That's a great story. Fate has a way of winning every time.

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"One of the reasons why propaganda tries to get you to hate government is because it's the one existing institution in which people can participate to some extent and constrain tyrannical unaccountable power." Noam Chomsky.

Very sorry to hear that Ding, time heals somethings, but this one is one of the most difficult!!

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Romans 8;18-32 John 3;16-18

Much sympathy, sorry for your loss. Great memories, thanks for sharing.

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So if you are a surfer I wish you the prosperity that allows you more time to pursue the salt water dream, and the true happiness that comes from warm water, clean waves and the companionship of your fellow surfers. If you are an internet troll just spewing bs then f off.

You're very fortunate to have experienced this.
Thanks for sharing your story.
My condolences

Very sorry to hear of your loss Bud!! For those of us that experience that kind of relationship it must be hard to say goodbye but at least we've had that part of life that many never get to experience. Take care, hang in there! Aloha Bob

Sorry to hear that Dingpatch. Please accept my condolences.

Ding, Your life journey is amazing. You are truly loved by this community as was your wife. You both carry on a legacy that people dream of living. My deepest condolences.

Wow, 1982 was a very good year. (for me too) Awesome.

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add a signature since I'm here in profile anyway

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I've decided to accept the fact - I'll always be a big kid!

Howard, hang in there. My heart is broken for ya man.

My condolences ding.

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QOP = Terrorists
FK = Gay

I'm very sorry.

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“It is the heart of US policy to use fascism to preserve capitalism while claiming to be saving democracy from communism “ - Michael Parenti

To all of my 2ndlight brothers and sisters, Thank You for all of your kind words

I have been dealing with how I should document for all of you just how special Jan was. Once I get it together enough to do so, I will write it as I go and PM you with the pages/paragraphs.

But for now, just to let you have an idea of who she was, , , , Monday night at the watering hole one of the guys who knew her, but was unsure of how to accept/understand some of the fragmented details of her past that she had divulged to him, asked about her story. I am not to sure of what, or how much, she had told him but, after a minute of thought, I told him that I could pretty much sum it up for him with a question to him: "Were you ever in a firefight in Laos?"

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Dora Hates You

Again, thank you all for your kind words and understanding.

I have been able to write a couple chapters about just how special Nel was. But, most of it is too controversial for public consumption here, and may otherwise be too adverse to many people's "belief system". So, if you want to have some enjoyable reading please PM me and I'll add you to the list.

In the mean time, here are some publicly acceptable notes about her. Again, please feel welcome to share as you may.

Random Notes about Nel

Nel once joked that she was GI Jan before Demi Moore was even born, although Demi was born 10 years before Nel enlisted.

On the "It's a Coincidence in a Small World" side of the coin my brother's wife's best friend's father was in the same unit with Jan! The friend's mother told her to never ask her father about his time in the Air Force. She told her that he could not say anything about it because it was too secret and that he wouldn't because it upset him too much to think about it.

A few years back, Nel and I were at a local eating establishment having some BBQ and drinks at the bar. A gentleman came in and sat next to Nel. They struck up a conversation about this-and-that. He had just retired at the rank of Colonel from the Air Force. He had been a Special Forces pilot flying "special" C-130s out of Eglin AFB and had been very highly "cleared". Nel said something about her previously having had a "XYZ123" (above) Top Secret clearance. He took issue with that, saying that he had never heard of such a thing. He had flown Delta Teams on Super Top Secret missions and he was cleared "to the top". Well Nel, in her special way, and she was not trying to dis the guy, basically told him that he had only been an expendable tactical asset and that, as such, he was only cleared for what he needed to know. He was Very Upset and got up and moved to another section of the restaurant!

There was the time when, one morning, she woke up and the whole right side of her face was swollen to the point that her right eye was shut. Her complexion was clear with no discoloration. Took her to the ER, she was admitted to the hospital and taken upstairs to a room. The one doctor said that he was going to give her some shots of steroids for the swelling and "inflammation". No, hold on right there, she is "allergic" to steroids in that she will get "steroid rage". No, silly me, I'm just a concerned husband and the Doctor knows what's best for her. Please, no steroids. This was back before any of her real back problems and she was still "fit as a fiddle". After a couple hours I go home to take care of the dog and the house. A while later that afternoon the local police folks give me a call and ask me to come back to the hospital, Nel had caused some "trouble". I get there and sure enough they had given her some strong steroids and, of course, she went Big Time off-the-chain and ended up putting two (2) of the hospital's security staff into the ER. The one nurse told me that Nel "took them down like sacks of sh%t"!!! She was very impressed with Nel's technique and efficiency. They subsequently injected her with some strong sedatives, she was asleep, and all was well.

Then there was the time early on, before we were married, when a guy I knew bought a used sofa from Nel and ended up not paying her! BIG mistake! I asked the one friend "where did she go", , , "she took a baseball bat with her to get her money"! Luckily, she could not find her Gerber!!! By the time I got there the bat had been put to use and she had received all the money she was owed.

Then, there was the time over 25 years ago when I met Nel, her cousin from Michigan, and the girl next door, after work at a local seafood restaurant on Wickham for drinks and dinner. By the time I got there they had already slammed down a good amount of Vodka. We had some more and ordered dinner. We were seated in a booth. The one problem was that we did not know that Tuesday night there was "Quarter Beer Night'! At the given time you could start buying 6 ounce paper cups of beer for a quarter. Well, the place started to get elbow-to-elbow crowded with a much younger set. No problems until, , , , a guy comes over and sits on the end of our table, scooting the cousins dinner plate over with his ass! Cousin Lisa gave him an elbow in his kidney and he turned around and started to give her a "you bitch" when she stood up and went nose-to-nose with him. She was just about as big as they can make them on the farms of Michigan! Things went Down Hill from there. Our booth was between the "girl's" booth and the "boy's" booth. One dumb ass comes to us and says that if we leave he will pay our tab. Nel says something to the effect that he was a dumb ass and that our bar tab was $80 before we even started our meals. Things started to get ugly and I'm thinking to myself that I'm sitting there with a knife and fork in my hands and that I should probably leave before somebody got hurt. The girls could take care of themselves very well. I leave and go home. At about midnight the Melbourne PD calls me to come back and take Nel and Cousin Lisa home; there had been an incident! All the while, over the phone, I hear Lisa yelling "You're A Pussy" and the cop repeatedly telling her to get back and be quiet. The next morning at work Steve, one of the engineers, asks me how "Slugger" is doing. He was there and saw the whole thing! Things had really gone down hill after I left. On Nel's 3rd or 4th trip to snag the manager to tell him to get all the assholes away from their booth, some witless fool comes up with his face right over her left shoulder telling her that she is just some kind of nasty bitch, etc., , , ,. BIG MISTAKE! She does not even turn around and gives him her left fist right over her left shoulder, hitting him in the forehead squarely between the eyes. Steve tells me that the poor SOB dropped, out cold, like a sack of shit. Her wedding ring gave him 4 stitches. So what I heard on the phone was Lisa taunting the fool while his girl friends held him up. Nel told me that he was going on about how he had been Navy security for 4 years and he wasn't going to take that kind of shit. Nel told him that she had been CIA for 10 years and that she had plenty more where that came from! LOL!!! The next day we called a friend of hers who was a Lieutenant with the Melbourne PD and asked him to check on things for Nel. He said that he would talk with his buddy in the DA's office and get the scoop. He called back the next day with a giggle. He had talked with the DA. The DA had talked to the "victim" and told him that he would be looking very foolish up on the Stand before a Judge and Jury telling them how this nice, older, lady beat the crap out of him with one backhand slug! No charges were filed.

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Dora Hates You

Edited: 04/21/2019 at 05:12 PM by dingpatch

I'm laughing my ass off!
She sounds awesome! I'm sorry I never met her.

It was a pleasure to read your story!!! Sorry for your loss.

great story. helluva woman

Johnny boy has it right ding.

You will be together again, believe it!