#861 Retired Green Beret Shoots Intruder, Gets Court Martial

Thanks, Vern.

     

Retired Green Beret shoots intruder, gets court martial.

BREVARD , Jan. 19, 2008 – Retired Army Green Beret Smokey Taylor got his court martial this weekend and came away feeling good about it.  Taylor, at age 80 the oldest member of Chapter XXXIII of the Special Forces Association, was on trial by his peers under the charge of “failing to use a weapon of sufficient caliber” in the shooting of an intruder at his home in Knoxville, TN. in December. The entire affair, of course, was very much tongue in cheek.  Taylor had been awakened in the early morning hours of Dec. 17, 2007, when an intruder broke into his home.  He investigated the noises with one of his many weapons in hand.  When the intruder threatened him with a knife,Taylor warned him, then brought his .22 caliber pistol to bear and shot him right between the eyes. “That boy had the hardest head I’ve ever seen,” Taylorsaid after his trial. “The bullet bounced right off.” The impact knocked the would-be thief down momentarily. He crawled out of the room then got up and ran out the door and down the street. Knoxville police apprehended him a few blocks away and he now awaits trial in the Knox County jail. The charges against Taylorwere considered to be serious. He is a retired Special Forces Weapons Sergeant with extensive combat experience during the wars in Korea and Vietnam.  “Charges were brought against him under the premise that he should have saved the county and taxpayers the expense of a trial,” said Chapter XXXIII President Bill Long ofAsheville. “He could have used a .45 or .38. The .22 just wasn’t big enough to get the job done.” Taylor defense attorney, another retired Weapons Sergeant, disagreed. He saidTaylor had done the right thing in choosing to arm himself with a .22. "If he’d used a .45 or something like that the round would have gone right through the perp, the wall, the neighbor’s wall and possibly injured some innocent child asleep in its bed,” he said. “I believe the evidence shows that Smokey Taylor exercised excellent judgment in his choice of weapons. He did nothing wrong, and clearly remains to this day an excellent weapons man.” Counsel for the defense then floated a theory as to why the bullet bounced off the perp’s forehead. 
 "He was victimized by old ammunition,” he said, “just as he was in Korea and again in Vietnam, when his units were issued ammo left over from World War II.” Taylor said nothing in his own defense, choosing instead to allow his peers to debate the matter. After the trial, he said the ammunition was indeed old and added the new information that the perp had soiled his pants as he crawled out of the house. "I would have had an even worse mess to clean up if it had gone through his forehead,” Taylor said. “It was good for both of us that it didn’t.” Following testimony from both sides, Taylor was acquitted of the charges and was given a round of applause.
Meanwhile, back in KnoxCounty, the word is out:Don’t go messing with Smokey Taylor. He just bought a whole bunch of fresh ammo.

Tribune Editor Bill Fishburne is a member of the Larry Thorne Chapter XXXIII of the Special Forces Association.

#861

#860 The Purpose of a Dog

Thanks for sharing, Grier.

The purpose  of a dog! Don’t miss  the text at the bottom. 

A  Dog's Purpose ?

   (from a  6-year-old).

Being a veterinarian, I had  been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish  Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron,  his wife Lisa, and their little boy Shane, were  all very attached to Belker, and they were  hoping for a miracle.

I examined Belker  and found he was dying of cancer. I told the  family we couldn't do anything for Belker, and  offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for  the old dog in their home.

As we made  arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought  it would be good for six-year-old Shane to  observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane  might learn something from the  experience.

The next day, I felt the  familiar catch in my throat as Belker 's family  surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting  the old dog for the last time, that I wondered  if he understood what was going on. Within a few  minutes, Belker slipped peacefully  away.

The little boy seemed to accept  Belker's transition without any difficulty or  confusion. We sat together for a while after  Belker's Death, wondering aloud about the sad  fact that animal lives are shorter than human  lives.

Shane, who had been listening quietly,  piped up, ''I know why.''

Startled, we  all turned to him. What came out of his mouth  next stunned me. I'd never heard a more  comforting explanation. It has changed the way I  try and live.

He said,''People are born  so that they can learn how to live a good life  -- like loving everybody all the time and being  nice, right?'' The Six-year-old  continued, 

''Well,  dogs already know how to do that, so they don't  have to stay as long.''

Live  simply.

Love generously.

Care  deeply.

Speak kindly.

Remember, if  a dog was the teacher you would learn things  like:

When loved ones come home, always  run to greet them.

Never pass up the  opportunity to go for a joyride.

Allow  the experience of fresh air and the wind in your  face to be pure Ecstasy.

Take  naps.

Stretch before rising.

Run,  romp, and play daily.

Thrive on attention  and let people touch you.

Avoid biting  when a simple growl will do.

On warm  days, stop to lie on your back on the  grass.

On hot days, drink lots of water  and lie under a shady tree.

When you're  happy, dance around and wag your entire  body.

Delight in the simple joy of a long  walk.

Be loyal.

Never pretend to  be something you're not.

If what you want  lies buried, dig until you find it.

When  someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit  close by, and nuzzle them  gently.  

  

  

-- 

      There  comes a time in life, when you walk away from  all the drama

and people who create it. You  surround yourself with people who

make you  laugh, forget the bad, and focus on the good.  So, love

the people who treat you right.  Think good thoughts for the ones

who don't.  Life is too short to be anything but happy.  Falling down

is part of LIFE...Getting back  up is  LIVING...

Have a  great life.  

#860

#859 Vets Hats and Morons

Thanks, Bart,

Vet Hats and Morons A few days ago my best friend from High School sent me a 'Viet Nam Veteran' hat. I never had one of these before and I was pretty hyped about it, especially because my friend Ron was considerate enough to take the time to give it to me.

Yesterday, I wore it when I went to Walmart. There was nothing in particular that I needed at the world's largest retailer but, since I retired, trips to Wally World to look at the Walmartians is always good for some comic relief. Besides, I always feel pretty normal after seeing some of the people that frequent the store. But, enough of my psychological fixes.

While standing in line to check out, the guy in front of me, probably in his early thirties, asked, "Are you a Vet Nam Vet?"

"No" I replied.

"Then why are you wearing that hat?"

"Because I couldn't find my one for the War of 1812." I thought it was a snappy retort. " 

The War of 1812, huh." the Walmartianqueried, "When was that?"

God forgive me, but I couldn't pass up such an opportunity. "1936"

He pondered my response for a moment and responded, "Why do they call it the War of 1812 if it was in 1936?"

"It was a Black Op. No one is supposed to know about it." This was beginning to be way fun.

"Dude! Really!" he exclaimed. "How did you get to do something that COOOOL?"

I glanced furtively around me for effect, leaned toward the guy and in a low voice said, "I'm not sure. I was the only Caucasian on the mission."

"Dude!", he was really getting excited about what he was hearing. "That is seriously Awesome! But, didn't you kind of stand out?"

"Not really. The other guys were wearing white camouflage."

The moron nodded knowingly.

"Listen man," I said in a very serious tone, "You can't tell anyone about this. It's still Top Secret and I shouldn't have said anything."

"Oh yeah." he gave me the "don't threaten me" look. "Like, what's gonna happen if I do?" 

With a really hard look I said, "You have a family don't you? We wouldn't want anything to happen to them would we?"

The guy gulped, left his basket where it was and fled through the door.

By this time the lady behind me was about to have a heart attack she was laughing so hard. I just grinned at her.

After checking out and going to the parking lot I saw dimwit leaning in a car window talking to a young woman. Upon catching sight of me he started pointing excitedly in my direction. Giving him another 'deadly' serious look, I made the "I see you" gesture. He turned kind of pale, jumped in the car and sped out of the parking lot.

What a great time! Tomorrow I'm going back with a Homeland Security hat. Whoever said retirement is boring just needs the right kind of hat.

#859

#858 Sack Lunch

Thanks Orv. This brought tears to my eyes. I have seen it before and it still moves me to tears.

I put my carry-on in the 

luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned 

seat. It was going to be a long flight. 'I'm 

glad I have a good book to read. Perhaps I will 

get a short nap,' I thought. 


  
Just before take-off, 

a line of soldiers came down the aisle and 

filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding 

me. I decided to start a conversation. 


  
'Where are you headed?' I asked the soldier seated nearest to 

me. 'Petawawa. We'll be there for two 

weeks for special training, and then we're being 

deployed to Afghanistan  

  
  
After flying for about an hour, an announcement was 

made that sack lunches were available for five 

dollars... It would be several hours before we 

reached the east, and I quickly decided a lunch 

would help pass the time... 


  
As I reached for my wallet, I overheard a soldier ask his buddy if 

he planned to buy lunch.  'No, that seems 

like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. 

Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. 

I'll wait till we get to base.' 


  
His friend agreed. 


  
I looked around at the 

other soldiers. None were buying lunch. I walked 

to the back of the plane and handed the flight 

attendant a fifty dollar bill.  'Take a 

lunch to all those soldiers.' She grabbed my 

arms and squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with 

tears, she thanked me. 'My son was a soldier in 

Iraq ; it's almost like you are doing it for 

him.' 
  
Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the 

soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and 

asked, 'Which do you like best - beef or 

chicken?' 'Chicken,' I replied, 

wondering why she asked. She turned and went to 

the front of plane, returning a minute later 

with a dinner plate from first class. 


  
'This is your thanks.' 


  
After we finished 

eating, I went again to the back of the plane, 

heading for the rest room. 

  A man stopped me. 'I saw what you did. I want to 

be part of it... Here, take this.' He handed me 

twenty-five dollars. 


  
Soon after I returned 

to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down 

the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he 

walked, I hoped he was not looking for me, but 

noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my 

side of the plane. When he got to my row he 

stopped, smiled, held out his hand and said, 'I 

want to shake your hand.' Quickly unfastening my 

seatbelt I stood and took the Captain's hand. 

With a booming voice he said, 'I was a soldier 

and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought 

me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never 

forgot.' I was embarrassed when applause was 

heard from all of the passengers. 


  
Later I walked to the 

front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A 

man who was seated about six rows in front of me 

reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He 

left another twenty-five dollars in my palm. 


  
When we landed I 

gathered my belongings and started to deplane... 

Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man 

who stopped me, put something in my shirt 

pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a 

word. Another twenty-five dollars! 


  
Upon entering the 

terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their 

trip to the base. 
I walked over to 

them and handed them seventy-five dollars. 'It 

will take you some time to reach the base.  

It will be about time for a sandwich. 
God Bless You.' 
  
Ten young 

men left that flight feeling the love and 

respect of their fellow travelers. 


  
As I walked briskly to 

my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe 

return. These soldiers were giving their all for 

our country. I could only give them a couple of 

meals. It seemed so little... 


  
A veteran is someone 

who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank 

check made payable to 'The United States of 

America  ' for an amount of 'up to and 

including my life.' 


  
That is Honor, and 

there are way too many people in this country 

who no longer understand it.' 

#858