(First, I want to thank all my new followers. I do appreciate your moral support. I'll welcome your thoughtful, constructive criticisms of my writings. I look forward to them. Though I've started recovering from COVID, I'm not all well yet. The ensuing mental fogginess might rear its ugly health on this essay. Thank you again for your patience).
The Dead Prophets's Society
After my return from my father's in August and the ensuing Gulf War, things resettled into a routine for me. I wasn't affected by the mobilization as my skills weren't needed. I continued to enhance my computer skills, and taking programming classes. I also continued increasing my theological knowledge and extending my network.
Robert, Doug, and I along with other friends formed my primary social circle. Doug was an expert in Mormonism / LDS Church, and I got to learn a lot from him about the subject. Robert inclined to Eastern Orthodoxy and he gave me my first icon ever. It now hangs on my icon corner and prayer space. Our conversations were fierce but entertaining.
In fact, we created the best association ever. Since the Dead Poets Society movie was of recent memory, I called ours The Dead Prophets Society. It was the best because it had no structure, no fees, no meetings, no nothing. Our interactions were all computer network-driven.
Christy the Poodle
This was also the time which we got our first animal companion since Wicho the Cat. She was a female toy poodle we named Christy. She was faithful, true, and beautiful. She would last us 13 years, becoming the second animal friend I would bawl my eyes out after she passed. I was not the best dog owner with her, and that complicated my feelings after she was gone. Thanks to her, I got better. Since Christy, we've had a long parade of basset hounds and one corgi, all whom we'd loved dearly. Christy taught us how.
The Spring of War - 1991
The year 1991 arrived with the promised offensive against Iraq in February. It lasted but a few days. For the first time since the Vietnam War, the US had deployed a large military force overseas, accomplishing its objectives in mere days
President George H. W. Bush put together an impressive coalition which included Arab countries Egypt and Syria. Iraq only counted on the Palestinians for support. In the long run, the choice would have catastrophic consequences for the Palestinians. They never seem to lose the opportunity to lose an opportunity.
The war almost got hotter when Iraq began to launch ballistic missiles at Israel. These missiles had the NATO codename Scud. To mollify Israel the US Air Force went Scud-hunting, destroying most platforms and stopping Israel from entering the war.
Antiwar protests also became routine and their slogan, No blood for oil! permeated the news. It seemed to me that allowing Iraq to dictate the international price of oil would affect the working poor the most. Neither the protest nor the slogan ever made much sense to me. Fortunately, the quick conclusion of the conflict muted the protests immediately. The war didn’t last long enough for protesters and doves to affect policy.
The loss of US and allied lives was minimal. But the US left the region a festering cauldron, the perfect incubator for the next war.
Another blessed event announced
In March we got a surprise. Mercie was expecting a baby! Our love had fructified for the second time! The baby would arrive by November. Unlike for Chris’ expectancy, this time around we had ultrasound pictures in-utero. The baby was a bright, pulsating star in Mercie’s womb.
I brought my studies to the forefront so that I could get for the officer commission I'd always wanted. The spring and summer months would prove to be challenging toward that goal.
Bonus Videos
The conflict in the Persian Gulf brought to the fore a number of weepy wartime music videos. The most listened to were by Bette Midler (see below).