It was the spring of '05,and we'd gotten a new guy in the unit-a young private,kinda a knucklehead,but he always did his job,and never gave any NCOs any trouble,so he was OK.Unlike most soldiers,everyone always called him by his first name,which was Pete.Normally,you'd address someone by both name and rank,as in "Private Jones".Not so with Pete.He was a knucklehead,but we all liked him.Well,he had just arrived from Fort Lewis,after serving a tour in Iraq,patrolling the mean streets of Tikrit,as a dismount-the guys who walk in front of tanks,rifles at the ready,watching for snipers,RPG teams,or any other danger.In the cavalry,serving a combat tour entitles one to wear golden spurs-an equivelant of the combat infantry badge,or "blue badge of courage",awarded in infantry units.Well,somehow Pete's certificate for that had gotten lost in the shuffle somewhere,as it was supposed to be forwarded from his old unit.

Well,it never showed up,and Pete did'nt have his spurs,so we decided we'd just cut through the red tape,and have our unit whip up a certificate for him,We did that,and the time came to present it to him,along with his spurs,and stetson.

Well,he had a special request.When a new spur holder is inducted,one guy will place the stetson on his head,while another guy affixes the spurs to his boots.Well,just prior to that,Pete produced a battered old campaign hat-the "smokey the bear" hat.It had been worn by his grandfather,in WW2.Turns out Pete had ridden with the exact same troop of the 14th Cavalry as both his grandfather in WW2,and his father in Viet nam,and wanted to be inducted wearing the same hat.

Well,what else could we do?We presented it to him-and one goofy knucklehead of a private had an ear to ear grin.It felt good doing it

its TGIF time again

short night at work tonight,and the bar will be open when I get home

Got 8 bazillion blog updates stacked up in my inbox I'm still going through,and got a few ideas brewing up in my noggin for mine.be on again tommorrow

Hamburgers.I love 'em.Can't eat them enough.I've had burgers from one end of the globe to the other.I've eaten water buffalo burgers in Thailand,buffalo burgers in Oklahoma and Wisconsin,beefalo burgers in North Dakota,and various and sundry other varieties everywhere.They're the all american grub,and I love them.

For years,I've been on a quest,to find the ultimate "slider",or one thats so good,and so greasy,it slides right down your throat.I've found some pretty good ones.

Well,two days ago,I had a doctor's appointment in Green Bay,and afterwards,had a couple hours to kill,and was starved.I was looking for a little cafe to eat at,not really wanting fast food burgers at the time,and was cruising around,in a neighborhood I was unfamiliar with,and was'nt finding anything,so I cut across town,and went over to what is known as the near west side,a rather grubby neighborhood by the east river.Located there,is a small mom and pop place,which has been around Green Bay since the 50s.They used to be located in a different building in a different neighborhood,but had to move,due to downtown "revitalization".Well,I thought I'd stop in.

I walked in,not knowing what to expect,but was'nt dissappointed.I was greeted by an extra large waitress,with a butt the size of Rhode Island,and the cook,was wearing a beard,pony tail and Harley T-shirt.Looks promising...

I ordered two burgers,fries and coffee,and had my food in short order.They looked awesome,coming in one of those cheap red baskets found in diners.Both burgers were piled on top of the fries,and were housed in BIG buns-sort of like croissants.And DRIPPING with butter.And with fried onions poking out like little worms.Looked scrumptious.Well,I dug in.It was GREAT

Almost orgasmic.If Marilyn Monroe had appeared in front of me,wanting sex,if I just dropped my burger-why,I'd have to THINK about it.....it was THAT good!

I finished the first one,and called the wife.She was half asleep when I told her"I DID it!"..."did what?" "I found the ultimate burger!!!!" "uh,ok....."

I finished the call,and ate my second burger.Pure culinary delight.Then it was time to dig into the fries.As Flounder,in "animal House" said "Boy,is this gonna be GREAT!!!!"

Big glob of greasy fries mixed with ketchup.Had to use a fork.I loved it.

As I was paying my bill,the young thang at the counter asked how everything was."GREAT!those burgers were fuckin' AWESOME"

I'll definitely be back

Automotive related ones

Winter beater-an old rusty car,with few intact body panels,bought on the cheap,just to get through winter.if someone hits you,you don't care

Rez runner-same thing as a winter beater,but run year round,by folks on the reservations.runs forever

Wisconsin Lok-tite the quarter inch of rust and crud that forms on the heads of bolts,and vastly increases your vocabulary,when trying to remove them

Baloney skins-extremely bald tires.known as may-pops in other areas

Cancer-the severe rust that forms on cars

Iron moths-the little bastards that chew away the metal on our cars

Place names

The land of cow shit and beer farts.-the whole state

Titletown-Green Bay

The People's Republic of Miffland.-a stretch of Mifflin street,in the student ghetto in Madison

25 square miles surrounded by the real world-Madison

Northern Chicago-the tourist areas in the Door peninsula