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lol-misantlery · 2 years

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Yuletide 2022

Hello! I am misantlery on ao3. I accept treats!

Under the read more are specific details about what I want for Mad Men, Don’t Worry Darling RPF, Star Wars RPF, Peacemaker, House of the Dragon, and Cloak & Dagger.

General Likes

PINING, awkwardness, people being inexplicably fond of each other, breaking up/making up fic, people being emotionally repressed, denial, FORCED INTIMACY (pretending to be dating, bed sharing, huddling for warmth, trapped in elevator/closet/room together), amnesia fic, first times, hurt/comfort, trust issues, hooker aus, robot aus, canon-divergent aus, happily ever afters.

I am good with g-rated or nc-17 rated fic, but if you’re comfortable writing porn here are some things I am into:

character driven porn, hangups and sexy shame, pining while fucking, tender railing, rough sex, a 'stop trying to make love to me while I'm trying to fuck you' vibe, frottage, oral (blowjobs, cunnilingus, and rimming), comeplay, overstimulation, first times, bad decision sex, sexual experimentation, fun/goofy/‘bad’ sex, intimacy issues, dubcon of the sex pollen/something made them do it variety.

Do Not Wants

rape/non con, alpha/beta/omega dynamics, mundane aus, soulmate marks aus, 24/7 BDSM, non canonical major character death, harm to animals, unhappy endings, mpreg, issuefic [fic focused on sexuality/identity issues], harm to children.

If you want to know some more about what i’m into for each fandom/want some prompts, then keep reading but don’t stress about following each prompt to the letter or anything. They’re here for inspiration!

Mad Men: Bob Benson, Pete Campbell

This is probably my forever yuletide fandom! The show’s been over for a while now, but I still have an enormous soft spot for the love story of Bob and Pete, and would read any number of variations on it. I don’t mind if you ignore certain parts of canon (s7) or go canon divergent, you can also follow canon if want (Bob shows up in Wichita??) GO WILD. Shipping Bob/Pete began as a joke for me, but I do ship it for real. I like that Bob is all *_________* about Pete and Pete is simultaneously disgusted and intrigued. He might not be gay, but he’s definitely into someone who’s into him. Also, if you just want to write about Bob I’d be really interested in his past and what the whole “manservant” deal was. We pretty much know nothing about him and I’d be interested in some backstory, but I’m not exactly looking for Bob/OMC PWP. In case it seemed that way! btw, here is a supercut of all Bob/Pete scenes (pw: kneetouching). Enjoy! Prompts: Fake dating: The CEO of a big company is secretly gay and Pete thinks pretending to be gay will form a bond of solidarity that will give him an edge, but the CEO mistakes this for interest and Pete scrambles to come up with an excuse to get out of doing anything gay and he comes up with, “I have a lover! You may have met him…” They go to a gay bar lolz and awkwardness ensue. Pete molds Bob into the Perfect Ad Man and falls for him in the process. Basically “My Fair Lady” with a hillbilly and sodomy. Groundhog day fic: Pete has to go through the same day again and again, tries to get help from Ken, Peggy, etc, and then comes to the realization that only Bob believes him. Bob is a conman who starts out trying to seduce Pete as part of a long con, but ends up falling in love. What if Bob is a spy who mistakes Pete for his contact because Pete compliments his tie? what kind of spy and mistaken identity shenanigans could ensue? What if Bob and Pete + the Purge??? (Please see my previous letters for why I am strangely compelled by adding the Purge to assorted canons.) I feel like Bob would do well. He’s got secrets. Maybe one of those secrets is a facility with weaponry. Also, sodomy wasn’t legal in New York until the 1980s. What if someone in the office awkwardly asks Bob what he’s going to do during the Purge and Pete is appalled, because how uncouth! Everyone knows you don’t ask people what they’re going to do during the Purge! And then Bob makes some veiled comment about how he always spends his Purges banging dudes, and Pete is horribly Intrigued because sex stuff is never a Purge thing he’d thought of. I love California Pete and the stupid little sweater he has over his shoulders and just his whole vibe in general. I would love to see Bob meet California Pete and struggle to figure out the right tack to take with this version of him. Would Pete going in for a hug blow Bob’s entire mind??? The more ridiculous you can go with this the better! I love sex pollen! Maybe Pete tries to sell a perfume that turns out to have sexy properties and Bob tries to help and hilarity, porn and sexy shame ensue. Or you could take this in another direction! Maybe it happens after Bob humiliates Pete with the Chevy execs. I love the desperation of having to go to your enemy for mercy. This would be awesome with either one of them being the sex pollenee.

Don’t Worry Darling RPF: Olivia Wilde, Florence Pugh

This is the kind of low stakes celebrity drama I love. Beautiful people at fancy film festivals using their stylists to vague about each other! If you're not familiar with this, here is a good rundown. I love that Olivia really goes all in on how of COURSE Florence is the best!1! There's no drama here! while Florence barely holds back her dislike. I'd love to see that antagonistic dynamic explored and maybe have it translated into hatesex, if you are so inclined! While I'm flexible about the reason for their antagonism (perceived or real unprofessionalism, perceive or real jealousy) I don't want a lot of focus on how Olivia's current or past SOs feel about it.

Some possible fic ideas, if you want them:

• They mostly avoided doing any kind of promo together, but what if DWD gets a sequel and they have to work together again? Maybe this time the movie goes full canon Alice/Bunny. Or maybe that MCU movie Olivia is directing is about Yelena!

• An argument leaves them left behind on set when the crew leaves in disgust. A low stakes stranded scenario that nevertheless leads to huddling for warmth and talking/fucking/sorting out their problems.

• AU where having fired Shia, Olivia is forced to take the role herself, leading to her directing a sex scene with Florence that gets out of hand

• I'm also here for angry sex/hatesex at the Venice Film Festival or on set or backstage at an awards show.

• Black Widow AU

• Or for something different: this tweet.

Don't you get it? There IS no Don't Worry Darling. All of this is the movie. The trailer, the feuds, the relationship, the custody papers, the press, spitting on Chris Pine, kissing Nick Kroll, all of this is the movie.

Performance art! Go wild with it!

Star Wars RPF: Any (Oscar Isaac, Pedro Pascal, Domhnall Gleeson) You definitely don't have to include all three of them in the fic. I love the way Oscar plays off both of them separately and would be happy with fic exploring his friendship with either of them! If you do go for shipfic, I would prefer to handwave past or current SOs altogether. Oscar Isaac + Domhnall Gleeson I love them together and I love them separately. They're endlessly enjoyable to watch together both in-character and in interviews and I found the Ex Machina press tour delightful. I love the dynamic we see in interviews— needling each other, escalating to make the other laugh, relentless banter. It's great. In terms of fic, I'm happy with Ex Machina era fic or something set during the multiple Star Wars or current day, future fic— whatever works for you! I'll also be happy to get something shippy or genfic about them getting stoned and deep discussing the ethics of robotfucking or philosophizing about method acting and character bleed. I love them and I'll be happy to get anything with these two. Some prompts: • 5+1 fic. Maybe something like '5 projects they didn't star in and one they did.' Or the opposite! • I'd really love for them to make another movie together so feel free to go full wish fulfillment here. I'm down for anything— more Star Wars? Sounds good to me! A romcom? Amazing! An awards darling? I love it! • Speaking of awards darlings, I shamelessly love awards season, so something set during it would be A+. Are they promoting a movie together? Are they competing in the same category? #giveoscaranoscar? • I recently saw a picture of Oscar and Domhnall's dad Brendan Gleeson and it reminded of Oscar saying Domhnall's never invited him to Dublin, so maybe something where he visits and they catch up. IDK, I'm picturing some Before trilogy-type vibes and maybe some making out. • I'd also be down for something set during a disastrous nightmare shoot— the film's over budget, over time, they're half-stranded in a remote location, and there's only one bed?? I love forced proximity tropes so feel free to stack as many of them as you want. • I love media fic in RPF: fake interviews, fake tweets, fake long distance texting. • I love reunions and the potential there with repeat costars. I'd love fic about them coming together after the months/years apart between projects. • Consider: Oscar in a skirt. • I'm happy with whatever vibe you want to write. Humor, angst, straight up PWP. It's all good. Oscar Isaac + Pedro Pascal Oscar and Pedro - what can I even say about these two? I love their almost 2 decade friendship, their incredibly comfortable and easy banter, and the way they constantly give each other shit. 2022 has brought an absolute wealth of interviews and social media posts highlighting their love for each other and I have greedily consumed each one in delight. I just want more of these two space sisters in their space pod. I am very much in favor of you going full Oscar/Pedro romance but I’ll be happy with whatever you write! I had their current DILF selves in mind for most of my prompts but if you want to explore the beginnings of their relationship or any part of its development over the years I would definitely love that! Some ideas! • Holidays Oscar and Pedro spend together over the years • Any kind of slice of life with their usual banter: filming Triple Frontier, supporting each other’s projects, just hanging out, whatever! • Forced proximity tropes and media fic are also very welcome here too! • This!

Pedro thinks Oscar looks like Sam the Eagle – Muppet AU??? Is there a world where Oscar has simply always been a muppet? Does Oscar wake up to find himself made of felt and a body that’s 80% eyebrows? Or is it Pedro that wakes up to find Oscar passed the muppet curse onto him? Surprise me! • Space AU! • Also this! -Pedro and Oscar disagreeing on who would win a fight between Mando and Moon Knight made me instantly think of that “Could you take them?/Yeah/Oh you mean in a fight” Lil Nas X post. There’s clearly only one way to resolve this, and that’s with boning. -Pedro won’t reveal his secret nickname for Oscar even wearing a lie detector because some things must stay sacred. Is it sexy? Embarrassing? Disgustingly romantic? • Consider again: Oscar in a skirt • Additional things for your consideration: here, here, and here. Oscar says he’s slutty, slutty Pedro’s ride or die and he’s never been led astray by another actor and John Boyega calls bullshit! I’d love anything exploring this. What's up with Oscar suddenly changing his tune and calling himself the most devoted when previously he’s said Pedro is completely obsessed with him? If you feel like bringing John into the mix and have John and Pedro compete over who most gets to have Oscar as their ride or die I would not complain. If that competition involves threesomes and/or railing, I would super super not complain!

Peacemaker: Adrian Chase, Christopher Smith

I watched the show earlier this year and instantly fell in love with it. I love everything about it, from the credits to the team-as-family vibes, to every single one of the characters. I'm only requesting Peacemaker and Vigilante this time, but feel free to bring in the other characters as well! Especially Eagly. :DDDD I love the lighthearted, fun tone of the show and would love something along those lines. BFF ships are some of my favorites and far and away, Peacemaker and Vigilante are my favorite BFF ship, even if Peacemaker doesn't acknowledge that they're BFFs. One of my favorite canon moments for them- and I recognize this is a little fucked up- is the moment when Peacemaker can't shoot the butterfly children and Vigilante steps up and does it for him. In that moment, it's so clear how willing Vigilante is to do anything for him, and it's just as clear that Chris needs him, even if he has difficulty saying so. Some prompts: • This canon lends itself really well to bonkers casefic/mission fic as well as tropey stuff. Maybe they have to save the world by going undercover at a sex club! Or at a couples' cruise! I love fake dating/pretending to be married and I think it'd be hilarious with these two, especially if you include the team's reactions. • For more tropey stuff, they touch an alien artifact and get— sex pollened! bodyswapped! soulbonded! • "Well, how else am I gonna experience motherhood?" He's right and he should say it! I love Vigilante, feel free to knock him up. Mpreg DNW does not apply in this specific prompt. • If you're into media fic, I feel like Peacemaker would make some A++ AITA reddit posts and I would love to read them! Or are there twitter rumors about him on twitter like there are about Aquaman? Is this a Mistaken For A Couple By The Internet situation with Vigilante? • Okay, so I'm curious about their threesomes. /o\ Was Amber Calcaterra the first, or just one in a series of many? How did the two of them seduce Amber? How did this thing even get started? Inquiring minds want to know!

House of the Dragon: Rhaenyra Targaryen, Daemon Targaryen

After GoT and its ending, I nearly didn't give this a shot. But then I did. Goddamn it, HBO, you got me.

I love the characters, I love the drama, and I love my shiny new incest ship. Daemon/Rhaenyra grabbed me from the moment he hung that Valyrian steel necklace on her neck and even if that moment and its small piece of light UST hadn't been enough, the time he snuck her out for a wild night on the town and they ended up nearly banging in a brothel while he whispered to her about a woman's pleasure being just as important as a man's would've cinched it. I love the energy they have from the beginning that they're the only ones who really understand each other, that they're always in on things together, and they're kind of pulling one over on everyone else. I would love really anything with them having a lot of sexual tension and teasing and build-up until it explodes. *___* If you'd like a prompt, here are a few! - I would fucking love an epistolary fic when he's in Pentos and she's in Driftmark and they're both trying to pretend everything is fine and they're not pining for one another a ridiculous amount but also not above trying to make each other jealous by talking about how great their spouses are. - I don't know exactly how you'd make a whole fic out of it, but I loved the moment when Daemon and Rhaenyra were dancing at her rehearsal dinner- their push/pull dynamic on full display, Daemon simultaneously reluctant and intimidated, Rhaenyra openly challenging him, a thin veil of lucky circumstances letting them steal a few secret seconds. More like that, please! - Actually, on that subject of that scene, the crowd closed in so close that we never saw if they kissed or not. Show me which you headcanon and why! - So about that brothel scene. So enticing. So hot. And so abruptly cut off. >:( I really thought when I watched it that Daemon was going to go down on Rhaenyra in the middle of that brothel- possibly with her encouraging him by pushing him to his knees. The show may have denied me, but I'd love to get fic like this! - Rhaenyra pegging Daemon, please? :D? That's it. That's the prompt. - As mentioned above, I don't like noncon, but I love characters who are in this together PRETENDING it's noncon for a hostile audience. Feel free to shove Daemon and Rhaenyra into any situation where Some Bad Guys Make Them Do It- except that, unknown to those bad guys, they're not making them do anything they don't want to do. - I ship Daemon/Rhaenyra primarily, but I am not at all opposed to dipping into their relationships with others and blurring them together. I would love Daemon/Rhaenyra/Laena or Daemon/Rhaenyra/Harwin or, if you're feeling really adventurous, Daemon/Rhaenyra/Laena/Harwin. While I would like it if there was some element of teasing and performance- like Daemon seducing Harwin for Rhaenyra's entertainment- I would REALLY love it if there was still equal interest, i.e Rhaenyra and Laena wanting each other for their own sake.

Cloak and Dagger: Tandy Bowen and Tyrone Johnson I’ll forever be sad this show only got 2 seasons. :( Ty and Tandy are perfect and I love everything about them. I just cannot get enough of the ways they complement and complete each other. I love how they are absolutely 100% ride or die for each other. I love how they spend so much of the first season unable to even touch without blowing shit up but once they get a handle on it, they’re holding hands and exchanging casual touches basically any chance they get. I loved them literally fighting each others personal demons in the finale and the numerous ways they’ll express their love for each other without actually saying the words. The fact that they were finally going to get together and kiss in a prospective season 3 and we missed out on that when they got cancelled that will haunt me. I want to know what they’re up to after the season finale, but I do really love the two seasons we got. Waffles forever! *__* Prompts: • When we last see them, Ty and Tandy are on the bus, hitting the road. What’s their next move? • They powerswapped at least once in the comics. What does that look like for Ty and Tandy in the show? Darkforce daggers? What does Ty’s cloak do now? • Casefic/missionfic! • I really like the worldbuilding they did with the Divine Pairing and the Loa. If you’re interested in exploring the metaphysical trippiness of Ty and Tandy exploring more of the Dark Dimension I would love that! • The love confession and the kisses we never got to see! • I love Evita and her journey too, so if you want to include her go right ahead! • The S2 episode where Tandy experienced multiple different first meetings with Ty really fed my love of canon divergence AUs. I’d love more like that, where the details might change, but their bond is inevitable. • I love time loops, hurt/comfort, road trips, bedsharing, and mutual pining!

#yuletide

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doakaptan · 3 years

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i think i finally get mad men and im not happy about it

Two weeks ago I started watching Mad Men for an assignment and accidentally became obsessed with a show that had no premise other than Don Draper bedding various women. 5 seasons in, I bought myself a mechanical keyboard just so that I can live the aesthetic of the show while writing this.

(I will write this post assuming you have read my first blog post about this show but you don’t have to worry about missing any info because the first blog post was me predicting an unpredictable show and cursing at characters)

So turns out, I did not really figure out anything by only watching the first seven episodes. No surprise there. But by diving deep into the first 2 seasons I realized that Mad Men is actually deeper than it lets on and the cheapening effect of its over-sexualized characters don’t really do a great job at hiding it. Actually after a while sex in the show is more symbolism than actual sex. It especially signifies a mental state that is special to Don and you actually start feeling sorry for him whenever a sex scene comes up.

Well, Don Draper is a villain as well as the hero or to put it more accurately, a tragic hero and as the seasons progress you develop a love hate relationship with him. And if you binge watch 5 seasons and use all your spare time to think about it, you start relating to Don. Surprisingly Don had all the odds against him and lived an awful life without ever doing anything to prompt it. As I learned more about his life I actually started getting mad at the alternative reality of Mad Men because goddamn let the man breathe and be happy for once.

At the start I was mad about him cheating on Betty with every single powerful women that looked his way and I am still mad, you can’t really excuse that, but as their relationship was revealed more and more I kind of started to understand why he preferred spending the nights somewhere else. Betty is incredibly hard to put up with and no offense but even I’m not sticking around for her character development. She is overbearing, childish, overall a pain in the ass. If I knew her in real life I would have thought that she was pampered too much and was unable to grow up and get a grip as a result. She has mommy issues though and I respect that. There are also moments that she shines and she especially prefers shining only after they get a divorce and when she knows she will get Don’s approval. Before I lose track and continue talk about Betty know that Don is always worse and let me wrap up his analysis.

Don is, in my opinion, someone who experiences love by avoiding it. (A love avoidant may be the term but I am not really sure). He marries Betty because he falls in love too hard and starts avoiding her right after their marriage, he likes the artist woman too much so he leaves her to be with someone she is more compatible with, same thing with the most of the women he chases. I only realized how hard he avoids the people he likes during season 4 when he decides to marry his secretary (who mind you spend like 4 days with him in Los Angeles to take care of his children) rather than building a healthy relationship with Faye who was probably the best person he could have ended up with. This also relates back to his self-destructive tendencies. He never truly believes that he deserved anything so he makes sure that he ruins it.

He excessively drinks and smokes, cuts ties on a whim, cheats and only ever feels truly like himself while he’s with Anna (who dies later in the series). Anna is and was the friend he needed all along. Even in his stolen identity Anna was the only person who accepted him as who he is and didn’t leave his side even in his darkest times. The man literally went to Korea by himself to defend an area and came back with a stolen id and lots of trauma and adopted himself into the life of her (the wife of the person he stole his identity from) and made sure she lived a life full of love. He shines the most when he can be himself but his old identity is and probably will always be an enigma to him.

I think he’s slowly starting to find his way and make up for his mistakes but since he is used to self-destructing his set backs get more and more brutal each time. I start relating to him at this point the most. Relapsing in situations like these is brutal and it always feels like it is the last time and for once, for Don, it is the last time. He starts writing to understand himself and starts doing things like, regularly going to swimming or getting into a healthy relationship with someone who will be with him and help him through his ups and downs. He relapses when he decides to marry his secretary and from then on his relapse will only get worse but I believe that he is getting somewhere…

I will update this post once and for all, when I finish the entire series but for now I weirdly have hope that everything will end well for Don.

And since I overstayed my welcome by going way over the word-limit I will speed run the thoughts I have about the other characters.

Betty, despite my comments earlier is actually misunderstood and deserves more than she gets. She truly loved Don and did everything in her power to make him happy. She even left her very successful modeling career to get married with him while SHE DESERVED BETTER THAN HIM. Her parenting is questionable but it can be overlooked because right now (in the middle of a global pandemic) we can all agree that being stuck with our family 24/7 is not ideal and we have been doing it for only a year while she has been doing it for more than a decade with more children adding up. LEAVE BETTY DRAPER/FRANCIS ALONE.

(Also, watch the scene where she shoots at her neighbor’s pigeons because he threatened little Sally with killing her dog then talk to me about good parenting…)

Pete Campbell, turns out I really like him and his work ethic. I wish he ended up with Peggy but he is doing just fine with Trudy good for him. good. for. him. Thank god they didn’t follow up Trudy’s ‘old lover’, ‘the one that got away' plot line because it would probably be the thing I hated the most about watching this show. She is not an interesting character and she’ll never be. Good for Pete though, good for Pete. He never gets anything and I don’t know if he deserves getting it because we are not that exposed to him. But he is loyal to the ones he loves and even though his morals can get a bit questionable at times he is hardworking and will build up a great life as far as I’m concerned. (And if he doesn’t you can find me on ao3 re-writing his plot because I am no longer appreciating Pete-slander in this house).

Peggy. GOOD FOR HER GOOD FOR HER. LEAVE THAT DAMN CATHOLIC CHURCH AND HANG OUT WITH WANNABE REALEST OF THE REALEST ARTISTS. Also love the gay girl she should have ended up with her instead of the wannabe artist who only talks about capitalism. Peggy’s job is capitalism their relationship don’t really make sense.

Joan… Joan deserved someone who treated her right but fell into the lap of a charming locker-room-mouthed jock, who tried to be a surgeon and failed then tried to be a psychiatrist and failed and finally got drafted for Vietnam (ngl I hope he dies there). Unpopular opinion she should have ended up with Roger because while I hate ‘the perfect girl fixes boy with problems’ trope I would have eat it up. I like them together and surprisingly they are good together. I think she is the only one smart enough to actually lead cis-het white men who think they own everything because they are men, within their company and she deserves more than she gets with the shit she deals with.

On a last note, the topics Mad Men deals with sometimes can get a bit triggering or upsetting but I think it is worth a watch.

#mad men #yes #im talking about mad men again #sue me #Don Draper #pete campbell #Peggy Olson #Betty Draper #betty francis #i am still attracted to don #u can sue me idc #he is attractive #joan harris

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strongerwiththepack · 3 years

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I've got stab wound + swimming pool

Can u do it with my boi gordy?😁

From the Whump Generator. Thank-you for the prompt! Sorry it took me so long, I had a bit of a busy week. Still working through the ones I haven’t gotten to yet! Hope you enjoy some WASP!Gordon XD

Gordon & Stab Wound & Swimming Pool

Sometimes Gordon would come down to the pool at night. Despite the gruelling training they did during the day at WASP, Gordon still liked to relax with a calming swim. No one yelling at him from the side of the pool, no pressure to be fast or efficient. He could just swim. That’s what he’d always been in love with. That’s why he was here.

At 17-years-old Gordon was one of the youngest ever recruits in the WASP training program. A lot of the men he trained with had already been in the army. It was intimidating and he knew he was behind in some areas but in the water? That was his element and that’s what counted here at WASP.

The pool was empty, sometimes there were night exercises running but they liked to save those for 3am when you were dead on your feet. None of the other recruits would dream of doing extra training but Gordon didn’t see it as training, it helped him wind down and relax. The other guys in his unit didn’t get it. Gordon didn’t mind though, he loved having the space to himself.

He slid into the water with a slight shiver. He was wearing his WASP wetsuit, they didn’t heat the pools here as it was unlikely they were ever going to be in situations where the water was warm. Better preparation for the real world. It wasn’t too bad though, especially with the high-quality wetsuits they were given. The worst one was the ice pool, used for cold water survival training. Those days were painful.

He started his laps, gliding through the water effortlessly. Years and years of training kept him on autopilot. He could feel the tension leaving his body as he worked through the stress of the day. Being the youngest recruit also left him as a bit of an outcast. And his unit didn’t always appreciate his joking.

As he finished his first set he felt hands latch onto his wrists when he hit the wall. He startled as he was yanked up out of the pool.

“What-“ He started before he got his feet under himself and saw three of the guys from his unit glaring at him.

“Uh, hey.” Gordon greeted. “Have we got a training exercise or something?”

It was Jeffers, Higgins and Campbell. There were 5 people per unit and 5 units in this year’s intake. 25 recruits altogether. Peters was the other member of their unit. He was also the one Gordon was closest to. Well, not exactly close but Peters definitely tolerated him more than the others. It would usually be him who came and got him if they had new orders.

“No.” Jeffers answered cryptically.

Gordon knew Jeffers and Higgins didn’t like him. They never tried to hide it. They were the two glaring down at him right now. Gordon tried to catch Campbell’s eye but the man seemed to be looking anywhere but at him.

Gordon was starting to feel a little anxious and tried to pull back as he realised Jeffers and Higgins still had a tight hold on each of his wrists. Water dripped down his face from his hair.

“You’re an embarrassment to our unit.” Higgin’s continued. “This has been a long time coming Tracy.”

“Let go of me.” Gordon demanded.

“This is how it’s gonna go Tracy.” Jeffers said as they dragged him forwards. “As far as anyone else is concerned you were here doing your stupid extra laps and you slipped.”

They stopped by the training equipment. It covered the sides of the room from oxygen tanks to weights to dingy boats. The weighted rings were in-front of them stacked up on metallic poles. The hands on him adjusted and Gordon realised this was more than light-hearted hazing.

He dropped back sharply pulling both the men to the floor with him before ripping himself from their grasp and scrambling up to race for the door. Someone tackled him around the legs and he went down hard. His chin bashed off the tiled floor and pain exploded there. He kicked out but Jeffers was holding his legs tightly and Higgins grabbed his arms as they pulled him up. He was advancing quickly in hand-to-hand combat training but these guys had been in the army for years and they also had a lot of weight on him.

“HELP!” He screamed. A hand was clamped tightly over his mouth but he still continued to scream behind it and struggle in their hold. They were back by the weighted rings.

“As I was saying.” Jeffers continued, grunting as Gordon continued to struggle. “When you slipped like the careless child you are, you fell right onto one of these poles.”

All Gordon could do was widen his eyes before two sets of hands pushed him down hard onto one of the poles. A hand was still clamped over his mouth as he shrieked in agony. The poles were thin but blunt, it was like a punch that went all the way through his abdomen.

He was pulled back up off the pole and Gordon had never felt so much pain in his entire life. What the hell was happening right now? He was thrown backwards onto the floor and Gordon curled in on himself hand hovering over the crude wound. Blood was already seeping onto the tiles. Gordon scrunch his eyes shut and grunted in agony.

“What- what the hell are you doing.” He practically sobbed out.

“We’re not gonna let some kid show us up anymore.”

Gordon couldn’t believe what he was hearing. These guys were going to murder him because he was doing better than them in training?

“You’ll get kicked out for this.” Gordon tried to reason. “You’ll go to prison.”

“No one will ever find out.” Jeffers replied. “Like I said you slipped.”

“There are cameras everywhere. They’ll know.”

“Already taken care of.” Higgins replied. “Now we’re going to take care of you.”

The grabbed him off the ground and started dragging him towards the pool. His side was in agony and there was a puddle of blood where he’d been lying. He struggled weakly in their hold as sounds of distress escaped him.

“Poor Gordon Tracy, stabbed himself on pool equipment then fell in and drowned.”

Gordon panicked and tried to catch Campbells eye. The man had yet to touch him or say anything. He was staring at the wall though.

“Campbell.” Gordon wheezed as he was pulled to the edge of the pool and dangled over. The man caught his eye briefly looking guilty. Gordon saw his opportunity.

“Campbell, please.” He begged. “Don’t let them do this.”

The man merely looked towards the ground and Gordon’s heart sank. Jeffers laughed in his face.

“He wants this as much as we do. He’s set to get kicked out after this quarter if he doesn’t get closer to the top. And what better way to do it than to remove the top altogether.”

With that Gordon was pushed backwards into the pool and it took all of his years of training not to breathe in as he hit the surface and his wound was jarred. He desperately tried to swim back up but every kick he made sent agony through his side. His lungs were burning. Just a little further.

He spluttered as he broke through the surface trying desperately to stay calm and float.

Peters rolled over in his bunk. It was almost lights out and none of his unit were here. He had a bad feeling about what was going on. Tracy would be doing his usual nightly swim. Personally, he thought the kid was crazy, he could barely move after each day of training.

He knew the other guys were up to something. Something that involved Tracy. He’d heard them talking about it earlier. Higgins had even asked him how he felt about the kid. The other guys had watched him carefully as he’d shrugged.

Talented kid. He’d said. They’d gone back to their discussion.

Tracy got a hard time from them. Hell, he’d given him a hard time at the start as well. A 17-year-old at WASP? That was ridiculous. But the kid had proven himself. He was good at this. Sure, he was a little immature but honestly you needed a sense of humour to do a job like this. So yeah, he and Tracy got on.

That’s why he was a little worried now. He sighed and sat up to put on his boots. Bloody kid. Making him worry. He’d just have a walk to the pool. Ease his mind.

He was about to turn the corner for the pool when he heard the screaming. It was Tracy. Screaming for help. He increased his speed but was met with Campbell blocking his path.

“What the hell is going on in there?” Peters demanded as Campbell sidestepped, continually blocking his path.

“Pete, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll turn around and forget about this.”

There was some splashing and more quiet cries for help from beyond the closed door. Peters tried to push his way past but Campbell grabbed his wrist twisting until it was behind his back. He then gave him a harsh shove back down the corridor and Peters fell to his knees.

“Get out of here.”

Peters grabbed his abused arm and stared at his teammate in shock. What the hell? He needed to get help. He back away down the corridor slowly but as soon as he was out of sight he broke into a sprint. This was beyond hazing. There was something awful going on behind that door.

He burst into the training officers’ common room without so much as a knock and was met with 5 deathly stares that promised a lot of pain for him in the future. He didn’t have time to waste though.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing Peters?” Bentley, his units training officer, shouted.

“It’s Tracy.” He panted. “There’s something going down at the pool. He’s in trouble.”

All five men stood, and Peters sighed in relief. He explained the situation as they quickly made their way back to the pool. So much for an early night.

He saw Campbell pale as they approached the pool. He wasn’t surprised, all 5 training officers marching towards you with murderous expressions on their face was definitely something to fear.

“Move aside cadet.” One of the officer’s demanded as they got to the door.

When he failed to move, he was roughly grabbed by the officer and thrown against the wall, arms pulled behind him. The rest of them filed into the pool area. Campbell had never been WASP material, he was too much of a coward.

“What the hell is going on in here cadets?” Bentley demanded as they enter the room to see Jeffers and Higgins looking light deer caught in headlights. There was blood soaked into the tiled floor.

Peters looked around but could see no sight of Tracy. The silence stretched on to an uncomfortable length.

“Do I need to repeat myself?” The officer screamed again. Everything was loud in the military.

“We-we just found him like this.” Higgins started to babble.

“Yeah” Jeffers continued. “We heard a struggle so came to see what happened.”

Peters tried to keep track of the conversation but as Jeffers eyes briefly flickered to the water, he knew. The screams. The splashing. The dark shape under the water. Oh god.

“Tracy!” he shouted as dove into the water with expert form.

He heard a commotion as he hit but it was muffled by the water. He powerfully swam down to where he could see his teammate floating limply at the bottom of the pool. He forced himself to move faster. He was still wearing his clothes and boots which didn’t help the struggle.

He reached out and snagged hold of Tracy under his arm and planted his feet firmly on the floor of the pool before pushing off as hard as he could. He broke the surface and pulled the kids head up above the water as he kicked his way back to the side. Bentley and one of the other officers were waiting for him. They pulled Tracy from his grasp as soon as they were in reach, yanking him from the water.

Peters could only watch as they began CPR. The kid literally couldn’t be in better hands. WASP trained CPR more thoroughly than any other medical procedure. But what if they’d been too late? He should’ve stormed in here the second he heard the cries for help. Campbell couldn’t have stopped him if he’d really tried.

He never dreamed it would’ve been this bad though. He’d thought they’d been trying to scare the kid, not kill him. Tracy was practically blue, his features lax as the officers worked. He pulled himself out of the water. Jeffers and Higgins were being subdued by the other officers. Idiots. He’d trusted those guys. They were suppose to be a team.

When Tracy coughed, Peters gave a sigh of relief. Bentley rolled the kid over as he started violently expelling the pool water from his lungs. That’s when he saw the blood.

“He’s bleeding.” He informed the officers urgently.

Bentley swore when he saw the large pool of blood under the boys body.

“Medical are on the way.” He supplied as he felt around the wetsuit to try and put pressure on the wound.

“Can I go with him?” Peters asked hopefully.

He’d just found out his entire unit had tried to murder one of their members. He gotten to know all of these men well over the past few months. He really didn’t think he could go and sleep alone in their bunk tonight.

It looked like the officer was going to refuse until he looked into his eyes and saw the pain there. Bentley glanced round to look at his other teammates. Reinforcements had arrived and they were all being led out in handcuffs. Peters stared intently at Tracy so he didn’t have to look.

Bentley sighed. “Go dry off and get changed then you can head over to medical.”

Peters nodded his head. “Thank-you Sir.”

“Yeah, well, the kid deserves to know he’s got one friendly face around here.”

Peters gave a grim expression. He didn’t want to think about what had gone on in here tonight.

“I want your report in the morning.” Bentley ordered. “There will be a full investigation into what happened tonight.”

Peters nodded his understanding. Medical burst through the doors then and Peters watched as Bentley ran a hand through Tracy’s hair with a sad look on his face before standing up to let medical take over. He always knew the officer had a soft spot for the kid.

“What’s his name?” One of the doctors asked as they loaded him onto a hover stretcher.

“Tracy” Peters said immediately then blanked on what the kids first name was.

“Gordon.” Bentley supplied for him. “Gordon Tracy.”

Right. Gordon. That was his name.

And then he watched as they wheeled the kid from the room.

fin.

A/N: I kind of want to write more in this universe...let me know if you’d be interested in reading more about Gordon at WASP training!

#thunderbirds are go #Gordon Tracy #myfic

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ablogthatishenceforthmine · 4 years

Text

Best Hamilton Lyrics for Each Mad Men Character

Don Draper - “There would have been nothin’ left to do for someone less astute. He woulda been dead or destitute without a cent of restitution. Started clerkin’, workin’ for his late mother’s landlord, tradin’ sugar cane and all the things he can’t afford. Scammin’ for every book he can get his hands on, planning for the future now as he stands on the bow of a ship headed to a new land. In New York, you can be a new man.”

Peggy Olson - “I am not throwing away my shot.”

Pete Campbell - “You could never be satisfied. God, I hope you’re satisfied.”

Joan Holloway - “I wanna be in the room where it happens.”

Betty Draper - “We dream of a brand new start, but we dream in the dark for the most part.”

Roger Sterling - “Would you like to join us or stay mellow, doin’ whatever the hell it is you do in Monticello?”

Megan Draper - “Look around, look around, at how lucky we are to be alive right now.”

Sally Draper - “I am inimitable. I am an original.”

Stan Rizzo - “God help and forgive me. I wanna build something’s that gonna outlive me.”

Michael Ginsberg - “The problem is I got a lot of brain but no polish.”

Ken Cosgrove - “You ever see somebody ruin their own life?”

Lane Pryce - “Then a hurricane came and devastation reigned. Our man saw his future drip, dripping down the drain.”

Harry Crane - “You are the worst, Burr!”

Bert Cooper - “Cuz we’ll have the banks. We’re in the same spot.”

Ted Chaough - “I will never be satisfied.”

Bob Benson - “I’m not standing still. I’m lying in wait.”

Trudy Campbell - “I hope your burn.”

Henry Francis - “But my god, she looks so helpless.”

Paul Kinsey - “There’s nothing rich folks love more than going downtown and slummin’ it with the poor.

Dawn Chambers - “They emerge with a compromise, having opened doors that were previously closed bros.”

Sal Romano - “His enemies destroyed his rep. America forgot him.”

Jim Cutler - “Congress is fighting over where to put the capital.”

Rachel Menken - “Some man say that i’m intense or i’m insane.”

Faye Miller - “If I could grant you peace of mind, if you could let me inside your heart... oh, let me be a part of the narrative in the story they will write someday. Let this be the first chapter where you decide to stay.”

Helen Bishop - “I stop wasting time on tears.”

Midge Daniels - “We were at a revel with some rebels on a hot night.”

Burt Peterson - “The pieces that are sacrificed in every piece of chess.”

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cromulentbookreview · 3 years

Text

I See What You Did There

What’s two plus two?

Huh? What? What’s happening?

What’s two plus two?

Oh, shit, right, I have a book review blog, don’t I? I mean, things have been a bit hectic these past few months and I’m also trying to be a real writer...

What’s two plus two?

Yeah, you’re right, I shouldn’t neglect my tumblr, even if nobody reads it. And come on, computer, it’s not like I’ve been in a coma for four years, two plus two is clearly five and we all love Big Brother, OK? Gah.

Uhhh...And by that, I mean: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir!

Dr. Ryland Grace wakes up in a spaceship with no memory of how or why he’s there. He’s a junior high school science teacher, what the hell is he doing on a spaceship? Also, the other two astronauts are dead. Like, really dead. So far as how things are going for Dr. Grace right now, I’ll let Pete Campbell give you a hint:

Slowly, veeeery slowly, Grace’s memory starts to come back to him: he’s on a mission to save the Earth. There’s this nasty space bacteria-thingy called Astrophage that’s dimming the light of Mr. Burns’s archnemesis: the Sun.

There’s a lot of science involved, but Weir explains, in great detail, just how Astrophage dims the Sun and why that’s really, really, really, really bad for the Earth. Like, apocalyptic-bad. Billions will die bad. Famine, disease, war, rocks fall, everyone dies and freezes to death bad. Only not right away. Over the course of several years. So everyone will die, but they’ll get to do it real slowly.

Yay?

Like so, but it ends with everybody dead and the Earth being rendered uninhabitable. All of Grace’s wee little students will grow up watching their Earth slowly die. Unless Project Hail Mary finds a solution. And there seems to be a solution out there - Tau Ceti seems to be the only star not infected with Astrophage. Why? How? What? So this all powerful woman called Stratt, who has been given authority by just about everyone (how? Reasons. Don’t ask questions) yanks Grace out of his classroom - first to study Astrophage, and then, somehow, he can’t remember exactly, roped him into going on a dozen-light-year journey to Tau Ceti with the crew of the Hail Mary.

Only the rest of the crew is dead. Something went wrong while they were in a coma during their four-year space voyage. Grace is alone.

Inside the Hail Mary.

Full of a dude called Grace.

I see what you did there, Weir. Don’t think I didn’t see what you did there. I mean, you don’t even have to be Catholic to see what you did there.

Anyway, long-winded flashbacks and lots of science ensues. I struggled with the first quarter of the book - not for any particular reason other than I started reading this book in the latter half of 2020 and I was having a hell of a time concentrating on...well, everything. Remember 2020? Yeah, it wasn’t great. I mean, I’d need a lot of “not great, Bob!” gifs to describe just how bad those last few months of 2020 were.

And then I thought 2021 would be better. Ahahaha we barely made it six days. Seriously, everything is terrible and how do I even concentrate on a dumb book blog let alone a book all about science and the Earth slowly dying because the sun is dimming and -

Soon enough, however, Grace spots something on the Hail Mary’s radar. It’s...another spaceship? All the way out by Tau Ceti? At first, Grace thinks maybe its another ship from Earth, like a backup plan, that’d make sense, right? Only it’s not.

Who could it be?

Aliens?

Yeah, it’s aliens.

Our friend Grace gets to be the dude to make first contact with the sentient, spider-like creatures of the first planet in the system 40 Eridani. Turns out 40 Eridani is also infected with Astrophage, which is causing all sorts of problems for the Eridians, and their ship just happened to be around Tau Ceti at the exact same time as the Hail Mary. Crazy, right? Anyway, after the initial first contact and the long, drawn-out process of learning to communicate with one another (with no help from Amy Adams or Jeremy Renner), Grace and the lone Eridian, whom Grace christens Rocky, team up to save their respective worlds.

Science and plenty of flashbacks ensue.

I’m not a scientist - well, I have a master’s degree in library and information science, which, I guess, is a science? I mean, uh...I could tell you where all the sciency books are in the library. 500s if you’re using Dewey, and if you’re using Library of Congress, it will depend on what you’re looking for - you’ll want to start with Q for general sciences, QA for math books, QB and QC for astronomy and physics, QE, GC, GB, QC, TN for earth sciences, QD, TN, TP, and TR for chemical sciences, GE and bits of GF, QE, QH, QC, and TD for environmental sciences, QH, QK, QL, QM, QP, and QR for life sciences, QA75-76.9, TK5101-TK6720, TK7800-TK7895, and Q334-Q390 for computer sciences, telecommunication and artificial intelligence, Q, R, S, and T for the history of sciences and if you’re looking for bibliographies and finding aids for topics in the sciences, look under Z.

You know. Science.

OK, so I may not be a scientist. I may be bad at math because numbers somehow magically switch themselves around on paper whenever I look at them. Why? Because my brain sucks, that’s why. I may have spent most of my chemistry classes reading YA books under my desk (worth it!). I may have only passed high school physics by cheating off a girl younger than I was, but hey, the joke was on me: my high school physics teacher wasn’t even qualified to teach physics.

Gotta love rural public schools.

My point is, while the science may be lost on me and my brain which is full mostly of Simpsons quotes rather than actual knowledge, I do loves me a fun story where Science (with a capital S) saves the day. And, make no mistake, this book is fun. You might get a bit bogged down by the science, but once you get past it, this is a highly enjoyable story of one dangerously unqualified guy desperately trying to save the world with his new BFF, alien spider guy who speaks in musical notes. It’s up to them and them alone. Good luck, guys! Don’t forget that billions upon billions of lives depend on you. No pressure.

Seriously, if you loved The Martian, you’ll love Project Hail Mary. They’re similar, but Hail Mary is on a much larger scale than The Martian - there’s a lot more at stake in the hands of one guy. Plus: aliens!

Without spoiling anything, I’ll just say I would have loved more from the ending. I would’ve loved an epilogue from some of the other character’s perspectives or something. I mean, I could even go with a sequel! Maybe something where Erid and Earth are finally able to communicate? There’s a lot of potential for short stories or novellas set in the same world as Project Hail Mary - there’s got to be bonus material there and I want it. More, please? That’d be nice. I’d definitely read it. So... Hop to it, Weir!

One last complaint: Grace doesn’t swear. Like, at all. Meanwhile, Mark Watney is over here like

Come on, Grace, would it kill you to say “fuck” or “shit” every now and again? I mean, I sipped coffee that was too hot and let out a bunch of words that’d make a 19th century whaler blush. Geez.

RECOMMENDED FOR: Fans of The Martian, science-y people, people who enjoy a heavy dose of science in their sci-fi, people who just want a fun story

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR: People with no mind for science, people who are against fun, anyone who doesn’t like sci-fi, aliens, fun, etc.

RATING: 4/5

ALIEN RATING:

RELEASE DATE: May 4, 2021 (HEY! Don’t think I didn’t see what you did there, too, Ballantine Books!)

ANTICIPATION LEVEL FOR SPINOFFS / SEQUELS / BONUS MATERIAL OF ANY KIND: Olympus Mons.

DID I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE?

#project hail mary #andy weir #fiction #book review #science fiction #hard science fiction #sff #sci-fi #tau ceti #rocky #adrian #hail mary #ryland grace #apocalyptic fiction #first contact #aliens #global dimming #astrophage

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andyetbyheavenithinkmyloveasrare · 4 years

Video

youtube

Julie Andrews and Carol Burnett: The CBS Television Specials

Medley of the 60’s

Julie. When Carol and I did you last show together, we had a chance to sing all of our favourite songs. Well, practically all, everything except from “Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nelly” and she wouldn’t let me do it either.

Carol. Now I told you, I would love to do that song, I really would, but remember what we promised. We said that this was supposed to be a classy show, And Nelly just isn’t right for a place like this.

Julie. Well you’re right Carol, classy it is. So ladies and gentlemen, ce soir, nous allons commencer où nous sommes finis. A Carnegie Hall, nous avons présenté un mélange de chansons de l’année 1900. Maintenant, nous aimerions continuer avec les dix ans passés.

Carol. For those of you who don’t understand Spanish, what she’s trying to say is that when we did Carnegie Hall, we did a whole bunch of songs from the years 1900 on. And now we want to catch up on the wonderful songs that were written in the last ten years, right Julie ?

Julie. Oui, peut-on commencer ?

Carol. Oui. Voulez-vous hit it Pete ?

Both. We're Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band We hope you will enjoy the show We’re Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Sit back and let the evening go [Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Beatles]

Carol. What would you do if I sang out of tune? Would you stand up and walk out on me? Julie. Probably. Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song

And I’ll try not to sing out of key [With a Little Help from my Friends, Joe Cocker]

Simultaneously

Carol. Sergeant Pepper's Lonely, Sergeant Pepper's Lonely, Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Julie. No, I get by with a little help from my friends Mm, get high with a little help from my friends Mm, gonna try with a little help from my friends [With a Little Help from my Friends, Beatles]

Both. Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts.

Simultaneously.

Carol. And the beat goes on

And the beat goes on

Julie. I dig rock and roll music

And I’d love to get a chance to play

I think I’s about the happiest sound goin’ down today

Both. The message may not move me

Or mean a great deal to me

But hey ! it fells so groovy to say [I dig rock and roll music, Peter, Paul and Mary]

Carol. Everybody is talking at me,

I don’t hear a word they’re saying

Only the echoes of my mind

People stop and stare at me

I can’t see their faces,

Only the shadows of their eyes [Everybody’s talking, Harry Nilsson]

Julie. It’s knowing that my door is always open

And my path is free to walk

That makes you tend to leave your sleeping bag

Rolled up and stashed behind my couch [Gentle on my mind, Glen Campbell]

Carol. And the Wichita lineman, He’s still on the line [Wichita Lineman, Glen Campbell]

Julie.. And it's knowing I'm not shackled by forgotten words and bonds And the ink stains that have dried up on some line

Carol. And he wakes up in the morning [ ? ] Julie. That keeps you in the back roads by the rivers of my memory That keeps you ever gentle on my mind. [Gentle on my mind, Glen Campbell]

Carol. And if that's not lovin' me Both. Then all I've got to say God didn't make little green apples And it don't rain in Indianapolis in the summertime

And when my self is feelin' low I think about her face aglow and ease my mind [Little Green Apples, OC Smith]

Carol. And honey, I love you and I'm bein' good [Honey, Dean Martin]

Julie. We’ve looked at love from both sides now [Both Sides Now, Joni Mitchell]

Carol. And I'd love to be with you if only I could. [Honey, Dean Martin]

Julie. If the world should stop revolving spinning slowly down to die, I'd spend the end with you. Both. And when the world was through, Then one by one the stars would all go out, Then you and I would simply fly away [If, Bread]

Both. You and I, for we can fly,

Up, up and away,

My beautiful, my beautiful balloon [Up, up and away, The 5th dimension]

Carol. Do you know the way to San José ? [Do you know the way to San José ? Dionne Warwick]

Carol. I'm leavin' on a jet plane

Simultaneously.

Carol.

Don't know when I'll be back again [Don't know when I'll be back again, John Denver]

Julie. I’ve been away so long, and I can’t go wrong in my way [I’ve been away so long, George Baker]

Carol. By the time I get to Phoenix he'll be [By the time I get to Phoenix, Glen Campbell]

Julie. Downtown Both. Waiting for you tonight, Downtown

Simultaneously.

Carol. Waiting for you tonight

Julie. Where all the lights are bright,

Both. Downtown, Everything’s waiting for [Downtown, Petula Clark]

Slow down, you move too fast You got to make the morning last

Just kicking down the cobblestones Looking for fun and feeling […] [The 59th Street bridge, Simon and Garfunkel]

Both. Sunny,

Carol. Yesterday my life was filled with rain. [Sunny, Bobby Hebb]

Julie. Raindrops keep falling on my head

Simultaneously.

Carol. Sunny, you smiled at me and really eased the pain. [Sunny, Bobby Hebb]

Julie. But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turning red

Crying's not for me 'Cause [Raindrops falling on my head, B.J.Thomas]

Both. You made me so very happy,

I'm so glad you came into my life. [You made me so very happy, Alton Ellis]

Carol. Tall and tan and young and handsome The boy from Ipanema goes awalking And when he passes, each girl she passes Goes "a-a-a-h" [The girl from Ipanema, Antonio Carlos Jobim]

Julie. You see this girl, this girl’s in love you [This Girl’s In Love You, Dionne Warwick]

Carol. Hey there, Georgie girl [Georgie Girl, The Seekers]

Julie. Hello dolly, well hello Dolly ! [Hello Dolly, Barbara Streisand & Louis Armstrong]

Carol. Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame street ? [Sesame Street Theme Song]

Julie. Sesame Street.

Wherever you going I’m going your way

Both. Two drifters, off to see the world There's such a lot of world to see We're after the same rainbow's end [Moon River, Audrey Hepburn]

Look at all the lonely people [Eleanor Rigby, Beatles]

Carol. People, People who need people [People, Barbara Streisand]

Both. Oh, Look at all the lonely people.

Where do they all belong? [Eleanor Rigby, Beatles]

What the world needs now is love, sweet love That’s the only thing that there's just too little of What the world needs now is love, sweet love, No not just for some but for everyone. Yes for everyone. [What the world needs now is love, Dionne Warwick]

Come together, right now [Come Together, Beatles]

Put your hand in the hand of the man who stilled the water Put your hand in the hand of the man who calmed the sea Take a good look at yourself, and you can look at others diff'rently Put your hand in the hand of the man from Galilee [Put your hand in the hand, Donny Hathaway]

Julie. Let it be, let it be. Let it be, let it be. Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.

Both. Let it be, let it be. Let it be, let it be. There will be an answer, let it be. [Let it be, Beatles]

Simultaneously.

Carol. And when I’m gone. And when I’m gone. [And When I Die, Blood Sweat and Tears]

Julie. We shall overcome

We shall overcome We shall overcome, someday [We shall overcome, Pete Seeger]

Carol. There’s be sunshine and a world to carry on

Julie. To carry on. [And When I Die, Blood Sweat and Tears]

Carol. This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius Julie. Age of Aquarius Both. Aquarius Aquarius Aquarius Aquarius [Aquarius, The 5th Dimension]

Carol. The only one who could ever reach me Was the son of a preacher man Julie. The only one who could ever teach me Was the son of a preacher man [The Son A Preacher Man, Dusty Springfield]

Carol. Oh he was ?

Julie. He was ?

Carol. That rat !

Julie. Bastard !

Carol. What kind of fool am I

Who never fell in love [What kind of fool am I, Anthony Newley]

Julie. What do you get when you fall in love? A guy with a pin to burst your bubble [I’ll never fall in love again, Dionne Warwick]

Carol. What’s it all about Alfie [Alfie, Burt Bacharach]

Julie. What now my love

Now that you left me

How can I live through another day [What now, My Love, Shirley Bassey]

Carol. Well, I think I'm goin' out of my head

Yes, I think I'm goin' out of my head

Over you, [Going out of my head, Little Anthony & the Imperials]

Julie. Born free, and life is worth living

But only worth living

When you're born free [Born free, Brian May]

Carol. Doobe doobe doo, bedoo bedoo be

Both. Doobedoo bedoo bedoo bedoo bedoo be doobedoo bedoo bedoo be.

Julie. How long does it last Can love be measured by the hours in a day I have no answers now but this much I can say I know I'll need him 'till the stars all burn away And he'll be there [Where do I begin, Andy Williams]

Carol. Let it please be him, oh God dear God but it's not him, And then I die [It must be him, Vikki Carr]

Julie. Keep it dear...

Carol. Again I die [cries]

Julie. Now now, Carol pull yourself together. It’s just a song. I mean remember :

Just a Spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down The medicine go down, medicine go down Just a spoonful of sugar

Carol. Oh shut up !

Julie. Helps the medicine go down [Spoonful of Sugar, Julie Andrews]

Both. What goes up must come down Spinnin' wheel got to go 'round Talkin' 'bout your troubles it's a cryin' sin Ride a painted pony let the spinnin' wheel spin

Ride a painted pony let the spinnin' wheel turn

Catch a painted pony on the spinning wheel ride [Spinning wheel, Blood Sweat Tears]

Carol. Is that all there is, is that all there is Both. If that's all there is my friends, then let's keep dancing

Let's break out the booze and have a ball If that's all. [Is that all there is, Peggy Lee]

We’re all sergeant pepper lonely hearts club band [Sergeant Pepper Lonely Hearts Club Band, Beatles]

#carol burnett #julie andrews #60's Medley #Julie Andrews and Carol Burnett: The CBS Television Specials #Medley of the 60’s #I'm new on the Andrews Fandom !#Hi !

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allhailkingrooker51 · 6 years

Text

So, there’s this guy...

that y’all may know that I’m freakin’ madly in love with. He goes by the name Michael Rooker. 😜 I finally got to meet him. Here’s my story...*Law & Order noise*

Fandemic Houston Day 1 - September 14, 2018

My alarm went off at 7:30 a.m. I was already awake though. I had hardly slept at all. I had hardly slept the last two months for that matter as September 14th got closer. I couldn’t remember ever being this excited for anything in my entire life. This was going to be the best weekend ever.

I jumped out of bed, got ready, and packed the car, mostly with Rooker memorabilia. I hadn’t officially decided what all I wanted him to autograph yet so I brought a little of everything – some of my Rooker Funkos, all my Yondu, Merle, and Chick Gandil trading cards, and my all-time favorite Rooker picture printed out as an 8X10. I mapped out the directions to the NRG Center on my phone and swung by to pick up my best friend who I’ve known since kindergarten. After a little detour to Chick-fil-a to get some breakfast, we were on our way to Fandemic Houston.

My friend doesn’t know much about Rooker. As far as his movies, she had only seen Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. I had sent her various Rooker videos on YouTube, though, for her to watch as “homework” like the Into the Night doc with James Gunn and the Inside of You podcast with Michael Rosenbaum. The whole way down to Houston, I told her as many Rooker stories as I could think of. She had a lot of catching up to do before she met the greatest person on this planet.

Things were going great. We were making good time on the road. My friend seemed entertained with the Doug Loves Movies podcast with the cast of Super, including Rooker and the Gunn Bros., that I was forcing her to listen to. Then things suddenly changed.

I had been having bad feelings about this trip even months before. Meeting Michael Rooker would be my biggest dream come true, but every time I paid for something for Fandemic, whether it was the hotel or Rooker VIPs or Sean Gunn's autograph, I was just waiting for the ball to drop and I wouldn’t be able to go. I never really get to do anything fun ever, and in the back of my mind, something was going to go wrong. Something always does. And something did.

We were cruising down interstate about an hour outside of Houston. It began to rain. No big deal. I turned on the windshield wipers, and we continued laughing with the podcast on the radio. Then I noticed the passenger side windshield wiper was doing this little fish-tailing action every time it went across the windshield. I had just had new windshield wipers installed two days earlier, but I hadn’t had to use them yet, and I thought, “You know, that doesn’t look right.”

Then I noticed the one in front of me started to do the same thing. Just as I opened my mouth to tell my friend there's something wrong with the windshield wipers, the rain started coming down like a monsoon and both wipers flew off my car with an almost comical synchronized whoosh.

Well, fuck.

Somehow, by the grace of God, I was able to cross over two lanes of busy interstate to the shoulder without causing a 15-car pileup. Once the mini panic attack of trying to safely get to the side of the road subsided and after I dropped a plethora of choice curse words, I turned on my hazards and began to think. What the hell are we gonna do?

It was raining fucking cats and dogs, and I couldn’t see shit. Think! Plan B. Plan B. Wait, what was plan B? I wasn’t expecting this. We didn’t even have a plan B.

Should we just wait out the rain for a bit? Maybe it would stop soon. But I had already checked the weather earlier, and it was supposed to rain all day.

This can’t be happening. The greatest day of my life and I’m stranded on the interstate in a deluge with no windshield wipers three and a half hours away from home. And to top it all off, I have a pre-purchased Sean Gunn/Rooker photo op in a few hours that I couldn’t miss. This was not good.

We sat there for a few minutes hoping the rain would subside enough for me to at least get us off the highway. We started googling the nearest auto parts store while we waited. There was one less than a mile away.

Vehicles were flying past me in a blur, and the fear of someone plowing into the back of my car took over. I knew we had to get off the interstate as soon as possible. Luckily an exit was about 50 feet away, and I had to try for it. With the rain letting up just a tad, and with my friend looking out the passenger side window and guiding me along the edge of the asphalt, I managed to creep off the interstate shoulder going about three miles per hour onto the service road. I could still barely see, but I felt a little more relieved being off the interstate.

The rain kept coming. My view through the windshield looked the exact same as when I don’t have my contacts in. Everything was blurry as shit. I continued my snail-like pace, my eyes concentrating simultaneously on the taillights of the cars ahead of me and the fuzzy, white dashes of the lane to my near left.

I crept through the next red light and made a left. Not far down the road, there it was. We had made it. I had never been so happy to see an Autozone in my entire fucking life. We went inside, explained what had happened, bought two new windshield wipers, this time properly installed, and once again we were on our way.

It stopped raining about 20 minutes later.

Looking back now, the whole situation was funny as hell.

Despite our little automotive dilemma, we still got to the NRG Center 15 minutes before Fandemic started. I parked the car, turned off the ignition, and checked in with my Rooker Hooker friends online to let them know I made it. Then I sat frozen in my seat.

“I don’t think I can do this,” I told my friend. My nerves were getting the best of me. She assured me that I could, in fact, do this. I had to do this. I’m so glad she went with me. I knew she wouldn’t let me back out of anything. I made sure I had my things, took a deep breath and forced myself to get out of the car.

We made it inside the convention center, and a woman in a red Fandemic shirt directed us to the VIP ticket window. (Every staff member we came across at Fandemic was absolutely awesome, by the way. Even the C.E.O. was greeting every guest with a handshake and a hello as you entered through security.)

I went up to the window and handed over my paper tickets to exchange for our Rooker VIP badges. While the worker scanned the tickets, I looked behind her to the table along the back wall. It was covered from one end to the other with plastic bins. Each bin was labeled by name and full of red VIP lanyards for each corresponding celebrity – Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Norman Reedus, Bruce Campbell, Tom Welling, etc.

The lady finished scanning my tickets and turned to get our VIP badges from the bins. Only there wasn’t a bin for Rooker. She couldn’t find them. I started to panic a little inside. I mean it’s obvious I bought them. I had the paper tickets as proof. They were in her hand for Pete’s sake. She looked down at the paper again and walked the length of the table for the second time. Still no luck. I really started to worry. Of course, my initial thought is the ball is dropping again. First my windshield wipers, and now this.

I couldn't hear what she was saying behind the window, but her mouth was moving as I watched her hand my paper over to another worker. This worker checked the paper, and they both walked over towards the middle of the table. There laying between two bins was a little Ziploc bag with Rooker’s name on it with maybe four or five VIP badges in it. I turned to my friend, who had been out of eyesight of what just happened, stuck out my bottom lip and said, “Awww, my poor baby. He only has a Ziploc bag of VIPs, and we have two of ‘em.” I don’t know why, but it made me love him even more.

After a bag check and a wanding from security, we finally made it onto the convention floor. I was one giant walking ball of nerves as we went through those doors. I was in the same room as Michael Rooker! On one hand, I couldn’t wait to see him. On the other, I was afraid I was gonna faint and fall out on the floor right in front of all the Deadpools and Negans and Harley Quinns.

We decided to bypass the vendors and headed straight to the autograph booths. Granted we were still a little early, so none of the celebs had made it to their tables yet. Rooker’s booth was already filling up. There were about 20 people or so already waiting. My friend asked if I wanted to go ahead and get in line. I couldn’t. My feet wouldn’t move. I wasn’t ready. I had to see him first. From afar. Then maybe I’d get the courage to go talk to him.

The whole time things were going down, I was checking in with my Rooker friends online, giving them play-by-plays of what was happening and taking their encouragement to heart. I was gonna need it all.

My friend and I decided to walk around a little more and found ourselves standing near the back row of the autograph tables. That’s when I saw celebs start to trickle through the curtain in the corner and head to their booths.

Every time those red and black curtains moved, my heart stopped thinking it would be him. Sean Gunn and Chris Sullivan came out together. There went Sean Patrick Flanery. And then Bruce Campbell. I knew Rooker couldn’t be far behind.

Minutes later, the curtains moved once more, and there he was. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as he walked the floor in front of me. He wore his black leather jacket and blue sunglasses, a white v-neck t-shirt, his newest Penman hat and a giant smile on his face. Somehow, I managed to stop my hands from shaking to take a few pics before he disappeared into his booth, his boisterous voice loud as he greeted his awaiting fans.

After my heart rate returned to a somewhat normal rhythm, we walked around towards the front of his booth. We looked on from a distance as I stood there silently building up my confidence to go get in his line. I told my online Rooker friends that I wasn’t sure I could do this. They again told me I could. I loved him too much not to, they said. And they were right.

I knew I needed to go get in line, but I just couldn’t take that first step. But I had to do it. I had come too far, and I had too many cool things to show him rather than stand there and stare at him like a creeper. I had to jump off that cliff. Take that plunge. Just like ripping a Band-Aid off with the sweetest reward waiting for me right after.

One of the Fandemic workers near his booth was walking around with an inflatable pickle. He told her he wanted to sign it. He autographed the pickle, and as she walked away, he yelled out to her, “Don’t touch it for a little while. It’s still wet!” He knew exactly what he was doing, too. He laughed and then did that little shit-eating grin while biting his tongue. Y’all know which one I’m talking about. Watching him laughing and joking around with everyone started to put my mind at ease. This is Rooker we’re talking about. I’m gonna be fine. So, I did it. I put my big kid pants on and got in line.

The line was moving fairly quickly, but I made sure to sneak some more pics while I waited. I still couldn’t believe this was all real. Seeing him right there, mere feet away from me. Hearing that raspy voice in person. It was almost too much.

When I got about eight people away, I pulled out his headshots from my bag. I have several of Rooker’s old original headshots and resumes, and I couldn’t wait to see what his reaction was.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I was still a nervous wreck. A million things raced through my brain. What if I can’t talk when I get up there? What if he doesn’t like me? What if he thinks I’m weird? Even worse, what if he thinks I’m a batshit crazy stalker ‘cause I have his old headshots?

Then the weirdest thing happened. The closer I got to him, the less nervous I became. By the time I made it in front of him at that table, it was like I was about to say “hey” to an old friend. All the butterflies had flown away.

One of his helpers had already taken the headshot from me that I wanted Rooker to autograph to keep the line running smoothly. He handed it to Rooker and said, “Ohh, this is an oldie.”

Rooker greeted us as he took the headshot and he was like “Whoaaa” and smiled really big as I showed him the others. He got a kick out of them! He grabbed the oldest headshot, which was his first one, his hair super curly, and called over Sean Gunn and Chris Sullivan, who immediately left their tables to see what was going on. They both promptly busted out laughing when Rooker showed them. They cracked some jokes together and then Rooker said, “That was my first headshot, this is my last.” He walked over to me and showed me a pic of himself wearing no hat with his hair a FREAKIN’ mess on what I believe was Sean’s phone maybe, which in turn made him laugh even harder.

He walked back over to Sean and Sully, where Sully had since pulled up his own old headshot on his phone. Rooker busted out laughing again, and they compared their curly hair and then showed all the people in line their “white men afros” as Rooker put it.

The whole time I felt like I was in a dream watching this all take place. I mean I figured Rooker would think it was pretty cool seeing his old headshots and resumes, but I never thought it would have caused all this.

He came back over to me and thanked me for bringing the headshots and picked up a blue marker to sign the one I had picked out for his autograph.

Up until then, had that been the end of our interaction, I would have walked away from his table completely ecstatic. At that moment, I could have officially died happy. But it wasn’t over yet.

As he was signing the headshot, I told him that I had something to show him and to pick an arm. He looked a little perplexed and said, “Ummmm...your left.”

I sheepishly lifted up my shirt sleeve to show him my portrait tattoo of one of his Skillset magazine pictures. He said, “OMG.....you know what that’s from, right?” I kind of laughed and said, “Well, yeah.” He said, “That’s from my Skillset!” Then, I lifted up my right shirt sleeve to reveal my other Rooker portrait tattoo, this one a bald, serious-faced shot. He glanced at it really quick and said, “Oh yeah, Thanos, very cool.”

I laughed and said, “It’s not Thanos, it’s you!” I had to catch myself before I affectionately called him a dork at the end of that sentence. He said, “What?! Lemme see it again!” I lifted my sleeve, and he said again that it looks like Thanos, totally fucking with me. I said, “It’s not Thanos! Why would I have Thanos? You’re way hotter than Thanos!” He chuckled and said “Well, yeah, I’m hotter than Thanos! Fine, it’s a sexy Thanos.”

He then walked around his table, grabbed my shoulders, spun me around, yanked my shirt sleeve back up and proceeded to ask the crowd, very loudly I might add, if my tattoo looked like “Sexy Thanos” all the while laughing his ass off. Of course, the crowd agreed with him.

I didn’t even have time to think about being embarrassed. The next I thing knew, he turned back to me, smiled a huge Rooker smile, said I was awesome and reached out and caressed my face. I about passed out.

Rooker went back around his table to the headshots and started talking about his resumes stapled to the back. We talked for a couple of minutes trying to figure out the timeline of the headshots vs. the resumes vs. the talent agency he was with at the time.

The whole time he talked, I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. The way he smiled and chomped his gum, his eyes behind his blue sunglasses, his curls thick under his hat, his sexy voice, his chest hair poking out of the collar of his shirt. He is absolutely hypnotic. I was in heaven, y’all.

He grabbed the curly-haired headshot, smiled and said, “You know what? Just ‘cause you’re you, I’m gonna sign this one, too. It’s a 2-for-1 Rooker deal.” I, of course, was over the moon.

He signed it with the same blue marker and gave me a fist bump. I told him thank you and that I would see him tomorrow and that I had something even cooler for him to sign. He said, “Alright!”

I walked away on Cloud 9. Michael Rooker touched my face! I was freaking out. I couldn’t have asked for a better first meeting with Rooker.

A little while later, we were standing in line for the Rooker/Sean Gunn photo op when I realized that in the headshot/tattoo craziness earlier, I had forgotten to give Rooker the t-shirt I had brought as a gift for him. I wasn’t mad at myself, though. That just meant I got to go see him again.

When it came time for the photo op, Rooker came strutting over from his booth, grinning while biting his tongue in his teeth again. The whole weekend I never saw the man without a smile on his face.

For those of you who've never been to a comic con before, the photo ops go by fast. Like insanely fast. They shuffle you quickly into the booth, you stand next to the celeb, the photographer snaps the picture, and then you're shuffled back out just as fast as you came in.

Now don’t take this the wrong way. I'm not knocking the process by any means. It's completely understandable. There are literally hundreds of fans of many fandoms that they’re trying to accommodate. But just because it goes fast, doesn’t mean you won’t have a memorable experience.

The Gunn/Rooker photo op was my very first one of the weekend. When I got behind the curtain, Rooker immediately grabbed my arm, and pulled me between Sean and himself with a hearty “Get over here, woman!” I put my arms around them both, the photo was snapped, Rooker smiled really big and said “Thank you, sweetheart” as I walked away, him keeping his hand on my back ‘til I was out of his arm's reach.

The whole thing couldn’t have lasted for more than 45 seconds or so. But I didn’t care. Sean’s arm had been around my shoulder! I had touched the Rooker leather jacket! Rooker called me “sweetheart"! He touched my back! I was close enough to smell his minty-gum fresh breath! The Rooker legend that he smells of mint and leather is true! I couldn’t wait to do more ops with him.

After the photo ops, we headed over to the concession stand. We hadn’t gotten a chance to eat lunch, and we were starving. We got a little something to tide us over until dinner and went and sat down at a table in the little VIP reserved section. Not five minutes later, my phone went off with my Merle Dixon notification sound. It was an Instagram alert. ROOKER WAS LIVE!

I’ve seen a lot of Rooker Instagram live videos from cons before, but to see one in the making? No way I was gonna miss this! We jumped up, grabbed our stuff, and were off on the hunt for him. With the help of the Rooker Hookers directing me where to go, it didn’t take long to find him.

For nearly 30 minutes, we followed him from a distance watching him visit vendor booths, stop to play in the Batmobile and interact with fans, ending with a giant selfie back at his booth.

After the excitement of him Instagramming live died down and his line cleared a little, I decided to go give him his t-shirt. The lady taking the money at his booth, who was super freakin’ nice by the way and who would come to know us quite well by the end of the weekend, greeted us again with a smile.

I walked up to him at his table and said, “I'm back, Rooker!" He said, “Hey, Sexy!” Rooker called me sexy. I mean I'm totally not, but.. anyways. I only hoped my face wasn't as red as it felt. I said, “I forgot to give you this earlier,” and I handed him his shirt. I told him where I was from as he unfolded the shirt and spread it out on the table. One of my favorite things about Rooker is that he supports first responders and the armed forces. Without going into too many details, I gave him a fire department shirt from my hometown, where he's filmed a couple of things and has visited even when not filming. He said he loved my hometown and I explained to him that my stepdad is a police officer, and he had actually met Rooker years before on the set of one of his tv projects. I told him that my mom is a 911 dispatcher for the fire department where the shirt was from and that I had tried to get him a police department shirt, too, but I couldn’t get one in time.

He said he loved the shirt and we talked a couple more minutes and he told me to tell my parents thank you for all that they do. Then he said, “You know what? You get a selfie!” He came around his booth, stood right next to me, and held his shirt out while my friend snapped some pics. Again, I was over the moon. I had already gotten an extra autograph earlier, and now Rooker was breaking his rule about “No selfies" at his table. He then shook my hand and said thank you again and I told him I'd see him tomorrow. You couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.

Like Rooker's old headshots, I also had one of Sean Gunn and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. I had planned on getting Sean's autograph on Saturday, but since Rooker’s headshots had gone over so well earlier, I decided to go ahead and show Sean's to him then. After running back out to the car to get his headshot, we were off to see Seanie.

There wasn’t anyone at his table when we got back so I went right up to him with no hesitation, which was strange for me. I hadn’t talked to Sean yet, and I figured I would be extremely nervous. But just like Rooker, I was completely calm around Sean. They all really do treat you like old friends.

When I handed Sean the headshot, he got all excited, too. Sully came over to look at it and busted out laughing and cracked some jokes about Sean's shirt. Sean then hollered over at Rooker and held it up so Rooker could see. Rooker said, “OMG! You got one, too?!” Sean talked to me a little about his resume, too, and then asked if he could take a picture of it with his phone. Of course, I was like “Absolutely!” After he got his picture of his headshot, he came around the table and took some selfies with me. I then pulled out my phone and showed him my dog dressed as James Gunn from Halloween last year. I asked him if remembered Gunn sharing the picture, but he didn’t. I showed him my other dog dressed as Kraglin, too. He loved it! Especially his little mohawk.

We talked some more, and he kept saying how cool his headshot was and asked if I wanted him to sign it. He ended up signing it “To my friend, *my name*, I ❤️this! Sean Gunn”. Sean was an absolute sweetheart and I love him and I hope I get to see him again someday!

Chris Sullivan’s table was next. I hadn’t really budgeted in anything for Sully, but he was only charging 30$ for a selfie, and I thought “Hey, you only live once.” I’m so glad I did. Sully was a complete teddy bear! He was so sweet! And talllll!

We walked over, and I apologized for not having a headshot for him to sign. He laughed and showed us his headshot on his phone again. Then he realized he hadn’t introduced himself and stuck out his hand and said, “Hi, I’m Chris.” I shook his hand and told him my name, and then my friend did the same. My friend and I have the same name only with different spellings. Once introductions were made, Sully spent the next few minutes hilariously trying to figure out the correct spelling of my name. He never did get it right. I haven’t really seen a lot of Sully's roles, but he gained a lifelong fan that day.

After meeting Sean and Sully, we decided to call it a day. I couldn’t wait to see what day two had in store.

Fandemic Houston Day 2 – September 15, 2018

Just like the morning before, I was already awake when my alarm went off. I had a reeeeally cool thing to show Rooker, and the anticipation was damn near killing me.

We had to get to the convention center fairly early that morning. Rooker's panel was at 11:30 a.m., and I was hoping to get to visit him before his panel started. When we got to his booth, however, he wasn't scheduled to be at his table until after his panel. So, we just walked around a little until it was time to go upstairs to the panel room.

With our Rooker VIPs, we got really good seats at his panel. We were close to the stage, even though I knew he wouldn't be up there long.

While we waited for his panel to start, I was in a bit of a panic. If you’ve ever seen or been to a con panel, you know that usually the Q&A session is done by fans lining up at a microphone to ask their questions to the celebs on stage. If you’ve ever seen or been to a Rooker panel, you know he doesn’t play by those rules. He comes to you, whether you have a question or not! I was sitting on the end of the aisle, a prime position for Rooker to stop and talk to me during the Q&A. And I had no idea what I would ask him if he did.

I checked in with the Rooker Hookers online and asked them for any help they could give me to come up with a good question. It wasn't that I was nervous to ask Rooker a question, it was just I didn’t want to ask him one in front of all these people. If I was prepared, I wouldn’t be as embarrassed.

The Rooker Hookers all had really good suggestions, but some of them involving Rooker removing various articles of clothing, propositions more suited for an “after-dark" kind of Q&A. I love those guys. That's another one of my favorite things about Rooker. Being a part of his fandom has brought me together with people literally all over the world via Tumblr and Facebook. And everyone I’ve met has been awesome. And a special shout out to the Rooker Hookers for making me laugh over and over again, understanding my complete and utter Rooker obsession, for accepting me for who I am and being there for me even when we’re not talking about Rooker. I’m proud to call them my friends.

Rooker's panel was awesome as I knew it would be. He talked a lot about Henry and Merle. He ran around the audience answering questions about Yondu and Mallrats and flexed his biceps and even sang a little. My favorite, though, were his stories of what he was like as a kid and growing up in Chicago. At the end of his panel, he broke the rules once again and threw Hershey Kisses out to the audience after the powers that be told him not to throw anything. They shoulda known Rooker plays by his own rules. He is a livewire and an endless fireball of energy. He’s an absolute riot, and I'm so thankful I got to witness him in action at a panel.

When the panel was over and once we made it back through the security checkpoint, we headed back to Rooker's booth. I was so freaking excited to show him what I was holding in my hands.

His helper said hello and hole-punched my VIP lanyard for another autograph. I walked up to Rooker and said, “I'm back, Rooker, look what I got.” I sat down his screen worn Bud Melks orange coveralls from The Belko Experiment on the table. He said, “Oh, honey, let me sign those for you.” He didn’t realize they were his. I said, “These are the ones you wore in the movie.”

“These are the ones I wore in the movie?” He seemed genuinely surprised. I told him yep and showed him the little nametag on the inside collar that read “Bud 2”. He said, “Omg, that’s so cool, where did you get these?” I explained to him where I got them and that it also came with his t-shirt, jeans, and boots, too. He asked if I wanted him to sign them. I did, but it would be even better if I got him to put them on.

“Yeah, if you want to. Orrrr, you could cosplay as Bud today,” I joked.

He chuckled. “I could cosplay as Bud today? Ommgg. Yeah, I could. Or you could cosplay as Bud.”

I shook my head no and grinned. “Nooo, I don’t cosplay,” I replied. (I’m waaay too shy and self-conscious to cosplay.)

He leaned back on his stool, threw his head back and laughed. Rooker's laugh is one of my favorite things on this planet. And making him laugh was one of the greatest feelings in the world.

About that time, Sean's helper came over and took a picture of Rooker holding the coveralls up. She thought they were really cool, too. Rooker asked her, “Where's, Sean? He's gotta see these.” But Sean was still in the green room.

The coveralls have a huge rip on the backside so of course I had to know why. I was kidding around with Rooker and asked him, “What did you to ‘em?” He said, “Let's see,” as he unfolded them.

When he found the rip, he said, “Oh, oh, I squatted, and they ripped. Yeah, I squatted down, and they ripped. Like, when I was squatting down doing the door, they ripped. My whole bottom ripped out. And I was like, ‘Thank God the camera was on my face ‘cause if it was on my ass end my underwears would be showing.” We all burst into laughter.

We chatted a little bit more and he asked me again if I wanted him to sign them. I told him, “If you want to, yeah.”

“Where do you want me to put it? I’m gonna sign ‘em for you. You don’t have to pay, ok?”

I told him that I had already paid, though. He said, ”Oh, it was part of your VIP?” We then decided the best place for him to sign the coveralls was on the front pocket. He signed his name and said, “Bud, right?” I told him yes it was Bud, and he wrote Bud under his signature. Then he asked his helper to hand him the 8X10 of Bud he had available for autographs.

“Do we have one? Gimme that photo of Belko. I’m gonna give her a photo with this. This totally deserves a photo with this."

He took the photo and started signing his name.

“Here, all yours, baby. Here, I'm gonna put it like this.” He signed the pocket on Bud's coveralls in the picture the same exact way he signed the coveralls. He then held the picture next to the coveralls and said, “There, looks just like it." He busted out laughing and said, “That's for you. Thank you, honey. Oh my goodness.” He threw his hand up for a high-five. I thanked him and high-fived him back.

Trust me, I was elated for the handshakes and high-fives so far. (His hands are so soft by the way). But I was itching to get a hug. I didn’t know how many more chances I would get so I decided to just go for it. “Can I get a hug, Rooker? I gotta get a famous Rooker hug.” He hollered, “Get over here woman! Get over here! Give me a big hug, love.”

I walked behind his table and gave him a big hug and told him I'd see him later. He grabbed my hand as I walked away and said, “You're awesome, honey!” He didn’t let go of my hand as I told him that he makes me forget things and that I had another present for him but I had forgotten it in my car. He laughed and then he caught my friend recording the whole thing on her phone. He grinned and said, “Heyyyy, no video…” Busted. But he didn’t care.

After leaving Rooker, we had just enough time to scarf down some lunch and then head to Sean and Sully’s panel. When the panel started, the doors opened and there they were waiting on the other side. They had stolen a golf cart and hilariously failed at trying to drive it into the room for their grand entrance. So, Sully simply threw the golf cart in reverse, they both said “byyyyye” and he drove back down the hallway. A few seconds later they both came back in the room, Sully at a sprint which carried him around the entire audience and Sean walking slowly behind to the stage, announcing he was too old to run. Sully ended his dash with a Rooker-esque roll onto the stage, stood up and took a bow.

Their panel was amazing, too. They were both so, so funny. They talked a lot about Guardians and even threw in the story about Rooker mooning Dave and Pom on set, which led Sully into a comical conversation about mooning in general. They made me laugh so freakin’ hard. If you ever get the chance, definitely go to their panels. You won’t be disappointed.

We had planned on going to the Smallville panel a little later, but the line getting in the room was insane. I used to watch Smallville back in the day, but I had no idea how huge the fandom still is. It was pretty impressive. Because of the crowd, we decided to skip the panel and go see Rooker again.

We ran out to the car to get Rooker’s gift and then headed to his booth. I also made sure to bring the Belko coveralls again so Rooker could show Sean. I guess everyone was at the Smallville panel because the con floor was pretty empty. I was kind of glad. Hopefully, that meant I’d get to talk to Rooker for a good bit of time.

When we got there, his helper laughed and said, “You’re back, again? And with another gift?” I smiled and said yes. She joked, “You gotta stop buying him shit. He’s doing alright, you know.” I joked back, “I know, but I love him.” She understood though. I mean how can you not love Rooker?

About that time the fan talking with Rooker walked away, and I stepped up to him at the table. His helper announced to him, “She's back with another gift. She's like your sugar mama.” Rooker grinned that sexy Rooker grin and said, “Hey, Sugar Mama!” I joked, “Yeah, I’ll be your sugar mama. What you want? Anything? You need some more coffee? I’ll go get you some coffee.” He busted out laughing, and I handed him his gift.

I had gotten him a blue shot glass made from a 30mm shell casing that had been shot from an A-10 Warthog plane. I had it engraved with Michael “Yondu” Rooker on the side. I’m pretty sure he loved it! I had left it in the clear packaging, and he immediately ripped it open and lowered his glasses so he could read it better. I...saw...his...eyes...y’all. In person. Not hidden behind sunglasses. Don’t laugh. It was a very big moment for me.

He leaned over towards me on the table on his elbows and kept saying how cool the shot glass was and how he couldn’t wait to drink some whiskey out of it. He asked me how much whiskey I thought it would hold. I laughed and said I have no idea.

We talked some more and he thanked me and came around the table to give me another hug, this time trying to include my friend. She sort of backed away trying to give me all the glory of Rooker’s hug, but he pulled her in anyway. It was somewhat of an awkward, sideways hug, but I didn’t care. A Rooker hug is a Rooker hug! His arm ended up kind of across my neck right under my chin so I reached up and grabbed his arm as I hugged him. I...touched...his...bicep. It was..um..very nice.

When he pulled away from me, Sully walked over holding up an 8X10 of what I believe was of himself that someone had written on and showed it to Rooker. When Rooker read it he about fell on the floor laughing. He said, “Now, now, that’s nothing to be ashamed of!” He snatched the picture out of Sully’s hand and laid it on Sean’s table and began writing on it, too, laughing the whole time. Rooker’s helper asked if we had seen what was written on it. I had been trying not to be nosy, so I hadn’t. We told her no, and she said, “It said ‘When is the right time to talk to your doctor about erectile dysfunction.” My friend and I started laughing.

I turned back to Sean’s table, and Rooker was still writing on the picture saying, “There’s nothing wrong with erectile dysfunction!” Sean and I made eye contact and busted out laughing. Rooker then turned and walked back towards me with a huge grin, looked me right in the eye, and said, “There’s nothing wrong with a little erectile dysfunction...well, I mean there is something wrong with it, but...” He trailed off into a mischievous giggle. Y’all, I had never laughed so hard in my life.

When he realized I was holding the Belko coveralls, he immediately took them from me and whirled around to show Sean. “Sean, look what she has!” Sean came around his table and said, “Whoaaa, are those the real ones?” Rooker told him yes and explained how I got them and then held them up to show Sean the big rip in the back which made Sean laugh. Sean thought they were really neat, too.

Rooker came back over to me and was folding the coveralls up and said, “These are really beautiful. You know, not a lot of these exist. Thank you for bringing them to show me.” I told him they were my prized possession (which is the truth... they really are the coolest thing I own). He said, “C’mere, baby, you get a double hug!” He gave me another huge hug, this one a little longer than the first, and a little bit of my hair got caught in his scruff as I pulled away. I’m sure he didn’t even notice, but I certainly did. That scruff...

We walked back over to his table so I could get my bag. I had made a little drawstring bag specifically to wear at Fandemic to haul stuff around in. It says “I’m lost. If found, please return to Michael Rooker”. I showed it to him and he laughed really hard and gave me a high-five and said, “I love it! You’re so great.” We then said our goodbyes for the moment and off I went again.

That afternoon I had my Dixon Bros. photo op. While we were waiting in line, Rooker came over to the Photo Ops area and saw a family with a little baby boy in a stroller nearby. He made a beeline straight to the baby. The little boy pointed up to the ceiling and blabbered away at Rooker. Rooker looked up to the ceiling, too, and said, “OoooOooh,” and acted surprised at whatever imaginary thing the baby was pointing at. Rooker then baby-talked to him for a minute and tickled the little boy’s tummy before he left to go behind the curtain. Y’all, it was the sweetest thing I’ve ever witnessed.

When it came time for photos, as soon as I got behind the curtain, Rooker said, “Get over here, baby,” and again grabbed my arm and pulled me in between him and Norman Reedus. When I went to put my arms around them, my arm got caught on the bottom of Rooker's jacket, and I accidentally lifted it up about a third up his back. I heard him make this little chuckling sound as I fumbled to free my arm from underneath his jacket, my hand unintentionally rubbing his back. I’m not sure he knew what I was going for because the next thing I knew, he started rubbing my back. For the entire time. Even after the photo was taken and I was walking away, his hand was still rubbing on my back. Let me tell you, a Rooker backrub is everything you would imagine it to be, but at that moment, I was just a tad embarrassed. And my face in the photo pretty much showed it. But, oh well. If that was the only way I was ever going to get a Rooker backrub then it was worth it.

After the Dixon Bros. photo op, I went to go see Michael Rosenbaum who was super nice, too. I paid for a selfie, and he said, “Ohh, lemme take it!” I handed my phone over to him for what I thought would be just one picture. He wouldn’t stop taking pictures of us though, and one picture turned into a comical mini-photo shoot. Each time I thought it would be the last picture he would take so my facial expression changes to a higher state of silliness with each one. They’re hilarious, but let’s just say very few people have seen those pictures.

Day two was drawing to a close, and I decided that I might go see Rooker one more time before we left. We walked over to his booth which was empty at the moment. He was standing there eating chocolate covered pretzels and watching an artist drawing portraits of Harry Potter characters across the way. Anyone that knows Rooker knew what he was about to do next.

Rooker left so fast from his booth that he dropped a pretzel on the ground. He went directly over to the artist and asked him to play Santana over his speaker, jokingly rushing him along when the artist couldn’t find a Santana song quick enough. Rooker then grabbed a colored pencil and began to draw on the picture the artist had been working on.

Rooker messed around with the artist a couple more minutes before he returned to his booth. He took the time to take a few pictures with some fans that had gathered around, joked with the little kids, and danced to the songs the artist was still playing before he finally left for the day. I didn’t get to talk to him again, but just watching him dancing was enough for me.

When we were headed back to the car that afternoon, I told my friend, “I can’t remember ever being this happy before. Seriously, these last two days have been the best days of my life.” I’m like a lot of people in that I struggle with depression and anxiety and self-image and the feeling that I’ll never be good enough. But with Rooker, he makes all that disappear. I don’t think he’ll ever realize how much he means to me and how important he is in my life.

Fandemic Houston Day 3 – September 16, 2018

I had been awake since 4 a.m. on day three. I couldn’t wait to see Rooker, but I couldn’t stop thinking that this was going to be my last day with him. I didn’t want the weekend to end.

I spent the early morning hours before my alarm rang making a detailed schedule and an even more detailed script in my head of all the things I wanted to say to him before the con closed at 4 p.m. I still had my two solo photo ops with him, too, and one last gift to give him. More importantly, I wanted to make sure I got the chance to tell him thank you and goodbye before I left. And I had to fit it all in between getting my Jeffrey Dean Morgan autograph and photo op.

It was about 10:15 a.m. when we got to the NRG center that morning. I was hoping I'd get to talk to Rooker first thing. I had one last picture for him to sign, which had something to do with a special request for our photo op. He wasn’t at his booth when we finally got inside, though, so I decided to get in Jeffrey Dean’s line to get his autograph about 10:30 a.m.

A fairly big crowd had already gathered for Jeffrey Dean. But my Rooker photo ops weren’t until 1 p.m. and my Jeffrey Dean op was at 2:10 p.m. I figured I would have plenty of time to see Rooker before our photo ops.

We were again standing in the perfect spot to watch all the celebs come out from behind the curtain. A little after 11 a.m. they all started to trickle out. And, y’all, when Rooker finally walked out? Dayuuumm, daddy. He wasn’t sporting his usual leather jacket paired with a black or navy or white v-neck t-shirt look. He wore a black button-up shirt with the collar unbuttoned low and looked sexy...as…hell. I mean the man always looks sexy as hell, but...well, y’all know what I mean. I immediately checked in with the Rooker Hookers and told them Rooker’s wardrobe choice for the day. Again, don’t laugh. I just get excited when he switches things up.

We were still waiting in Jeffrey Dean's line when they made a huge announcement around 11:30 a.m. Norman Reedus had to leave the con early. All the Walking Dead photo ops had to be bumped up. I started to panic a little.

My Jeffrey Dean photo stayed at 2:10 p.m., but Rooker and Norman were supposed to have Dixon Bros. photo ops at 3:25 p.m. The con closed at 4 p.m. so I figured Rooker would probably be leaving right after. But I had to tell Rooker goodbye before we left. I just had to. Now I was afraid with all the photo ops being bumped around I wouldn’t get to.

Noon came and Jeffrey Dean's line had hardly moved. He had only been out at his table for maybe 45 minutes or so and now his time would be even more limited because the photo ops had to be moved up. His line was so long that they ended up bumping the people who had pre-purchased an autograph up in line. That included me. Whew. We had gotten closer but were still so far away. The minutes were counting down until my Rooker photo ops. I was a nervous wreck. If I stayed in Jeffrey Dean's line, I would be cutting it reaaaally close.

I left my friend in line and went to explain my situation to one of the Fandemic workers nearby. I told him I had Rooker photo ops at 1 p.m. and if I didn’t make it up to Jeffrey Dean would I be able to get a refund for his autograph. I didn’t want to get a refund. I love Jeffrey Dean and had been looking forward to meeting him and getting his autograph. But I couldn’t miss my Rooker photo ops. That was completely out of the question. The worker looked at his watch and told me that I would make it, but if it got too close, he would move me up in line. That made me feel a little better.

I got back in line, but I couldn’t stop checking my phone for the time. I really needed to show Rooker the picture I wanted him to autograph before our photo ops. The minutes were ticking away and the line was barely moving. Finally, about 12:30 p.m., I left my friend again in line and went to go see Rooker.

I went over to Rooker's table and paid his helper for another autograph. She asked if I wanted to pick out a picture, but I told her I already had one. She said, “Ooh, can I see?” I showed her and told her it was my all-time favorite picture of Rooker, and I was hoping I could get him to do the same pose for our photo op. She loved it and told me that he had done a similar pose the day before. Aaah, there was a chance.

I walked up to Rooker holding the picture against me so he couldn’t see it right away. I asked him, “Will you sign one more thing for me? I was also wondering if you’d reenact it for our photo op today.” He just grinned and said, “It depends. Lemme see it.” At that moment, I was so glad there wasn’t anyone else around. I had no idea what his reaction would be.

I told him it was my all-time favorite picture of him and handed it over. He instantly busted out laughing when he saw what it was. In the picture Rooker has his shirt lifted, one hand pointing to his nipple and a ginormous smile on his face. He asked me where I even got it. I told him I found it on the internet. I reminded him about one of the Rooker Hookers meeting him and having him sign his naked ass from Mallrats. He laughed and said he remembered that. “I’m just carrying on the tradition of having you sign off the wall pictures,” I said.

He told me that he doesn’t normally sign pictures like that, but for me, he would. While he signed it, I told him that I had two photo ops with him and that they couldn’t be the same and asked him again if he would do that same pose for one of them. He laughed and said no. Then he took off his glasses completely to look at the picture more closely. I...saw...his...eyes again for a long time. He was trying to remember where the picture was taken and what the hell he was doing. He said the glasses he was wearing were his old ones and that he didn’t have them anymore and the shirt he had on was his old Harley Davidson shirt. I was too embarrassed to tell him I knew the picture was taken at James Gunn’s old house. I was afraid yet again that he would think I was a batshit crazy stalker.

We talked about the picture a little more and then he looked up at me laughing and said, “You dork.” Rooker called me dork. Out of all the things he called me that weekend “dork” was definitely my favorite. I begged him one more time to do that pose for our photo. He just laughed and shook his head and said, “No.” again. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to talk to him very much longer because I had to hurry to get back in line for Jeffrey Dean so I told Rooker I’d see him later.

My friend hadn’t made it very far when I joined her back in line. By then it was pushing 12:40 p.m. I was starting to get nervous again. I only had 20 minutes left until Rooker photos, and the line was...moving...so...slow.

About 12:55 p.m., there were only three people ahead of me in line. Jeffrey Dean was right there. Surely I would make it in time. He finished visiting with the fan he was talking to, and I heard him tell one of his handlers that he needed to take a break. Uh oh. Panic mode. I went up to his other handler and explained that I had Rooker photo ops at 1:00 p.m. which was in three minutes. She said, “Ok, no problem.” She went up to Jeffrey Dean and told him my dilemma. I felt horrible cutting in line, but I got to meet him real quick before he went on his break.

He gave me a huge hug when I went up to him. (Jeffrey Dean gives amazing hugs by the way and is one of the nicest human beings I’ve ever met. Annnnd even sexier...as...hell in person). I handed him the headshot I had of him and he said, “Oh, fuuuuck, this is awesome!” I said, “You were a baby. Lookit you.” He said, “I was a baby!” He then turned it over to look at his resume, and was like “Whooa, this is a loooong time ago! You know awhile back when everyone was sharing their first headshots for “Headshot Day” on Instagram and shit, I didn’t have one. I shoulda called you.” That would be the dream I thought. I snickered and said, “Uh, yeaaah, you totally could have called me!” He laughed and we talked some more about his headshot. Then he asked me if I wanted him to sign it to me or just with his name. I told him that he could put my name if he wanted and he personalized his autograph for me. I told him “thank you” and he said, “Oh, you’re very welcome and it’s nice to meet you.” He gave me another huge, extra-tight hug, and said, “Tell Rooker I said ‘hey’,” as I told him bye. Gahhh, I’m still gushing over Jeffrey Dean, too!

After I left Jeffrey Dean, we booked it over to the photo op line. We were a few minutes late, but luckily Rooker hadn’t made it over there yet so the photo ops hadn’t actually started. A few minutes later Rooker came over and went behind the curtain. He was holding some sort of arrow thingy? With a bullet on the end? I still have no idea what it was.

When I got behind the curtain for our photos, Rooker pulled me to him and I put my arm around his lower back right above his waist. His shirt was so silky, and I could feel his lil’ love handles. Swoon. He put his arm over my shoulder and kind of threw his head back with a smug look on his face for the first photo. The Rooker Hookers say it was his “Yeah, this is my Sugar Mama” pose. I’m not sure if that’s what he was going for, but I like that idea.

After the photographer took the first photo, Rooker went to tell me thank you like he had done the previous days. I told him though that I had two photo ops. (I had told my friend that if she would go with me to Fandemic I would buy all the tickets, and she didn’t want to take any pictures so I used the photo op that came with her VIP ticket). He said, “Oh, you have two?” I shook my head yes and replied, “What are we gonna do, Rooker? They can’t be the same.” He looked at me, thinking for a second, and then grabbed my necklace. I have a necklace with a little silver bullet on it (or I did...it broke like two weeks after Fandemic.) He held the bullet in his fingers and said, “You show off your bullet, I’ll show mine,” meaning the little arrow thingy he was holding. So, I held up the bullet on my necklace and he held out the arrow thing for the second picture. I personally never would have thought up that pose, but it made him laugh and that’s all that mattered to me. And I got another short bonus Rooker backrub as we said goodbye.

A little while later, I had my photo op with Jeffrey Dean. He gave me a big hug for our picture. I’m horrible at taking pictures, but that one actually turned out the best out of all the ops I had that weekend.

After Jeffrey Dean, it was pretty much time to go. As much as I didn’t want to, it was time to go see Rooker for the last time and tell him goodbye.

Rooker had an 8X10 of Sean as Kraglin and was drawing various funny things all over Sean’s face while casually talking to a fan who I’m assuming had met him before when we got to his table. I wasn’t trying to be nosy I promise, but I could hear a little of what they were talking about. At one point, the guy mentioned Rooker’s hair and how much he had grown it out. He asked him if it was for a specific reason, like for a movie or something. Rooker told the guy that his granddaughter had actually asked him to grow his hair out so he would have long, pretty hair like her. My heart = melted. He then said that it wasn’t working. It was making him worse. You’re wrong, Rooker. Seriously, I don’t think you can get any more perfect.

While Rooker was still diligently drawing on Sean’s picture and talking to the fan, another guy walked up and asked his handler if Rooker was in Cliffhanger. The handler said yes. The guy said, “Oh man, I knew it! I can still hear your voice! Like when your lady fell in the beginning.” Without even looking up, Rooker said, “That fuckin’ bitch! I knew what she was doing up there with Stallone!” and then laughed.

When it was my turn, I went up to him and asked, “Are you sick of me yet?” He said, “Noooo.” I told him I had one last thing to give him, and it was kind of a dumb one, but all my friends told me I had to give it to him. I said, “Do you remember when James called you Winnie the Pooh in that one post?” He said, “Yeah.” I plopped down a little stuffed Pooh Bear in front of him on the table. Pooh was dressed in black and white prison stripes with a ball and chain on his leg. The patch on his shirt said “Prisoner of Love". Rooker laughed and said, “Aww, this is for me?” I told him yes, and that I knew it was kinda stupid and I don't normally go around giving grown men stuffed animals. “You're actually the only grown man I've ever given a stuffed animal to,” I said to him. He laughed again, and said, “Well, I actually love stuffed animals.”

He immediately took the tag off of Pooh's ear and then held him up towards one of his helpers and the couple of people in line at the end of the table and made Pooh “growl" at them. He then turned to the handler standing right next to him, shoved the little bear right in the guy’s face and made Pooh wave and said, “Fuck you, bitch!” in a goofy, high-pitched voice.

He made himself laugh, that silent kind of Rooker laugh where his head is thrown back and his mouth is wide open, his whole face lit up, and came around his table to give me a hug. Then....it happened. The single greatest moment of my life.

With his smile never fading, he grabbed my face in his hands and kissed me on the cheek, an added “mwah” for sound effect.

Time froze. I could feel his fingers in my hair. His scruff rough against my face. I couldn’t believe what was happening. My brain ceased to function properly, and I went into survival mode, struggling to simply form words.

As soon as it happened, my brain took that script that I had made up in my mind early that morning, ripped it up into a thousand little pieces, tossed them in the air, and screamed, “Haha, time to improv, bitch!” I could no longer remember a single thing that I had wanted to talk to him about.

I was stunned. I was in a daze. For the first time that entire weekend I was speechless.

My friend chimed in very quickly to save me. “You should show him your dogs!” As he still stood next to me, he said, “Oh, you have dogs?!” He sounded way more excited than I would have thought he’d be to see my dogs. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. But Rooker had broken my brain. I was in auto-pilot mode, and I was forgetting a major detail.

It wasn’t until I hit the home button to turn my phone on that I remembered one of Rooker’s Skillset photos is my lock screen and a picture of him laughing on the set of Brother’s Keeper is my home screen. OMG!!!

I freaked out a little and playfully pushed him away. “Oh, don’t look at my phone, Rooker! You’re on it!” It was too late. He had already seen it. He backed away laughing and said, “Oooh, girl, you makin’ me look sexxxy!” I’m sure my face was red as a tomato at that moment.

My Instagram account was the quickest way to get to pictures of my dogs, so I pulled up the app. Rooker was so close to me. We were standing shoulder to shoulder, our arms were touching, him looking at my phone the entire time. It didn’t occur to me until much later that I know he saw everything on my Instagram: my IG name which is basically the same as my Tumblr, my icon which is him, my description that says I’m obsessed with him, the memes I’ve made of him.

I opened up the picture of my dog as James Gunn. Rooker pulled down his sunglasses to look. He didn’t remember Gunn sharing that picture either last Halloween, but he did say Bruce was a beautiful dog. Then I showed him the “Rooker vs. Rooker: Grumpface Edition” meme I had made of Rooker and my dog. I pointed to my dog and said, “That’s Rooker.” He turned and looked right at me. A few seconds after we made eye contact, he busted out laughing. It was my favorite kind of Rooker laugh, the Rooker laugh where he’s trying so hard not to laugh and is grinning but holding his mouth closed until he can’t take it anymore and just lets it go. Rooker loved my dog. He said, “Omg!”, gave me a fist bump, then grabbed my phone, walked over to his handler and shoved my phone in his face to show him.

When Rooker handed me my phone back, he hugged me again and then held up his hands for a double high-five. I high-fived him, but this time he didn’t let my hands go. He let our hands fall down together, our fingers interlocked. He kept them that way the whole time I talked to him. I never wanted that moment to end.

I then told him that we had to get back on the road to Louisiana, and I just wanted to tell him goodbye before we left. I said, “Thank you, Rooker. For everything. For putting up with me all weekend. This has seriously been the best three days of my life.” He held out his arms and said, “Awww, c’mere, baby.” He hugged me again, and I laid my head against his chest. It was the longest and the tightest hug he had given me so far, and I made sure to pay attention to every little detail: the cool, silky feel of his shirt on my face, the smell of mint, the way his back felt under my hands. I could have stayed there forever. When we finally let go, he said, “Thank you for coming to see me. Y’all drive safe,” and we said goodbye.

And with that, I walked away. It was over. Our “see you tomorrows" had become our final goodbye. It was all so bittersweet leaving through those convention doors for the last time. Over three days, Rooker had high-fived me, fist bumped me, called me pet names, held my hands, hugged and kissed me. I had made him laugh more than once. He had made me melt 100 times over. I know I was lucky to have had such an amazing experience with him, and I couldn’t have been happier. But knowing that there wasn’t going to be a tomorrow with him made me terribly…sad.

I had spent almost a year saving for Fandemic. It wasn’t cheap, but I had done a lot of photo ops and gotten a lot of autographs and had the time of my life. I had justified spending so much money by telling myself that this was more than likely a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and I’d probably never get to see Rooker again. After that weekend, I knew I couldn’t let that happen. I've already started saving for my next con. That man means the world to me, and I don’t know where or when (hopefully sometime really soon), but I have to go see him again.

So that’s it. For the ones that made it this far, that's the story of my little Fandemic adventure, my getting “Rookered" for the very first time, the best three days of my life. Michael Rooker is the most humble, nicest, most generous, funniest, silliest, best hugs in the world givin’, sweetest person I’ve ever met. He’s charming as hell, not to mention the sexiest man alive. There’s a reason he’s my favorite person on earth. There are not enough words to describe how much I love that man, and I truly hope everyone gets to meet him someday.

The end.

And, p.s., my new windshield wipers are still going strong 😜.

#michael rooker #rooker #fandemic houston #fandemic #I got rookered

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patsywalkera · 7 years

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mad men, if you want?

GOD i’ve never wanted anything more

Favourite Female: sally draper

Favourite Male: don draper (i hate him but i love to hate him and also hate to love him, he’s just that kind of character; it’s a mild point of self-loathing but also who else am i gonna pick? bobby?)

3 Other Favourite Characters: JOAN, megan, betty

3 OTPs: i don’t actually, ship things, on mad men, because i love myself and also the characters (more specifically, the women) BUT 1) peggy was a lesbian and in love with joan, 2) i care an inordinate lot about the trainwreck that is the draper family unit; that’s not to say that i ever like, wanted don and betty reconciling or anything like that but they just make me deeply SAD in a horrible way 3) i think trudy campbell should run off to hollywood and live happily ever after with megan calvet and be famous or at least rich and glamorous and leave don and pete with nothing but their shattered dreams

Notp: like… .. all of them … but remember that time peggy stabbed her boyfriend? i’m not actually saying that was a bad thing, that was great, but the ship was bad for other reasons. that guy was terrible. i don’t remember his name at this moment in time

Funniest character: probably roger but not in a nice way

Prettiest character: my head says joan but my heart says “my people are nordic”; i have…. . such a crush on january jones? like purely aesthetically it’s christina all the way but i have made the mistake of watching way too many mad men cast interviews on the youtube

Most Annoying Character: PETE CAMPBELL the WORST IN THE WORLD

Most badass character: joan, peggy, sally

Character I’d like as my BFF: joan

Female Character I’d Marry: MEGAN

Male Character I’d Marry: i would literally rather die? lane? not like that bodes well, but,

Character I hate/dislike/least like: i mean like pete comes to mind because he’s in my face all the time and he is so, much, all the damn time, but i feel like there are probably definitely Worse Men of the mad men…. i just hate having to look at him… .. and hearing his whiny voice,, ,… oh my god

#yahooanswer #answered #mad men is my fave topic i never get to talk about so thank you

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lol-misantlery · 4 years

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Yuletide 2019

Hello! I am misantlery on ao3.

Under the read more are specific details about what I want for Derry Girls, Mad Men, Queen’s Thief, Into the Spiderverse, Fleabag, and The Eagle.

General Likes

I am good with g-rated or nc-17 rated fic, but if you’re comfortable writing porn here are some things I am into:

bad decision sex sexual experimentation fun/goofy/‘bad’ sex sex pollen intimacy issues

General Dislikes

rape/non con, alpha/beta/omega dynamics, mundane aus, soulmate marks aus, 24/7 BDSM, non canonical major character death, harm to animals, unhappy endings, mpreg, issuefic, harm to children.

Why are you so into The Purge as a scenario???

Listen, this took me by surprise too. Explaining it now makes me sound like a crazy person. But I will try.

The Purge is a horror movie franchise, set in a dystopian near-future America where all crime is legal for one day a year, including murder. Pretty dark, edgy, violent stuff! I am not especially interested in the dark and grim sociopolitical realities of this situation, in case my prompts don’t make that clear. I am here for the absurdity, and in the case of most of these fandoms, for the weird and hilarious contrast between my requested fandom and the over the top violence of The Purge. You don’t even need to watch any of The Purge movies, because let’s be real, I don’t care about the world building or logistics here, and I’m not interested in a true crossover so much as I am in borrowing the “all crime is legal for a day” scenario. If any of the Purge prompts speak to you, read some wiki summaries and have at it.

Don’t feel obligated to write those prompts if these aren’t scenarios that appeal to you! And if you do write them, please, don’t make them super dark. Again, the appeal here is the absurdity, not the grim violence of it all.

Derry Girls: Erin Quinn, Clare Devlin, Michelle Mallon, James Maguire

Let me start off by saying you don’t need to include all four in a fic if you don’t want to! I’m perfectly happy with any configuration you end up putting together. If you want to include all the gang, that’s great too! I love everybody nominated so feel free to go wherever your imagination takes you.

I love how the group will spend all day making fun of each other but always come together when it counts. I would definitely enjoy you keeping with the show and doing something with that. Everyone going up on stage to perform with Orla and James realizing that he belongs as a Derry Girl are two of my favorite scenes.

Prompts:

Erin/Clare: I would love a fic where Erin and Clare really do go to prom together instead of the whole thing with Mae and John Paul. Maybe they go for real, or maybe Erin goes as her fake date to support her and then they have to continue the charade after prom. Erin would definitely do a lot of research and throw herself fully into being the best lesbian she could be, which obviously would include practicing kissing Clare a whole lot. I love a good fake dating fic that has the couple accidentally catching feelings. I also love the idea of everyone thinking she’s just making a statement and her dad being the only one to realize her feelings are for real.

I also love the idea of them bonding over a crush on Ms. De Brun, either after the first time or having her roll back into town and Erin going full Dean Pelton “This better not awaken anything in me.”

Michelle/James: I’m very into their combative but loving relationship. Michelle asking him to stay in the finale *__* I’m also very much into introducing a cousinfucking aspect but if you aren’t, don’t worry. I also enjoy how they are in the show, so if you keep their relationship at that level I’ll still be perfectly happy. If you are into it, Michelle totally gives off a “stop making love to me while I’m trying to fuck you” vibe and I would really enjoy seeing how annoyed she would be to realize he was more than just a ride to her.

Michelle gets caught in a time loop and has to figure out how to escape it. Maybe she lets James leave Derry all those other times and the version we see is the one she got right. Or maybe James and Michelle both get caught up in a loop and try increasingly ridiculous schemes to get out of it.

Or maybe Michelle’s mom gave up James’ room when she thought he was leaving with his mom and now James and Michelle have to share a room. They have to deal with all the feelings the finale brought up.

If you are more inspired by one of the other configurations please go for it. I loved James being instantly on Clare’s side when she came out. Finding out how Michelle and/or Erin and/or Clare’s friendship started would be fun. I liked James coming through for Erin when she got stood up. If you are more inspired by James and Erin please keep it platonic. I like them just as friends. I’m definitely open to James, Michelle, and Erin being queer/bi/etc if you’re interested in including that in any of these prompts.

Something based on this post: https://v1als.tumblr.com/post/187672633662/meanwhile-in-the-other-derry . If this appeals to you please go as wild as you want. Fic about the Derry Girls bullying a clown to death? Awesome! Fic about Mary Quinn beating the shit out of a dumb clown with a frying pan or Sister Michael being incredibly unimpressed by It? Love it. If you want to go to an angsty place I’m into it but I would prefer it doesn’t end with anybody perma-dead. I'd be equally happy with ships or no ships for this. No need to bring in the rest of the It characters unless you feel like it.

Mad Men: Bob Benson, Pete Campbell

I don’t mind if you ignore certain parts of canon (s7) or go canon divergent, you can also follow canon if want (Bob shows up in Wichita??) GO WILD.

Shipping Bob/Pete began as a joke for me, but I do ship it for real. I like that Bob is all *_________* about Pete and Pete is simultaneously disgusted and intrigued. He might not be gay, but he’s definitely into someone who’s into him.

Also, if you just want to write about Bob I’d be really interested in his past and what the whole “manservant” deal was. We pretty much know nothing about him and I’d be interested in some backstory, but I’m not exactly looking for Bob/OMC PWP. In case it seemed that way!

btw, https://vimeo.com/132033248 is a supercut of all Bob/Pete scenes (pw: kneetouching). Enjoy!

Prompts:

Fake dating: The CEO of a big company is secretly gay and Pete thinks pretending to be gay will form a bond of solidarity that will give him an edge, but the CEO mistakes this for interest and Pete scrambles to come up with an excuse to get out of doing anything gay and he comes up with, “I have a lover! You may have met him…”

They go to a gay bar lolz and awkwardness ensue.

Pete molds Bob into the Perfect Ad Man and falls for him in the process. Basically “My Fair Lady” with a hillbilly and sodomy.

Groundhog day fic: Pete has to go through the same day again and again, tries to get help from Ken, Peggy, etc, and then comes to the realization that only Bob believes him.

Bob is a conman who starts out trying to seduce Pete as part of a long con, but ends up falling in love.

what if Bob is a spy who mistakes Pete for his contact because Pete compliments his tie? what kind of spy and mistaken identity shenanigans could ensue?

What if Bob and Pete + the Purge??? I feel like Bob would do well. He’s got secrets. Maybe one of those secrets is a facility with weaponry. Also, sodomy wasn’t legal in New York until the 1980s. What if someone in the office awkwardly asks Bob what he’s going to do during the Purge and Pete is appalled, because how uncouth! Everyone knows you don’t ask people what they’re going to do during the Purge! And then Bob makes some veiled comment about how he always spends his Purges banging dudes, and Pete is horribly Intrigued because sex stuff is never a Purge thing he’d thought of.

Queen’s Thief - Megan Whalen Turner: Gen, Attolia

I love these books, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that I love Attolia, Gen, and their relationship best. I didn't see the twist where Gen confessed his love to Attolia coming at all the first time I read it and I frantically read to the end to make sure that everything turned out ok. As soon as I got there, I flipped to the front and started again. Somewhere between that moment and when I reached that scene on the stairs again, they became one of my all time OTPs. To be honest, it was probably when she cut off his hand.

I just love them so much, with how ruthless Attolia is and how clever Gen is, and all I want is a fic that focuses on them and their sort of messed up dynamic and that will be enough. I also love Kamet/Costis and would be happy to see something about them in addition to some Gen/Attolia content. I'm open to canon divergent AUs, but, please, no AUs where Attolia doesn't cut off his hand.

Prompts:

Part of what I love so much about this pairing is how terrifyingly competent they are together, and what a good team they make. So I’d love a fic about something like, what if some of their barons are stupid enough to think that Gen and Attolia can be turned on each other? Obviously Gen and Attolia have to go crush them together.

They have to go on some kind of diplomatic visit to Eddis or Sounis or maybe something further afield and absolutely nothing goes as planned. Again, show me how terrifyingly competent they are! Or just go for the lolz: how hilariously wrong can things go, and how do Gen and Attolia deal with it? You can also go the action/adventure route: do they have to get themselves out of a sticky situation by fighting or sneaking around?

Speaking of sneaking around: I’m also into the many possibilities of the scenario where Gen teaches Attolia how to sneak into his bedroom for once. Sexy, funny, emotional, all of the above, I’m into any of it!

Part of the messed up dynamic that I love with these two is how fear and love and guilt are all mixed up together for them, after Attolia cuts off her hand. So I’d be really interested in anything about how/if Gen gets over his fear of Attolia in bed or not, but maybe definitely at least in part through sex.

And because I’ve got a soft spot for Costis and Kamet: Gen and Attolia attend Costis and Kamet's wedding, in disguise or not. Maybe it makes them think of their own wedding! Maybe everyone just reflects sappily on True Love! Or maybe someone gets up to shenanigans! It’s up to you, dear writer!

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse: May Parker, Olivia Octavius

"My friends call me Liv," Doc Ock says to Miles. And then when she walks into Aunt May's house, May says, "Oh great, it's Liv." I would really love to read a lot more about what's going on with that. Sex is not a must, but I do ship them and anything about a romantic relationship would be great. If you're not into that, then I'd love to read more exploring their dynamic in general -- May is so fondly exasperated and not remotely surprised, but they both immediately go to the mat.

Prompts:

Pre-movie college backstory. Were they rivals-turned-lovers in college? Friendly but disinterested roommates who spent all their time playing science cloak-and-dagger games before realizing over spring break that their nemesis was their roommate?

Pre-movie Spidey parallels backstory. May was clearly supporting Peter as he developed into your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, and Octavia has been... what? We know she's CEO of Alchemax during the movie -- was she promoted? Is she the founder? I'd love something exploring their parallel paths, May as a behind-the-scenes string-puller and Liv as a mad scientist, with Peter in the middle working to counter Liv more explicitly.

Post-movie, MIles goes to visit Aunt May and finds Liv there. They have a really awkward tea.

Post-movie, Liv tries to make a comeback. May rolls her eyes and gets to work.

Purge!AU: What happens to the two of them on Purge night? Does May reluctantly go out to try to stop whatever Liv is up to this time? Do they end up working together for some reason? Do they declare it amateur night and just order a pizza?

Also, I would be interested in a fun fic where May and Liv both end up sort of awkwardly mentoring Miles because Miles and Liv end up in a classic supervillian-superhero team-up against some other big villain or disaster.

Fleabag: Fleabag, Priest

So I watched all of Fleabag in a weekend fueled by pizza and beer and loved all of it. But, not gonna lie, what really got me to sit down and finally watch the show was all this talk of a hot priest romance going on in season 2. Others may never believe Moriarty from BBC Sherlock could bring it like that, but I saw the light.

I’m absolutely fine with shippy fic for this fandom. If you want to go down the hardcore priest fucking road then go wild, but I did love everything about the show. Fleabag herself and all of her issues, Claire (and her haircut) and everyone else. Whatever you can write for me that captures how heartbreaking and funny the show is would be great, I'm sure.

Prompts:

With all this talk of the cool Pope maybe considering letting priests marry let’s pretend that the Vatican really does that and now priests everywhere can get married. How would Fleabag feel when she sees the news on the telly? How would the Priest? Imagine them bumping into each other after the news come out.

I think one of the most interesting things about season 2 was the Priest knowing when Fleabag was breaking the fourth wall. What if the fox is his personal fourth wall that no one sees but Fleabag that he can’t leave behind until he deals with his shit?

Purge prompt: Brexit finally happens and the new PM decides to try this Purge thing the Americans have been doing every year. How would Fleabag fare in the purge? Would she stay locked inside with her family having to fight off Stepmother, who’s down to do some purging herself and is scarily good at killing people? Would she go off to hunt Martin? Maybe fucking a Priest doesn’t count if it’s during purge night.

The Eagle | Eagle of the Ninth: Marcus Flavius Aquila, Esca Mac Cunoval

I love this stupid movie so much.I love Marcus, Esca, and Marcus/Esca and would prefer them shipped. UST/pre-slash is okay, too, if you'd rather not write a romance, but please at least leave me the hope that it's going to happen!

What I really love about Marcus/Esca is how even when Marcus is the one who holds official power over Esca as his owner, Esca is always the one with the power in their relationship because Marcus is so desperately into him. I love Marcus pining for Esca but being too honourable to do anything about it, while Esca is too angry at himself for pining for Marcus to do anything about it. I also enjoy Marcus having Roman issues about wanting Esca to fuck him and I don't care if they're not entirely historically accurate. I would just be very into Marcus having very rigid ideas about sex between men and struggling with wanting Esca to fuck him and Esca helping him overcome that.

Some general things about them that I love, both in the movie and in potential fic: cultural miscommunications, or just them worrying enough about miscommunication that they don't even try. Marcus having such utter blind trust in Esca. Esca having to relearn how to let somebody care about him.

Prompts:

That said, my first request is PWP. /o\ I would really, really love a Seal People Made Them Do It fic. Maybe the Seal Prince wants Esca to prove Marcus is his slave, or maybe there's a general boning festival going on and it'd be weird/suspicious for Esca not to participate, I don't know (and not too concerned with historical accuracy on this one). But I'm very into the danger element of they have to fake it for their safety/survival and the intimacy element of them understanding each other with few or no words. Like from Esca's POV, he gets that Marcus understands and consents, or from Marcus', understanding that if he doesn't want to go along with it, they can try to kill their way out. And, okay, if Marcus is a little ashamed of being into it, I am very, very there for that. :9

I would also love a roadtrip fic! The movie clearly ends with Marcus setting Esca up to choose their next adventure, so what does he choose? I don't have a lot of specific plot ideas for that, but I would definitely love to see them on another journey together, maybe hitting all the fun roadtrip tropes, like huddling for warmth in the woods and there being only one bed in their room at the hospitia.

Or, if you're feeling up to something fun and weird, a Purge AU. Honestly, Ancient Rome is a setting that seems oddly suited to hosting the Purge and I would love to see it either played relatively straight to dark and dramatic effect, or humorously deconstructed, with Esca exasperated by more let's-kill-people Roman nonsense.

I would also really be into fic from Esca's POV, holding Marcus during the surgery and contemplating letting twitch and die, and then ~looking into his eyes~ and feeling sick with himself for having such a thought about the man who saved his life, even if he is a Roman asshole. Perhaps followed by all the times Esca could have had him killed or let him die and deciding not to because HONOR until he realizes no, actually, I just really, really want to bone this dude. And then he follows up on that realization, in whatever romantic form that takes.

#yuletide #derry girls #fleabag #queen's thief #mad men #the eagle #into the spiderverse

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dondraperpoetrysexman · 7 years

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Poetry Recap: “A Tale of Two Cities”

DON DRAPER POETRY SEX MAN Season 6, Episode Ten

Here's something I've been worried about: do I have as much hair as I used to have? My hair used to be a wheatfield so endless that it got its own verse in "America the Beautiful" and now I feel like some pig has been eating the wheat A pig named: Mortality

Speaking of mortality, the question on everyone's mind is: WHO WILL BOB BENSON KILL

Bob Benson you are wigging me out VERY MUCH You are like a sinister Ken that will one day malfunction What is the name of the cult you are in Maybe we could use it for my new agency

RELATEDLY, is my wife gonna get murdered or what? I've been hearing that she was gonna get murdered and frankly I'm kind of longing for it to happen so that I can marry a HoJo waitress the next time around with scoops of orange sherbet for her boobs

Best episodes are the episodes where Don Draper flies in a plane Best episodes are the episodes where Don Draper DRINKS in a plane Also, we need to talk about Roger Sterling's glasses They are making me very "horn-rimmed" even though usually I am quite hetero

Whenever Don Draper can see a palm tree he is happy Don Draper's dick is a palm tree, waving lightly in the breezes of paradise (a vagina)

I tell you what, I adore assertive women but I feel like Joan is getting TOO assertive She's galloping around like a sexy centaur with a crazed little general on her back

However, here is one thing I am loving: when two broads get together in a secret meeting and plot to fuck Pete Campbell over It is better than girl-on-girl porno to me It IS girl-on-girl porno to me, and Pete Campbell is the big dildo that they use

Harry and Roger and me are having a meeting in a room full of man-sized ice cream cones and I'm afraid I'm getting turned on again Oh my god there are pitchers of milk too I want to pour it all over my body while shouting I'M A DAIRY BOY

Now the ice cream fucks are trying to yell at me Shut UP you ice cream fucks Don Draper got an ice cream cone between his legs and it will NEVER melt because he is so cold

Remember when Don Draper used to drink about one gallon of pure god-blessed alcohol every day of his life? Well now he doesn't need it, because Don Draper has discovered the funniest cigarettes possible and that is:

DRUGS

TIME FOR DON DRAPER TO SMOKE A BIG-ASS OCTOPUS HOOKAH I absolutely want to get high on hashish and watch "Alice in Wonderland" and wonder how many penises that freaky caterpillar has My guess is: as many as you WANT him to have

At this point I have done almost all the drugs The next drug Don Draper wants to do is PCP so he can lose his mind and HULK OUT and tear a cop limb from limb while screaming ADULTS EAT BACON FOR BREAKFAST

Roger Sterling is always so smooth at these drug parties A miniature yogi clocks him right in the nuts but Roger barely even cares because he is dressed as a yacht and a yacht doesn't even HAVE balls

DON DRAPER IS SO FUCKING THIRSTY HE'S GONNA TRY TO DRINK A SWIMMING POOL BUT NOW HE'S HALLUCINATING THAT HIS WIFE IS IN CALIFORNIA AND SHE'S TOTALLY PREGNANT "What do you think it is," she asks me. I think it is ... a big octopus hookah that I can smoke childlike wonder out of

When did "Mad Men" become such an excellent drug show Drugs seem to be the grand subject it was waiting for Why? Because the show functions best in a dream state where its characters can be visited by bright strange insight like for instance the insight that I should try to drink a swimming pool so deeply that I drown a little bit Excuse me while I barf pool water all over this party I used to be the cool guy at these things, I don't know what happened

"I am a curious child with a full head of hair and a thriving business," moos Roger Well I am a misbehaving stinker who is going through an early puberty because I chugged too much boob as a baby

Listen to me very carefully: I am tired of Joan getting shat on by the great huge butt that is Pete Campbell It is time for Joan to get to SPANK that butt by being very good at advertising

AT LAST OUR DREAMS ARE COMING TRUE BECAUSE PETE IS FINALLY GONNA TOKE TOKE IT UP PETE Oh look the sun is walking by in a miniskirt Pete perhaps you can get that sweet little thing pregnant with the sunrise (Poetry)

Why am I different in California? Because the land simply stops there, it just runs out It is the end of the world, and I am at home at the end of the world Standing on an extremity of land and looking out to where the child of Pete Campbell, the sunrise, is getting born all over the sheets of the sea

#mad men #patricia lockwood #poetry

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samdukewieland · 4 years

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Stuck Inside Media Diary Week 8

Something that’s been nice about going back through Mad Men has been re-reading/re-visiting old Sepinwall recaps on the episodes. I read him religiously throughout high school and college, amongst others, but have since drifted from the recap on shows, for no good reason. Probably because there’s generally a podcast I can just listen to rather than read something (jock at heart-sorry ¯\_(ツ)_/¯). This supposed to be a lesson in “go back and experience stuff from your high school years?” man, I don’t know; the venn diagram of things I did in high school and the things I do now is not small (or is it not big? What’s the best way to convey a lot of similarities with a venn diagram, size-wise).

Sunday, May 10 (Mother’s Day)

The Third Man, Reed 1949

I was not super digging this while I was watching, it was late when I started watching it and it’s not slow exactly, but I was real curious how egg-zacktly Orson Wells was going to fit into the picture. Mysteries! I tells ya. Anyway, I’ve been stewing in it and realized, “huh, I think I actually like this movie quite a bit.” I think the Britishness, while not in your face, was secretly chipping away at my brain, already war-torn by tiredhead and then having a second wave of dry, British storytelling. Pretty good li’l picture (you could say that about movies in the 40′s-this isn’t uncommon).

Top Chef, Season 17 episode 4

This was done in an attempt to help my mom catch back up with Top Chef, which somewhat moved the needle, but I don’t think an episode (on her end) has been watched since. Mother’s Day: ruined.

Mad Men, “Tea Leaves”

My mom also watched this one with me, only because she just happened to be in the room. Her biggest hurdle with this show and her refusal to watch it is based solely on the fact that phones are ringing “all the time” and that “no one ever answers them.” Hard to refute it. She seemed mildly entertained by this episode, considering she had close to zero context for what was going on, thought that it was Ginsburg’s debut episode played some part into that. Pretty disorienting episode to be thrown into, what with the whole....Fat Betty thing (I was going to say “elephant in the room of Betty” but that just seemed cruel and trying too hard to try and be clever. An interesting, though ultimately aimless direction to take Betty this season and everyone involved kind of knows it.

The Last Dance, Parts 7 & 8

That this was the penultimate week of new Jordan doc created an unusual energy around the episodes, which were exciting in their own right as they went over his father’s murder, his baseball career and returning to basketball. But the thing that induced the most goosebumps was the “cliffhanger” (I am a moron) showdown between the Bulls and Pacers.

Monday, May 11

Icarus, Fogel 2017 [as of now this is available on Netflix]

Kinda nice going into a documentary knowing hints of what it’s about and trying to figure out when it transitions to being about “X” but then you slowly realize you misremembered that information your friend Tommy told you and are surprised that it becomes about the Russian state (very possible I am misusing that term; just trying to sound smarter than I actually am). I don’t watch or know enough about documentaries to confidently state what’s a good one and what’s a great one-I think this one received some kind of critical backlash after it won Best Documentary, which happens. There’s definitely an intellectual superiority to saying you think less of a documentary that either wins that award or a lot of people like (in this case, both!). It’s engaging and accessible (another thing snobs hate) and has a misdirect that doesn’t blind side you; I don’t even care about the Olympics, but I felt sucked in.

Monty Python: Almost The Truth (Lawyers Cut), “The Much Funnier Second Episode - The Parrot Sketch - Flying Circus Included”

This one had more focus on the influence Flying Circus had on writers/comedians who were watching it at the time as kids (primarily). Lotta dudes. I can not stress how there are few things less appealing than hearing Russell Brand describing why Monty Python was funny (this was very much made in 2009).

Mad Men, “Mystery Date”

Some more Sopranos karaoke, though constructed a little bit better this time. This is also the episode that decides to flesh out Dawn (Don’s secretary, a joke that is never not funny) a little bit more, however Mad Men only does this when there’s “something to be said” about being black, which didn’t look great in 2012 and *flips through pages of notes* nope, still doesn’t look good here either. I suppose an argument you could bring up that is awfully flimsy is that they didn’t want to paint themselves into a Nikki and Paulo situation, in terms of never actually caring about digging deeper into Dawn’s story. I dunno man, I’m not trying to cast stones here.

Tuesday, May 12

The Taking Of Pelham One, Two, Three, Sargent 1974

What a white whale this movie’s been for me and brother, it feels good to have finally caught it. It’s insanely cool to go into a movie not knowing that it’s the 1974 version of Inside Man with a little bit of Dog Day Afternoon spliced in (pre-DDA mind you). This movie is packed with so many sarcastic assholes all working together in the same place, I loved it! I loved this movie! Cataloged in my brain as a Stop-Down-And-Watch if it’s on cable. However, my biggest gripe here is that Walter Matthau’s character is named “Zach,” a name that has never once been mistook for Walter Matthau’s; like there’s no way that they had Matthau casted before they came up with his name.

Mad Men, “Signal 30″

Beginning of the end of having any remote kind of sympathy for Pete Campbell. Hitting on high schoolers and shit. He wants so badly to be what he considers to be the best version of himself and will never be there.

Parks And Recreation, “The Set-Up”

Don’t know what it was about this particular viewing, but it landed better than it ever has this time around. Usually when I watch it, Arnett is so distracting and a much different energy than the show has created, but I don’t think I’ve ever laughed as hard watching this one as I did on this Tuesday morning.

Wednesday, May 13

California Split, Altman 1974 [as of now this is available on Prime]

Hell yeh. Another movie I’ve been trying to see for a couple of years now, but feels nearly impossible to come across or find (note: to be fair, I have never checked to rent digitally, because I just don’t do that really ever, feels weird I don’t know why) and I found out on Tuesday night that it was put on Amazon Prime almost unceremoniously. I am by no means a gambler, so I have no idea if this is a good gambling movie, but it’s an incredible relationship and addiction movie. My introduction to Elliott Gould was Ocean’s Eleven where he is the opposite and still the same as the characters he played in the 70′s. The man has a debilitating incapacity to be effortlessly cool, even in a movie that he co-stars in with George Segal. I loved this movie.

Mad Men, “Far Away Places”, “At The Codfish Bowl”, “Lady Lazurus”

A great highlight of Don realizing he’s made a huge mistake marrying a 26-year-old. A great highlight of Roger Sterling is great with kids (and their grandmothers!). A great highlight of “Tomorrow Never Knows” fucking rules and uh, maybe wondering if Alexis Bledel is good? (certainly Rory Gilmore is good and it might’ve just been a “choice” to play this character so wooden, especially with what we know comes later on in the season)

Thursday, May 14

Cape Fear, Scorsese 1991

Apparently Spielberg was supposed to do this originally, but thought it was too violent and threw it over to Marty to get Schindler’s back from him (imagine trading those properties amongst yer friends-incredible). What’s real strange here is that he did’t give this to De Palma (I guess because it would’ve been in the wake of Bonfire), but it doesn’t really matter because Marty just goes and makes his version of a De Palma movie. It’s weird! However, when I wasn’t thinking about all of those things and being amazed at how much overt gore there was (overt for a Scorsese movie), I was shocked at the music I associate most with Sidewhow Bob (hold for Gilbert & Sullivan) is actually Max Cady’s music; like I knew that it was just Cape Fear but I had no idea it was just Cape Fear.

Mad Men, “Dark Shadows”

Can’t go a season without a Don is actually Dick Whitman story/episode. That’s about it.

Friday, May 15

Becoming Mike Nichols, McGarth 2016 [as of now this is available on HBO]

This saved me a lot of time in the long run, should I ever read that new(ish) biography on Mike Nichols. It’s a pretty cut and dry interview focused purely on the prologue of Mike Nichols’s career, that’s a lot more interesting if you’re a theatre kid who doesn’t despise theatre kids (you know the type). Honestly, I was most engaged once Jack O’Brien pivoted towards his directing career outside of the theatre. Also gonna expose my ass here and say I didn’t realize Elaine May was that Elaine May-might’ve been a better interview if it was between two people who’re on equal level rather than a guy trying to kiss Mike Nichols’s and a bunch of theatre kids’ asses.

Mad Men, “Christmas Waltz”

This episode only exists to help punctuate how awful the next episode is, but damn if it’s not weirdly great. The Paul/Harry reunion was such a weird reunion, but only because it reminds you of how much time has passed since the beginning of this show (1960) to when it takes place now (1966); the total shift in aesthetic and thinking is massive, but it never feels shoehorned in.

Top Chef, Season 17 episode 9

Colicchio is pretty adamant about not having past challenges affect the decision of the current week’s choice in terms of sending someone home, but Melissa probably should’ve gone home this week if that were the case. They obviously weren’t going to after kicking Kevin off last week and Malarkey making the least offensive dish of the bottom 3. Melissa’s a front runner, same as Kevin was and you can’t have a competition where Malarkey is on but two frontrunners are kicked off back-to-back weeks (even if it was Kevin falling on his sword). Love Lee Anne, been with her since season 1 and hate to see her go, but she’s bigger than Top Chef-this is a loss that doesn’t make me think less of her.

Saturday, May 16

Notes On An American Film Director At Work, Mekas 2008 [as of now this is available on Vimeo]

I don’t know what to call this, honestly. It’s a videos of Martin Scorsese directing The Departed and it’s kind of fascinating. There are no sit down interviews, but snippets of conversations that you’re just thrown into the middle of. It could be that I just love him so much, but it was reaffirming to see that he (appears to be) is like a genuinely nice person. I don’t read about behind the scenes/making of’s, but I don’t really think he’s got any kind of reputation for being some kind of tyrant on set and this proves it (if he needs that proof for any kind of reason). It is one of those things though where watching actors, uh, act feels kina silly-apologies to Leo DiCaprio.

Mad Men, “The Other Woman”, “Commissions And Fees”, “The Phantom” [season 5 finale], “The Doorway” [season 6 premier], “Collaborators”

An incredibly harrowing stretch of episodes for Mad Men, maybe the best set-up for a finale the show has. The awfulness of the position they thrust Joan into and that Don is the only clear objector to this, be it that he only cares enough about the company is heartbreaking. Christina Hendricks wears so much disappointment and contempt on her face so well and that what happens is sandwiched between those interactions with Don is incredible. And awful. As is Lane’s suicide in the office (I still remember watching this episode for the first time when it aired and it’s as depressing now all these years later as it was back then; Lane and Bodie are probably my top-2 most upsetting television deaths that come to mind). Though it all seems worth it, despite how depressing it might be, for that scene between Peggy and Don where she resigns, an incredible parallel to Megan’s. I’m glad it wasn’t, but if they wanted to series wrap on Peggy there, they could’ve and it would’ve felt so incredibly earned, which you can see through both of those characters trying their hardest to choke down tears through a conversation smothered in so much understood in the unsaid. Now welcome, Bob Benson! (for the life of me, I can’t figure out if they introduce Bob like this intentionally, because it’s so fucking funny in how out of synch it is with everything else going on in the show)

Apocalypse Now, Coppola 1979 [as of now this is available on HBO]

It was either during my sophomore or junior year of high school when I became absolutely enamored with trying to watch this movie. I had built it up to such great heights in my head for whatever reason (I was very concerned with appearing knowledgeable about things like “important movies” and that this didn’t win best picture whatever year it was nominated fueled that fire even more ((I was also very concerned with being outraged over something like this)). I vaguely remember squeezing it in on a school night, but didn’t try and sneak it upstairs to my room to watch, like I tried to get this almost 3½ hour movie in under a reasonable bed time for a high schooler (I definitely didn’t have one, but I remember getting kind of dirty looks around the house if I was still hanging out past 10:30). So it was basically self-inflicted homework at that point, so I remember saying that I liked it, but I don’t know if I honestly believed it. And then that just gets all shaken up in your dumb high school brain that’s already trying it’s best to be super contrarian that you start believing that Apocalypse Now maybe sucks or at the very least isn’t as good as Hearts Of Darkness (a movie you won’t see for another 8 years). I had not watched this movie in its entirety since high school, and I knew all the big beats going into re-watching this, but it might as well have been that I had never seen it before. Man. I was a dumb as hell high schooler. This movie is electric and looks beautiful and I’m so glad that I never watched it all before this and decided to revisit it and I’m now furious at myself for letting the opportunity pass to not see it in theatres when it was remastered last year.

The Adventures Of Tintin, Spielberg 2011 [as of now this is available on Netflix]

I was reading the oral history of Fury Road earlier that day and it got me really jonsing to watch Fury Road. For my mental health’s sake, I decided to not double feature Apocalypse Now and Fury Road, but rather Apocalypse Now and The Adventures Of Tintin. People of a certain generation really hate this movie and I kind of get it, but this movie rules. There’s maybe two sequences in it that I’d feel unashamed for putting up in the Spielberg Hall Of Fame.

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Veteran Quotes

Official Website: Veteran Quotes

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• “America’s Cold War veterans deserve every honor we can bestow upon them for their hard work and dedication to keeping our nation safe,”. “The Cold War Service Medal would allow military service members, veterans, and their families to receive the recognition and honor they rightfully deserve. I will continue to work with my colleagues to ensure our veterans receive the support and care they and their families need. It’s the least we can do as a grateful nation.” – Blanche Lincoln • A broadsheet obituarist once pointed out to me that veteran soldiers die by rank. First to go are the generals, admirals and air marshals, then the brigadiers, then a bit of a gap and the colonels and wing commanders and passed-over majors, then a steady trickle of captains and lieutenants. As they get older and rarer, so the soldiers are mythologised and grow ever more heroic, until finally drummer boys and under-age privates are venerated and laurelled with honours like ancient field marshals. There is something touching about that. – A. A. Gill • A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself. – Joseph Campbell • About a veteran player thrown out trying to steal second: There was larceny in his heart, but his legs were honest. – Arthur Baer • After several years in the league, when a player becomes a vested veteran in the NFL, they play under a different set of rules. For instance, if you cut a vested veteran mid-season and they don’t get picked up by another team, you owe them the remainder of their salary. – Brendan Daly • Alice thought, No. It wasn’t the War and the disgruntled veterans; it wasn’t the droves and droves of colored people flocking to paychecks and streets full of themselves. It was the music. The dirty, get-on-down music the women sang and the men played and both danced to, close and shamelesss or apart and wild…It made you do unwise disorderly things. Just hearing it was like violating the law. – Toni Morrison • All of my high school male teachers were WWII and/or Korean War veterans. They taught my brothers and me the value of service to our country and reinforced what our dad had shown us about the meaning of service.- Oliver North • America united with a handful of troops, or without a single soldier, exhibits a more forbidding posture to foreign ambition than America disunited, with a hundred thousand veterans ready for combat. – James Madison • America, we cannot turn back. Not with so much work to be done. Not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for. Not with an economy to fix and cities to rebuild and farms to save. Not with so many families to protect and so many lives to mend. America, we cannot turn back. We cannot walk alone. At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future. Let us keep that promise – that American promise – and in the words of Scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess. – Barack Obama • America’s veterans embody the ideals upon which America was founded more than 229 years ago. – Steve Buyer • Among gardeners, enthusiasm and experience rarely exist in equal measures. The beginner dreams of home-grown bouquets and baskets of ripe fruit, the veteran of many seasons has learned to expect slugs, mildew, and frost. – Roger Swain • and suddenly it hits you: Human skin is actually made up of billions of tiny units of protoplasm, called “cells”! And what is even more interesting, the ones on the outside are all dying! This is a fact. Your skin is like an aggressive modern corporation, where the older veteran cells, who have finally worked their way to the top and obtained offices with nice views,are constantly being shoved out the window head first, without so much as a pension plan,by younger hotshot cells moving up from below. – Dave Barry • And when they have done their job, America must look after and honor its veterans. – Adam Schiff • Any veteran can tell you it is already hard enough to see a doctor down at the VA and get the health care they were promised when they signed up to serve this country. – Nick Lampson • As a combat veteran, I know the cost of war. – Tulsi Gabbard • As a soldier and combat veteran, I believe American military forces should only be used in the defense and furtherance of our nation’s vital interests. – Joni Ernst • As a veteran, I believe we have a responsibility to take care of all our men and women who have served – and I will fight to fix the crisis at the Veterans Administration caused by negligent leadership in Washington. – Joni Ernst • As any war veteran will tell you, there is a vast difference between preparing for battle and actually facing battle for the first time. You can be told that reading Victor Hugo will sap your will to live, but you can’t understand what it means until you’ve read a few chapters and your eyes are glazed over and someone has to revive you with a defibrillator. – Kevin Hearne • As first time director, though, you’re like a new officer coming up to be in charge of very serious veterans, and you’re always going to have guys looking at each other for the first day until they realize you’re not screwing around. – William Monahan • As the days went on, I didn’t mind the games. In fact, I looked forward to them. That was the easiest part of all. I couldn’t wait to get to the ballpark I’d be the first one there and I was willing to do anything. I think that’s why the veterans liked me. – Al Kaline • As the field of coaching finds its way to becoming a mature discipline, James Flaherty’s dedicated field research, study, and sound articulation offers a definitive ground and a sensibility of genuine care. At the core this book offers a way of thinking about human beings that makes action and practice central to learning. This is a no-nonsense, generous, pragmatic book that belongs on the shelf every coach, novice or veteran. – Richard Strozzi-Heckler • As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. – John F. Kennedy • As we try to compete in this global marketplace, we need to rebuild our infrastructure. We need to rebuild our schools. We need to make sure that teachers and first responders and veterans who are coming home from serving our country so proudly have jobs waiting for them.- Valerie Jarrett • At Concerned Veterans for America, we’ve made the case that the defense budget could be targeted for spending reform, but in a targeted fashion that genuinely changes unsustainable spending trajectories while preserving U.S. defense capacity. – Pete Hegseth • At the same time, we’re going to take care of our military and we’re going to take care of our great, great, great veterans. – Donald Trump

jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'Veteran', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '68', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_veteran').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_veteran img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); ); • Because all of us believe and understand in the fabric of the common bond of why we call ourselves American is to care for the men and women who wear the uniform; and when they take off the uniform, we care for them when they are veterans. – Steve Buyer • Because Vietnam was not a declared war, the veterans are not even eligible for the G. I. Bill of Rights with respect to education or anything. – Ronald Reagan • Better than honor and glory, and History’s iron pen, Was the thought of duty done and the love of his fellow-men. – Richard Watson Gilder • Brave rifles! Veterans! You have been baptized in fire and blood and have come out steel! – Winfield Scott • But despite their heroic acts, the Vietnam Veterans of America continued to struggle to establish a combat badge in honor of these brave pilots and medics. – Tim Holden • But this Veterans Day, I believe we should do more than sing the praises of the bravery and patriotism that our veterans have embodied in the past. We should take this opportunity to re-evaluate how we are treating our veterans in the present. – Nick Lampson • By cutting critical domestic programs such as education, health, environmental protection, and veterans’ services, this budget reveals misplaced priorities. – Dan Lipinski • By interviewing at least one veteran, you can preserve memories that otherwise might be lost. My uncle was a downed fighter pilot and P.O.W. in World War II, and I am looking forward to recording his story for inclusion in the project. – Spencer Bachus • Caring for our veterans is the duty of a grateful nation. Unfortunately, the Bush administration and congressional Republicans have not lived up to this duty.- Patty Murray • Chancellor [Angela] Merkel is perhaps the only leader left among our closest allies that was there when I arrived. So in some ways we are now the veterans of many challenges over the last eight years. – Barack Obama • Charles Barkley taught me a lot when I played against him. How he would use his body or use his dribble to get people in there and all that stuff. Veteran moves. – Tim Duncan • City’s effort to end homelessness among veterans is different than how things used to be in L.A. – John Carlos Frey • Congress should stop treating veterans like they’re asking for a hand out when it comes to the benefits they were promised, and they should realize that, were it not for these veterans, there would be nothing to hand out. – Nick Lampson • Disabled veterans are not a bargaining chip. – Jim Bridenstine • Does Trumpcare protect seniors and families? Does Trumpcare – is Trumpcare good for our veterans? Is there any caring in Trumpcare at all? – Nancy Pelosi • During their college years the oarsmen put in terrbily long hours, often showing up at the boathouse at 6:00am for preclass practices. Both physically and psychologically, they were separated from their classmates. Events that seemed earth-shattering to them– for example, who was demoted from the varsity to the junior varsity — went almost unnoticed by the rest of the students. In many ways they were like combat veterans coming back from a small, bitter and distant war, able to talk only to other veterans. – David Halberstam • Every #‎ Veteran is a hero. – Joe Walsh • First, separate ground, sea and air warfare is gone forever. This lesson we learned in World War II. I lived that lesson in Europe. Others lived it in the Pacific. Millions of American veterans learned it well. – Dwight D. Eisenhower • For a mile up and down the open fields before us the splendid lines of the veterans of the Army of Northern Virginia swept down upon us. Their bearing was magnificent. They came forward with a rush, and how our men did yell, ‘Come on, Johnny, come on!’ – Rufus Dawes • For every veteran who goes through a divorce, a wife goes through one, too. For every veteran alone in the basement, there is a wife upstairs, bewildered, isolated and in despair from the dark clouds of war that hangs over family life. – Karl Marlantes • Freedom is never free. – Maya Angelou • Giving a veteran a flag is not a substitute for giving our vets the quality health care they were promised – Dick Durbin • He [Osama bin Laden] is clearly an odd combination of a 12th-century theologian and a 21st-century CEO. He runs an absolutely unique organization in the Islamic world. It’s multiethnic, multilinguistic, multinational. He is a combat veteran, three times wounded. He has a huge reputation in the Islamic world for generosity and leadership. He’s a man who speaks eloquent, almost poetic Arabic, according to Bernard Lewis. – Michael Scheuer • He discusses his service in Iraq, the wounds he suffered there and he says to me in this ad, until you have the guts to call me a phony soldier to my face, stop telling lies about my service. You know, this is such a blatant use of a valiant combat veteran, lying to him about what I said, and then strapping those lies to his belt, sending him out via the media and a TV ad, to walk into as many people as he can walk into. – Rush Limbaugh • He hasn’t lost his vision. That’s one thing. He’s good. The guy is smooth and knows how to set up blocks. He’s a veteran, too. It’s fun to watch him run. Hopefully everything works out all right physically, but certainly he looks good so far. – Jake Delhomme • He was a combat veteran from Korea, and he was a great father. – Mike Pence • Heroism is latent in every human soul – However humble or unknown, they (the veterans) have renounced what are accounted pleasures and cheerfully undertaken all the self-denials – privations, toils, dangers, sufferings, sicknesses, mutilations, life-long hurts and losses, death itself – for some great good, dimly seen but dearly held. – Joshua Chamberlain • Honor to the soldier and sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country’s cause. Honor, also, to the citizen who cares for his brother in the field and serves, as he best can, the same cause. – Abraham Lincoln • I also believe our country made a promise to veterans and their families. Veterans have kept their end of the bargain, and now, the VA is looking to pull out the rug. – Ellen Tauscher • I am convinced that America’s great sea of goodwill can be, in fact, a rising tide, a tide that could lift every veteran and every family of our wounded and fallen. – Michael Mullen • I am not a veteran environmentalist. I don’t live in a house made of recycled tires, I’ve never handcuffed myself to a tree, and I don’t grow my own organic rutabaga. – Christy Mathewson • I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. – Martin Luther King, Jr. • I can’t imagine anybody disagrees with President Trump when he says, if we don’t take care of our veterans, who are we really as a nation? -Kellyanne Conway • I come from a district where the veterans are not the richest in the country. – Corrine Brown • I feel a sense of obligation to our troops and their families because of the decisions that I made. So I’m involved with veterans. – George W. Bush • I had lots of friends who were fighting in Vietnam and I am still friends with veterans of the war. – Gordon Lightfoot • I had the privilege and the honor of chairing the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. And it is interesting to me, you know, Republicans give a lot of speeches about how much they love veterans. I work with the American Legion, the VFW, the DAV, the Vietnam Vets, and virtually every veterans organization to put together the most comprehensive piece of the veterans legislation in the modern history of America. That’s what I did. – Bernie Sanders • I have gone to all over the country and I’ve met so many veterans and I have tremendous veteran support. – Donald Trump • I have to say I have the most experience. I’m a veteran when it comes to that, [my brothers] they’re still learning. They have lots of potential. They’re like first-round picks right now in the game, they still have to develop. – P. K. Subban • I know the veterans. I know them well. And I know that they know that I’ll take care of them. And I’ve been proud of their support and their recognition of my service to the veterans. – John McCain • I love the veterans. And I’ll take care of them. And they know that I’ll take care of them. And that’s going to be my job. But, also, I have the ability, and the knowledge, and the background to make the right judgments, to keep America safe and secure. – John McCain • I love when I am around a veteran in [show] business. Because I can dig and ask questions, and find out the “who” and “what” of it all. – Jill Scott • I never thought of serving as a conflict of interest, that would have been a luxury! I just needed something to survive. Initial needs have to be met first, and then later things like patriotism come in. – Donna M. Loring • I offer a better way for America with ideas that actually work, a reformed tax code that rewards free enterprise instead of just enterprising lobbyists. A reformed health care system that operates by free choice instead of by force and doesn’t leave you answering to cold, clueless bureaucrats. A commitment to a renewed commitment to building a 21st Century military and giving our veterans the care that they were promised and the care that they earned. – Paul Ryan • I oppose U.S. military intervention in Iraq. I believe that we should not send troops or engage in air strikes-our nation’s military involvement needs to be over. The United States has already spent billions of dollars in Iraq while our nation has endured a crumbling infrastructure, cuts to our social programs, a lack of investment in job training and creation, and sadly, a failure to take care of our veterans. Let’s focus our resources at home. Over 4000 men and women have sacrificed their lives for Iraq. That is enough. – Janice Hahn • I personally found Donald Trump’s praise for Vladimir Putin troubling or even chilling, frankly. In a room full of military veterans, to be effusing about his great leadership and how strong he is and how popular he is, while disrespecting the American president and American generals, I don’t know. That was, I think, not just troubling to me, but to a lot of listeners and I think, frankly, to a lot of Republican listeners as well. – Philip Gordon • I play an 89-year-old man whose wife has Alzheimer’s in a movie called ‘Still.’ I play a World War II veteran, I acted with my son and it’s called ‘Memorial Day.’ – James Cromwell • I put the Vietnam War behind me a long time ago, and what I wanted to (do) among other things was help veterans also be able to come all the way home as some of our veterans have not been able to do. But I harbor no anger nor rancor. I’m a better man for my experience, and I’m grateful for having the opportunity of serving. – John McCain • I said you [Mike Pence] can’t give me this [Purple Heart]. He said, “Mr. Trump you mean so much to me and my family.” You know we’re doing very well with the veterans. I know you guys do not like to say that. – Donald Trump • I see what those people [veterans] are going through. To see a doctor, sometimes it takes six and seven days and then you finally get there and the doctor is gone on vacation. – Donald Trump • I started a theater called Steppenwolf. We’ve been very supportive of the veterans there. – Gary Sinise • I think America as a whole has come more to terms with separating war from the warrior. – Jeffrey Dunn • I think our veterans certainly deserve and have earned the best health care in the world. – Phil Roe • I think that the needs of the VA and the needs of the veteran community are very, very significant. Цe’re talking about a VA system in which, in the last years a million-and-a-half more people have come into the system. You’re dealing with 500,000 people have come home from Iraq an Afghanistan with PTSD and TBI. You’re dealing with an older veterans population from World War II and Korea who need some difficult medical help. We want to see it be more efficient. We want to see doctors go to where they’re needed.- Bernie Sanders • I think the choice option is critical to give the veteran an opportunity, if they choose to do so, to opt out. We have done that in this particular piece of legislation for those that have been waiting in line, and particularly for those that live 40 miles or more from a VA facility. – Jeff Miller • I think the President’s decision to withdraw the United States, to keep a campaign promise in Iraq, without leaving a stay-behind force was a mistake, and I hear that from veterans in Wyoming and from parents who lost children fighting in Iraq. We’re seeing it, though, around the world. When we, the United States leads a vacuum anywhere, that emboldens others to go in, when there is no sense of deterrence by the United States that lets bad actors move and fill the void. – John Barrasso • I think there’s where we can enlist the veterans service organizations, the veterans of America, because, yes, let’s fix the V.A., but we will never let it be privatized, and that is a promise. – Hillary Clinton • I think we’re being laughed at all over the world. I think that if you look at our military, we can’t beat ISIS, General George Patton, General Douglas MacArthur are spinning in their grave. We can’t beat ISIS, okay? I think that our veterans are not taken care of, they’re treated worse than illegal immigrants, by the way. – Donald Trump • I want people to get involved and to connect with veterans. – Max Martini • I want to be sure…that nothing is done on these veterans. Is that understood?…Is the word out? That they are not to touch em, they are not to do a thing?…Get a hold of the district police; they’re not to touch them, they’re to do nothing: Just let em raise Hell. – Richard M. Nixon • I was a veteran, before I was a teenager. – Michael Jackson • I was born in Munich, and my father was stationed in Salzburg. For the first three years of my life, I lived in Austria back when the American Army was still in Austria. I grew up subsequently in posts around the country around veterans. – Rick Atkinson • I was elected by the Democrats to be chair of the Veterans Committee, which I’m very proud of. And now am the rankings member on the Budget Committee, leader of the Democrats in opposition to the majority Republicans. – Bernie Sanders • I was there. I saw your sons and your husbands, your brothers and your sweethearts. I saw how they worked, played, fought, and lived. I saw some of them die. I saw more courage, more good humor in the face of discomfort, more love in an era of hate and more devotion to duty than could exist under tyranny. – Bob Hope • I would like to say something, not just to Vietnam veterans in New England, but to men who were in Vietnam, who I hurt, or whose pain I caused to deepen because of the things that I said or did. I was trying to help end the killing and the war, but there were times when I was thoughtless and careless about it and I’m…very sorry that I hurt them. And I want to apologize to them and their families. – Jane Fonda • I would not call myself a veteran conspiracy theorist. Or an obsessed one. I pretty much peaked on the whole conspiracy theory thing in the ’60s, with the grassy knoll, who really killed JFK, and who ordered the hit on Lee Harvey Oswald. – Patti Davis • I’d like to give every young teacher some good news. Teaching is a very easy job. Administrators will tell you what to do. You’ll be given books and told chapters to assign the children. Veteran teachers will show you the correct way to fill out forms and have your classes line up.And here’s some more good news. If you do all of these things badly, they let you keep doing it. You can go home at three o’clock every day. You get about three months off a year. Teaching is a great gig.However, if you care about what you’re doing, it’s one of the toughest jobs around. – Rafe Esquith • If you listen closely to the voices of our veterans, you understand that yes, they all returned from war changed, but what never changed is this: They never forgot your generosity. They never forgot the power of opportunity. They never forgot the American dream. – Michael Mullen • I’m a veteran, and I’ve earned the right to be heard. I’ll lead by example and show that gay players are no different from straight ones. I’m not the loudest person in the room, but I’ll speak up when something isn’t right. And try to make everyone laugh. – Jason Collins • I’m ashamed that Congress finds billions for pork-barrel subsidies but fails to find money for veterans’ health care. – John McCain • I’m just one example of thousands of transgender veterans and people who are actively serving today. – Allyson Robinson • I’m sick of the cover-ups, I’m sick of the lies, and so are the bloody veterans, that come out daily of the department’s mouth. – Malcolm Turnbull • In a fire you have to be thoughtful, you have to have a certain kind of intuitive smarts that the veterans have. I’m not there yet, despite the Stanford degree.- Caroline Paul • In addition to demanding answers and accountability from the Veterans Administration, Congress had to act to ensure veterans do not suffer because of the actions of a federal agency. – Doc Hastings • In climbing, a fundamental thing is to want to do something you’ve never done before. That’s the beauty of climbing, whether you’re a girl or boy, seasoned veteran or beginner. You’re not sure you’ll be able to do this, but you try, and discovering you are capable is an amazing experience and an amazing feeling. – Chris Sharma • In mid-May, the House of Representatives approved the full amount of money that the Veterans Administration said was needed for next year – plus an additional $1 billion increase for veterans’ health care. – Doc Hastings • In researching this volume, I interviewed veterans who had been at the front during World War II. I read countless books, examined film footage, and listened to many detailed and intense stories firsthand, but the one comment that affected me the most came from a former soldier who lowered his gaze to the tabletop and said, ‘I never watch war movies. – Hiromu Arakawa • In spite of the incident, my experience in Kansas City was wonderful and I thank all the warm and supportive people, including so many veterans, who came to welcome me last night. – Jane Fonda • It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you. – Dick Cheney • It is impossible not to recognise the Long March as one of the great triumphs of men against odds and men against nature. While the Red Army was unquestionably in forced retreat, its toughened veterans reached their planned objective with moral and political will as strong as ever… Their conviction had helped turn what might have been a terrible defeat into an arrival in triumph. – Edgar Snow • It is time to acknowledge the extraordinary sacrifice of all of our veterans. While many Massachusetts soldiers served our nation in a period technically dubbed ‘peacetime,’ they restored American pride in the wake of Vietnam and helped bring a successful end to the Cold War. The service of these men and women was not without cost. There are countless stories of soldiers who served with great distinction only to be denied veteran status after returning home. Every man and woman who volunteered to serve this country should be treated with the same degree of respect, gratitude and dignity. – Mitt Romney • It’s the only call…To have Christian Ponder as your third quarterback, a guy who started for you a year, to me it made it an easy call because you have a veteran guy who has played in this atmosphere before. – Bill Cowher • It’s horrible to think that a small cadre of people would manipulate that information. I mean, for God’s sake, we’ve admitted that we were experimenting on our veterans with mustard gas. So there is no security question. It can’t possibly be the reason. – Dwight Schultz • It’s important for me to highlight my views for veterans who’ve fought for America and at the same time don’t have anything to show for it. It’s kind of dear to me. – 2 Chainz • It’s quite a traumatic thing for a lot of our veterans that come back… You’re in a war zone, you’re dodging IED’s and bullets one day and a couple days later you’re back in society again with a bunch of people that have no idea of what you’ve been through. – Charlie Daniels • I’ve been described as a grizzled political veteran. – Joe Klein • I’ve shared meditation with a lot of hip-hop artists, inmates, and returning war veterans with PTSD, as well. I feel like this dharma, this service is part of my job. – Russell Simmons • Karl Malone used a lot of veteran stuff that I thought was cool. – Tim Duncan • Like the archers of Agincourt, John O’Neal and the 254 Swiftboat Veterans took down their own haughty Frenchman. – Ann Coulter • Lilian Ross was a – veteran writer for The New Yorker. She, in fact, brought me to The New Yorker many years ago. – Nat Hentoff • Love me or hate me, it’s one or the other. Always has been. Hate my game, my swagger. Hate my fadeaway, my hunger. Hate that I’m a veteran. A champion. Hate that. Hate it with all your heart. And hate that I’m loved, for the exact same reasons. – Kobe Bryant • Madison Square Garden, November 1984. I don’t recall taking too much fear into the ring. I knew I could fight. But I got a big shock. They put me in with this rough, tough veteran called Lionel Byarm. He tested me to the limit. But I fought my heart out and, in the end, I prevailed. The story of my life, in my very first fight. – Evander Holyfield • Makin’ veterans run for medicine, Cause I put out more lights in a fight than ConEdison.- Kool G Rap • Marriage – as its veterans know well – is the continuous process of getting used to things you hadn’t expected. – Thomas Mullen • Memorial Day isn’t just about honoring veterans, its honoring those who lost their lives. Veterans had the fortune of coming home. For us, that’s a reminder of when we come home we still have a responsibility to serve. It’s a continuation of service that honors our country and those who fell defending it. – Pete Hegseth • More and more teams are using almost exclusively the draft to build their teams. And that means you have younger players to develop in those key depth positions. Younger players are more susceptible to streaks than veterans. They go up, they go down. – Ozzie Newsome • More importantly, if you are in a position to hire, hire a veteran. They will be the best employees you have. – Eric Shinseki • More often than not, you find players seeing something that they can help another player with or reinforce something the coaches are seeing. Veterans do that regularly with younger players. – Brendan Daly • Mortgage is one of the most popular deductions. It costs the Treasury about $103 billion a year. Now that’s money we could use to treat wounded veterans or reduce the deficit or fill the border. Instead, we give it a subsidy to homeowners, and it goes mainly to the richest homeowners in America, because only one third of Americans itemize their deductions. It doesn’t work. Many countries have gotten rid of the mortgage interest deduction. Almost all of them have higher homeownership rates than we do. – T.R. Reid • Muddy language is not confined to policies alone. Each of you has seen replies to simple questions in which the meaning was lost through hopelessly obscure wording. When a person writes to the Veterans Administration, he is entitled to an easily understood, frank, and courteous reply. If our replies cannot be understood, they are not only not worth writing, but they simply create additional work. – Omar N. Bradley • My daddy was a veteran, and it’s something dear to my heart. I helped him, he stayed with me until he passed away, and I’m not sure what kind of life he would have had if I wasn’t there for him. – 2 Chainz • My wartime experiences developing a code that utilized the Navajo language taught how important our Navajo culture is to our country. For me that is the central lesson: that diverse cultures can make a country richer and stronger. – Chester Nez • NBA has a selfish rationale. It saves the owners money by delaying the time a player gets to a second, more lucrative contract. Even the player’s union is on board. There are only 450 jobs in the NBA, and the one-and-done protects veterans’ jobs. – Sonny Vaccaro • No administration in recent times has been able to tackle the needs of our veterans. On that, I do want to see Donald Trump successful. But in terms of his travel ban and immigration policy, I don’t want to see him successful. – Nina Turner • No capitalists after any war were ever so well paid for money loaned to the nation that carried it on. No class of money-makers ever gained such prosperity by any other war, as our War for the Union brought to the money-getters of America. All this was due in great measure to the rank and file of the Union army. Now let no rich man haggle with a needy veteran of that war about his right to a pension! – Rutherford B. Hayes • Now therefore, be it Resolved by the Fiftieth Annual Convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, That we hereby declare that we are unalterably opposed to any program which would entail the surrender of any part of the sovereignty of the United States of America in favor of a world government. – Unknown • Oklahomans value our children and our seniors. Oklahomans value traditions of faith. Oklahomans value our heroes, our veterans. Oklahomans value innovation and the creative arts. – Brad Henry On the battlefield, the military pledges to leave no soldier behind. As a nation, let it be our pledge that when they return home, we leave no veteran behind. – Dan Lipinski • Once over there [Balkans], I felt extremely patriotic. Here are these people, from 18-year-olds to military veterans, enduring real duress for the cause of peace. I don’t ever want to play for a regular audience again, only military folks who are starving for music. – Sheryl Crow • One of my favorite episodes in West Wing was the homeless man that died and they found, in the overcoat he was wearing, a card of the speechwriter, Toby. He had given that coat to the Goodwill and this guy had ended up wearing it, died in it and Toby went to his funeral. He turned out to be a Korean war veteran. It was our first Christmas episode and that was a true story – a member of the staff had done exactly that. So many of these stories were far better than any fiction. – Martin Sheen • One out of four people internationally believe if their country goes to war, The United States would be the opponent. As a veteran, I hang my head in shame over that. – Jesse Ventura • One third of the $15 trillion of mortgages in existence in 2008 are owned, or securitized by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae, the Federal Housing and the Veterans Administration. Wall Street buyers of repackaged loans didn’t mind buying risky paper because they assumed that they would be guaranteed by the federal government: read bailout from the taxpayers. Today’s housing mess can be laid directly at the feet of Congress and the White House. – Walter E. Williams • Our veterans are not being treated well. Our veterans, in many cases, are being treated worse than illegal immigrants, people that come into our country illegally. Our veterans are not being treated well. And, by the way, Hillary Clinton has been doing this for 35 years. Now she says she can do it? She doesn’t have a clue. – Donald Trump • Our veterans connect generations and Canadians. As a country and as individuals, we gain in pride and in purpose from their deeds and their service. – Paul Martin • Our veterans deserve the very best, and that means ensuring that America’s veterans receive high-quality services and cares when they come back home. – Elizabeth Warren • Our veterans know the meaning of service better than anyone else and they aren’t about to quit working when they come home. The best reward we can provide our vets for their service isn’t a medal or a check; it’s a livelihood and a means of supporting themselves and their families. – Mitt Romney • Outside of being a hit maker, I want to also be a star maker. Me being so young still as a veteran in the game, I wanted to give back to the youth and give back to my community. I want to find somebody that’s special and birth them to the world. – Sean Garrett People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.- Richard Grenier • Phil Gramm had a stump speech about how his mother’s devotion kept him from being an academic failure in life. She got him into a special school that turned him around – under a government program for the children of deceased veterans. He was repeatedly asked at press conferences why he would then turn around and support draconian cuts in federal funding for education. He never had an answer. – Gail Collins • Republicans talk a good game about veterans, but when it came to put money on the line to protect our veterans, frankly, they were not there. – Bernie Sanders • Romney still enjoys the Republicans’ traditional advantage among voters who are veterans, but the Obama campaign is confident it can chip away at that. – Mara Liasson • Science is nothing but trained and organized common sense differing from the latter only as a veteran may differ from a raw recruit: and its methods differ from those of common sense only as far as the guardsman’s cut and thrust differ from the manner in which a savage wields his club. – Thomas Huxley • Secretary [Hillary ] Clinton is absolutely right, there are people, Koch brothers among others, who have a group called Concerned Veterans of America, funded by the Koch brothers. The Koch brothers, by the way, want to destroy Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, every governmental program passed since the 1930s. Yes, there are people out there who want to privatize it. – Bernie Sanders • Since the Revolution, eight generations of America’s veterans have established an unbroken commitment to freedom. – Steve Buyer • SNAP is a critical anti-hunger program that feeds millions of low income Americans, including children, veterans, and seniors who would not otherwise have the resources to buy groceries. – Dan Maffei • So when someone, a veteran stands up and say, “Here are the facts on the VA.” He [Donald Trump] says, “No, your facts are wrong.” Turns out her facts are right and his facts are wrong. – John McCain • Susan Campbell has brought Isabella’s fascinating forgotten story back to life with the deep research of a born historian and the vibrant readable prose style of a veteran journalist. – Debby Applegate • Thank you for the sacrifices you and your families are making. Our Vietnam Veterans have taught us that no matter what are positions may be on policy, as Americans and patriots, we must support all of our soldiers with our thoughts and our prayers. – Zach Wamp • That was not the biggest battle that ever was, but for me it always typified one thing; the dash, the ingenuity, the readiness at the first opportunity that characterizes the American soldier. – Dwight D. Eisenhower • That’s what makes America great; the fabric and the core of our beliefs and our being is we wrap ourselves around diversity. We say that the American flag represents our right to be free in every aspect of what that is, and every veteran who fought, fought for that freedom. So what we have to do is realize it’s not a choice between the country and racial justice; it’s about what we believe in at the core of our being, and that’s that we are free. – Jennifer Welter The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding go out to meet it. – Thucydides • The Bush administration has been doing everything it can to hide the huge number of returning veterans who are severely wounded – 17,000 so far including roughly 20 percent with serious brain and head injuries. Even the estimate of $500 billion ignores the lifetime disability and healthcare costs that taxpayers will have to spend for years to come. – Joseph Stiglitz • The Chinese soldier was tough, brave, and experienced. After all he had been fighting on his own without help for years. He was a veteran among the Allies. – William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim • The general’s staff is a handpicked collection of killers, spies, geniuses, patriots, political operators and outright maniacs. There’s a former head of British Special Forces, two Navy Seals, an Afghan Special Forces commando, a lawyer, two fighter pilots and at least two dozen combat veterans and counterinsurgency experts. They jokingly refer to themselves as Team America, taking the name from the South Park-esque sendup of military cluelessness, and they pride themselves on their can-do attitude and their disdain for authority. – Michael Hastings • The issue of torture, connected to American soldiers, is not somewhere most people want to linger. We may not want to confront this issue so much in the U.S. because of how we want to think about our veterans. There’s the sense that we want to think of our veterans as – if they’re damaged, damaged by something glamorous, like a firefight. – Russell Banks • The last point that I’d make. I had a hearing. I had all of the veterans groups in front of me. And I said to them, tell me when a veteran gets in to the V.A., understanding there are waiting lines and real problems, when a veteran gets into the system, is the quality of care good? – Bernie Sanders • The last two years, nationals have been close to home for me, so I’ve had big family support from friends and club support. Especially last year in Ottawa, I had a whole section my grandpa got for all my family, and the skating club (supported me). I feel like I’m a veteran at this now. – Alaine Chartrand • The men and women of today’s VA are dedicated to caring for today’s veterans and stand ready to provide for our servicemembers who now defend our freedoms and our way of life. – Steve Buyer • The moon gives you light, and the bugles and the drums give you music, and my heart, O my soldiers, my veterans, my heart gives you love. – Walt Whitman • The most basic obligation we have to our veterans is that we keep the promises that were made to them. That is what makes the recent failures of the Veterans Administration so shameful. – Doc Hastings • The need for this clinic is clear to me, to the veterans who are currently forced to travel hours to receive care, and even to the Veterans Administration that itself identified creation of a clinic in this part of our state as a priority to be completed by 2006. – Doc Hastings • The nicest veterans in Schenectady, I thought, the kindest and funniest ones, the ones who hated war the most, were the ones who’d really fought. – Kurt Vonnegut • The object of my relationship with Vietnam has been to heal the wounds that exist, particularly among our veterans, and to move forward with a positive relationship,… Apparently some in the Vietnamese government don’t want to do that and that’s their decision. – Ho Chi Minh Show source • The Republican tax cut threatens to undercut both veterans health care and the veterans educational benefits that have been recognized for decades as not only the long-standing obligation of the Nation to its veterans, but also as the best recruiting incentives we can offer to keep our armed forces strong and sharp. – Lane Evans • The rocks have a history; gray and weatherworn, they are veterans of many battles; they have most of them marched in the ranks of vast stone brigades during the ice age; they have been torn from the hills, recruited from the mountaintops, and marshaled on the plains and in the valleys; and now the elemental war is over, there they lie waging a gentle but incessant warfare with time and slowly, oh, so slowly, yielding to its attacks! – John Burroughs • The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth disputed whether John Kerry deserved some of his five medals. A large part of Kerry’s defense was an appeal to the authority of veterans who supported him-one of whom has now been revealed to have received a medal he doesn’t deserve. This doesn’t prove the Kerry detractors were right, but it certainly doesn’t weaken their case. – James Taranto • The United States government was proud that, although perhaps 100,000 Iraqis had died in the Gulf War of 1991, there were only 48 American battle casualties. What it has concealed from the public is that 206,000 veterans of that war filed claims with the VA for injuries and illnesses. In the years since that war, 8,300 veterans have died, and 160,000 claims for disability have been recognized by the VA. – Howard Zinn • The Veteran’s Administration is a disaster, the V.A., it’s a disaster. – Donald Trump • The Veteran’s History Project, a nationwide volunteer effort to collect oral histories from America’s war veterans, provides an avenue to do just that. Now in its fifth year, the Project has collected more than 40,000 individual stories. – Spencer Bachus • The way to balance the budget is for Congress to cut Social Security, move the retirement age to 70, cut defense, Medicare and veterans pensions, while the states cut almost everything else. It would be tough but we could do it. – Howard Dean The willingness of America’s veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude. – Jeff Miller • The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation. – George Washington • The winning team has a dedication. It will have a core of veteran players who set the standards. They will not accept defeat. – Merlin Olsen • There is a massive problem with veteran suicides. – Eric Bolling • There is a sort of veteran women of condition, who, having lived always in the grand mode, and having possibly had some gallantries, together with the experience of five and twenty or thirty years, form a young fellow better than all the rules that can be given him. – Lord Chesterfield • There will be no veterans of World War III. – Walter F. Mondale • There would be a paragraph about some veteran digging tunnels for the Germans in a slave labor camp, or something like that. Finally I decided to look it up and go further into it. – Charles Guggenheim • These men were wrongfully rejected, the veterans. The fighting man should never have been blamed for Vietnam. – Neil Sheehan • This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave. – Elmer Davis • This year’s Veterans Day celebration is especially significant as our country remains committed to fighting the War on Terror and as brave men and women are heroically defending our homeland. – John Doolittle • To the Cold War veterans here, know that your steadfast efforts preserved a delicate balance, and, because of you, the global war that many feared never came to pass. We are thankful for you, as we are for all the veterans here with us. – Michael Mullen • To those seniors, and especially elderly veterans like myself, I want to tell you this: You are not alone, and you having nothing to be ashamed of. If elder abuse happened to me, it can happen to anyone. I want you to know that you deserve better. – Mickey Rooney • Today at Pearl Harbor, veterans are gathering to pay tribute to the young men they remember who never escaped the sunken ships. And over the years, some Pearl Harbor veterans have made a last request. They ask that their ashes be brought down and placed inside the USS Arizona. After the long lives given them, they wanted to rest besides the best men they ever knew. Such loyalty and love remain the greatest strength of the United States Navy. – George W. Bush • Twenty-five million veterans are living among us today. These men and women selflessly set aside their civilian lives to put on the uniform and serve us. – Steve Buyer • Twenty-two suicides a day from our veterans. Do you believe that number? Twenty-two a day. – Donald Trump • Valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul. – Michel de Montaigne • Veteran art creates a meeting place between veterans and civilians, or simply between veterans with different experiences. – Phil Klay • Veterans get priority in the training room and better parking, but there is not a whole lot of difference in terms of how they’re treated in the competition for playing time. To me it doesn’t matter if a guy is a 10-year veteran or a rookie. If the rookie is better, he finds his way onto the field. – Brendan Daly • Veterans’ issues are quite close to my heart. I find it quite hard to talk about, actually. – John Oliver • Veterans report that service dogs help break their isolation. People will often avert their eyes when they see a wounded veteran. But when the veteran has a dog, the same people will come up and say, ‘Hi’ to pet the dog and then strike up a conversation. – Al Franken • We are dealing with veterans, not procedures; with their problems, not ours. – Omar N. Bradley • We can’t equate spending on veterans with spending on defense. Our strength is not just in the size of our defense budget, but in the size of our hearts, in the size of our gratitude for their sacrifice. And that’s not just measured in words or gestures. – Jennifer Granholm • We do not need to have a president who insults Mexicans and Latinos and Muslims and women and veterans and African-Americans, we need a president who brings us together, not divides us up. – Bernie Sanders • We don’t attack any veteran, at all, ever, for their service record. We thank them. And the fact that somebody wanted to do that for political gain, shows the desperation of which some people unfortunately in the Republican Party want to keep and seize power. – Matt Shea • We have a very large military community – veterans and others – who basically do believe in the militarism. – Julianne Malveaux • We have the greatest people on Earth in our military. We don’t take care of our veterans. – Donald Trump • We have to change that whole system [of veterans support]. It starts with management. We have to have a whole different set of protocols. And we have to get people off the lines. – Donald Trump • We have to have an aggressive, long-term plan to tackle our nation’s debt, but attempting to balance the budget on the backs of veterans who have risked life and limb in service of our country is unacceptable. I believe we can and should work together to find reasonable and common-sense cuts that will reduce our debt, but as a generation of warriors returns from two wars, our most solemn responsibility is to make sure they have the care and benefits they have earned. – Tim Walz • We know about General John Kelly’s military experience and his record there and being a decorated veteran of combat over in Iraq in particular. In fact, that’s where I first met him was when Ramadi was shot to shambles during the surge era. We took a ride around there, even a minaret was shot in half and he pointed to that and said we were taking fire from that minaret. My son took that down with a 20 milimeter cannon. That’s my first impression of John Kelly. – Steve King • We must do everything we can to help our service members and veterans transition into civilian life once they return home, and that means preparing them for the tough job market. – Kirsten Gillibrand • We need our veterans to set an example, like being the first ones there. A veteran is entitled to a bigger paycheck, but not a special set of rules. – Jim Leyland • We need to fix the military, help veterans, our inner cities are a disaster, you get shot walking to the store. We cannot take 4 more years of Barack Obama, and that’s what you get if you get Hillary Clinton. – Donald Trump • We respect everybody’s individual opinion, and we have so much respect for veterans. We’re probably one of the biggest movie employer of veterans. – Ian Bryce • We salute our veterans of Pearl Harbor and World War II, whose sacrifices saved democracy during a dark hour. In their memory, a new generation of our Armed Forces goes forward against new enemies in a new era. Once again, we pledge to defend freedom, secure our homeland, and advance peace around the world. Americans have been tested before, and our Nation will triumph again. – George W. Bush • We sit at our consoles and play “Gears of War”, but we don’t see images from war. We don’t turn on the news and see the evidence of war, the result of war. Maybe twice a year, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, we’ll go out, we’ll hang our flags, we’ll try to inculcate in our children some sense of national honor for the fallen. But really, we don’t see it. We just don’t see the pictures. There’s no drive-by on the freeway of death up close. So we don’t really see bravery. – Jamie Lee Curtis • We, too, born to freedom, and believing in freedom, are willing to fight to maintain freedom. We, and all others who believe as deeply as we do, would rather die on our feet than live on our knees. – Franklin D. Roosevelt • We’ve got to continue to find ways to honor our 25 million veterans that have served our country with such honor and distinction. – Zach Wamp What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight – it’s the size of the fight in the dog. – Dwight D. Eisenhower • What happened after World War I was disgraceful. Most veterans, like my great-uncle, were squashed back into place. Congress couldn’t pass an anti-lynching bill. The World War II generation, though, wasn’t going to take it. – Darryl Pinckney • What I do see is the right from the beginning that [Donald] Trump had an interest and was very persuasive in terms of talking about the veterans and needing to make changes there. – Kimberly Guilfoyle • What I think people should realize is that programs like Social Security, programs like Medicare, programs like the Veterans Administration, programs like your local park and your local library – those are, if you like, socialist programs; they’re run by [and] for the public, not to make money. I think in many ways we should expand that concept so that the American people can enjoy the same benefits that people all over the world are currently enjoying. – Bernie Sanders • When a guy running for president will not support the troops, not support veterans, not support teachers, that’s really important. – Tim Kaine • When I first went to jail in 1960 with seven classmates trying to use their public library against the backdrop of my father being a veteran of World War II, not being able to use – having to sit behind Nazi on American military bases, I lost my fear of jails and death. – Jesse Jackson • When I raise money for the veterans, and it’s a massive amount of money, find out how much Hillary Clinton’s given to the veterans. Nothing. – Donald Trump • When I was building the Vietnam Memorial, I never once asked the veterans what it was like in the war, because from my point of view, you don’t pry into other people’s business. – Maya Lin • When it comes to standing up for veterans, we cannot be the Republicans and Democrats, we have to be the red, white, and blue party. – Barbara Mikulski • When Sarah Palin goes out and says this [about her son] is because of this [ post-traumatic stress disorder], it`s actually not because of this. And now it sort of gives the idea that all veterans are going to pick up a weapon and shoot somebody, or all veterans are going to hit somebody. – Jon Soltz • When the peace treaty is signed, the war isn’t over for the veterans, or the family. It’s just starting. – Karl Marlantes • When the Veterans Affairs Department implemented a program to provide home-based health care to veterans with multiple chronic conditions – many of the systems most expensive patients to treat – they received astounding results. – Ron Wyden • When you have 8,000 veterans a year committing suicide, then you have a serious problem. – Johnny Isakson • When you run for president of the United States, everybody does the same thing in the campaign-they talk about veterans, how much they admire them, how grateful they are. – Mark Shields • Whether you’re a veteran like me or a high school athlete, the most important thing you can do is keep your body healthy. – Jason Terry • While millions of American families, including mine and yours, were working hard paying our fair share, it seems Donald Trump was contributing nothing to our nation. Imagine that. Not fair. Nothing for Pell grants to help kids go to college. Nothing for veterans. Nothing for our military. – Hillary Clinton • While only one day of the year is dedicated solely to honoring our veterans, Americans must never forget the sacrifices that many of our fellow countrymen have made to defend our country and protect our freedoms. – Randy Neugebauer • While we have made great progress in increasing funding for veterans’ benefits, we still have a long way to go in fully meeting the promise to our veterans. – Sue Kelly • You can take the best team and the worst team and line them up and you would find very little physical difference. You would find an emotional difference. The wining team has a dedication. It will have a core group of veteran players who set the standards. They will not accept defeat. – Merlin Olsen • You have to be a soldier and a veteran, or a soldier who sacrificed your life for your country. – Rashid Khalidi • You’ve been told that you’re broken, that you’re damaged goods and should be labeled victims. I don’t buy it. The truth, instead, is that you are the only folks with the skills, determination, and values to ensure American dominance in this chaotic world. – James Mattis

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jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'Veteran', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '68', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_veteran').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_veteran img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); ); • Because all of us believe and understand in the fabric of the common bond of why we call ourselves American is to care for the men and women who wear the uniform; and when they take off the uniform, we care for them when they are veterans. – Steve Buyer • Because Vietnam was not a declared war, the veterans are not even eligible for the G. I. Bill of Rights with respect to education or anything. – Ronald Reagan • Better than honor and glory, and History’s iron pen, Was the thought of duty done and the love of his fellow-men. – Richard Watson Gilder • Brave rifles! Veterans! You have been baptized in fire and blood and have come out steel! – Winfield Scott • But despite their heroic acts, the Vietnam Veterans of America continued to struggle to establish a combat badge in honor of these brave pilots and medics. – Tim Holden • But this Veterans Day, I believe we should do more than sing the praises of the bravery and patriotism that our veterans have embodied in the past. We should take this opportunity to re-evaluate how we are treating our veterans in the present. – Nick Lampson • By cutting critical domestic programs such as education, health, environmental protection, and veterans’ services, this budget reveals misplaced priorities. – Dan Lipinski • By interviewing at least one veteran, you can preserve memories that otherwise might be lost. My uncle was a downed fighter pilot and P.O.W. in World War II, and I am looking forward to recording his story for inclusion in the project. – Spencer Bachus • Caring for our veterans is the duty of a grateful nation. Unfortunately, the Bush administration and congressional Republicans have not lived up to this duty.- Patty Murray • Chancellor [Angela] Merkel is perhaps the only leader left among our closest allies that was there when I arrived. So in some ways we are now the veterans of many challenges over the last eight years. – Barack Obama • Charles Barkley taught me a lot when I played against him. How he would use his body or use his dribble to get people in there and all that stuff. Veteran moves. – Tim Duncan • City’s effort to end homelessness among veterans is different than how things used to be in L.A. – John Carlos Frey • Congress should stop treating veterans like they’re asking for a hand out when it comes to the benefits they were promised, and they should realize that, were it not for these veterans, there would be nothing to hand out. – Nick Lampson • Disabled veterans are not a bargaining chip. – Jim Bridenstine • Does Trumpcare protect seniors and families? Does Trumpcare – is Trumpcare good for our veterans? Is there any caring in Trumpcare at all? – Nancy Pelosi • During their college years the oarsmen put in terrbily long hours, often showing up at the boathouse at 6:00am for preclass practices. Both physically and psychologically, they were separated from their classmates. Events that seemed earth-shattering to them– for example, who was demoted from the varsity to the junior varsity — went almost unnoticed by the rest of the students. In many ways they were like combat veterans coming back from a small, bitter and distant war, able to talk only to other veterans. – David Halberstam • Every #‎ Veteran is a hero. – Joe Walsh • First, separate ground, sea and air warfare is gone forever. This lesson we learned in World War II. I lived that lesson in Europe. Others lived it in the Pacific. Millions of American veterans learned it well. – Dwight D. Eisenhower • For a mile up and down the open fields before us the splendid lines of the veterans of the Army of Northern Virginia swept down upon us. Their bearing was magnificent. They came forward with a rush, and how our men did yell, ‘Come on, Johnny, come on!’ – Rufus Dawes • For every veteran who goes through a divorce, a wife goes through one, too. For every veteran alone in the basement, there is a wife upstairs, bewildered, isolated and in despair from the dark clouds of war that hangs over family life. – Karl Marlantes • Freedom is never free. – Maya Angelou • Giving a veteran a flag is not a substitute for giving our vets the quality health care they were promised – Dick Durbin • He [Osama bin Laden] is clearly an odd combination of a 12th-century theologian and a 21st-century CEO. He runs an absolutely unique organization in the Islamic world. It’s multiethnic, multilinguistic, multinational. He is a combat veteran, three times wounded. He has a huge reputation in the Islamic world for generosity and leadership. He’s a man who speaks eloquent, almost poetic Arabic, according to Bernard Lewis. – Michael Scheuer • He discusses his service in Iraq, the wounds he suffered there and he says to me in this ad, until you have the guts to call me a phony soldier to my face, stop telling lies about my service. You know, this is such a blatant use of a valiant combat veteran, lying to him about what I said, and then strapping those lies to his belt, sending him out via the media and a TV ad, to walk into as many people as he can walk into. – Rush Limbaugh • He hasn’t lost his vision. That’s one thing. He’s good. The guy is smooth and knows how to set up blocks. He’s a veteran, too. It’s fun to watch him run. Hopefully everything works out all right physically, but certainly he looks good so far. – Jake Delhomme • He was a combat veteran from Korea, and he was a great father. – Mike Pence • Heroism is latent in every human soul – However humble or unknown, they (the veterans) have renounced what are accounted pleasures and cheerfully undertaken all the self-denials – privations, toils, dangers, sufferings, sicknesses, mutilations, life-long hurts and losses, death itself – for some great good, dimly seen but dearly held. – Joshua Chamberlain • Honor to the soldier and sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country’s cause. Honor, also, to the citizen who cares for his brother in the field and serves, as he best can, the same cause. – Abraham Lincoln • I also believe our country made a promise to veterans and their families. Veterans have kept their end of the bargain, and now, the VA is looking to pull out the rug. – Ellen Tauscher • I am convinced that America’s great sea of goodwill can be, in fact, a rising tide, a tide that could lift every veteran and every family of our wounded and fallen. – Michael Mullen • I am not a veteran environmentalist. I don’t live in a house made of recycled tires, I’ve never handcuffed myself to a tree, and I don’t grow my own organic rutabaga. – Christy Mathewson • I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. – Martin Luther King, Jr. • I can’t imagine anybody disagrees with President Trump when he says, if we don’t take care of our veterans, who are we really as a nation? -Kellyanne Conway • I come from a district where the veterans are not the richest in the country. – Corrine Brown • I feel a sense of obligation to our troops and their families because of the decisions that I made. So I’m involved with veterans. – George W. Bush • I had lots of friends who were fighting in Vietnam and I am still friends with veterans of the war. – Gordon Lightfoot • I had the privilege and the honor of chairing the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. And it is interesting to me, you know, Republicans give a lot of speeches about how much they love veterans. I work with the American Legion, the VFW, the DAV, the Vietnam Vets, and virtually every veterans organization to put together the most comprehensive piece of the veterans legislation in the modern history of America. That’s what I did. – Bernie Sanders • I have gone to all over the country and I’ve met so many veterans and I have tremendous veteran support. – Donald Trump • I have to say I have the most experience. I’m a veteran when it comes to that, [my brothers] they’re still learning. They have lots of potential. They’re like first-round picks right now in the game, they still have to develop. – P. K. Subban • I know the veterans. I know them well. And I know that they know that I’ll take care of them. And I’ve been proud of their support and their recognition of my service to the veterans. – John McCain • I love the veterans. And I’ll take care of them. And they know that I’ll take care of them. And that’s going to be my job. But, also, I have the ability, and the knowledge, and the background to make the right judgments, to keep America safe and secure. – John McCain • I love when I am around a veteran in [show] business. Because I can dig and ask questions, and find out the “who” and “what” of it all. – Jill Scott • I never thought of serving as a conflict of interest, that would have been a luxury! I just needed something to survive. Initial needs have to be met first, and then later things like patriotism come in. – Donna M. Loring • I offer a better way for America with ideas that actually work, a reformed tax code that rewards free enterprise instead of just enterprising lobbyists. A reformed health care system that operates by free choice instead of by force and doesn’t leave you answering to cold, clueless bureaucrats. A commitment to a renewed commitment to building a 21st Century military and giving our veterans the care that they were promised and the care that they earned. – Paul Ryan • I oppose U.S. military intervention in Iraq. I believe that we should not send troops or engage in air strikes-our nation’s military involvement needs to be over. The United States has already spent billions of dollars in Iraq while our nation has endured a crumbling infrastructure, cuts to our social programs, a lack of investment in job training and creation, and sadly, a failure to take care of our veterans. Let’s focus our resources at home. Over 4000 men and women have sacrificed their lives for Iraq. That is enough. – Janice Hahn • I personally found Donald Trump’s praise for Vladimir Putin troubling or even chilling, frankly. In a room full of military veterans, to be effusing about his great leadership and how strong he is and how popular he is, while disrespecting the American president and American generals, I don’t know. That was, I think, not just troubling to me, but to a lot of listeners and I think, frankly, to a lot of Republican listeners as well. – Philip Gordon • I play an 89-year-old man whose wife has Alzheimer’s in a movie called ‘Still.’ I play a World War II veteran, I acted with my son and it’s called ‘Memorial Day.’ – James Cromwell • I put the Vietnam War behind me a long time ago, and what I wanted to (do) among other things was help veterans also be able to come all the way home as some of our veterans have not been able to do. But I harbor no anger nor rancor. I’m a better man for my experience, and I’m grateful for having the opportunity of serving. – John McCain • I said you [Mike Pence] can’t give me this [Purple Heart]. He said, “Mr. Trump you mean so much to me and my family.” You know we’re doing very well with the veterans. I know you guys do not like to say that. – Donald Trump • I see what those people [veterans] are going through. To see a doctor, sometimes it takes six and seven days and then you finally get there and the doctor is gone on vacation. – Donald Trump • I started a theater called Steppenwolf. We’ve been very supportive of the veterans there. – Gary Sinise • I think America as a whole has come more to terms with separating war from the warrior. – Jeffrey Dunn • I think our veterans certainly deserve and have earned the best health care in the world. – Phil Roe • I think that the needs of the VA and the needs of the veteran community are very, very significant. Цe’re talking about a VA system in which, in the last years a million-and-a-half more people have come into the system. You’re dealing with 500,000 people have come home from Iraq an Afghanistan with PTSD and TBI. You’re dealing with an older veterans population from World War II and Korea who need some difficult medical help. We want to see it be more efficient. We want to see doctors go to where they’re needed.- Bernie Sanders • I think the choice option is critical to give the veteran an opportunity, if they choose to do so, to opt out. We have done that in this particular piece of legislation for those that have been waiting in line, and particularly for those that live 40 miles or more from a VA facility. – Jeff Miller • I think the President’s decision to withdraw the United States, to keep a campaign promise in Iraq, without leaving a stay-behind force was a mistake, and I hear that from veterans in Wyoming and from parents who lost children fighting in Iraq. We’re seeing it, though, around the world. When we, the United States leads a vacuum anywhere, that emboldens others to go in, when there is no sense of deterrence by the United States that lets bad actors move and fill the void. – John Barrasso • I think there’s where we can enlist the veterans service organizations, the veterans of America, because, yes, let’s fix the V.A., but we will never let it be privatized, and that is a promise. – Hillary Clinton • I think we’re being laughed at all over the world. I think that if you look at our military, we can’t beat ISIS, General George Patton, General Douglas MacArthur are spinning in their grave. We can’t beat ISIS, okay? I think that our veterans are not taken care of, they’re treated worse than illegal immigrants, by the way. – Donald Trump • I want people to get involved and to connect with veterans. – Max Martini • I want to be sure…that nothing is done on these veterans. Is that understood?…Is the word out? That they are not to touch em, they are not to do a thing?…Get a hold of the district police; they’re not to touch them, they’re to do nothing: Just let em raise Hell. – Richard M. Nixon • I was a veteran, before I was a teenager. – Michael Jackson • I was born in Munich, and my father was stationed in Salzburg. For the first three years of my life, I lived in Austria back when the American Army was still in Austria. I grew up subsequently in posts around the country around veterans. – Rick Atkinson • I was elected by the Democrats to be chair of the Veterans Committee, which I’m very proud of. And now am the rankings member on the Budget Committee, leader of the Democrats in opposition to the majority Republicans. – Bernie Sanders • I was there. I saw your sons and your husbands, your brothers and your sweethearts. I saw how they worked, played, fought, and lived. I saw some of them die. I saw more courage, more good humor in the face of discomfort, more love in an era of hate and more devotion to duty than could exist under tyranny. – Bob Hope • I would like to say something, not just to Vietnam veterans in New England, but to men who were in Vietnam, who I hurt, or whose pain I caused to deepen because of the things that I said or did. I was trying to help end the killing and the war, but there were times when I was thoughtless and careless about it and I’m…very sorry that I hurt them. And I want to apologize to them and their families. – Jane Fonda • I would not call myself a veteran conspiracy theorist. Or an obsessed one. I pretty much peaked on the whole conspiracy theory thing in the ’60s, with the grassy knoll, who really killed JFK, and who ordered the hit on Lee Harvey Oswald. – Patti Davis • I’d like to give every young teacher some good news. Teaching is a very easy job. Administrators will tell you what to do. You’ll be given books and told chapters to assign the children. Veteran teachers will show you the correct way to fill out forms and have your classes line up.And here’s some more good news. If you do all of these things badly, they let you keep doing it. You can go home at three o’clock every day. You get about three months off a year. Teaching is a great gig.However, if you care about what you’re doing, it’s one of the toughest jobs around. – Rafe Esquith • If you listen closely to the voices of our veterans, you understand that yes, they all returned from war changed, but what never changed is this: They never forgot your generosity. They never forgot the power of opportunity. They never forgot the American dream. – Michael Mullen • I’m a veteran, and I’ve earned the right to be heard. I’ll lead by example and show that gay players are no different from straight ones. I’m not the loudest person in the room, but I’ll speak up when something isn’t right. And try to make everyone laugh. – Jason Collins • I’m ashamed that Congress finds billions for pork-barrel subsidies but fails to find money for veterans’ health care. – John McCain • I’m just one example of thousands of transgender veterans and people who are actively serving today. – Allyson Robinson • I’m sick of the cover-ups, I’m sick of the lies, and so are the bloody veterans, that come out daily of the department’s mouth. – Malcolm Turnbull • In a fire you have to be thoughtful, you have to have a certain kind of intuitive smarts that the veterans have. I’m not there yet, despite the Stanford degree.- Caroline Paul • In addition to demanding answers and accountability from the Veterans Administration, Congress had to act to ensure veterans do not suffer because of the actions of a federal agency. – Doc Hastings • In climbing, a fundamental thing is to want to do something you’ve never done before. That’s the beauty of climbing, whether you’re a girl or boy, seasoned veteran or beginner. You’re not sure you’ll be able to do this, but you try, and discovering you are capable is an amazing experience and an amazing feeling. – Chris Sharma • In mid-May, the House of Representatives approved the full amount of money that the Veterans Administration said was needed for next year – plus an additional $1 billion increase for veterans’ health care. – Doc Hastings • In researching this volume, I interviewed veterans who had been at the front during World War II. I read countless books, examined film footage, and listened to many detailed and intense stories firsthand, but the one comment that affected me the most came from a former soldier who lowered his gaze to the tabletop and said, ‘I never watch war movies. – Hiromu Arakawa • In spite of the incident, my experience in Kansas City was wonderful and I thank all the warm and supportive people, including so many veterans, who came to welcome me last night. – Jane Fonda • It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you. – Dick Cheney • It is impossible not to recognise the Long March as one of the great triumphs of men against odds and men against nature. While the Red Army was unquestionably in forced retreat, its toughened veterans reached their planned objective with moral and political will as strong as ever… Their conviction had helped turn what might have been a terrible defeat into an arrival in triumph. – Edgar Snow • It is time to acknowledge the extraordinary sacrifice of all of our veterans. While many Massachusetts soldiers served our nation in a period technically dubbed ‘peacetime,’ they restored American pride in the wake of Vietnam and helped bring a successful end to the Cold War. The service of these men and women was not without cost. There are countless stories of soldiers who served with great distinction only to be denied veteran status after returning home. Every man and woman who volunteered to serve this country should be treated with the same degree of respect, gratitude and dignity. – Mitt Romney • It’s the only call…To have Christian Ponder as your third quarterback, a guy who started for you a year, to me it made it an easy call because you have a veteran guy who has played in this atmosphere before. – Bill Cowher • It’s horrible to think that a small cadre of people would manipulate that information. I mean, for God’s sake, we’ve admitted that we were experimenting on our veterans with mustard gas. So there is no security question. It can’t possibly be the reason. – Dwight Schultz • It’s important for me to highlight my views for veterans who’ve fought for America and at the same time don’t have anything to show for it. It’s kind of dear to me. – 2 Chainz • It’s quite a traumatic thing for a lot of our veterans that come back… You’re in a war zone, you’re dodging IED’s and bullets one day and a couple days later you’re back in society again with a bunch of people that have no idea of what you’ve been through. – Charlie Daniels • I’ve been described as a grizzled political veteran. – Joe Klein • I’ve shared meditation with a lot of hip-hop artists, inmates, and returning war veterans with PTSD, as well. I feel like this dharma, this service is part of my job. – Russell Simmons • Karl Malone used a lot of veteran stuff that I thought was cool. – Tim Duncan • Like the archers of Agincourt, John O’Neal and the 254 Swiftboat Veterans took down their own haughty Frenchman. – Ann Coulter • Lilian Ross was a – veteran writer for The New Yorker. She, in fact, brought me to The New Yorker many years ago. – Nat Hentoff • Love me or hate me, it’s one or the other. Always has been. Hate my game, my swagger. Hate my fadeaway, my hunger. Hate that I’m a veteran. A champion. Hate that. Hate it with all your heart. And hate that I’m loved, for the exact same reasons. – Kobe Bryant • Madison Square Garden, November 1984. I don’t recall taking too much fear into the ring. I knew I could fight. But I got a big shock. They put me in with this rough, tough veteran called Lionel Byarm. He tested me to the limit. But I fought my heart out and, in the end, I prevailed. The story of my life, in my very first fight. – Evander Holyfield • Makin’ veterans run for medicine, Cause I put out more lights in a fight than ConEdison.- Kool G Rap • Marriage – as its veterans know well – is the continuous process of getting used to things you hadn’t expected. – Thomas Mullen • Memorial Day isn’t just about honoring veterans, its honoring those who lost their lives. Veterans had the fortune of coming home. For us, that’s a reminder of when we come home we still have a responsibility to serve. It’s a continuation of service that honors our country and those who fell defending it. – Pete Hegseth • More and more teams are using almost exclusively the draft to build their teams. And that means you have younger players to develop in those key depth positions. Younger players are more susceptible to streaks than veterans. They go up, they go down. – Ozzie Newsome • More importantly, if you are in a position to hire, hire a veteran. They will be the best employees you have. – Eric Shinseki • More often than not, you find players seeing something that they can help another player with or reinforce something the coaches are seeing. Veterans do that regularly with younger players. – Brendan Daly • Mortgage is one of the most popular deductions. It costs the Treasury about $103 billion a year. Now that’s money we could use to treat wounded veterans or reduce the deficit or fill the border. Instead, we give it a subsidy to homeowners, and it goes mainly to the richest homeowners in America, because only one third of Americans itemize their deductions. It doesn’t work. Many countries have gotten rid of the mortgage interest deduction. Almost all of them have higher homeownership rates than we do. – T.R. Reid • Muddy language is not confined to policies alone. Each of you has seen replies to simple questions in which the meaning was lost through hopelessly obscure wording. When a person writes to the Veterans Administration, he is entitled to an easily understood, frank, and courteous reply. If our replies cannot be understood, they are not only not worth writing, but they simply create additional work. – Omar N. Bradley • My daddy was a veteran, and it’s something dear to my heart. I helped him, he stayed with me until he passed away, and I’m not sure what kind of life he would have had if I wasn’t there for him. – 2 Chainz • My wartime experiences developing a code that utilized the Navajo language taught how important our Navajo culture is to our country. For me that is the central lesson: that diverse cultures can make a country richer and stronger. – Chester Nez • NBA has a selfish rationale. It saves the owners money by delaying the time a player gets to a second, more lucrative contract. Even the player’s union is on board. There are only 450 jobs in the NBA, and the one-and-done protects veterans’ jobs. – Sonny Vaccaro • No administration in recent times has been able to tackle the needs of our veterans. On that, I do want to see Donald Trump successful. But in terms of his travel ban and immigration policy, I don’t want to see him successful. – Nina Turner • No capitalists after any war were ever so well paid for money loaned to the nation that carried it on. No class of money-makers ever gained such prosperity by any other war, as our War for the Union brought to the money-getters of America. All this was due in great measure to the rank and file of the Union army. Now let no rich man haggle with a needy veteran of that war about his right to a pension! – Rutherford B. Hayes • Now therefore, be it Resolved by the Fiftieth Annual Convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, That we hereby declare that we are unalterably opposed to any program which would entail the surrender of any part of the sovereignty of the United States of America in favor of a world government. – Unknown • Oklahomans value our children and our seniors. Oklahomans value traditions of faith. Oklahomans value our heroes, our veterans. Oklahomans value innovation and the creative arts. – Brad Henry On the battlefield, the military pledges to leave no soldier behind. As a nation, let it be our pledge that when they return home, we leave no veteran behind. – Dan Lipinski • Once over there [Balkans], I felt extremely patriotic. Here are these people, from 18-year-olds to military veterans, enduring real duress for the cause of peace. I don’t ever want to play for a regular audience again, only military folks who are starving for music. – Sheryl Crow • One of my favorite episodes in West Wing was the homeless man that died and they found, in the overcoat he was wearing, a card of the speechwriter, Toby. He had given that coat to the Goodwill and this guy had ended up wearing it, died in it and Toby went to his funeral. He turned out to be a Korean war veteran. It was our first Christmas episode and that was a true story – a member of the staff had done exactly that. So many of these stories were far better than any fiction. – Martin Sheen • One out of four people internationally believe if their country goes to war, The United States would be the opponent. As a veteran, I hang my head in shame over that. – Jesse Ventura • One third of the $15 trillion of mortgages in existence in 2008 are owned, or securitized by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae, the Federal Housing and the Veterans Administration. Wall Street buyers of repackaged loans didn’t mind buying risky paper because they assumed that they would be guaranteed by the federal government: read bailout from the taxpayers. Today’s housing mess can be laid directly at the feet of Congress and the White House. – Walter E. Williams • Our veterans are not being treated well. Our veterans, in many cases, are being treated worse than illegal immigrants, people that come into our country illegally. Our veterans are not being treated well. And, by the way, Hillary Clinton has been doing this for 35 years. Now she says she can do it? She doesn’t have a clue. – Donald Trump • Our veterans connect generations and Canadians. As a country and as individuals, we gain in pride and in purpose from their deeds and their service. – Paul Martin • Our veterans deserve the very best, and that means ensuring that America’s veterans receive high-quality services and cares when they come back home. – Elizabeth Warren • Our veterans know the meaning of service better than anyone else and they aren’t about to quit working when they come home. The best reward we can provide our vets for their service isn’t a medal or a check; it’s a livelihood and a means of supporting themselves and their families. – Mitt Romney • Outside of being a hit maker, I want to also be a star maker. Me being so young still as a veteran in the game, I wanted to give back to the youth and give back to my community. I want to find somebody that’s special and birth them to the world. – Sean Garrett People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.- Richard Grenier • Phil Gramm had a stump speech about how his mother’s devotion kept him from being an academic failure in life. She got him into a special school that turned him around – under a government program for the children of deceased veterans. He was repeatedly asked at press conferences why he would then turn around and support draconian cuts in federal funding for education. He never had an answer. – Gail Collins • Republicans talk a good game about veterans, but when it came to put money on the line to protect our veterans, frankly, they were not there. – Bernie Sanders • Romney still enjoys the Republicans’ traditional advantage among voters who are veterans, but the Obama campaign is confident it can chip away at that. – Mara Liasson • Science is nothing but trained and organized common sense differing from the latter only as a veteran may differ from a raw recruit: and its methods differ from those of common sense only as far as the guardsman’s cut and thrust differ from the manner in which a savage wields his club. – Thomas Huxley • Secretary [Hillary ] Clinton is absolutely right, there are people, Koch brothers among others, who have a group called Concerned Veterans of America, funded by the Koch brothers. The Koch brothers, by the way, want to destroy Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, every governmental program passed since the 1930s. Yes, there are people out there who want to privatize it. – Bernie Sanders • Since the Revolution, eight generations of America’s veterans have established an unbroken commitment to freedom. – Steve Buyer • SNAP is a critical anti-hunger program that feeds millions of low income Americans, including children, veterans, and seniors who would not otherwise have the resources to buy groceries. – Dan Maffei • So when someone, a veteran stands up and say, “Here are the facts on the VA.” He [Donald Trump] says, “No, your facts are wrong.” Turns out her facts are right and his facts are wrong. – John McCain • Susan Campbell has brought Isabella’s fascinating forgotten story back to life with the deep research of a born historian and the vibrant readable prose style of a veteran journalist. – Debby Applegate �� Thank you for the sacrifices you and your families are making. Our Vietnam Veterans have taught us that no matter what are positions may be on policy, as Americans and patriots, we must support all of our soldiers with our thoughts and our prayers. – Zach Wamp • That was not the biggest battle that ever was, but for me it always typified one thing; the dash, the ingenuity, the readiness at the first opportunity that characterizes the American soldier. – Dwight D. Eisenhower • That’s what makes America great; the fabric and the core of our beliefs and our being is we wrap ourselves around diversity. We say that the American flag represents our right to be free in every aspect of what that is, and every veteran who fought, fought for that freedom. So what we have to do is realize it’s not a choice between the country and racial justice; it’s about what we believe in at the core of our being, and that’s that we are free. – Jennifer Welter The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding go out to meet it. – Thucydides • The Bush administration has been doing everything it can to hide the huge number of returning veterans who are severely wounded – 17,000 so far including roughly 20 percent with serious brain and head injuries. Even the estimate of $500 billion ignores the lifetime disability and healthcare costs that taxpayers will have to spend for years to come. – Joseph Stiglitz • The Chinese soldier was tough, brave, and experienced. After all he had been fighting on his own without help for years. He was a veteran among the Allies. – William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim • The general’s staff is a handpicked collection of killers, spies, geniuses, patriots, political operators and outright maniacs. There’s a former head of British Special Forces, two Navy Seals, an Afghan Special Forces commando, a lawyer, two fighter pilots and at least two dozen combat veterans and counterinsurgency experts. They jokingly refer to themselves as Team America, taking the name from the South Park-esque sendup of military cluelessness, and they pride themselves on their can-do attitude and their disdain for authority. – Michael Hastings • The issue of torture, connected to American soldiers, is not somewhere most people want to linger. We may not want to confront this issue so much in the U.S. because of how we want to think about our veterans. There’s the sense that we want to think of our veterans as – if they’re damaged, damaged by something glamorous, like a firefight. – Russell Banks • The last point that I’d make. I had a hearing. I had all of the veterans groups in front of me. And I said to them, tell me when a veteran gets in to the V.A., understanding there are waiting lines and real problems, when a veteran gets into the system, is the quality of care good? – Bernie Sanders • The last two years, nationals have been close to home for me, so I’ve had big family support from friends and club support. Especially last year in Ottawa, I had a whole section my grandpa got for all my family, and the skating club (supported me). I feel like I’m a veteran at this now. – Alaine Chartrand • The men and women of today’s VA are dedicated to caring for today’s veterans and stand ready to provide for our servicemembers who now defend our freedoms and our way of life. – Steve Buyer • The moon gives you light, and the bugles and the drums give you music, and my heart, O my soldiers, my veterans, my heart gives you love. – Walt Whitman • The most basic obligation we have to our veterans is that we keep the promises that were made to them. That is what makes the recent failures of the Veterans Administration so shameful. – Doc Hastings • The need for this clinic is clear to me, to the veterans who are currently forced to travel hours to receive care, and even to the Veterans Administration that itself identified creation of a clinic in this part of our state as a priority to be completed by 2006. – Doc Hastings • The nicest veterans in Schenectady, I thought, the kindest and funniest ones, the ones who hated war the most, were the ones who’d really fought. – Kurt Vonnegut • The object of my relationship with Vietnam has been to heal the wounds that exist, particularly among our veterans, and to move forward with a positive relationship,… Apparently some in the Vietnamese government don’t want to do that and that’s their decision. – Ho Chi Minh Show source • The Republican tax cut threatens to undercut both veterans health care and the veterans educational benefits that have been recognized for decades as not only the long-standing obligation of the Nation to its veterans, but also as the best recruiting incentives we can offer to keep our armed forces strong and sharp. – Lane Evans • The rocks have a history; gray and weatherworn, they are veterans of many battles; they have most of them marched in the ranks of vast stone brigades during the ice age; they have been torn from the hills, recruited from the mountaintops, and marshaled on the plains and in the valleys; and now the elemental war is over, there they lie waging a gentle but incessant warfare with time and slowly, oh, so slowly, yielding to its attacks! – John Burroughs • The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth disputed whether John Kerry deserved some of his five medals. A large part of Kerry’s defense was an appeal to the authority of veterans who supported him-one of whom has now been revealed to have received a medal he doesn’t deserve. This doesn’t prove the Kerry detractors were right, but it certainly doesn’t weaken their case. – James Taranto • The United States government was proud that, although perhaps 100,000 Iraqis had died in the Gulf War of 1991, there were only 48 American battle casualties. What it has concealed from the public is that 206,000 veterans of that war filed claims with the VA for injuries and illnesses. In the years since that war, 8,300 veterans have died, and 160,000 claims for disability have been recognized by the VA. – Howard Zinn • The Veteran’s Administration is a disaster, the V.A., it’s a disaster. – Donald Trump • The Veteran’s History Project, a nationwide volunteer effort to collect oral histories from America’s war veterans, provides an avenue to do just that. Now in its fifth year, the Project has collected more than 40,000 individual stories. – Spencer Bachus • The way to balance the budget is for Congress to cut Social Security, move the retirement age to 70, cut defense, Medicare and veterans pensions, while the states cut almost everything else. It would be tough but we could do it. – Howard Dean The willingness of America’s veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude. – Jeff Miller • The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation. – George Washington • The winning team has a dedication. It will have a core of veteran players who set the standards. They will not accept defeat. – Merlin Olsen • There is a massive problem with veteran suicides. – Eric Bolling • There is a sort of veteran women of condition, who, having lived always in the grand mode, and having possibly had some gallantries, together with the experience of five and twenty or thirty years, form a young fellow better than all the rules that can be given him. – Lord Chesterfield • There will be no veterans of World War III. – Walter F. Mondale • There would be a paragraph about some veteran digging tunnels for the Germans in a slave labor camp, or something like that. Finally I decided to look it up and go further into it. – Charles Guggenheim • These men were wrongfully rejected, the veterans. The fighting man should never have been blamed for Vietnam. – Neil Sheehan • This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave. – Elmer Davis • This year’s Veterans Day celebration is especially significant as our country remains committed to fighting the War on Terror and as brave men and women are heroically defending our homeland. – John Doolittle • To the Cold War veterans here, know that your steadfast efforts preserved a delicate balance, and, because of you, the global war that many feared never came to pass. We are thankful for you, as we are for all the veterans here with us. – Michael Mullen • To those seniors, and especially elderly veterans like myself, I want to tell you this: You are not alone, and you having nothing to be ashamed of. If elder abuse happened to me, it can happen to anyone. I want you to know that you deserve better. – Mickey Rooney • Today at Pearl Harbor, veterans are gathering to pay tribute to the young men they remember who never escaped the sunken ships. And over the years, some Pearl Harbor veterans have made a last request. They ask that their ashes be brought down and placed inside the USS Arizona. After the long lives given them, they wanted to rest besides the best men they ever knew. Such loyalty and love remain the greatest strength of the United States Navy. – George W. Bush • Twenty-five million veterans are living among us today. These men and women selflessly set aside their civilian lives to put on the uniform and serve us. – Steve Buyer • Twenty-two suicides a day from our veterans. Do you believe that number? Twenty-two a day. – Donald Trump • Valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul. – Michel de Montaigne • Veteran art creates a meeting place between veterans and civilians, or simply between veterans with different experiences. – Phil Klay • Veterans get priority in the training room and better parking, but there is not a whole lot of difference in terms of how they’re treated in the competition for playing time. To me it doesn’t matter if a guy is a 10-year veteran or a rookie. If the rookie is better, he finds his way onto the field. – Brendan Daly • Veterans’ issues are quite close to my heart. I find it quite hard to talk about, actually. – John Oliver • Veterans report that service dogs help break their isolation. People will often avert their eyes when they see a wounded veteran. But when the veteran has a dog, the same people will come up and say, ‘Hi’ to pet the dog and then strike up a conversation. – Al Franken • We are dealing with veterans, not procedures; with their problems, not ours. – Omar N. Bradley • We can’t equate spending on veterans with spending on defense. Our strength is not just in the size of our defense budget, but in the size of our hearts, in the size of our gratitude for their sacrifice. And that’s not just measured in words or gestures. – Jennifer Granholm • We do not need to have a president who insults Mexicans and Latinos and Muslims and women and veterans and African-Americans, we need a president who brings us together, not divides us up. – Bernie Sanders • We don’t attack any veteran, at all, ever, for their service record. We thank them. And the fact that somebody wanted to do that for political gain, shows the desperation of which some people unfortunately in the Republican Party want to keep and seize power. – Matt Shea • We have a very large military community – veterans and others – who basically do believe in the militarism. – Julianne Malveaux • We have the greatest people on Earth in our military. We don’t take care of our veterans. – Donald Trump • We have to change that whole system [of veterans support]. It starts with management. We have to have a whole different set of protocols. And we have to get people off the lines. – Donald Trump • We have to have an aggressive, long-term plan to tackle our nation’s debt, but attempting to balance the budget on the backs of veterans who have risked life and limb in service of our country is unacceptable. I believe we can and should work together to find reasonable and common-sense cuts that will reduce our debt, but as a generation of warriors returns from two wars, our most solemn responsibility is to make sure they have the care and benefits they have earned. – Tim Walz • We know about General John Kelly’s military experience and his record there and being a decorated veteran of combat over in Iraq in particular. In fact, that’s where I first met him was when Ramadi was shot to shambles during the surge era. We took a ride around there, even a minaret was shot in half and he pointed to that and said we were taking fire from that minaret. My son took that down with a 20 milimeter cannon. That’s my first impression of John Kelly. – Steve King • We must do everything we can to help our service members and veterans transition into civilian life once they return home, and that means preparing them for the tough job market. – Kirsten Gillibrand • We need our veterans to set an example, like being the first ones there. A veteran is entitled to a bigger paycheck, but not a special set of rules. – Jim Leyland • We need to fix the military, help veterans, our inner cities are a disaster, you get shot walking to the store. We cannot take 4 more years of Barack Obama, and that’s what you get if you get Hillary Clinton. – Donald Trump • We respect everybody’s individual opinion, and we have so much respect for veterans. We’re probably one of the biggest movie employer of veterans. – Ian Bryce • We salute our veterans of Pearl Harbor and World War II, whose sacrifices saved democracy during a dark hour. In their memory, a new generation of our Armed Forces goes forward against new enemies in a new era. Once again, we pledge to defend freedom, secure our homeland, and advance peace around the world. Americans have been tested before, and our Nation will triumph again. – George W. Bush • We sit at our consoles and play “Gears of War”, but we don’t see images from war. We don’t turn on the news and see the evidence of war, the result of war. Maybe twice a year, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, we’ll go out, we’ll hang our flags, we’ll try to inculcate in our children some sense of national honor for the fallen. But really, we don’t see it. We just don’t see the pictures. There’s no drive-by on the freeway of death up close. So we don’t really see bravery. – Jamie Lee Curtis • We, too, born to freedom, and believing in freedom, are willing to fight to maintain freedom. We, and all others who believe as deeply as we do, would rather die on our feet than live on our knees. – Franklin D. Roosevelt • We’ve got to continue to find ways to honor our 25 million veterans that have served our country with such honor and distinction. – Zach Wamp What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight – it’s the size of the fight in the dog. – Dwight D. Eisenhower • What happened after World War I was disgraceful. Most veterans, like my great-uncle, were squashed back into place. Congress couldn’t pass an anti-lynching bill. The World War II generation, though, wasn’t going to take it. – Darryl Pinckney • What I do see is the right from the beginning that [Donald] Trump had an interest and was very persuasive in terms of talking about the veterans and needing to make changes there. – Kimberly Guilfoyle • What I think people should realize is that programs like Social Security, programs like Medicare, programs like the Veterans Administration, programs like your local park and your local library – those are, if you like, socialist programs; they’re run by [and] for the public, not to make money. I think in many ways we should expand that concept so that the American people can enjoy the same benefits that people all over the world are currently enjoying. – Bernie Sanders • When a guy running for president will not support the troops, not support veterans, not support teachers, that’s really important. – Tim Kaine • When I first went to jail in 1960 with seven classmates trying to use their public library against the backdrop of my father being a veteran of World War II, not being able to use – having to sit behind Nazi on American military bases, I lost my fear of jails and death. – Jesse Jackson • When I raise money for the veterans, and it’s a massive amount of money, find out how much Hillary Clinton’s given to the veterans. Nothing. – Donald Trump • When I was building the Vietnam Memorial, I never once asked the veterans what it was like in the war, because from my point of view, you don’t pry into other people’s business. – Maya Lin • When it comes to standing up for veterans, we cannot be the Republicans and Democrats, we have to be the red, white, and blue party. – Barbara Mikulski • When Sarah Palin goes out and says this [about her son] is because of this [ post-traumatic stress disorder], it`s actually not because of this. And now it sort of gives the idea that all veterans are going to pick up a weapon and shoot somebody, or all veterans are going to hit somebody. – Jon Soltz • When the peace treaty is signed, the war isn’t over for the veterans, or the family. It’s just starting. – Karl Marlantes • When the Veterans Affairs Department implemented a program to provide home-based health care to veterans with multiple chronic conditions – many of the systems most expensive patients to treat – they received astounding results. – Ron Wyden • When you have 8,000 veterans a year committing suicide, then you have a serious problem. – Johnny Isakson • When you run for president of the United States, everybody does the same thing in the campaign-they talk about veterans, how much they admire them, how grateful they are. – Mark Shields • Whether you’re a veteran like me or a high school athlete, the most important thing you can do is keep your body healthy. – Jason Terry • While millions of American families, including mine and yours, were working hard paying our fair share, it seems Donald Trump was contributing nothing to our nation. Imagine that. Not fair. Nothing for Pell grants to help kids go to college. Nothing for veterans. Nothing for our military. – Hillary Clinton • While only one day of the year is dedicated solely to honoring our veterans, Americans must never forget the sacrifices that many of our fellow countrymen have made to defend our country and protect our freedoms. – Randy Neugebauer • While we have made great progress in increasing funding for veterans’ benefits, we still have a long way to go in fully meeting the promise to our veterans. – Sue Kelly • You can take the best team and the worst team and line them up and you would find very little physical difference. You would find an emotional difference. The wining team has a dedication. It will have a core group of veteran players who set the standards. They will not accept defeat. – Merlin Olsen • You have to be a soldier and a veteran, or a soldier who sacrificed your life for your country. – Rashid Khalidi • You’ve been told that you’re broken, that you’re damaged goods and should be labeled victims. I don’t buy it. The truth, instead, is that you are the only folks with the skills, determination, and values to ensure American dominance in this chaotic world. – James Mattis

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