I really don't want to talk about it.

Welcome to post-election 2012.

To the surprise of a few evangelicals, God hasn't wiped the US off the face of the earth for re-electing Barack Hussein Obama.  I didn't vote for him, so no, I'm not happy with the outcome of the election.  However, I'm not calling for recounts, threatening to leave the US, or demanding secession.

Here is what I feel about the whole issue:

Shut up.

That's it. I don't want to hear your drama and whining on the issue. You should have campaigned harder for your country starting years ago.

Do you think the US has become an immoral cesspool?  Then you should have raised your kids better, been better examples to your neighbors, and voted for whatever it is you believe in years ago.

Do you think the US has a corrupt business system?  Then you should have lobbied against whatever you have a problem with and led by example in running your business the way you believe.

Do you think the US education system is a joke?  Then you should have joined the PTA, gone to every open school board meeting and / or run for positions on the school board, raised your kids better, and been a better example to your neighbors.

It's our own fault.  Period.  (Apologies if it's not your fault.)

If you want a certain group of politicos gone, vote them out. If you are the only voice, proselytize.  Get out there and convince others you're right and to support your cause.

Tobago Vacation - Day 5 - June 2008

Today is Monday, 15 October, 2012.  I spent the weekend in Monroe, Louisiana at my uncle's funeral.  I felt like I needed to write about life a little so pulled up my blogspot page and found this draft from 2008.  It will remain unfinished for now, but I will go ahead and publish it incomplete.

I apologize for the 4 year delay in updates!

-----

The overcast skies from the past couple of days finally let loose with gusto in the wee hours of the morning. I woke to hear my first Caribbean rainstorm, smiled, and went back to sleep. Another quick deluge around 9 brought me around for the day.

Walking outside to a damp, still dripping morning, I noticed some movement in the bushes near the room. Straining to see what was causing the little branch to move so much, I caught a glimpse of a tiny body vibrating a mist of water from iridescent green plumage. It was a hummingbird.

Yes, I grabbed the camera.


He must have found me fascinating as I was able to get within inches of him.













When he was finished looking at me, he flew away.









Given all that I saw of Tobago the day before, I decided to keep the car a second day. After a quick breakfast of local fruit and delicious dried sausage I smuggled in from Penshorn's Meat Market in Marion, Texas, I took a trip down to the car rental place and extended the contract.

My flag.

I apologize for the time away. I've recently been promoted to a supervisory position at another camp and the new job carries an enormous burden of paperwork. My CSA / Admin was promoted just before I arrived, and her replacement won't be here for another month or more, so the burden falls on my shoulders for a while. My bosses have told me several times that the paperwork is a necessary part of the job. I explained that I see work like pooping. The actual pooping is the good part. It's the functional and productive part of the job. A little paperwork after the work is done, and all is well. However, too much paperwork leaves me irritated.

But I digress from my reason for posting today....

A few months ago the company for which I work decided that we, the American contractors working in Iraq, should stop flying American flags on our vehicles or over our offices and living quarters on base so as not to offend our "host nation" and all of our co-workers from other countries.

This is my answer to their request.


I've GOT to catch up on my Tobago trip posts!

First Annual COB Speicher Chili Cookoff.

I have to take a break from our regularly scheduled vacation programming to vent a little.

When I got back from vacation I was informed that there was going to be a chili cookoff here at the base and I had been signed up to represent the dept. Those of you who know me know that I was honored and excited to do so. I love to cook, and I love to cook chili. I have a huge chili pot and lots of spices here in Iraq with me.

I started prep a few days ago. I purchased steaks from the PX, took a couple of to-go boxes full of onion, tomato, jalapeño slices, and pinto beans from the DFAC, made sure I had beer (non-alcoholic of course!), and lined up my spices.


Yesterday, I diced up the steaks, seasoned the meat heavily with onion, garlic, cumin, and jalapeños, and let it sit overnight in the fridge to meld all together.

I fired up the grill at 4am this morning and started heating the pan.

The meat went into a little hot olive oil to brown, got stirred around a bit every few minutes, then in went the tomato, more onion, a load spices, and more jalapeño.





Once that was simmering away nicely, I added beer, V8 juice (no tomato sauce available), and tossed on the lid.




I checked the progress periodically, made seasoning / liquid adjustments, and stirred, stirred, stirred. Around 10:30 AM, I tasted the concoction, declared it good, and called the concoction "Chili."

The judging was held at our area offices on the north side of the camp. A small group of emissaries was dispatched with me to escort the pot via an unreported route. We arrived safely at 11:30 and turned in our entry. The tasting began at noon sharp.

Judges tasting chili while spectators watch and hydrate. (It was 129 deg F here today.)

Judges about to announce the winner(s).

I knew I was in trouble when the late-entry canned chili from the HSE dept placed third. The lady who won first place is a very nice lady, but her chili was reminiscent of spaghetti sauce. Delicious, mildly spicy spaghetti sauce, but spaghetti sauce nonetheless. Here she is with my... I mean her trophy.

The first place trophy.

I know that I can't help that the judges were milquetoast Yankees who's lips get blistered by black pepper, but I still sat there feeling like I should have won. This wasn't a superior chili that beat me, but inferior taste buds!

After the official judging, people kept coming up to me telling me that they thought my chili should have won. As I stood beside my pan dishing out bowl after bowl of delicious Texas Red, I heard people telling their friends, "Hey, try this guy's chili! It's the real deal!" or "As hot as this is, I want to eat more! How do you do that?" The flattery was humbling.

I was standing down by the other end of chili row when I heard someone yell, "Time to go! We're out of Chili!"

What? We're not out of chili. There are still people standing in line. Let me look.

Sure enough. About 1/2 left in each pot. Let's go check out the winner's pot.

A little less than 1/2 a pot left over.

"What do you guys mean we're out of chili?"
"No, Joel. YOUR chili. It's all gone."

Second place, my behind. ;)

Tobago Vacation - Day 4 - June 2008

I woke up wanting to do more than see the local shops and beach. I wanted to see the whole island. Tobago is around 7.5 miles wide, 25 miles long, and very mountainous. There are waterfalls, old forts with sweeping views of the ocean, many small parks, and a forest reserve that is older than the USA.

After a quick breakfast of local fruit I had purchased the day before, I asked Paul if he could recommend a car rental company. He did, so I walked down to pick up a car. $300.00 TT ($50.00 US) later, I was in my right-hand drive Hyundai Matrix driving on the left side of the road. Yes, it was a little weird at first, but pretty soon it was second nature. That's me on the right.







A quick check of the GPS so I can find my way back to the hotel.... wait... does that sign say "K-Mart?"






Unfortunately, I didn't take the time to visit.

Setting out from Crown Point, I drove to the Eastern side of the island and up the coast. It was a magnificent drive.

Somewhere along the way I stopped and took a picture of this HUGE abandoned house up on the side of one of the mountains. At one time it must have been some kind of place because there is actually a paved road running up to it. I'm a bit of an explorer and I had to fight to keep from driving up and going inside. With my luck it probably wouldn't have been abandoned after all!


Stopping at one of the many small beaches on the island, I couldn't help but take yet another pan. Those of you who are better photographers than I am, yes, I know I should have turned my camera sideways and gotten more vertical coverage.

Gorgeous, no?

Driving on up the coast I found a place to take this shot. Had it not been for the two large trees in the foreground, I think this might be suitable for a postcard. It was a beautiful view. (Get used to me saying that.)

Further up, sitting just off the coast of Speyside, Tobago is an island set aside as a bird santuary called "Little Tobago" or "Bird of Paradise Island."

What I found more interesting is the little island in-between Speyside and Little Tobago called "Goat Island." Goat Island was the home of writer Ian Fleming. In this photo you can see Mr. Fleming's old house on Goat Island with Little Tobago looming in the background.

Do I need to say it?

Some weird rock formation with a hole in it. (Zoomed in below.) Taken from one of the highest points on the island.

Speaking of high spots:

While driving through the mountains I noticed what looked like cow pies laying on the road. I thought, "Cow pies? What kind of weird Tobagoan mountain animal makes things that look like cow pies."

I quickly found out.

It seems that cows make things that look like cow pies.

After getting back to the hotel, Paul informed me that there is "One proper herd of cattle" on the island. They are a mix of all kinds of breeds including some Zebu and Water Buffalo.

The hotel serves the beef on their menu when it's available. Sadly, it was not available while I was there. However, I did have some wonderful yellow-fin tuna and garlic shrimp expertly prepared by Paul.

Same cow there on the right... just from higher up.

Whomever owns the herd of cattle stakes them out to graze along the roadside for miles. You'll see goats staked out all over the island as well.

It must be a pretty common occurrence as there are signs in the Main Ridge Forest Reserve telling people that tethering of animals is not allowed.

It sure seems to keep the roadside weeds in check.

Today would be the first day to visit a fort. Tobago was once the home of many fierce battles. She's changed hands no less than 31 times. The last "major" upset was on her sister island, Trinidad, in 1990 when there was a coup brought about by:

a) Baptists
b) Muslims
c) Catholics
d) George Bush

All you left-wing idiots are wrong for guessing D. The correct answer is B, Muslims. Big surprise, huh? I'm sure someone will call for my death for pointing that out.

But I digress.

There are cannon placements like this all over Tobago.

One can only imagine the thunderous belching of smoke and fire over the waters as an enemy ship came around the bend just a few hundred yards offshore.

If memory serves, the cannonballs shot from these particular cannon weighed 18lbs each.

This old guardian has stood vigilant for hundreds of years.

I didn't take a chance and sample the water, but locals fill water jugs from springs located all over the island. I ran across this fill station in the Main Ridge Forest Reserve.


Coming back down out of the mountains was a treat. I wonder how many tires and brake shoes the typical car goes through in a year. This was one of the easier areas to drive. (Mom, don't click this video. You're on dial-up. The clip would take all day to download.)

Oh! I almost forgot about the leaf cutter ants! I was standing by the car taking pictures when a little yellow something that was moving across the ground caught my eye. At first I thought it was a tiny butterfly, but as I got closer I saw ants! I was in a National Geographic Special! Of course I filmed them.

With all the running around I did today, bedtime came early and easy.

Tobago Vacation - Day 3 - June 2008

Tuesday morning I woke up, ate a light breakfast, and lounged in the room for a while. Around 10am there was a knock on the door. I assumed it was the hotel owner, Paul, coming to ask me to check in. It WAS Paul, but he said, "I'm taking a couple next door to the beach in about 10 minutes. Would you like to go?" I said I would and hurried to get dressed.

We piled into Paul's car and took a 5 minute drive to Pigeon Point, one of Tobago's most famous beaches. As a matter of fact, the thatched hut pictured below has become Tobago's trademark shot for travel brochures.



There weren't many people around which was really nice. I had read that petty theft was a problem at some of the beaches. Sure enough I caught this fellow trying to steal an unattended banana.



The area had several of these shady characters as well.



There are TONS of "stray" dogs like this on Tobago. Most are friendly because they are cared for to some degree by the locals. I was informed that the Caribbean people are very superstitious about dogs. They believe that if you mistreat a dog in this life, the dog gets his revenge on you in the afterlife. Karma with teeth.

The "Most Decorated Person on the Beach" award goes to this guy. I wish I could have gotten a clearer photo, but not knowing local customs on taking photos of strangers, I opted for the sneaky shot.

This wasn't the most bizarre hairdo I saw during the week. (The island has a few Rastafarians.) I grew up being told to wash, cut, and comb my hair regularly. Now I'm 40 and bald and I find a WHOLE SOCIAL CASTE OF PEOPLE WHO DON'T GIVE A CRAP!!! Sigh....

By the way, notice the Roti on the menu? I ate the fish and chips instead. Flying fish battered in a mildly curried batter then fried. It was great.

I really wish I knew more about photography. The photos posted here do absolutely NO justice to the beauty of Tobago.

Fruit trees exist in abundance. I have never seen so many types of fruit growing in one area in such large quantities. Later in the week I would stop and pick wild, tree-ripe fruit to enjoy as a snack.

There are almonds, cashews, oranges, mangoes, jackfruit, breadfruit, bananas, cocoa, papaya, dates, guava, pineapples, and I even found some small crabapples on the beach that I was tempted to eat but thought twice about since they were just laying in the sand. From what I've read about the indigenous fruit, it's a good thing I passed on them.

It seems they aren't "real" apples at all, but the sweet, delicious, and very deadly fruit of the Manchineel tree. Also known as "Manzanilla de la Muerta" or "Little apple of death."

The tree is so dangerous that even the sap from them will ulcerate your skin and eyes. The tree releases it's milky sap at the slightest provocation, including rain. Many tourists have taken shelter under these trees during a rainstorm only to spend the rest of their vacation suffering in a hospital.

Don't eat strange fruit you find on a beach!

These papayas were screaming "EAT ME!!!" but I'm not much of a tree climber. Plus it was taller than the surrounding coconut trees!

















One last panorama before I leave the beach.....


These photos were taken walking back to the hotel:

Waterfall at the entrance to Pigeon Point.

This is a "Seagrape" tree. The berries are edible but I didn't know that at the time.

The above is Soursop / Guayabana. The palm tree is some sort of date I didn't care for. (Unripe?)

This next photo is for my mom. Her maiden name is Spence. Perhaps these are some long-lost relatives. (There was a "Spence Apartments" on the island as well, but I don't think I got a photo.)

The rest of the walk was pretty uneventful. I got back to the hotel, ate a little supper, showered, and crashed until the next morning.