Note from the Editor:
A veterans retreat based out of a remote ranch in the heart of Missouri is called the Focus Marines Foundation. I got invited to attend one of their weeks-long sessions or ‘camps’, and of course went right ahead. This meant flying out of state again, braving another wave of war-fighters and support personnel, and risking getting stuck where my budget would never allow me to survive, but that’s what adventures are made out of, and how the best bonding is formed.
I don’t remember exactly how long we were there, but it was quite a long time. The days were packed with classes and outdoor activities. There were nightly campfires and other optional hangouts, too. We even got to go fishing on a private lake; it was just us, two or three veterans to a metal canoe-like boat, and the fishing rods and other gear we’d been given as one of many gifts.
Professional motivational speakers and successful veterans of the Focus Marines Foundation program taught us a lot, got us up on stage, helped us open up and vent, and made sure we made and exchanged business cards, stressing the value and effectiveness of networking –even when we felt like shutting down and isolating. Somehow, even though I felt a little pressured at times, we kept getting along, and a lot of the guys broke down crying, getting a hell of a lot out and off their chests.
At the very end of it all, we were shocked to also be receiving another wave of gifts. Each person got a handmade blanket, a duffel bag full of other helpful things, and even a new laptop. They were unloading hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars of useful goodies on us –and things some of us sorely needed, myself included (as my old computer had already started breaking down). It really put the proverbial wind back in my sails, and I used that laptop every day and night until I’d cranked out an unbelievable next few years of Inisfree work.
If you’re a veteran in need or crisis, reach out to those guys. They have a website and plenty of counselors who can help you cover the cost of the trip. You won’t believe what a great experience it is, and that’s coming from a perfectionist who had completely turned off before they called.
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Vocab of the Day:
- water spout: a tornado over a body of water, resulting in water being sucked up into the base of its funnel
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2015-2016 articles are here.
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Cydonia Explored In-person: the U.S. sent missions here since the ’70s, and another group arrived even earlier
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Poking Fun at Fake News:
When there is more than one viewpoint, and at least one person who is determined to get his or her way, lies and fake news will develop. We have billions of people here now; we have billions of viewpoints, extreme competition for the same number of resources, thus extremely fake news and everything. It is only going to get worse as those numbers continue to climb, and climb exponentially.
Expect an exponential increase in fake news, to the point that a lot of people ignore all news entirely.
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