Chatting With Coffee
Conversation Shaken, Not Stirred
Fellow blogger, Bottomless Coffee 007, is an aspiring voice/radio personality that invited me to a chat/podcast, yesterday. I was a little apprehensive at first, not knowing what to talk about but, as the conversation warmed up, an hour passed before I knew it. Should you decide to get comfortable and listen, I hope I don’t bore you. He asked me some very deep questions.
Check Coffee out. He is becoming a smooth operator on the ‘mic’. Thanks for the invite, sweetie. We will do it, again.
December 27, 2018 at 7:11 PM
Wow Victoria, thank you so very much. The conversation was incredible and entertaining. I can’t wait to do it again.
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December 27, 2018 at 9:10 PM
😁😎🤗❤
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December 27, 2018 at 11:57 PM
That was great! Very interesting… and thank you for the mention. The part about law enforcement I really liked. That has to be one of the most thankless jobs at times.
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December 28, 2018 at 12:13 AM
It can be very difficult. Many cops will tell you that the stress can lead to PTSD, much like veterans…double if they are both.
Thanks for listening. Welcome on the shout out. I enjoy your posts and our exchanges.
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December 28, 2018 at 12:26 AM
Yea I can believe it. My uncle was in the Vice Squad and went under cover…had black roses dropped at his doorstep. He had trouble later in life with drinking etc.
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December 28, 2018 at 1:18 PM
Oh…vice is tough. Local version of counterintelligence. My paternal uncle struggled in the Detective Division of my home town and it nearly destroyed his marriage. His oldest, my 1st cousin, was a cross-sworn deputy in my home county…he was also attached to the FBI’s Gang Unit. He is 12 years younger than I, has more gray hair and a drinking problem.
My significant other, Ken…Cuban Blockade & Vietnam veteran plus 30+ years law enforcement…he has a drinking problem.
Black roses. Oh, my… That sounds like Mafia.
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December 28, 2018 at 1:50 PM
He was a Marine and then went into law enforcement. He was one of my heros growing up. He had 3 daughters and wanted a son so bad. He approached my mom…wanting to adopt me! Of course my mom said no of course not… he was a great man.
He loved growing ivy and when he passed I got some of his and now I have it everywhere.
I can’t imagine Vietnam.
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December 28, 2018 at 10:01 PM
Was that your mom’s brother?
I love ivy, too but, I’ve had bad luck with it.
I was nearly an Army brat. I was born during my dad’s senior year of college. He was in the ROTC and was headed to Vietnam as a 2nd Lt. As he advanced thru college and the ROTC, many of his friends that were ahead of him…weren’t coming back. And, the ones that did, the stories they were telling didn’t line up with the ‘propaganda’. He had a crisis of conscience and, didn’t like the idea of going over there and sending men under his command to their deaths. He began to question what was going on and got into a huge fight with his ROTC CO. He was told something along the lines of “…as long as you wear that uniform, you will do as you’re told…”, to which, he resigned. A Korean War veteran on staff tried to talk him out of it. He was told that the Army needed men like him that would be the voice of reason in the middle of chaos. He still refused.
Ken went over in July 1967 as a Seabee (builder) but, spent most of his time running patrols with the Marines. He was stationed in Da Nang on Red Beach. He was nearly knocked out of a guard tower when Marine units at Da Nang AB were hit. He was in-country during Khe Sanh and Tet but, wasn’t in the middle of those. He did some ‘milk runs’ with the Air Cav (he didn’t like those, much; got on-the-job training with door guns). He was very fortunate to come home in one piece. He was shot at multiple times and was nearly blown up by grenades. He took a lot of pictures, half of which were removed before they got home. The military screened all of their mail and he must have captured some images that they didn’t want getting out. He never saw them, again…negatives, too. He keeps a wad of shrapnel in the office…a hunk of something that barely missed him. He also saved a man’s life. One of his fellow Seabee’s had an accident cutting wood with a circular saw. A saw horse gave way and the saw went thru both of the guy’s thighs (and his genitals) cutting an artery in one thigh in the process (years before, Ken was signed into the Navy at 17 by his mother; he spent two years in the Reserves training to be a Corpsman). Ken reacted by shoving his hand into the guy’s thigh and pinching the artery shut. When it came time for emergency transport, Ken’s hand & arm were stuck in the coagulation and he rode with the guy to the hospital out of necessity. He, later, asked the guy if ‘everything worked OK’. He said it did.
He should have gotten some kind of commendation but, all he got was an ‘atta-boy’ letter from the Commanding General at HQ. His Vietnam ribbon has an EGA device attached (unusual) due to his primary work with the Marines.
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December 28, 2018 at 11:20 PM
Ok he was Uncle Fulton to me… He was my mom’s sister’s daughters husband…uncle is what I always called him… They had three daughters and two looked like Heather Locklear…their teenage years didn’t do him any favors.
I don’t blame your dad at all…to me that was the correct call. That had to be a tough decision for him. Did he ever regret his decision?
The soilders got treated so horrible if they made it home…ignored by their own goverment and treated bad by idiots in the public.
I’m glad Ken made it home. That is enough action for a lifetime.
We have a fenced in back yard with an old looking wood fence…I planted one little ivy and now you cannot see the fence where it grows.
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December 29, 2018 at 12:32 AM
Following that, he would be your 1st cousin by marriage, maternal side. But, uncle works! LOL!
Nope. Not a single regret, there. (1) he got to shout at a CO he never liked, (2) he didn’t order any men under him to do something awful, (3) he didn’t become a POW and (4) he didn’t die in a foreign country. The only regret he ever had was not doing what he REALLY wanted to do…be a Firefighter. His dad was a FF and when he declared his intentions as a young teen, his paternal grandparents and his mother lost their collective minds, demanding he do something else. They sent him to college against his will (paid ride by his GF) and, naturally, were horrified when he went into the ROTC. He graduated with a useless degree in Parks & Recreation and attempted to do that for a couple of years before shifting gears towards law enforcement. He wanted to be a city cop in our hometown but, his brother beat him to it and, back then, they wouldn’t take family members. So…he applied to the state. He started out as a Probation Officer, only, until NC blended Probation & Parole, together. He did that for a decade. He never had any interest in being a Deputy…most likely because the High Sheriff at that time, John Hardie Stockard, was good friends with his parents and crooked as hell. He had no interest in being a Trooper…and I quote “My dog can chase cars and do it on the paper.”
Ken remembers coming home on a bus, seeing protests and having people flip him off. I shudder to think what would have happened if one of them had been stupid enough to spit on him. Ken’s a big guy…6′ 3″ with size 14 feet and huge hands.
Every ivy I have tried to plant in the yard or grow in the house would not cooperate. I have several house plants and things in the yard. Ivy just does not like me. 😦
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December 29, 2018 at 12:59 AM
I have another 1st cousin that I call Uncle. I don’t know why the hell that was started.
“My dog can chase cars and do it on the paper.”… That is classic. I’m glad he didn’t regret it…I don’t understand why parents don’t encourage more…It’s not like he wanted to be a drug pin or something.
We try to point our son in the right direction but I leave what he wants to be to him. He wants to be in video production and the only thing I said was…look you can major in Underwater Basket Weaving… just get your core done first so you will have it….he starts college this fall at Austin Peay.
What idiots….Ken would get the right of way around me lol.
All I did was put it in the ground…no water no anything lol…it must not like you.
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December 29, 2018 at 1:37 PM
Heh. ‘Uncle Cousin’!
There are many street cops that think Troopers are ridiculous. “They don’t do any REAL police work. They just drive fast, draw pictures & hand out greeting cards.” Many guys go for a Trooper slot so they don’t have to deal with domestics.
Here, lately, tho, LE in general is hurting for bodies. This state’s Trooper count is 500 low…at least. I don’t know stats on the cities. The town I live in is alright with PD & Deputies but, we are small.
Parents have dreams for their kids. Unfortunately for them, kids are born with their own brains, for better or worse. And, if you are a bad parent, you will have your hands full with a bad kid.
Sometimes, all you can do is love ’em & guide ’em. I don’t have kids but, I WAS a kid, once, with my own set of parents. I learned a lot about them via observation and their treatment of me. YOU sound like a great parent.
Ken is a gentle giant for the most part. He was very well suited for LE. But, he had a line and, short patience for bullshit. And, he didn’t have to ball up a fist to hurt you, either. One swat with a big hand…
I can grow oxalis, coleus, peace lilies, aloe, this viney thing with rounded leaves, mums, lantana, rosemary… Ivy? Nope. I can get it to root but, transplant it? It just won’t cooperate. Yeah. It doesn’t like me. 🙄
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January 1, 2019 at 10:39 PM
Thank you. It’s not as bad as it used to be. Living outside of NC for a decade flattened it out a bit…believe it or not.
I have a few stories but, the majority of my life is a bore, honestly. I’ve never even been outside the continental US. I have no culture whatsoever.
Wisdom through the school of hard knocks… I appreciate the positive feedback and your listening stamina. I enjoyed your interview, as well. Your struggles with your teen son made me giggle. Sorry. I couldn’t help it.
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