Heartbreaking news from South Carolina. Christopher Werner II, aka “Fooey” and “Mini-me” passed away today. He was in middle school, witty and sweet, and born with a bad heart. I understand that during a routine check-up procedure he succumbed.
His mother Bridget loved him dearly and she died last year at age 49. I wrote about her here.
I’m not religious but if there is a heaven it is comforting to think that they have now been reunited.
That’s Bridget and Fooey with us on the West sea circa 2012.
And that’s me and Christopher “dicking” around. The boy seemed to enjoy a similar sense of humor.
My heart goes out to his daddy Chris. I cannot even begin to fathom what he is going through now. I hope he finds the strength to persevere through such a devastating loss.
Rest in peace, Christopher. You were an amazing young man and will not be forgotten.
“Age has no reality except in the physical world. The essence of a human being is resistant to the passage of time. Our inner lives are eternal, which is to say that our spirits remain as youthful and vigorous as when we were in full bloom. Think of love as a state of grace, not the means to anything, but the alpha and omega. An end in itself.” ― Gabriel García Márquez, Love in the Time of Cholera
Well, another journey around the sun has been completed. And man am I tired.
Honestly, it’s a struggle. I’m stuck somewhere between being unhappy and being depressed. Today was not one of the good days, but I’ll keep on fighting regardless.
I’m not sure why I just can’t seem to embrace acceptance of what my life has become. When I look around me I can see that I have it better than many folks. I’m grateful for my blessings, and regretful for the things I’ve lost. Perhaps most significantly, the capacity to love. A couple painful reminders of that this weekend have thrown me off my stride.
A really nice day here for a change. Perfect day for a ride on the river. Don’t believe me? I’ve got pictures to prove it!
Your intrepid reporter…
A river runs through it.
Farm life…
Pyeongaek city on the horizon…
Nice rice.
I guess I should have used zoom…that’s a KTX passing by on the elevated tracks. I liked the juxtaposition of the country road and high tech transport. Oh well.
And now it’s another Saturday night.
another opportunity to explore my cognitive dissonance.
Another Saturday night and I ain’t got nobody I got some money ’cause i just got paid How I wish I had someone to talk to I’m in an awful way
Well, let me say this–I’m cruising through a rain soaked week but I don’t have much to complain or blog about. Not that that will stop me!
On the one day it didn’t rain it was quite beautiful on Camp Humphreys, don’t you think?
As I suspected, the bars in Anjeong-ri are nearly vacant with General Order #1 in effect. I snapped this photo because I thought it was cool seeing a bar that is even older than I am. I haven’t gone in there though (yet). I’ve been spreading myself around to my four primary favorites (Horse and Cow, Mass, Galaxy, and Shooters. I’m usually the only customer and I just don’t have the capacity to keep them all profitable during the exercise. Sorry!
Speaking of getting older, I do have a birthday on the horizon. My wonderful staff treated me to lunch at the Alaska Mining Company on Wednesday…
Treated me like a King they did! Crown and all!
And in one of those rare first time in a lifetime events, I blew out the candles on a Winnie the Pooh cake.
What else?
Well, I thought this was funny as hell…
Speaking of relationships, I recently heard that a couple of my friends are getting a divorce. I hope it is not true and/or they patch things up. They are both cool people and I thought they made a fine couple. Having said that, I took the news as affirmation of my belief that love is a sucker’s bet. I actually recall when I attended their wedding (last summer!) and watched them making their vows to one another thinking “yeah, I’ve heard that before”, Anyway, love should be for more than the happy times. Otherwise it is meaningless. Least that’s how I see it.
No one belongs where they’re not wanted You’re just a ghost, and my heart is haunted When I said goodbye, you didn’t even beg me to stay It wasn’t what you said, it’s what you didn’t say No baby, it wasn’t what you said, it’s what you didn’t say
Time for another installment in the fascinating journey of my so-called life.
Well, I reckon it can be summed up as WWBD. Working, Walking, Biking, Drinking. I suppose it could be worse.
Work is work. My Deputy has been on leave for the past three weeks which means I am staying somewhat more active than usual. Even had a couple of days of coming in early and leaving late. I expect things will quiet down for us during the annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) military exercise. It starts today and runs for the next two weeks. I have no part to play which is a good thing because I’m not subject to General Order #1 (forbidding consumption of alcohol during the exercise among other things). Anyway, things are good with the Army. We are ready to “fight tonight” if need be, but I expect Mr. Kim will not be so foolish as to test our resolve and readiness.
I’ve been working on the walking and making some progress in re-losing the weight I gained when I was sick. Although technically I’m still sick I suppose (COPD doesn’t go away, best you can hope for is that it doesn’t get worse). The meds are controlling the symptoms though and I’m feeling pretty good for an old fucker. I hope to keep it that way!
Always something interesting to see when you are hiking about. I guess we know what the secret ingredient must be in those waffles!
Weather wasn’t that great this weekend but I did manage to get in a couple of nice bike rides between rain storms.
The quality of this photo is crap, but the water lilies were in full bloom on the backside of Camp Humphreys.
And so that leaves the drinking aspect of my life. I do that every night. I consider it self medicating for my physic pain. Not sure that it helps all that much, but I do seem to be getting a good night sleep lately.
That’s what the inebriated me looked like on Friday night…
So, as I mentioned above with the exercise ongoing for the next two weeks the bars will be even lonelier than normal. I’m guessing some won’t even bother opening. On the other hand, I stand to be the youngest customer in some. I’ll probably even be more popular than normal with the bar staff. We shall see.
In other news, I did some shopping at the Osan Air Base on Saturday. That always includes a lunch at Arby’s. America’s Roast Beef Yes sir!
What with civil war fixing to break out any day now back in the USA, I’m wanting to get me one of these.
Can you hear me now?
And finally, it seems Facebook is fucking with my mind lately. It has this feature where it shares a memory from the same day in the past. Yesterday I got this:
That was on a trip to the East Sea on August 19 several years ago.
And this one was August 19 one year ago.
Today featured a 2011 post commemorating my proposal of marriage to Jee Yeun and her acceptance. That certainly didn’t go as planned.
Anyway, it hurts to be reminded sometimes. I constantly reassure myself though that there are worse things than being lonely.
There are places I remember All my life though some have changed Some forever not for better Some have gone and some remain All these places have their moments With lovers and friends I still can recall Some are dead and some are living In my life I’ve loved them all
Whatever gets you through the day. 2.5 hours on the bike and another 2.5 spent walking. Lots of time to think, although in my case that’s not necessarily a good thing.
Another drunken Saturday night in the Ville. Not to worry, I confine my drinking to days that end in a “y”.
Saturday night in Anjeong-ri…
Compare and contrast this street scene with Itaewon.
Shut your Korean Man Hole.
Took the long trail to Pyeongtaek lake this morning. First time I made it out that far…
I was rewarded with this view.
Finishing up the walk by the main gate at Camp Humphreys I encountered a protest group doing Kim Jung Un’s work I suppose. The police were out in force as usual…
But at least now I know what number to call when I see a hot babe walking down the street. Sadly that is pretty infrequent in this hick town…
Ah well, life goes on. And on.
On and on I just keep on trying And I smile when I feel like dying On and on On and on On and on
Ah geez, been too long since my last post, hasn’t it? Let’s ketchup.
The days are slowly pouring by…
Well, there is work* and it seems to be going pretty well overall. I’m blessed with an outstanding staff of professionals who work hard and seem to enjoy their jobs. I’m fortunate to not have to deal with “people issues”. I treat them right and they respond accordingly. That’s just simple management 101, I’m no genius.
But having said that, I reckon I’m doing pretty good at what little I do do. No shit! People come to us for answers and solutions and we provide them. We’ve filled some voids for the command and I do believe the leadership appreciates our contributions. I take a lot of pride in that.
Our new building is a bit of a pain in the ass. The biggest adjustment for most of us has been getting used to the prohibition on electronic devices in the building. That means no cell phones and no Fitbit! God knows I hate losing all the ancillary steps that aren’t recorded during the day. My poor Fitbit is confused about being locked up at the front entrance and accuses me of taking a nap during the day. Oh well, these days we all have to be cognizant of OPSEC (operational security) and do our part.
Several of my folks have not physically moved to Pyeongtaek as yet and that commute from Seoul is a killer. For now at least I’m allowing them to telework 2 days a week, so that helps relieve some of the burden I suppose. Anyway, we’ll all adjust.
So you may be asking yourself “I thought he was planning on retiring in September?” I was. And I still am in the not too distant future. I’m just going to be flexible in my planning. As mentioned above I do derive some satisfaction from working and damn, it is hard to walk away from my ridiculous salary and my ridiculously big and paid for house. I’ve got a goal on how much money I want to have in the bank when I hang it up and I’m making steady progress towards achieving that goal. Meantime, I’m just going to enjoy the ride and try to decide what my “purpose” will be in life once I retire. So far the best I’ve come up with is enjoying bay views while I watch the world go on without me. We’ll see.
Ms. Choe, Song Won is one of my superstars. It was my honor to recognize her with the Commander’s Award for Civilian Service. (We had to go outside to get a photo. Everyone’s camera is on their phones these days)
What else? Well, I’ve had some visitors which is nice. Joey and Sonja (the newly engaged couple I wrote about here) have moved to Pyeongtaek. In fact, they wound up renting a place just about across the street from me. Heh, it’s a small town! We enjoyed a grilled meat dinner and then I took them on a tour of my favorite bars. That was a great time. Last night Jessie, one of my old time Seoul friends, was in town on Army business and he got to enjoy my upstairs guest room. We had some beers out on the town to facilitate a good night’s sleep of course.
I found a small house with the attractive coffee on one of my walks…
And if you can’t afford the best, this place is very good…
Still enjoying some quality time bicycling on the river…
That was not a bridge too far…
I kept to the straight and narrow. It’s jut the way I roll…
Serious business biking is.
What about my love life?
It’s probably for the best.
Tensions are higher than I’ve ever seen here on the peninsula. But we’re pulling out our big guns…
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
I’d still rather be here than in the USA. Much easier to avoid the silly PC social justice warriors. I have zero tolerance for that bullshit.
Well, they will be well-suited for future employment with Google I suppose…
I was just talking to the moon, hoping someday soon that I’d be over the memory of you. Too hard to hold on…
* The views expressed here at LTG are my own and are written on my own time and dime. My opinions are not sanctioned or endorsed by my employer and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the United States Government. What are the odds?
I saw this on yesterday’s walk about and for some reason it made me sad:
A metaphor for my lonely life perhaps?
It turned out to be a very strange day. Out of the blue I heard from three different women that in the past have professed their love for me. I guess it’s nice to be remembered and I also sometimes think of them. But I’m alone by choice. It’s safer that way.
I do feel sorry for whatever pain I’ve caused them on account of my bitter selfishness, but there is nothing I can do to change that. I’m a broken man and loving me is a big mistake. I have nothing to give in return. That’s just the way it goes.
Meetings in Seoul yesterday necessitated a return to my former hometown. Rather than fight Friday afternoon traffic I opted to spend the night. I’ve had a hankering to get out and revisit some of my old familiar trails. Couldn’t decide on whether to do Namsam or the Han river. So I did both. It was a hot motherfucker of a day but I got it done in three and a half hours.
I didn’t dare to tread there though. Truthfully, Seoul is a city full of memories for me. Quite a few of them make me sad these days. That’s one advantage to Pyeongtaek–nothing here to remind me…
Hello old friend, long time no see!
Truth be told, the street didn’t look all that old to me…
Up pretty early after a night of drinking chatting with friends in the bars. On the road before 0700 but still got caught in traffic leaving Seoul. Went pretty quick after that though.
Rested a bit then broke the bike out for a river ride.
I foolishly picked the hottest part of the day for my endeavor…
But it was a good 2+ hour ride regardless…
The buzzer on the oven timer just went off so I was expecting to enjoy some baby back ribs. Alas, I must have failed to ignite the oven, so now I’ve got another hour before I can eat. Need to get today’s walk in as well, but I’ll let it cool off some first.
And that’s the latest installment in my exciting life.
So I took the base bus to Seoul after work yesterday. I was on a mission.
It was my good friend Sonya’s last day working at Shenanigans…
Now, she thought all the folks who showed up were there to just say thanks and goodbye. But we were in on the secret.
Sonya’s boyfriend Joey was due to arrive in Seoul on Friday, or so she thought. Instead he came in last night. And his plan was to propose to her in the bar in front of their friends.
My job was to distract her. So, on the signal from the bar owner Willie, I called her over to my table and started asking her what would be the appropriate shot to order for my nephews. As I was keeping her busy, “their song” started playing. I could see her thinking “who’s playing that and why?”, but I kept up my ruse of not knowing what to order.
And then Joey was standing behind her. When she turned around, the look on her face was priceless. Disbelief followed by unbridled joy.
And then Joey popped the question…
And Sonya said YES!
Congrats and best wishes for a lifetime of happiness. Now, I personally don’t believe in love anymore, BUT I will admit to getting a little choked up and teary eyed seeing how much they love each other. It was a bittersweet reminder of what I’ve lost.
And Joey and Sonya will be moving to Pyeongtaek soon so I reckon I’ll be seeing them around and about. Always room for some friendly faces in my life, that’s for sure.
Yesterday I walked through the rain so I could get my requisite steps in. Then my phone chirps and I have a message from my “stalker” with this photo:
I had on my headphones and was focused on the task at hand, so I had no idea someone I knew had spotted me on the road. Ah, the joys of small town living. Everyone knows your business.
I made it to the river without further incident. The bugs were biting. Not mosquitoes who tend to be stealthy, but some kind of biting fly. Going to have to remember to spray on the off next time I’m on the water.
Life is good. At least that is what I keep telling myself.
I finally have a new grillfriend. It all came together yesterday. And she’ll be residing here at my house. I think she’s really hot (or will be soon enough). Big thanks to the nephews for helping making it all possible.
How many McCrareys does it take to assemble a grill? Apparently three.
For the first time in the long and storied history of Pyeongtaek, three McCrareys graced the fair city with their presence.
Nephews Justin and Joshua came down for a visit with their favorite uncle. I showed them around the army base and they were suitably impressed.
Fed the hungry boys lunch at the Alaska Mining Company, one of the fine dining establishments on Camp Humphreys. Justin declared it the biggest burger he’d ever seen in Korea.
Luckily both the nephs were up for a hike. I took them on my “3 parks” hour and a half loop walk. They seemed to tolerate it well, although we were all drenched in sweat when we finished.
Rested up some and showered then it was time to introduce the boys to the Anjeong-ri nightlife.
First stop was Horse and Cow where we were well served by the Lana, the bartender from Uzbekistan.
Next stop was Mass bar where my favorite barkeep Mi Young gave the boys a friendly welcome. Hmm, she never welcomes ME like that..
The owner of Galaxy bar came in to Mass (which is owned by her mother) and gave me some good natured flak about cheating on her bar. So I promised we’d visit Galaxy next. Promise kept!
Then it was on to Shooters bar. Della, the African gal from Cameroon is a hoot. She can parry all my witty jabs and pay them back in spades. Always have a good time there. The gal in yellow is the owner, Tee. Well into our afternoon hike she spotted us on the street and called out to me insisting I visit her bar that night. The boys were impressed that everyone in town seems to know me. Well, everyone in the bar biz anyway…
I left the youngsters at Shooters and stumbled on home. Just can’t hang the way I used to. They continued their good times without me then made it home safe and sound on their own.
They are both still snoring away the day. While I wait for them to get their asses moving I’ll share some other photos from my bar life this weekend.
“Mama” and Lana from Horse and Cow.
Me and So Yeon, the owner of Galaxy.
An action shot from Friday night in Galaxy. I’m usually the only miguk in the place.
Hanging with Della from Cameroon at Shooters…
Mi Young from Mass bar. Interesting gal. Spends all her free time working at the animal rescue shelter. Says she has 8 dogs at her house waiting for adoption too. Can’t imagine what that’s like, but good for her to be so committed to a worthy cause. I told her I was a sick puppy but I don’t think she got what I meant. Ah well.
Seems neither reason is good enough these days…
Yeah, well who needs it?
My personal assistant/caregiver from the PI is always sending me encouragement from afar.
Thanks for looking out for me Loraine.
Still need to get a bike ride in and then do my 2 hours of walking. Assuming the nephews ever wake up…
Well, settling into my small town life. Not much happening that is blog worthy, but I do feel a sense of obligation to keep my loyal readers informed about the mundane details of my so-called life.
But what to write about? Well, sometimes inspiration just comes walking through the door. Literally.
Last night I’m sitting in Shooters bar finishing my final beer of the evening when a couple walks through the door. I had to turn and look because people actually coming into Shooters is an infrequent event. The guy looks at me and says “I know you, John”. Now, I’m pretty drunk and my memory ain’t what it once was, but he didn’t look familiar at all. Seeing my confusion he tells me “I read your blog”. Outstanding! Nice to meet you David!
In over 12 years of blogging meeting a random stranger who follows LTG has only happened a handful of times. It’s always surprising to me. I know a couple of friends and family members visit here regularly, but I usually just write as if I had no audience (yeah, I know it shows). That people find enough amusement or interest or maybe pity that keeps them coming back for more is really quite humbling. Sincerely, thank you all!
Anyway, David and his lovely Korean wife (sorry, the name escapes me now) invited me to join them at their table. How could I refuse? David also works on base and he was wearing a Scrooge Pub shirt (a bar I also used to frequent in Seoul). Plus, he enjoys throwing darts. So we had quite a bit in common. Had a nice chat and a couple of friendly dart games. It was a nice way to end the evening for me.
It’s a small and random world after all.
New friends in town and the inspiration for this post.
On Friday afternoon I drove up to Seoul for the official close down of my office building.
Building #1377 has now been signed over to the Yongsan Garrison Department of Public Works.
I climbed those stairs for the first time on January 23, 2005. They led me to a life I could never have imagined.
The trailing group of my employees who remained on Yongsan during the transition. They’ll all be reporting to Camph Humphreys on Monday morning.
I was here at the earliest stages of the planning for the move. It feels good that I was able to return and be here for the completion of those plans.
I stayed the night and met up with my old pal Alastair who was visiting from Scotland. Had us some beers and samgyeopsal and reminiscing.
Back home in the countryside Saturday morning where I enjoyed a nice long bike ride on the river.
On my afternoon walk I encountered this big ass sunflowers. They stood about 8 feet high…
Tried a new bar on Saturday night called the Eagles club. It was a huge place with just me and the (male) bartender. Maybe I was just too early. It was one beer and out for me, but not before I captured this sign with a somewhat unusual sentiment. I’d say it is more true of Korean women, but that’s just been my experience…
I was able to capture this image of the Saturday night action on the streets of Anjeong-ri. Powerful stuff, no?
And finally, talking about the end of an era, my daughter posted up this picture of me from the 1980s. Good times!
Apparently someone high up in the North Korean food chain read my post about the Eighth Army headquarters move to Pyeongtaek*. I guess they weren’t too thrilled based on this response in the commie propaganda rag:
US Troops Not To Escape From KPA’s Long-Range Artillery Strike 17/07/2017, Pyongyang Times.
A spokesman for the Panmunjom Mission of the Korean People’s Army released a statement on July 14 over the recent desperate and undisguised moves of the US to provoke a nuclear war against the DPRK and perpetuate its forces’ presence in south Korea. The statement said: On July 11, the US aggressor forces, which moved the Command of their 8th Army present in south Korea to Humphrey Base in Phyongthaek, Kyonggi Province, invited bosses of the south Korean government and military and even human scum, including ultra-right conservatives, to an “opening ceremony of the new building” of the Command. The commander of the 8th Army in his “welcoming speech” praised the south Korean lackeys,terming the move an “event demonstrating the solid south Korea-US alliance” and allowingjournalists to look round the interior of the base. As far as the transfer of the US 8th Army Command to Phyongthaek is concerned, the US has pushed ahead with it in collusion with the puppet regime since 2003 in order to move its aggressor forces bases in south Korea to the areas south of the Han River to get rid of the striking range of the KPA’s long-range artillery strike. Lurking behind it is the ulterior design of the US to save its troops only, indifferent to the plight of the south Korean puppet army at stake. The US imperialists are busy hyping the transfer of their 8th Army Command, the shock brigade that will play a flagship role in igniting a war against the DPRK. This fully revealed the US scenario to perpetuate its military presence in south Korea and stand in confrontation with the DPRK to the end in league with the south Korean puppet warmongers.The US regards the Korean peninsula as a vantage point of strategic importance where the strength of maritime forces and the strength of land forces are interchanging. It is the centuryold Asia policy of the US to occupy the whole peninsula with south Korea as its springboard andthus realize its wild ambition for dominating the world.It is a tragedy for the US that it is unaware of the tremendous might of the army of the DPRK. The bases of the US troops in south Korea, the primary targets of the KPA, can never escape the mercilessly annihilating strikes by its long-range artillery, no matter whether they are located in Phyongthaek or in Pusan. The US warmongers will never escape the miserable destruction if they persist in foolhardy military confrontation moves in south Korea despite the warnings of the KPA. KCNA
Well, fuck you very much. And Kim Jong Un if you are reading this all I can say is bring it on biatch.
*It is possible that the NORKS heard about the move somewhere else, although that doesn’t seem too likely to me.
My workday started at 0445 with a call from the Eighth Army G1 advising that a “phone alert roster drill” was in effect. This meant that I had to contact all my employees to make sure they could be reached in case of an actual emergency. I was also instructed to report on my progress every 20 minutes or so.
No problem! I worked the phones and woke my folks up like a pro. I had a little math problem though. I know I have 19 souls in my organization, but for the life of me I could only come up with 18 names. And then I realized I hadn’t counted myself. Duh! Anyway, it took 3 hours but I accounted for all my people. Mission accomplished!
The other big event in my day was deciphering this:
3.E.3.B. (U) CIVILIAN CORPS INDEX (CI). BECAUSE METHODS OF EFFECTIVENESS (MOE) AND METHODS OF PERFORMANCE (MOP) FOR SO2 ARE RELATED TO BUILDING COHESIVE TEAMS AND A CULTURE OF TRUST, THE OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVE FOR THE CCI IS TO INCREASE POSITIVE BEHAVIORS BY 2% FOR TWO YEARS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THIS FRAGORD AND BY 5% OVER A 5-YEAR TERM. TO REACH THIS GOAL, MSCS TRACK AND ENTER METRICS QUARTERLY INTO SMS. HPO / R2 CHIEF DETERMINES-WITH COMMAND APPROVAL-WHICH CHPC WORKING GROUP TAKES LEAD ON THIS
INDEX ASSESSMENT. ALL DATA COLLECTED IS AGGREGATE./
Yes, I can speak Army, but not fluently.
It was a great day to be an American in the Republic of Korea!
