, and made me proud.  For the most part, the book is a simple collection of vignettes but through them he paints a gruesome story of his multiple tours in Iraq--killing the enemy in the streets of Sadr City, Fallujah, and Ramadi.  He killed with ease and with pleasure to protect and defend his fellow servicemen--Marines, Army, Air Force, Navy--and his country.  He made no bones about it that in his mind he was killing "savages" who were bent on killing Americans.  

As you can imagine, he does not exactly come across as Mr. Warm but I, for one, am damn glad he and his brothers in arms are on our side.  

Having the most "confirmed kills" as an American Sniper, he points out several times that every kill had at least one witness and was documented with a written follow-up report.  For a few he had to go before the Judge Advocate General where he successfully defended himself against allegations of impropriety.  In addition to his confirmed kills he had an indescribable number of combat kills in the course of ground battle and clearing houses.

"We broke into one house with a large front room.  We'd caught the inhabitants completely by surprise.  But I was surprised as well--as I burst in, I saw a whole bunch of guys standing there in desert camouflage--the old brown chocolate-chip stuff from Desert Storm, the First Gulf War. They were all wearing gear.  They were all Caucasian, including one or two with blond hair, obviously not Iraqis or Arabs...We looked at each other.  Something flicked in my brain, and I flicked the trigger on the M-16, mowing them down.  A half-second's more hesitation, and I would have been the one bleeding out on the floor.  They turned out to be Chechens..."

He also describes saving lives:

"I jumped up and laid down fire as they ran.  The final Marine tapped me on the shoulder as he passed, signaling that he was the last man out.  Ready to follow, I glanced to my right, checking my flank.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a body sprawled on the ground.  He had Marine camis.  Where he came from, whether he'd been there when I arrived or crawled there from somewhere else, I have no idea.  I ran over to him, saw that he'd been shot in both legs.  I slapped a new mag into my gun, then grabbed the back of his body armor and pulled him with me as I retreated."

And he describes some of our fallen:

"...He was lying on his back some yards away, crying in pain...I saw he was in pretty bad shape...I dropped and got an arm under each of his, then started hauling him backward.  Somehow I managed to slip as I went.  I fell backward, with him on top of me...I was so tired and winded I just lay there for a few minutes...as bullets flew by.  The kid was about 18 years old...I could tell he was going to die. 'Please don't tell my momma I died in pain,' he muttered...'Okay, okay,' I said. 'Don't worry.  Don't worry. Everybody will make it sound great.  Real great.' He died right then...A bunch of Marines came.  They lifted him off of me and put him in the back of a Hummer.  We called in a bomb strike and took out the shooting positions where the fire had come from..."

So once again, highly recommended.  I'll end with one last excerpt:

"...we were in an exhausting firefight.  Ten of us spent roughly 48 hours in the second story of an old, abandoned brick building, fighting in hundred degree-plus heat wearing full armor...the only break we took was to reload.  When the Marines came to relieve us, they found every man in the room either slumped against a wall or collapsed on the floor, dressing wounds or just soaking in the situation.  One of the Marines outside took an American flag and hoisted it over the position.  Someone else played the National Anthem--I have no idea where the music came from...every battle-weary man rose, went to the window, and saluted...the reminder of what we were fighting for caused tears as well as blood and sweat to run freely from all of us."

So I thought I was going to do another simple 10K on the treadmill today but when I was out driving around I noticed there were several folks out running.  It's been cold but I can live with that.  I've been really reluctant to run outdoors due to heavy snow cover in town.  Most stretches of my routes I'd need to run in the road and I don't mind that except the roads are still narrow due to not being plowed curb to curb so that's the thing.  But since it hit about 40 degrees AND so many other folks were out I donned my hi-vis yellow hoodie by Finch, got my hat, gloves, and iPod (pants, too, of course--come on now!), changed back to my off-road runners and set out.  It was a regular cross country meet out there:  I ran over concrete, Macadam, ice, snow, sand, dirt, mud, grass, and through water.  It was fun!  I knew I couldn't do a regular route as the town had not plowed the Linear Park so I decided I'd kick it up a notch and do my 8.5 mile loop which is all road.  Once I got out there I was feeling so great and everything was going so smoothly I threw caution to the wind and decided to go for the 10 mile loop.  Might have been a bit much but obviously I'm back now and it felt great.  I had a great pace going and was thinking that when I got to the point where I'd turn north I'd have only 3.5 miles left to go--piece of cake.  I had neglected to figure in the north wind!  As soon as I turned north I got it right in my face and down my hoodie even with the drawstring pulled as tight as possible.  It really took a lot of energy and power out of me.  Anyway, it was an awesome run.  If I can help it I won't be on the treadmill as much--the days are getting longer and warmer so I'll only run in as a last resort.  I haven't even checked my time yet. I think this was the first time I hadn't checked my time during the entire run--it just didn't matter today.  So let's see, 10 miles, 1:30:36.  Not bad.  Route:  Warren, West Main, Mountain, South Brooksvale, South Main, Main, West Main, Warren.  Gonna have to get out soon and plot out some longer loops!

Forgot to log in my 10K on the treadmill from Friday night.  No foot pain whatsoever.  I think maybe it's like a bone spur or something but whatever it is or was I think it's exacerbated by the treadmill.

FRANCONA, The Red Sox Years (an unauthorized book review)

So I recently read FRANCONA The Red Sox Years by Terry "Tito" Francona and Dan Shaughnessy.  First, let me say that I don't read many books so take this with a grain of salt:  It wasn't what I expected and I was mildly disappointed.  I'm blaming Shaughnessy.

Now, I love Terry Francona and I don't mean any disrespect.   He's an outstanding MLB manager who brought 2 World Series championships to us Red Sox fans in his first 4 years with the team--he was with the club for 8.  He's engaging, funny, and has a great story to tell.  I just think this could have been much, much more than it is.

Despite the subtitle, the first six chapter of the book have basically nothing to do with the Red Sox.  That's okay--they deal with Terry's childhood during his father's MLB career, Terry's own journey through high school, college, the minors, MLB, and into his coaching and managerial experience leading right up to, of course, how he was hired on as the Red Sox skipper.  Mostly fairly interesting but then just call the book FRANCONA without the subtitle because from that point on there essentially was just one chapter per year for each year of his 8-year term at the helm and then a couple chapters post-Boston.  

Perhaps I'm splitting hairs but as I said initially, it was not what I expected.  Much of the book has nothing to do with the Red Sox--it is Terry's life story.  I was expecting extensive and previously unheard behind the scenes anecdotes regarding key players throughout the years.  There is a bit of that but mostly we're getting Terry's take on incidents we already heard about.  In the lengthy back story there's more about Michael Jordan's foray into minor league baseball (Terry managed him) than there was about key Red Sox players, some of whom get barely a mention with just a sentence or two.  Even Red Sox traveling secretary Jack McCormick gets more ink than most of the players.  Calvin Hill, the father of NBA star Grant Hill gets a big write up just for being in the front office of the Orioles at one point--something about hiring Theo down in Baltimore.    

There are a few tidbits we have forgotten, or perhaps never knew such as Terry's last major league at bat was in Fenway Park and he flew out to Ellis Burks who he later managed in 2004.  Terry was a coach with the 2003 A's and after Game 4 in Boston Jack McCormick used his contacts with the Boston PD to delay the A's at the airport so the Sox could get back to Oakland before them for Game 5--the Johnny Damon concussion game.  Within weeks Terry was interviewing for the Red Sox skippership.  I always thought a guy went in for an interview or two or three and then got the job or not.  They had Terry basically hanging out at Fenway for most of the winter playing simulated baseball games with guys from Baseball Ops while he was still employed by the A's.  For his entire term with the Sox the team had this computer (program) which they created and named Carmine which they used to help manage the team. 

There were a couple of poignant moments with Terry sharing how he broke down in tears--not because of game play but following high-stress situations which had weighed heavily on him for some time and had finally come to a positive resolution.   

Here's an excerpt (sorry--not related to him crying) regarding Pedroia when he won the 2008 MVP Award:  "It was unbelievable...Tim Lincecum was the Cy Young winner and he had the whole Giants front office there from San Francisco...I was there with just Pam Ganley...Brian Cashman--the GM of the Yankees!--had to give me my MVP Award!...Our owners gave David a car or truck for doing I'm not sure what, and I've got nobody there when I get the MVP.  All I got was a handshake."
Francona decided the best response was a gag gift for his second baseman...Pedroia found an electrically charged blue mini-scooter in front of his locker...a pink "AL MVP" helmet hung from the handlebar with a phony note from Lucchino..."Sorry we couldn't make it to the MVP presentation...Congratulations, Dustin."

See, the book should have been full of anecdotes like that but sadly it wasn't.  

Sure, there were many interesting tidbits like dissecting the ill-fated trip to Japan in 2008, what went on in various meetings and on team flights and how toxic the clubhouse was at times.  Also interesting is how intertwined the histories of so many players and coaches are, "I knew Nomar already from when I coached him in the Arizona Fall League,"  etc.

And I never knew his health was this bad:  "The most recent knee replacement followed the 2006 knee replacement, knee scopes, knee reconstructions, cervical disk surgery, and numerous wrist, elbow, and shoulder surgeries.  He'd cheated death during the Christmas season of 2002, surviving a pulmonary embolism on each side of his lungs, as well as subsequent blood clots, staph infections, massive internal bleeding, and the near-amputation of his right leg.  He had a small metal device implanted into his vena cava vein to prevent clotting.  He was unable to jog and would be on blood-thinning medication for the rest of his life.  He wore sleeves on both his legs, and still got cold easily.  Anytime he sat too long his legs swelled and needed to be elevated....Blood-level maintenance and pain management would be part of his life for as long as he lived."

Anyway, here's a few of my takeaways:  The ownership group of Henry, Werner, and Lucchino is a despicable and dysfunctional bunch of weasels.  Theo Epstein is a supremely talented and likable GM.   Manny is a lowlife dirt bag.  

Overall, a worthy read for a Red Sox fan but nothing more.  If not a Red Sox fan, you probably won't care a lick.

"When people ask me if I left the Red Sox on my own or if I was fired, I don't even know how to answer that.  I really don't."  --Terry "Tito" Francona

Nice 10K on the treadmill this evening.  I was jonesing for it all day at work.  It's just so damn relaxing to go for a good run.  I even grabbed a quick bite to eat on the drive so I wouldn't have to waste any time eating when I got home.  Just check the mail, quick change and onto the mill.  Foot felt the same as last time--discomfort for about 2 miles only so who knows?  Watched some Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother.  Couple of hil-dam-arious shows.

Of note, I received in the mail from Amazon my copy of American Sniper by the late war hero Chris Kyle.  Gonna go read the book jacket now--prob start in on it tomorrow.

Went away for a really nice Valentine's weekend with Maryann.  So Friday night we ended up in the hotel gym and the good treadmill was out of order so I had to use the rickety old treadmill while Maryann went with a decent elliptical.  Anyway, I needed to cut it short after 2 miles due to foot pain.  It's been bothering me off and on and it's not really pain but more like a severe discomfort.  Friday was the most discomfort and also different about it was that it lingered into Saturday which has never happened before.  Previously, when I had the discomfort it subsided when I stopped running and didn't bother me again until I got back on the treadmill.  So tonight I broke out a new pair of runners--a really freaky-looking black Reebok with red devilish lines all over them which my son got me for Christmas--and jumped on the treadie.  The discomfort kicked in around 2 miles again and kept up until mile 4 then kind of went away so I went ahead and finished my 6.2 miles.  Resting now, the foot just feels kind of weird so I hope there's nothing wrong with it.  Eager to get back outside to run--I think the discomfort might be caused by too much running on the tread.  We shall see.

Good to see Pedro back in a Red Sox uniform.  I sincerely believe he's going to make a difference with the staff.

Did a quick 10K on the treadmill tonight.  Also did a 10K on the treaddie on Tuesday night.  Been so hectic here since the blizzard last Friday.  

I was in Bridgeport for work on Tuesday and they still had countless residential streets which hadn't been touched by a plow.  It was quite a sight to see.  I guess the governor sent some extra equipment and National Guard down to help and even so, now Thursday, they're still digging out.  At least the days have been warm (40's) and that's been helping out.  I got wicked tendinitis in both elbows from running the snow blower so much--not only on our property but for several neighbors as well.

Anyway, happy Valentine's Day!

Blizzard 2013

Just a few pics from the neighborhood in the immediate aftermath of Blizzard 2013.  Been outside clearing snow so much there's been no time for running.  Might be a few more days.

Cookie Tutorial Video

For 3 generations the St. Martins have been making award-winning chocolate chip cookie bars for consumption by family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, classmates, bake sales, and for GI's serving overseas.  Folks have always clamored for more and asked for recipe and baking advice.  So today, with the Blizzard of 2013 raging outside, I pulled out a baking pan handed down from my mother to whip up a batch while making a video tutorial.  Enjoy your cookie bars, please:

No Food In the House

I swung by the local supermarket today but I didn't go inside because it was too crowded with panic shoppers on account of the oncoming blizzard supposed to hit tomorrow into Saturday.  Panic shoppers is a polite term for the UNPREPARED.  So you mean to say if you get stuck inside of your own home for one day you'll run out of food?  Helloooooooo........  You don't have any provisions on hand?  Also, the gas stations in town were jamming.  Why on earth do you need a full tank of gas if you're going to get stuck inside until you dig out?  I just don't get it.  Anyway, the food thing reminded me of a piece I wrote about a year and a half ago about "No food in my house" so I'm going to recycle it here:

 OK--that does it--I need to vent!  Once again a member of the household declared, "There is no food in the house!"  I hear this more often than you might think and it always irks me because I do most--but not all--of the food shopping here.  So, not only do I know that there is food in the house but there is an abundance of food in the house.  In fact, there is so much food in the house that Sally Struthers used to stalk us before we got the protective order.  Our pantry is full.  Our cupboards are full.  The refrigerator has so much stuff in it that any time I open it up to get something I need to move five or six items out of the way to get to it.  Then if I'm putting something away, like left-overs, for example, it's always an adventure trying to make enough room to fit it inside.  Usually, the adventure culminates with me throwing out some other left-overs that have been there a few days just to make room for the new left-overs.  Our freezer is full.  We have frozen chicken, pork, beef, chimichangas, taqiuitos (which, I don't even know what those are but they're in there),  pizza, Lean Cuisine frozen dinners (I don't know where those came from), frozen vegetables, you name it.  There are also things lying around like tomatoes, onions, garlic, lettuce, cabbage, eggplant, and, you get the idea.  There's also a 100-pound capacity rice dispenser. And I'm not even done yet because we also have a Subzero out in the garage which--you guessed it--is also full.  Only this time not only is there a similar assortment of frozen meats but we also have pot stickers, pirogi, ice cream, and--I am not making this up--pig feet.  Did you hear what I just said?  We have pig feet in the Subzero and people have the unmitigated gall to say there's no food in the house.  (You don't believe me about the pig feet, do you?)  Put it this way, if the Donners had this much food we never would have heard of them and right about this time I'd be making some oblique reference to a plane load of soccer players crashing in South America.  Truth is, if we stopped food shopping today we could get by at least four to six weeks with the food on hand and in an emergency--with rationing--we could go three to four months, no doubt.  We might not enjoy every meal, but we'd survive for sure.  Now, back to the pig feet...

10K tonight on the treadmill plus 10K on the treadmill from Tuesday.  Tuesday night I caught Knight and Day with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz.  Funny thing is it's a movie from 2010 and I don't remember ever hearing about it.  It's a secret agent action dramedy.  It was cutesie and fairly amusing--got a few laughs out of it--good enough to watch while running on a treaddie.  Tonight I was monitoring the various local stations for their weather coverage.  Tomorrow into Saturday we are expecting Blizzard 2013.  Our area apparently is expected to get 15 to 20 inches of snow.  I'm not working, scheduled off, which is nice and school has already been called off.  Should be fun.  Probably make some cookies in the morning.

Braved the cold today to run outdoors on the 10K loop. I saw several other folks out running today and by the looks of them: if they can do it, I can do it.  Just kidding, they all looked like fine running enthusiasts--except for the lady who was wearing a down ski parka.  She looked kind of out of place but everyone else was attired properly.  It felt so invigorating to get out there on the pavement.  I guess it was in the low 30's so I was all bundled up and that seems to slow me down a few minutes but I'm just taking it slow over the winter anyway.  Don't want to peak too soon.

I needed to burn off some calories anyway in preparation for the big game tonight.  NINERS!!!  I don't really care who wins but I know I'm going to strap on a serious feedbag and have a major snort fest tonight.  Prior to running I was just sitting around reading Francona:  The Red Sox Years.  I finished a chapter and said to myself, "What the hell are you doing sitting around inside?  Get out there and run."

Enjoy the game:  Niners 34-24

A quick 4.2 miles on the treadmill tonight just to get back in the swing of things.  Watched Big Bang Theory.  Hadn't done any miles since Monday--been so busy during the week--busier than usual.  Anyway, at least it's February.  Should be some nice weather coming up soon around the bend.  Gonna be so nice getting back outside regularly.

Haven't been able to run since Monday night.  Did 10K on the treadmill watching NCIS--the one where Gibbs kills traitor Agent Lee in the end.  Gibbs kills a lot of people on the show.  Did you ever notice on some police shows (and in real life) if a cop shoots someone they immediately turn in their gun, go on desk duty, and there's a formal investigation into the shooting but in other shows featuring "federal agents" (NCIS, Criminal Minds) the agents seemingly kill people with abandon and just go right on with what they're doing.

So in my last post I noted I had watched Deja Vu with Denzel.  Here's what I don't get:  In the sequence where he's driving in the Hummer--the so-called "Helmet Rig"--he's not wearing his seat belt and he gets hit either head-on or broadside by a tractor trailer.....he gets a little nosebleed and the Hummer doesn't sustain any damage.  What's up with that?

Anyway, gonna have to put in some good miles on Saturday!